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I'm not a vegetarian, but I was curious as to whether you are prepared at any given time to prepare a vegetarian menu or if this must be requested in advance (if available at all)? Obviously, I'd assume advance warning would be far better and in this case I was wondering what size menus you might be able to offer, my guess being that a Tour de Force would be impossible, but you never know. Finally, what level of innovation and new techniques would you say such a menu might have as compared to the regular menu, especially considering that you obviously would not have worked on these dishes to the same extent as others? Thanks for your time and great answers so far.

Coconut Rice (without Coconut Milk) Serves 4 as Sideor 2 as Side. This recipe was mentioned on March 2 on the Dinner! thread (page 65 with a 40 posts per page view). Serves 2-4 as a side dish, depending on how hungry they are! Picture is of Thai Green Curry with Sliced Blade Steak, Snap Peas and Eggplant over Coconut Rice. 1-1/3 c Hot Water 1 tsp Chicken flavored Better Than Boullion, optional - If you don't use the BTB than use the same amount of salt - You could also use real broth instead of water & chicken base 1 T Vegetable or Peanut Oil 1 T Shallot, minced 1/4 c Coconut - the non-sweetened grated & desiccated kind, I get mine from Whole Foods 1 c Jasmine Rice Place 1 teaspoon Chicken flavored Better than Boullion (or salt) in the Hot Water and set aside. Place a 1 or 2 quart saucepot over a medium flame. Add the Oil, allow to heat for a few seconds then add the Minced Shallot (if you have no shallots, a little onion with 1 clove of garlic, minced, can substitute), saute for about 1 minute, then add the coconut. Stir for another minute or so until you can smell the coconut begin to toast. Add the rice to the pot, stir to combine everything until a few pieces of the coconut and/or rice begin to turn golden. Stir the water & chicken boullion together and pour over the rice. Be careful as it will sputter and come quickly to a boil. Give it a stir and when it comes to a boil, cover the pot and reduce the heat as low as it will go. Cook for 15 minutes, then allow to sit with the heat off for at least 10 more minutes -- DO NOT REMOVE THE LID. Fluff with a fork as you pour it into a serving bowl. Keywords: Side, Kosher, Vegan, Vegetarian, Easy, Rice, Dinner, Lunch, Thai ( RG214 )

Pineapple-Maple Ice Cream Maple Poached Pineapple 1/2 ripe pineapple 1 c maple syrup (grade A dark amber) Pineapple-Maple Ice Cream 1/2 c coarsely chopped TOASTED pecans 2 c heavy cream 1 c whole milk 1-1/4 c poaching liquid from the maple poached pinapple 1-1/2 c maple poached pineapple For the Maple-Poached Pineapple Cut off pineapple skin and eyes, slice in quarters lengthwise. Remove woody core and slice each quarter in half vertically. Cut each slice into 1/2 inch chunks. Bring maple syrup to boil in heavy saucepan. Add half of the pineapple and bring back to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and let steep, stirring occasionally, until cool. Drain pineapple well and reserve liquid. Refrigerate pineapple and syrup separately. (if you like, you can use 2 cups of syrup and poach all the pineapple - it's really good over waffles or pancakes, or just eaten right out of the container) For the Ice Cream Put poaching liquid in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce syrup to 1/2 cup then add cream. This may cause the syrup to solidify - just continue to heat and stir until everything is melted together. When mixture is smooth, remove from heat and add milk. Chill thoroughly. When you are ready to process the ice cream, cut pineapple into 1/2 inch cubes and put in a container large enough to hold finished ice cream - place in freezer to chill. Process the cream mixture in ice cream maker to the consistency of soft ice cream. spoon into container with pineapple, add chopped pecans and stir together. Freeze until firm. Keywords: Intermediate, Dessert, Fruit, Vegetarian, Ice Cream Maker ( RG213 )

