Thanks for the Crepes

Welcome to eGullet, Clementine! I love Greek food and will be eagerly looking forward to your take on it. I think my favorite is spanakopita, but I can't get enough of moussaka, pastitsio, avgolemono, braised chicken with tomatoes and cinnamon, baklava, pita, salads with feta and olives, and on and on. My first husband was Greek American, and his dad, who was from Chios, used to bring us big pans of all of the above, except he did not make his own pita. Now I make them all except the pita, and I am seriously contemplating boning up on and making that.

Beautiful pitas, Smithy! This is a bread I haven't made yet, but your rendition is adding inspiration and motivation to give it a try.

minas, I'm even a fan of Brach's orange jelly wedges. I remember when you could scoop them from bulk bins in the grocery stores as a little kid. I would probably swoon over your citrus creations. They are so pretty, and the peel/rind/flesh layers look so precise and more perfect than Mother Nature makes them. Are they as fiddly as they seem to an uneducated eye?

Smithy, I think you made a wise decision not to drive into the desert. Those rocks are just the kind that can break out your oil pan, brake lines or who knows what else. Very beautiful scenery, and I'm glad you had an enjoyable and safe time.

I can testify to maple syrup needing to be refrigerated too. This happened to me when we lived in Vermont in the 70's. I could have cried. It was a gallon can about half full. Can you imagine what that would cost now? Now it's harder to find and a hoarded luxury that always lives in the fridge even in the small bottles I can afford to buy now.

Hey Panaderia, I love beet greens! Baby raw ones in salads, cooked mature ones, and I make a quiche-like tart with them. I don't suppose we ever get good starfruit here. It's yellow going to brown spots like Shalmanese said, and has no good flavor to it the times I've tried it. Sliced crosswise, it's beautiful on fruit platters, but I quit buying it because it's a waste if it doesn't taste good. How does your carambola taste?

Hey BKEats, Great looking chix sandwiches! I admire your extraordinarily generous spirit. It's obvious that you enjoy cooking and making your friends feel comfortable. Where I come from it's customary to bring prepared food to the homes of folks who have just been blessed with a new child to help take some of the load off them. No one I know would dream of expecting new parents to cook for them. Childbirth is a joyous event, but also very stressful and tiring. Can you say "sleep deprivation"? I'm glad you can draw the line and go on "lockdown". I know you need the rest. ETA: Is it safe from danger of explosion (and under what conditions) to cook foods in an unopened can? I've not tried it, but have seen them blow up on neighboring campsites when they were placed in campfires. This would be handy in a hurricane power outage if it can be done with no risk.

Smithy, I'm not sure exactly what you meant by this in your quoted text, but I can tell you that when my husband cooks the meat on the grill while I'm running around like a "chicken with it's head cut off," he thinks and says he cooked dinner. Then I have to clean all the mess too. I also do all the prep, including seasoning the meat, and have to run outside to supervise the grilling. I think this is a man thing that I may never have a clue of truly understanding.

Please DO NOT try to put corn husks in the garbage disposal. The tough fiber will clog it every time. I used to forget and do it every decade or so. They seem so pliant, and when you gnaw on them, they're actually a little sweet. Compost them, just throw them in the garbage, or do like I've started doing, and freeze them for making tamales. They're even better than the dried ones you can buy at Hispanic shops. I believe I've tried to Insinkerator husks about three times in my life.

ElainaA, Marcella Hazan calls for raw cardoons with her bagna caoda recipe. She also says to rub them with a little lemon juice to keep them from discoloring.

They look great, though! I'd eat 'em.

I dunno, Toliver. Sometimes with all the other flavors going on in baked goods, lame vanilla can be masked. I bought a 4 oz. bottle of "pure" vanilla "flavor" from Trader Joe's, which is usually a trusted source. When I opened it, it smelled like not much of anything and not good, and not a damned thing else. It's not labeled "extract". Now that I notice it, it's labeled "alcohol free". The ingredients are: glycerine (yum ), water, sugar cane, vanilla bean extractives. I get much better vanilla extract from my dollar store. I need to take this rip off back. I've not used any of this dubious crap i bought.

cyalexa, I'm so glad you enjoyed the Curious Kumquat experience. I'm also quite envious.

