FoodMan

redevil: When you say superior, what are you refering to? Do you think they have a better flavor than lemons when it comes to making Tabbouli? I think they are just different and certainly not traditional. Limes might be tasty (tastier than lemons!!! IMHO I don't think so), but they are just not middle eastern (Latin, thai maybe) and in my book they do not associate with Tabbouli. There is nothing like the flavor of parsley with lemons. FM

I'm assuming you mean OTTO. right?

OR maybe it is actually good.

I think it would look even weirder if I start talking into my digital recorder or attempt to tape what the waiter is saying.... "can you speak louder please and face the microphone??" FM

Last night: Rick Bayless' Chicken marinated in adobo with Potatoes. The chicken was butterflied and marinated in Red Chile Adobo sauce (Dried Ancho, garlic, vinegar, spices and herbs). It was roasted with red skinned potatoes and served with a green salad and white rice. FM

Me no Steve,me wingding.But anyway,preheat the oven to 500,squeeze the juice and seeds out of th e tomatoes,& reserve juices,not seeds.Lay the tomatoes close together face down in a low pan-fill the pan completely,but do not layer the tomatoes.Add some of the juices to the pan,and slick the tomatoes with a little olive oil.Roast until the tomatoes just begin to char a little-15-20 minutes.Chop them up,and use in any stove top sauce where you want a rich,sweet,intense tomato sauce as your base.Good with smoky pork products! My apologies wingding, thanks for elaborating. I will try it (I believe Alton Brown on Good Eats did something similar with fresh tomatoes). FM

I was surprised to see a new episode of this great show (I loved the Sexy Beast parody). I guess the new season just started, however what pisses me off is that FTV mentioned NOTHING about the start of the new season. I almost missed it and I watch the darn channel everyday. They should really advertise before the beginning of any new season. FM

Steve Can you elaborate a little on this technique?? Is it just roasting the canned tomatoes in the oven or does it involve anything else?? Thanks FM

I am glad to hear words like this, especially when it seems that the only publicity Lebanon gets is bad publicity. On another note can you elaborate on what "doi" is?? FM

Currently I am the only one who eats yogurt on a regular basis in my house since my wife is the only other person living with me and she was not raise eating yogurt (she still thinks yogurt = vanilla and fruit flavored stuff). However she does love labne. So the batch of yogurt would last me about a week and in the mean time I freeze the starter so that it would not go terribly sour. I learned this from my mom who made huge batches of yogurt for the family back home and froze some as a starter for next week. You should try it. I have not bought yogurt in a couple of years !! FM

After re-reading my post I realized that I might not have been very clear, the labne and the stuffed zucchini are two seperate food items. Sorry for any confusion. The "labne" is basically strained yogurt. Just put the yogurt in acheese cloth bag and put the bag in acolander and the colander in bowl to catch the whey. Strain it in the fridge overnight. What you have is "labne", I normally eat it smeared on pita bread with EVOO, salt, olives and soemtimes some fresh mint. The secret to this stuffed Zucchini is to find the proper zucchini. Not the dark green kind available in major grocery stores but a smaller (about 4 inches long), much lighter in color type. I can usually find it in Middle Eastern grocery stores. To prepare the zucchini for stuffing: wash them and cut off the stem end to form a flat side where it was. Then carefully (this requires some practice) use a zuchini corer (a grooved long metallic shaft with a handle also available in middle eastern stores) or an apple corer to remove the insides of the zucchini without breaking the skin. The properly cored zucchini should have walls not thicker than a 1/4 inch. For the stuffing: uncooked rice ground beef or lamb(roughly half the amount of rice or less) salt and pepper butter or samen or ghee (to taste) mix all the stuffing ingredients together and stuff them in the zucchini tightly but not too tight as the rice will expand during cooking. to cook the zucchini cover with water and simmer until barely done it should be a little soft. Meanwhile prepare the yogurt sauce. Sorry I have no amounts because I am writing from memory with no recipe, I sort of wing it. Satbilize the yogurt mixture using egg whites (let me know if you are not familiar with the method) so that it will not curdle, add some cruched dried mint, salt and pepper to taste an a couple crushed garlic cloves. then add the yogurt mixture to the zucchini and cook over medium low heat about 30 more minutes until soft and the rice is cooked through. serve immediatly in deep bowls with some extra dried mint sprinkled on top. Hope you try it and if you do let us know how it turned out. The only delicate part about it is coring the zucchinis. Practice makes perfect. FM