There's a lot that can be done with Ghee's and oils when preparing to cook indian cuisine. Conversely, you need do nothing to them prior to use, but we take the trouble because of the eternal search for flavour, flavour and some more flavour. In answer to your first question about Vegetable Ghee and why I use it, Suvir, I have the following information; 1. It's largely made from an extraction of palm oil. The better varieties use only natural colourings and flavourings. I use Khyber brand which I have found to be very good indeed. It has a natural appearance, a gentle aroma and is very versatile in the cooking of Indian dishes. This one also has a very high smoking point which adds to it's versatility. Some, however, are truly awful. I'll name one to avoid if it's permissable. 2. Vegetable Ghee, due to the absence of dairy produce, is perfect for vegans as well as vegetarians. For me this is a simple solution/answer to questions from customers about the oils we use for vegetarians. 3. Vegetable Ghee's can be completely free of cholesterol. Khyber certainly is 4. It's is far, far cheaper than butter Ghee. I can buy a 2Kg tub of butter Ghee for £19.95, but for the same money I can buy nearly 30Kg of vegetable Ghee. No way is butter ghee 15 times better. It's simply different, but not so radically different as to have a negative impact on flavour. The price point is important to me because of the market I serve. 5. The production of Vegetable Ghee is a worrying economic consideration in parts of India. Many farmers agriculturaly prioritise land to produce oils desirable for Vegetable Ghee production leading to problems with land for the feeding of cows. 6. Vegetable Ghee lends itself perfectly to gentle seasonings to add to it's flavour prior to use. Point 6 is where this all kicked off in another thread so I'll add more as this thread develops. I'd love to hear about others uses and manipulations of Ghee.

Creamless Mushroom Soup a la Jerry's Serves 4 as Main Dishor 6 as Appetizeror 6 as Soup. This recipe was inspired by a soup we had at Jerry's Osteria restaurant in Tenafly, NJ. This is one of our favorite places and their soup was divine. Earthy with lots of funky mushroom flavor. Jason has to avoid dairy products and this soup has a creamy texture from the mushrooms that is augmented with a potato - but be sure to not use too much potato! The use of water is recommended over beef broth, but broth could be used, or concentrated beef base could be added, but it shouldn't taste too beefy. The final texture should remain a little chunky, hence the use of an immersion blender rather than a regular blender. If you don't have one, you can use a regular blender or food processor, but just pulse a few times. Edit: To follow-up, I preferred the smoother puree from using a regular blender. The immersion blender tended to shred the mushrooms rather than finely puree them. Save some chunks from the blender for texture. 1 T Olive or Vegetable Oil 1 medium Onion, finely diced 1 stalk of Celery, finely diced 1 small (about 4 oz) starchy Potato, peeled & diced 3/4 oz dried Porcini 1 qt Water, divided 10 oz White Button Mushrooms, chopped 10 oz Cremini or Portobella Mushrooms, chopped Salt to taste (at least 1/2 tsp) Freshly Ground Black Pepper Optional Ingredients 1 tsp or more good beef base, like Better Than Boullion (or Vegetable Base) 2 T Sherry, Cognac or Brandy Best Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Truffle Oil Heat a 6 quart soup pot over a moderate flame. Add 1 tablespoon oil, allow to heat for a bit then add the Onion, sauté for a minute before adding the Celery. Stir, then cover and allow the vegetables to sweat for a few minutes before adding the Potato. Meanwhile, soak the dried Porcini in 1 cup of hot water, set aside. Add the chopped fresh mushrooms to the sweating vegetables. Stir it all up and continue sweating. Lift the lid every so often to stir the vegetables, but keep the lid on for the most part to retain the vegetable's steam. After about 5 minutes, using a slotted spoon, remove the Porcini from their soaking liquid (retain the liquid), chop them up and add them to the pot, cover. After the mushrooms have released their water and start to look cooked (about 5 more minutes), add about 1/2 tsp Salt and some freshly ground Black Pepper. Add the reserved porcini soaking water (pour slowly to keep any sediment from going into the pot) and 3 more cups of water. Turn up the heat to bring to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to maintain a simmer (covered) for about 15 minutes. Turn the heat down and use an immersion blender to puree the soup, but don't make it too smooth, it should still have some chunky texture, but the non-mushroom vegetables shouldn't be identifiable. Taste the soup. If you think it still needs salt, and don't need it to be vegetarian, add some really good beef base, about 1-2 teaspoons. Stir it in until it dissolves completely. If you don't have good beef base, just add some more salt and pepper. At this point, add the Sherry, if using. Stir it in and allow the soup to simmer for about 5 more minutes. Serve the hot soup with a drizzle of Olive or Truffle Oil on top. Keywords: Appetizer, Soup, Kosher, Vegan, Vegetarian, Easy, Vegetables, Dinner, Lunch, Immersion Blender, American, Italian ( RG205 )