Smithy, Oh yes, cooking was mandatory when we put in at Jordan Lake, which was much more local to us. There are no restaurants available from the water, and very little other development. It's actually the drinking water source for Cary, where I live. Everything was premade in my kitchen for a while like potato or pasta salad, baked goodies, chips and snacks, and we'd have a lot of sandwiches, fruit, salads and crudities. We could access picnic areas with charcoal grills so we could grill meats and veggies too. Then we bought a stainless steel grill from Overton's boat supply store that clamped onto the boat and hung over the side so we could grill anywhere we pleased. This was the only heat source on the boat. There was a laughable water reservoir on board of only about twenty gallons that dispensed into the tiny sink in the cabin. It wasn't enough to wash dishes, and I was a bit afraid of whether it could be kept sanitary. So all water was hauled in bottles. There was a fridge, but no electricity to it, designed for dry ice, which is possible but a pain to come by in our area. So we kept everything on regular ice in two large coolers, and went to the marina on the lake every day to get more ice. I used disposable table ware. When we'd make the longer haul north to Kerr Lake with the boat in tow, their were restaurants available in Clarksville, VA, where we could tie up and walk to them. That was a real treat, but we mostly ate on the boat, as the best sandy beaches on Kerr Lake are on the NC side. The VA side is mostly red clay and heavily forested right up to the lake. Here's a couple of links to one of the restaurants we used to eat at up at Kerr Lake: http://www.lamplighterva.com/ http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-lamplighter-clarksville ETA: A clarification for anyone who cares to read the Lamplighter restaurant reviews on yelp. There's an ongoing feud between NC and VA about whether this beautiful lake we share with our northern neighbor is to be called "Kerr Lake" or "Buggs Island Lake". It's confusing for outsiders, and I personally, don't care enough to even research why, but I can tell you, it's beautiful, vast and very clear, healthy water. You can see fish swimming around your feet even when your submerged to chest level, and you can see the bottom. If you have a boat and you can get there, do yourself a favor and go. Stick to the NC side for sandy beaches, but you'll have to get up to the VA side for restaurants or hotels. The lake isn't crowded with other boats, so great for water skiing. Watch out for the Game Wardens though. They came on our campsite by boat and asked for my female friend's fishing license. She had one.

I do like raw veggies, and I don't string or peel celery. It's a negative calorie food, and fiber is good for us. On the few occasions when I get access to sweet peas (almost always have to grow them myself) I pop into my mouth them raw like popcorn. I would be very interested in Prawncracker's description, or better yet, demonstration of how to make those lovely carrot flowers I've enjoyed at Asian restaurants. I have pretty good knife skills and a very precise knife, but carrot flowers seem a bit daunting to me. Carrots are a hard thing to cut into those precise shapes. It wouldn't be wasteful either, as this cook would scarf the raw trimmings as her treat.

Sorry Smithy, I can't help you with your Thai dish, although it sounds very good. I'm pretty ignorant in that area. But I absolutely love your fish plate. Maybe you could wrap the fish plate in a spare dish towel if you have one to save it from breakage during the bumps and jostles of travel. Or maybe even grocery bags or something if you don't have spare towels. I would hate to see it get broken. It's beautiful. I spent six years living every spare moment and every available weekend on a 21' cabin cruiser, so I know how limited space is on a mobile domicile, and I'm amazed at the gadgets and gear you keep pulling out. That must must be some trailer your have, or either you're the best organizer on the planet! ETA: changed your to you're. Sadly, probably still mistakes, but I'm going to quit fiddling with it now.

I made Mark Bittman's onion pan bread to accompany salmon and salad the other day when I was sick of the usual suspects for starchy sides. It's from "How to Cook Everything," page 244 of my paperback copy. I've made it before, and it's always been good, but I was running low on onions, so I only used about 2/3 cup instead of the 2 large whole one he calls for. It was less than half of a large white onion, which around here run a pound or a little over. I also diced it medium instead of slicing it like Mark calls for, so I could distribute it more efficiently. Another variation I made is to saute the onion longer than the 10 minutes he suggests. I have never been able to properly caramelize onions in 10 minutes, and medium heat on my 1970's GE range top will more frizzle than caramelize. You don't have to spend hours doing this though like you do with french onion soup where the onions will be boiled in broth. These onions are going to receive further cooking beneath your bread. Just get them soft and golden and they'll finish in the oven. The other times I made it, I've always added a little more milk because the batter looked a little too thick. I shoud've trusted Mark on this one. I was running low on milk too, and thought about adding a bit of water. I'm glad I didn't. It's like drop biscuit batter, and you have to really make an effort to spread it over the onion/brown sugar topping. This was the best rendition ever. My husband and I ate half of an eight inch round cake pan between us. This was SO good. I froze the other half for later. I really can't explain why I thought it would be a good idea to add a quarter teaspoon of very fragrant thyme to the batter, but it worked so well, and I'll definitely do it again. Here's a link to Mark's recipe for anyone who's interested: http://lifeandsundry.com/food/2011/7/22/onion-pan-bread.html The source has changed Mark's recipe herself to say butter or olive oil. Mark calls for butter, and that's what I used. Also, it's important to sprinkle the brown sugar in your pan before adding the caramelized onion. This results in a crispy, caramelized, absolutely delicious topping to a light fluffy, irresistible quick bread. No additional butter needed.

