Puerto Rican Herbal Lice Cure

Puerto Rican Herbal Lice Cure

I was reading my book on Puerto Rican herbal medicinal cures and there it was, too. (something tells me it's a sign!)

But anyway the herbal cure says:
Boil up the vines of Wild Balsam Apple (Sci name: Momordica charantia. Bot Fam: Cucurbitaceae) until the water turns dark green. Then use it as if it were a shampoo, but leave it on the persons head for a good 15-20 minutes. Kills the lice and its good for the scalp. Repeat in a week.

Now........
Who knows what Wild Balsam Apple is?

Sheri F.
(2/26/01) 

Wild Balsam Apple, Bitter Melon, Bitter Gourd, Balsam Pear: Momordica Charantia
Common in FL. Search engine it.

Annie's No Bake Cookie Recipe

Annie's No Bake Cookie Recipe
(Makes 4 Dozen)

This is pretty similar to the other recipes that have been posted--but I've made this one recently.

Results were medium...I found the chocolate portion of the cookies a little too grainy for my tastes--which tells me that I either boiled the mix for too long or for not long enough.

A friend made them for me about two months ago, and hers were smooth and creamy (except for the oatmeal, obviously). So see what you think. I've also heard that you can use a candy thermometer to tell when the mix is "done," but I don't know the correct temperature you're supposed to shoot for. I would assume at least soft ball stage, but I could be wrong.

2 cups sugar
1 stick of butter or margarine
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup Hershey's cocoa
2-1/2 cups 'Old Fashioned' Quaker oats
1/3 cup peanut butter (*creamy recommended)
2 tsp vanilla

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, butter, milk and cocoa over medium heat. Stir constantly and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for one minute, stirring constantly, and add remainder of ingredients.

Spoon over waxed paper.

Annie T.
(2/22/01)

Annie's Simple is Better! Sausage Gravy

Annie's Simple is Better! Sausage Gravy

Brown the sausage, then scoop it out of the pan to let it cool so you can crumble it. The cheapest, most heavily seasoned, most fatty sausage patties are the best for this type of gravy.

Add about 3-5 tablespoons of flour to the pan drippings and stir over medium heat until all flour is moistened with fat (mmm, good!).

Start by slowly adding whole milk WHILE STIRRING BRISKLY with a whisk, until you've added about 1/2 to 3/4 of a gallon. Keep stirring and allow to thicken. Add the sausage crumbles.

In an ideal world, you'll be able to let this sit, thicken and infuse even more before you serve it. If you need to thin it down, add more milk.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Just remember, cheaper is better for the sausage--makes the gravy have more and better flavor.

--Annie (who thinks you should also make up a mess o cheese grits)
(2/21/01)

Quantity Sausage Gravy

Quantity Sausage Gravy

I've made quantity gravy in a large saucepan, instead of a skillet, like you'd make a basic white sauce.

Fry up the sausage loose if it's gonna be mixed in with the gravy or served on top.  Remove the sausage from the skillet and measure the grease.

Proportions are 1-1/2 tablespoons grease, same amount of flour, and 1 cup milk, salt and pepper to taste.

If you have more grease than you want to make gravy, just use part of it.  Use some of the milk to de-glaze the skillets the sausage was cooked in, to get all those tasty brown bits. 

Combine the grease and flour in a large enough pan so you won't have to worry much about hot milk boil-over.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes after it starts to bubble. Whisking all the while, add in the milk.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened.  How long this will be depends on how much gravy you are making. You might want to do it in batches.

Mix in the sausage or sprinkle it on top.

Ann
(2/21/01)

Biscuits n' Gravy

Biscuits n' Gravy

You can use chicken to make biscuits and gravy too. Just cut up your chicken, dump it in some olive oil that's been heating while you chop, salt and pepper heavily, brown well. Throw in flour with the chicken and oil, mixing well, until you get a somewhat runny paste, not a thick gooey paste. I believe this is called a "roux", is it not? :-)

Cook this until it's rather brown then throw in some milk. I use canned milk, one can of milk and add water until it's as thick or thin as you like it. You can use any kind of milk; I usually use Kroger 1% and it tastes fine to me. Cook this for a while to let the salt and pepper get good and infused, then serve over your biscuits.

TASTE it before you put more salt & pepper on it. Voice of experience speaking here.

Another meat you can use for good biscuits and gravy is that wafer thin packaged ham or beef. Do it the same as the chicken, only you don't have to cook it as long, since it's already cooked. Both the chicken and the packaged meat tastes WAY different than the sausage. Oh, bacon makes a decent gravy too, but DON'T cook the bacon in the gravy. It will turn to rubber. Sprinkle it on top of your biscuits n gravy.

MMMMM!!
Amy
(2/21/01)

Ranchero Beef Stew

Ranchero Beef Stew

This is a nice change of pace from the traditional beef stew recipe. I adapted it from a recipe posted on the Epicurious website (www.epicurious.com).
Description: "Traditional beef stew with Spanish overtones."