Alfredo Sauce This is a different twist on the classic sauce. The cream cheese gives it a thicker texture. Be sure to use unsalted butter in this, or it will be too salty. 1 250 gr. pkg cream cheese 1/2 c unsalted butter 1/2 c milk 3/4 c parmesan In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients except parmesan. Stir until smooth and then add parmesan, stirring until melted. Pour over pasta, sprinkle with extra parmesan if desired. Keywords: Easy, Cheese, American, Italian, Sauce, Vegetarian ( RG188 )

Chinese Broccoli (Gai-lan), several ways Serves 4 as Side. One of our favorite vegetables, we frequently order Gai-lan when out for Dim Sum or other Chinese meals. It looks similar to Broccoli Rabe, but tastes like a cross between regular broccoli and asparagus with none of the bitterness of broccoli rabe. We generally prepare it Chinese-style, but it can also be prepared Italian-style, just like other forms of broccoli. Chinese Broccoli or Gai-lan, figure 1 bunch for 4 people With Oyster Sauce 1/4 c Oyster Sauce, best quality Sauteed with Garlic 1/3 c Peanut or Olive Oil 6 Cloves of Garlic, peeled and sliced Salt or Soy Sauce, to taste 1 tsp Sesame Oil, optional Blanch the vegetable: Set a large pot of water to boil, add salt when it comes to the boil. Have a large bowl of ice water ready. Prepare the Chinese Broccoli by trimming the cut ends, washing, then separate the leafy, thinner-stalked half from the larger stem half by cutting approximately in half. Blanch the vegetable, adding the thicker stemmed portion to the water about 1 minute before the thinner stemmed/leafy portion. After about another minute the vegetable will turn bright green.* Use a pasta scoop or spider web chan to remove the vegetable and shock in ice water. When cold, drain and saute the vegetables. Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce * If planning to serve immediately with Oyster Sauce, do not shock, but cook the vegetable just a little longer in the boiling water, then remove to a platter. Drizzle the Oyster Sauce all over the vegetable and serve immediately. Chinese Broccoli Sauteed with Garlic - Chinese Style Heat Peanut Oil in a wok and add the garlic and blanched Gai-lan. Stir fry until the vegetable is heated through and the garlic is lightly golden. Drizzle with Soy Sauce and Sesame Oil and serve. Chinese Broccoli Sauteed with Garlic - Italian Style In a very large skillet (or wok), place garlic slices and Olive Oil and bring up to heat, adding Gai-lan and a sprinnkle of salt while the garlic is still white. You can either briefly saute it to keep the vegetable crisp-tender, or lower the heat and cook it until wilted, like Broccoli Rabe. Keywords: Side, Vegan, Vegetarian, Kosher, Easy, Vegetables, Dinner, Chinese ( RG176 )