I hate it for you, Darienne, but at least you have the cooking skills to not suffer as much as someone who does not. I'm so lucky to have Rancho Grande within walking distance. With huaraches (my fave), gorditas (second fave), pupusas, sopes. tortas, platillos traditionale, platillos de marisco, and of course tacos, tamales in banana leaves and burritos, y mas. For your vicarious enjoyment, here are the yelp reviews: http://www.yelp.com/biz/rancho-grande-cary They don't have their own website, and if you try to call in your order, as an English speaker you won't succeed. But when I go down there, between my rudimentary Spanish and hand gestures, we are able to put together a very satisfactory meal. The atmosphere is off-putting. LOUD. They have TV's BLARING in Spanish (on multiple channels) . Children are allowed to run wild way beyond even what they do in casual Gringo restaurants nowadays. Everyone shouts above the TV's. There's sometimes mud on the floor, depending on the weather, because this is a blue collar restaurant that caters to Hispanic construction workers. The first time we went we ate in, and my husband, although he worked construction, and prides himself on his command of the Spanish language, doesn't have that much knowledge of culinary terms. So I ordered for both of us. We sat at a table, and he was complaining about the mud on the floor, etc. I told him, "We're not eating off the floor, and what I can see of the kitchen is as spotless as mine. Our table's also clean." He settled down, and we had a great meal, but subsequent ones have been to go in the comfort of our home.

Chinese tamales!

Franci, I think this would work fine refrigerated, but might be a little brittle straight out of the fridge, so you might want to let it sit for a while on the counter before slicing and serving. I'm only an amateur home cook and baker, though. I'm sure some of the professional bakers on the sight can give you more experienced advice. By the way, your recipe sounds like it would taste divine. I love chocolate and raspberry.

Thanks for the heads up, gulfporter. I saw this on offer on our local PBS station, but hadn't heard of it, so now I'm going to give it a try.

I'm with you, Kim. I like Jimmy Dean (hot) raw sausage too, to which I add crushed red pepper, ground sage and black pepper, but I refuse to pay extra for leftovers.

I know exactly what you mean, Kim. I'm so thankful that the internet wasn't available when I was growing up and learning to cook. (I never dreamed before today that I'd write a sentence that began with, "I'm so thankful that the internet wasn't available...") Now that my foundation is firmly established on cookbooks with tested recipes that were professionally written, I enjoy the gazillion recipes I can get on the internet. I know enough now to usually be able to realize for myself if the ingredients or the instructions are going to work before starting the recipe. I also love being able to search for recipes on the web to get ideas for twists to the ingredients or shortcut techniques, even if I already have an established recipe for a dish. I get a ton of ideas and information for food and recipes from the internet. I can see young cooks without experience trying to make some of the recipes on the internet and losing interest in cooking altogether, which is a real shame, since this art is dying out fast enough without any help from bad web recipes. My first exposure to amateur recipes came from church and other organizations' fund-raising cookbooks, and I don't recommend those for starting cooks either. That said, I have some treasured recipes from those types of publications in regular rotation.

Ooh Alex, That's one thing that sends me off into Incendiary Land! Texting or otherwise fiddling around with your phone or other electronic devices at the dinner table after I have put so much effort into making a delicious, nutritious and hot meal for you. SOOO... RUDE. Happy Textgiving indeed! Sadly, I'm sure this happens in many households. Unfortunately, my husband is a fan of playing FreeCell and taking any and all calls during the dinner hour. He's 65, so not a kid or teenager. I'm try to serve a scalding hot dish, and he's hunched over the dining table, absorbed in manipulating his mouse. I put the dish to the side and let him burn himself, or better yet, I've lately taken to letting him get up and serve his own dish from the counter or stovetop. You wouldn't believe the surprised shock in his expression when I sit down and serve myself without serving him first after so many years of his being waited on hand and foot. There is much humor in what you posted, though, so don't let my frustration detract from it.

Panaderia Canadiense, ALL of it makes me very jealous of your access to inexpensive, very good produce! I have also relished your posts about your local fish markets. If you think of it, the next time you go for your local fish, I'm quite sure I'm not the only one on the board who'd appreciate a post about it. For that matter, I also adore your sugar sculpture creations for cake decorations, etc. Dragons and sheep, oh my. I know you are busy, but please come back and share with us OFTEN.