Amen to that!!! Sunday lunch at my family's house in North Lebanon was always fresh raw kibbe , a parsley rich Tabbouli with lettuce leaves (I do prefer Cabbage though), and Arak. FM

I do cut one end off, the stem, the other one is not bitter. I never seed them because I do not use those big fat common cucumbers instead I always buy what is called "English Cucumbers" they are the long ones with thinner skin, firmer/crunshier texture and minimal seeds. They are much closer to the Cukes you would find in Lebanon (or California ). FM

I do make my own Yogurt (which I just learned is called Dahi in Hindi ...right?). I heat up about a quart of milk (usually 2% or whole) until almost boiling, then let it cool slightly. I know it is cool enough by administering the "index-finger test": The milk is ready if it is cool enough for me to keep my CLEAN finger in it for no more than 10 seconds (it should still be quiet hot and not lukewarm). Then I just mix it with about a quarter cup starter (yogurt from a previous batch) in a glass container with a lid and then I cover the whole thing with a wool shawl or sweater and leave it overnight (about 10 hrs). The yogurt produced is sweet with a slight tang and a soft custard-like texture, absolutely fantastic. I refrigerate it and remove a quarter cup to freeze in a small container for use next time as a starter (defrost before using !!!). As for what I use it for!!!!! Suvir my Lebanese heritage taught to love yogurt and regard it as an everyday houshold item and to use it with everything and my love for Indian food even adds to that. I use it plain , with some salt or as a Raita-like sauce (cucumbers,...) with grape leaves, kibbe, Manakiish (oregano pies), Lahm bi Ajeen (meat pies), to strain it into the delicious labne, to cook stuffed Zuchinni in, with most types of kebbabs, with rose water starwberry and honey as a dessert, with granola for breakfast,....... Not to mention all the Indian recipes I am discovering thanks to you and the generous people on this forum. FM

Friday night: "Tagine Bil Hoot", Fresh Grouper fillets marinated in ground ginger, cilantro, parsley, paprika and EVOO. The fish was baked with carrots and tomatoes with Saffron, cumin, preserved lemons and thin sliced fresh lemons on top. I served this beautiful dish with "Bulgur and Eggplant", Bulgur (cracked wheat) cooked with lots of onions and tossed with cubed fried eggplant. We ate it with two condiments: Fresh homemade yogurt, and some of Suvir's tomato chutney (can't get enough of this stuff). Saturday: Crispy ground beef tacos with the usual condiments (sour cream, cheese, lettuce,....) at the in-laws place. Sunday: An improvised Indian inspired dish. Browned some chicken thighs and put them to the side while I made the braising liquid. in the same pot I tosted some Cumin seeds, mustard seeds and a good handful of Urad Dahl. Then I added some fresh carrots, celery, canned tomatoes, cilantro, parlsey, water and braised the thighs in there. Served it with a romain salad, pita bread and some white rice (the rice was mainly for the wife ). I do have a picture of this dish and will post later if I have some time. FM

Just a drop in the bucket....15 FM

I'm assuming you mean desert Suvir. right? The raita I normally make varies. The Lebanese version (courtesy of my mom of course and not called raita but simply "Cucumber in yogurt") is made with medium diced cucumbers, yogurt, salt and plenty of crushed dried mint. This is normally served with grilled or fried "kibbe". Another version is made with strained yogurt, lime, cilantro and cucumber. this is more of a dip than a sauce but it is fantastic with grilled lamb. Monica's sounds great too, especially that last bit with the mustard seeds. I will give it a try. FM