Roasted Cauliflower (aka Jim Dixon's Roasted Cauliflower, no wait, that's Amanda Hesser's recipe! Or is it?) Serves 6 as Amuseor 4 as Appetizeror 2 as Side. Here's a link to my post on the Veggies, Don't eat enough of them thread on eGullet. In that post, I refer to Jim Dixon's first mention of this dish on eGullet. Here is a link to Caramelized Cauliflower on his website, Real Good Food. Here's a link to Amanda Hesser's article in the NYT: The Celestial Cauliflower, published January 17, 2001. Finally, here's a link to the current eGullet discussion thread about roasted cauliflower. Does it taste like french fries to you? Regardless of who created this recipe, it is a must try for everyone who ever thought cauliflower was characterless. Here's how Jason and I make it: 1 Head of Cauliflower (or more!!!) 1/4 c Good Olive Oil (EVOO not necessary) Kosher or Sea Salt Freshly Ground Black Pepper Preheat oven to 400F. Trim and wash the whole head of Cauliflower then slice it about 1/4 inch thick. There will be lots of small pieces and several large lacy slices. Place the cauliflower into a large bowl and drizzle on the Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper to taste, toss to coat. Spread the cauliflower evenly onto sheet pans (I use 2 half-sheet pans) and put in the oven. After about 10 minutes, stir them around to get the pieces on the edge of the pan moved towards the middle to encourage even browning, stir again every 5-10 minutes. After about 20 minutes it is ready, but can be left a little longer until even more browned depending on your taste and addiction level. Plan on 1 head of Cauliflower for every 2 people you are planning to serve. It reduces in volume significantly and is very addictive. Leftovers (leftovers?!) are excellent hot or cold (especially with Tahini Sauce). Keywords: Amuse, Appetizer, Side, Kosher, Vegan, Vegetarian, Intermediate, Vegetables, Dinner, Lunch, Snack ( RG167 )

Make Ahead Potato Latkes Serves 30 as Hors d'oeuvreor 10 as Side. Here's the thread, LATKE TIME! With some input from my Jason, my mom and aunt, here is my current recipe for Potato Latkes. I use the shredder attachment to my KitchenAid mixer, so the instructions are phrased accordingly. If you are using a regular food processor, you will probably need to empty it a few times. IMO, hand grating adds nothing to the latkes except the occasional bits of skin and blood. And bragging/martyrdom rights. 3 Large Onions* 5 lb Potatoes - Russet or Yukon Gold 2 Eggs, beaten 1 c Matzo Meal 1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper 1-1/2 tsp Salt 1 c Peanut Oil (at least) Quarter lengthwise and slice 2 of the onions. Add a small amount of oil to a large skillet (preferably cast iron) and slowly brown them, stirring occasionally. When they are well browned put aside to cool. *If you don't plan to caramelize the onions, just use one raw onion as explained below (i.e. don't add three raw onions to the batter!). Meanwhile prepare the latke batter. Trim and quarter the potatoes. It is not necessary to peel them, just remove the eyes and any bad spots. Grate the potatoes into a large colander inside an even larger bowl. Grate 3/4 of the potatoes coarsely, then grate the remaining onion. Grate one more potato to get the rest of the onion out of the blades. Remove the coarse grater attachment, scrape off the bits of potato into the batter. Attach fine grater and grate the remaining potatoes into the batter. Press and squeeze the potatoes to remove as much moisture as possible. You may have to pour off the liquid into a separate bowl a few times. However, allow the starch to settle to the bottom before pouring off the liquid. Add any starch from the second bowl back to the batter too. Put the potato/onion mixture, the settled potato starch and the caramelized onions into the bowl of your mixer (I prefer to use the dough hook to mix it up), add the eggs and mix. Sprinkle on the matzo meal, salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Heat your cast iron skillet and add about 1/2 cup of peanut oil. When the oil is hot, scoop the batter by large heaping tablespoons, about 3 should fit in the pan at a time. When it becomes necessary to add more oil, do it while the pan is empty and allow it to become hot before adding more batter. As you will re-heat them later, you are going for nice even browning here, not perfectly cooking the pancakes through, so move them around and flip when they are a medium brown. Drain on a cooling rack over a sheet pan and then move to a paper lined sheet tray. Place them in single layers, with more toweling between the layers. You can even put another tray (I use a cutting board) on the top (lined with more toweling) to press out some of the oil. These suckers absorb a lot of oil. When they have cooled, wrap in foil by the amount you plan to reheat at a time. Refrigerate or freeze. When ready to serve, reheat them at 350 F for 10-15 minutes in a single layer on a sheet pan. Serve with sour cream, apple sauce, or the condiment of your choice. This recipe makes at least 30 large latkes, plus a few eaten by the cook. If you prefer them smaller, it'll make a lot more. To serve as an Hors D'oeuvre, place the latkes on a tray and top each with a small dollop of sour cream and/or apple sauce. To serve as an appetizer or side, just serve the applesauce and/or sour cream on the side. Keywords: Amuse, Appetizer, Side, Kosher, Vegan, Vegetarian, Intermediate, Vegetables, Food Processor, Snack, Jewish, Stand Mixer ( RG166 )

Suvir's Apple-Cranberry Chutney Serves 8 as Side. Here's a link to the Apple Chutney thread. This makes a delicious condiment for Lamb or Pork Chops, I used it as an alternative to traditional Cranberry Sauce for Thanksgiving. * Suvir said to leave the Chile whole, which I suppose would add less heat and could be removed before serving. 1 T Vegetable Oil 1 T minced Ginger 1 tsp minced Red Chile (seeded & deveined)* 1/2 tsp Fennel Seed 1 pinch Asafoetida 4 c Granny Smith Apple, peeled and diced (~3 apples) 1/2 c dried Cranberries 1/4 c Water 1/8 tsp Salt 1 T Sugar 1/2 T Balsamic Vinegar 1 Pinch dried ground Cayenne Pepper Heat a 2 quart saucepan, add oil and fry the ginger, chile, fennel and asafoetida. When some of the fennel seeds look toasty (1-2 minutes), add apple, stir to coat with spices. Add cranberries, water, salt, sugar and vinegar, stir, cover for about three minutes, then remove cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pan is dry and the apples are about ready to fall apart. Check for seasoning and add cayenne pepper to taste. Yields: about 2 cups Keywords: Side, Condiment, Kosher, Vegan, Vegetarian, Intermediate, Fruit, Indian ( RG165 )

Tahini Sauce Here's a link to the Hummus with or without Tahini?, Have a favorite recipe? thread. Here's a recipe for Tehina / Tahini Sauce (not the straight sesame paste, but the lemony condiment) that I got from a local Lebanese restaurant (Bennies in Englewood, NJ). I always had trouble making tahini because I was trying to stir the water & lemon juice into the tahini, this recipe does the opposite. Yields: 2 Cups Sauce I used an Israeli brand of tahina that was rather liquid and this came out perfectly. I serve it with felafel and/or roasted vegetables. 1/2 c Water 1/2 c Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed 1 T Salt 4 Garlic Cloves, peeled 1 c Tahina, approximately Put the first four ingredients into a blender and whir to chop the garlic. While the blender is running, pour in the tahina. The mixture should just come to the point where it stops mixing easily. If it is too thin, add more tahina, if it is too thick, add a little more water. Keywords: Side, Condiment, Kosher, Vegan, Vegetarian, Easy, Blender, Sauce, Middle Eastern, Jewish ( RG164 )

I recently tried a Chinese Mandarin style vegetarian place with some Taiwanese friends in Flushing. Although I was never a big chinese culinary lover this place rocks (even better than Zen Palatte at times). One of my biggest problems with Chinese cuisine was my lack of education of the various styles (Shanghai, Cantonese, Taiwanese, Mandarin, etc,), the hardcore taste buds that's more suited for hardcore Chinese and too much oil in their cooking. I figured after my numerous 'westernized' Chinese dishes such as sesame chicken and chicken & brocolli didn't sit too well with my Taiwanese date. She went on a rampage to how un-advertureous I was in her native country cuisine. If she only knew my track record of stomach problems with Chinese food in China town. Her knowing full well that I'm fairly heath conscious and very particular with food she invited me to Happy Buddha. Although the decor is nothing to write about which seems to be fairly common among Chinese restaurants in Flushing (unlike Korean restaurants with nicer decor). Their food was creative, inventive and delicious! Oddly enough I was told to ask for a 'photo' menu since some items aren't listed in the regular menu. Go figure. For appetizers I had what looked like cooked california roll look a like (its in the photo menu) - very tasty. Couldn't get enough of it. Here are some items we got. Fried Large Veggie Shrimps -- they taste like shrimp reminds me of Japanese tempera Assorted Dishes Deluxe -- addictive Shredded Buddha delight -- good Veggie Sesame chicken -- better than beef ... and soup which I don't remember the name except it was tasty I'll admit I was the only non-Chinese in the restaurant but the waitress seems very courtesy and helpful with her limited english. They have a website to review the item and prices. http://www.happybuddha.com/content/menu.html