Mario Batali's first book "Simple Italian Food", and of course I still use it. I actually use it more now than when I first got it due to the fact that in my "college/less experienced" days many of the recipes were not that "simple" (homemade pasta) or the ingredients not very familiar (what the hell is a Zampone) . Believe it or not I picked up the book because I was looking for a Lasagna Bolognese recipe !!! I just could not stop reading it (and had no idea who the author was) so I bought it even though there was no Lasagna Bolognese recipe in it . FM

I am totally in agreement with you on the Emeril issue (even though I only watch if the ingredients are interesting). He is a "show" person when he is on TV but I also ate at NOLA and Delmonico's and both meals were superb. I never had a problem duplicating his recipes either. As for the rest of the FoodTV, I said it before on another thread and will say it again: This is Food Network NOT Cooking Network. SO they do cater to a variety of tastes ranging from tourist stuff (best of, 40 dollars,..) to great cooking shows. Among the good cooking shows that I DO watch are Molto Mario (if I'm home during that time), Jamie Oliver , Sara (I do think she is very sweet), Iron Chef and Jacques Torres on occasion. One show that I never miss is Altron Brown's "Good Eats". It doesn't matter if it is something I cooked hundreds of times or if it is a new experience I always watch it to see what Alton has to say about it (even though I might not agree with everything he says). It is always fun watching it. Just for the record though, I do think that a FTV2 dedicated only to serious cooking is a great idea ( no more sitting through unwrapped and 40 dollars et al.) My 2 cents FM

Pretty much sums it up for me as well. When it comes to pastries and baking I do stick more to the recipes. FM

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Raita more of a sauce/chutney than a dip. All of the Raitas that I've seen are pretty "liquidy" not dip like (Dip = Hummus like consistensy). Is that what you need Helen? FM

Teusday: Leftovers in the fridge. A piece of grilled chikcen breats, pork chop and some frozen shrimp == a great meal of fried rice made with with lots of ginger, onions, garlic, a coupla eggs and some chopped veggies. My best ever lef over fodder. Tonight (wednesday): Pan seared and finished in the oven fillet of fresh Mahi Mahi with clams. Served in clam broth (clams, challots, garlic white wine, parsely, chilli and butter). As a side I made a sautee of zuchini squash and fennel. Dessert was Bread pudding with bourbon Pecan caramel sauce. FM

Saturday: Pork Chops with sweet chipotle peanut glaze. Served with Peach/English Cuc./greens salad dressed with Balsmic and EVOO. Sunday: Cold and rainy outside. Perfect day for Red beans and Rice. Made with smoked Ham Hocks and sausage. Served with homemade sweet corn bread. FM

Indian food is such a flavorfull cuisine, and I am all about flavor be it sweet, savory spicy, peppery or mild. I love it because it is similar to middle the eastren cuisine that I was raised on but it is not quiet the same. It has more use of spices and condiments. The similarities that I love are the use of naan (similar to Pita), using veggies in so many elaborate and fantastic ways and last but not least is the use of yogurt (as a sauce, to cook in, or as a condiment). It is also such a great retreat when you want something "exotic" in the middle of a busy week. I just cook up (or buy some) some flavorful dish with some naan,chutney (preferably tomato ) and basmati and enjoy. This is why e-gullet is such a great place, I learned so many new things about indian cuisine especially from Suvir. As a proof I have a much more comprehensive Indian pantry (as well as curry leaves in the freezer) now than I did six months ago. FM

Again I will be anal and decalre this as both true and wrong. If you just mix some salt, allspice, sugar and water then the brined meat will taste like salted sweet water. However if you boil the mixture, cool it and THEN brine the meat it will be flavored with allspice even in the center. So if it is soluble in water (sugar/salt/molasses) or infused (herbs/spices) it will flavor the meat by osmosis or by getting lodged in between the cells like g. johnson said Oils on the other hand have no way of making it inside since they will not dissolve in water so they have no place in a brine. FM edited to add quote.