Custard Pie This recipe comes from my great-grandmother. Note it makes an 11" pie. Yes, you can buy an 11" pie pan, but they can be hard to find. Mine is 100+ years old. Leftover custard pie makes a great breakfast. 1 qt Milk minus 2 T Bit of butter 5 Eggs 1 c Sugar Pinch Salt 1 tsp Flour 1 T Vanilla 1 Pie crust Bake pie crust (remember, 11") in 400-425 oven until set. Rub butter in sauce pan, scald milk. Beat eggs (while milk is scalding) until foamy and add sugar, flour and salt. Add milk to eggs and put in hot crust. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 (or lower if it bubbles over) and bake until a silver knife comes out clean. NOTE: Be sure and put a cookie sheet under the pie tin because this may bubble over. It's easier to pull rack with hot crust out of oven and fill with filling than carry filled crust to oven. Keywords: Dessert, Breakfast, Vegetarian, Healthy Choices, eGCI ( RG156 )

Rice Waffles A great use for leftover rice 3 Eggs, separated 2 c Buttermilk 6 T Melted butter 2 c Flour 1/2 tsp Salt 1 T Baking Powder 1 T Sugar 1/2 tsp Baking soda 1 c Cooked rice (cold) Sift dry ingredients together. Beat eggs yolks until lemony and thick. Add buttermilk and melted butter. Add dry ingredients and stir briefly; add cold rice. Fold in eggs whites (beaten to soft peaks). Cook on waffle maker. Top with lots of butter and syrup or whipped cream and fruit, or with a an over-easy fried egg. Keywords: Breakfast, Easy, Vegetarian, Waffle Iron, Healthy Choices, eGCI ( RG154 )

Mushrooms Ajillo Serves 2 as Sideor 4 as Appetizeror 6 as Amuse. This is one of my favorite types of tapas. I've tried to recreate what we get served in the Spanish and Portuguese restaurants of Newark, NJ. Ingredient Notes: 1) The Spanish Paprika is optional, but don't substitute "regular" paprika if you don't have it, it would be better to just leave it out. 2) Sherry can be substituted for the Spanish Brandy if you can't find it, but I don't think it flambes the same, you would just use it to deglaze the pan. 3) The amount of garlic is approximate, I use about 1/2 a head, you may want to use less. 8 Garlic Cloves, peeled & sliced 1/2 c Olive Oil, good quality 1 lb White Button Mushrooms, washed & sliced 1 tsp Smoked Spanish Paprika 1/2 tsp Salt, amount approximate, to taste 1/4 tsp Freshly ground Black Pepper 2 T Spanish Brandy Crusty Bread Add Garlic and Olive Oil to a large cool pan (I use cast iron) and heat gently. When you first detect the garlic aroma, add the sliced Mushrooms and Paprika and turn up the heat. Saute 5-10 minutes, until the mushrooms are fully cooked and starting to get limp, but not to when they have lost too much moisture (use a long handled wooden spoon to keep everything moving). Add Salt & Pepper to taste. To Flambe: Push the mushrooms towards the handle side of the pan. Holding the pan at a slight angle (empty side down), pour the Brandy (not directly from the bottle, have it waiting in a small ramikin) into the empty side of the pan. Allow the brandy to warm for a few seconds, then shift the pan to allow the flames to ignite the brandy fumes. As soon as it flames, stir the mushrooms around until the flames die down. Serve with warm crusy bread to not lose a drop of the garlicy oil. Keywords: Spanish/Portugese, Intermediate, Vegetarian, Appetizer, Side ( RG150 )

Rustic Fruit Tarts This is a basic recipe for a simple fruit tart. It is completely informal, yet it's completely at home at all the but the fanciest of dinner parties. It can be filled with almost any seasonal fruit. I've included a number of filling options below, but feel free to experiment. It's great served with a complimentary flavor of ice cream. One tart serves six. For the crust 5 oz all-purpose flour 1 T sugar 3/4 tsp salt 8 T unsalted butter (one stick) 1 egg yolk 2 T ice water, or a bit more if needed For final preparation once filled 2 T milk or cream 2 T coarse-grained sugar Apple Filling 1 large Granny Smith Apple 1 T butter, melted 1 T cinnamon 2 tsp brown sugar 1 T all-purpose flour Mixed Berry Filling 3 T strawberry preserves 1/2 pt blackberries 1/2 pt rasberries 2 tsp powdered sugar Cherry Filling 1-1/2 c cherries, pitted and cut in half 1/3 c brandy Peach Filling 4 small ripe peaches 3 T apricot preserves 2 T brown sugar Begin making the crust ahead of time. At least an hour is ideal, but in a pinch 20 minutes will do. Set up a food processor with the dough blade. Sift the flour, sugar and salt together into the bowl of the food processor. Cut the butter into individual 1/2T chunks, taking care not to warm it much with your hands. Add the butter to the flour mixture and pulse repeatedly until you get a uniform mixture with a texture like corn meal. Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl. Add the egg yolk and spinkle with the ice water. Mix until the dough forms a ball. Be patient, it can take a while to distribute the water and egg yolk. If the crust won't come together, add more ice water, 1t at a time. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and them squash it into a disk about an inch thick. Set it aside in the refrigerator for one hour. If you can't wait, put it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes instead. While the crust is chilling, prepare one of the fruit fillings. Apple Filling Peel, core, and quarter the apple. Slice it very thinly. You may want to use a mandoline for this. Toss the apple slices with the melted butter. Mix the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon together, then toss in with the apples to coat. Berry Filling Toss the berries together with the sugar. Hold the preserves in reserve for final assembly. Cherry Filling Pit the cherries and cut each in half. Place them in a shallow non-reactive dish and pour the brandy over them. Allow to macerate for 30-45 minutes. Peach Filling Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Drop one of the peaches into the water. After 45 seconds, remove it with a slotted spoon. The skin should now be loose. Remove the skin, cut the peach in half, and discard the pit. Repeat with the remaining peaches. Final Assembly and Baking Preheat the oven to 400° F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Place it on a well-floured surface, and roll it out into a circle of about 12" in diameter. Transfer the rolled pastry to a cookie sheet. This is easiest to do if you dust it lightly with flour, then fold it in half, then in half again. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and unfold. If you are using the apple or cherry filling, simple heap the filling in the center of the crust, and spread it out slowly so that it comes within 2" of the edge. If you are using either the berry or peach filling, spread the crust with the preserves out to about 1" from the edge. If using cherries, place the filling in the center and spread to withing 2" of the edge. For the peaches. arange them cut side down on top of the preserves, with one peach half in the center and the others in a ring around it. You may only have room for six in the ring, in which case you can just eat the other one. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the peaches. Now that the tart has been filled, carefully fold the edges of the crust up and over the filling. It will necessarily fold and crease, but that's part of the charm. There should still be a large open area in the top. Brush the exposed part of the crust with cream, and sprinkle the coarse sugar over it. This will form a crunchy decorative coating as it cooks. Bake the tart for 30 minute or until the outer crust is golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. The tart can be served warm or at room temperature, but it should not be served directly from the oven. Try caramel ice cream with the apple tart, vanilla with the berry or cherry, and lime with the peach. Keywords: Dessert, Easy, Vegetarian ( RG140 )

Pasta Bible Pasta Rich and buttery without being heavy, this fresh-tasting dish is good any time of year. We usually eat it as a full meal, often with a side of roasted cauliflower, but it would make an ideal first course to be followed by fish and salad. 3/4 lb mezze maniche rigate 1 bunch scallions (6 thick or 12 thin), white and light green parts only, thinly sliced 4 T butter 1/2 bunch Italian parsley, minced 2 egg yolks 1/2 c freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano salt Melt butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the scallions and cook gently 15 minutes. Let cool until merely warm (5-10 minutes; the exact temperature isn't critical as long as it won't fry the eggs) and stir in the egg yolks, parsley, and cheese. Meanwhile, boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water. When al dente, reserve some cooking water, drain, and add to the scallion mixture. Toss well to mix, add some reserved cooking water if it seems too dry, season with salt, and transfer to 4 heated bowls. Keywords: Italian, Easy, Vegetarian, Pasta, The Daily Gullet ( RG137 )

Pancakes Serves 2. The classic Sunday morning treat. The pancakes 5 oz all purpose flour 1 tsp salt 1-1/4 tsp baking powder 1 c milk 1 large egg 1 T butter, melted The toppings butter, preferably at room temperature, so it melts on the warm pancakes warm maple syrup your favorite fruit preserves or jam (optional) Preheat a griddle. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix the egg and milk together and add to the dry ingredients. Stir gently, just until it's combined and large lumps are gone. Stir in melted butter. Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter at a time onto the hot griddle. Flip the pancakes when the bubbles on top have burst. Serve hot with butter and maple syrup. Some people also like preserves. Keywords: Breakfast, American, Easy, Vegetarian, Brunch ( RG102 )

Hi there, Kinda repeating myself from another topic forum, but I am looking for good spelt recipes. I am doing a lot of baking at my work as I am alone in the kithcen with no budget for a pastry chef, as is often the case these days, and I need some help in the low gluten, no gluten , wheat free area of baking which is so foriegn to my sensibilites. I like working in a healthy vegetarian enviroment but I miss the more passionate immediacy of cooking mains on a line. The things I make are packaged and have to last a week or so. My boss said she wanted someone classically trained who could learn about vegetarian and vegan eating as they go. I have found it a challenge and have learned way more than I thought I would need to learn in order to cook the way I must at work. Any advice, recipes or similar experiences would be appreciated.

Since you have alluded to the veg dining scene in DC, I thought you might be interested in talking about it directly. What are some of your favorites? I'm especially interested in your experiences eating vegetarian at the higher end, and wonder what you make of the selections at places like Nora, Vidalia, and the like. What do you think makes a restaurant vegetarian friendly? Do you think it's possible for a city like DC to support a fine dining vegetarian restaurant like Joia in Milan, Italy or perhaps Millennium in San Francisco? Why or why not? Do you think chefs in DC "get" vegetarian food?

I'd like to create a good vegetarian burger from scratch. I'm not happy with any of the commercially available products. Ideally, the burger I'd make would have the following attributes: 1) Not based on starch (such as rice); 2) Low fat (a minimum of eggs, cheese, oil); 3) Not trying to look or taste like meat; and 4) Able to be pre-made and stored in the freezer. Can you help? I'm interested not so much in a recipe as in an approach to thinking about veggie burgers. Also how do you recommend cooking and serving them?

In the last couple of years, two of my best friends have become vegetarians. Based on your expert knowledge, is there a trend? If so, what accounts for it? I was a vegetarian back in the 1970s. My first cookbook, which I still use, was The Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas. I was glad to see you mentioned her in an earlier post.

Thank you for participating in this Q&A Alexandra. I would like to buy a good vegetarian cookbook, as well as a tofu cookbook. What are your recommendations?

Have you noticed that more and more restaurants are offering vegetarian tasting menus? Is this a trend or just the practice of high end restaurants? Should an all vegetarian tasting menu be less money than one with meat? Can you recommend any restaurants that have tasting menus?

I have a Kazak friend whose VISA expired and must now leave the US. I'd like suggestions for a multi-course farewell menu. The problem is: one guest is lactose intolerant (no milk, cream, cheese, etc) and two are vegetarian. I was thinking of starting with a demitasse of apple-turnip soup followed by a Cesar salad in a parmensan bowl (I'll serve the lactose-intolerant guest his salad on a plate). Beyond the starters, I'm struggling for ideas. Any suggestions?