1 tbsp olive oil
2-1/2 pounds beef stew meat -- cut into 1"
3 large onions -- cubed
3 medium carrots -- cubed
6 garlic cloves -- chopped
1 (16 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp cumin -- toasted and ground
1 can beer
1 can diced green chilies -- (4 ounce)
1/2 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed green olives
2 tbsp dried oregano
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

  • Rub salt and pepper on meat, place in slow cooker.
  • Add onion, carrots, and garlic (you can briefly saute the garlic in olive oil as I do, or just throw it in).
  • Add tomatoes, beer, chilies, cumin and oregano.
  • Cook on low, 8-10 hours.
  • Uncover; add olives, and a dash of vinegar. Add a bit of hot sauce (we like Cholula hot sauce). Season with salt and pepper. Stir in cilantro. Serve over rice.

Carolyn D.
(2/20/01)

Crockpot Pork (from Helen)

Crockpot Pork (from Helen)

Here is my easiest recipe for a slow cooker.

Put some pork chops or pork tenderloins in the crockpot. Add two cans of Golden Mushroom soup and one can of water (enough of each to cover the pork). Stir. Cook for several hours, and serve.

The mushroom gravy is wonderful over egg noodles. I grew up eating this dish, and it's one of DH's favorites because the pork comes out so tender.

Helen
(2/20/01)

Slowcooker Tomato Sauce with Meatballs

Slowcooker Tomato Sauce with Meatballs

This is really easy to make. I am also having a blast with my new Mastercook software. I would have put in about 1/2 cup of red wine if I had any around. My grandmother would be very upset about the addition of tomato paste (use an imported Italian brand, if possible), but it prevents the sauce from being watery. Enjoy.

2 pounds lean beef
1 small onion -- minced
handful parsley -- minced
1 egg -- beaten
1/3 cup Italian style bread crumbs
1/4 cup milk
generous grind black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

5 cloves garlic -- minced
3 (28 oz. each) cans whole plum tomatoes -- broken up
1 small can tomato paste
1 tsp hot red pepper flakes
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper

Combine ingredients 1-9 in bowl. Mix well. Form into small balls.

Put them in the bottom of a large slowcooker (no, you don't have to brown them first).

Sauté garlic in a bit of olive oil in a small pan for a few minutes, add to slow cooker (I find that unsauteed garlic does not taste great in the slow cooker, so I do this step. If you are not so fussy or pressed for time, you can omit it).

Add sliced onions, tomatoes, tomato paste (stir the paste into some of the whole tomatoes to dissolve it before putting it in), and the remaining spices. Cook on LOW until you get home -- 8 - 10 hours, or thereabouts.

Carolyn D.
(2/20/01)

Crockpot Pork and Green Chile Stew

Crockpot Pork and Green Chile Stew
Serving Size : 8

This was AMAZING. We served it with Drunken Beans (in a separate recipe listing). I will do the roasting of the chiles the night before -- just put them on a cookie sheet, run them under the broiler until black on all sides, and throw them in a paper grocery bag for an hour or so. Then peel, seed and chop. They are infinitely better than canned.

4 pounds lean pork shoulder
2 tbsp olive oil
4 medium potatoes -- quartered
1 ball garlic -- minced
1 can beer
1 tbsp cumin seed -- toasted and ground
1 tsp oregano
5 green chiles -- roasted and peeled
2 jalapenos -- sliced
4 large onions -- coarsely chopped
3 ribs celery -- coarsely chopped
juice of one lime (or substitute 1/4 cup red wine vinegar)

Sear meat in olive oil in the pan.
Place in cooker.
Chop chiles, add to cooker along with all other ingredients.
Set cooker to Low. Cook for 8-10 hours.

Stir in lime or vinegar. Garnish with salt, pepper, cilantro. Serve with warmed tortillas, shredded cheese (we use only VT cheddah in this neck of the woods), and salsa -- red or green.

Carolyn D.
(2/20/01)

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 313 Calories; 12g Fat (34.7% calories from fat); 28g Protein; 21g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 83mg Cholesterol; 128mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 3 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat.

Crockpot Pork (from Charlene)

Crockpot Pork (from Charlene)

This is almost embarrassing:

Cut up some onions and granny smith apples and put them in the bottom.

Then put a pork roll on top (I don't know what the cut is, used to get it in South Africa but haven't seen quite the same thing here in the US -- tenderloin is wonderful too).

Sprinkle with a packet of (this is the embarrassing bit) onion soup mix.

Pour over some white wine or beer or water or apple juice or something.

Cook until you get home in the evening.

Charlene in St Louis
(2/20/01)

Drunken Beans

Drunken Beans
  • 1 lb beans of choice: pintos, cannelini, romans, etc., soaked in boiling water for a few hours or overnight
  • garlic (a lot)
  • jalapeno, at least one, chopped
  • 4 slices thick slab bacon
  • 1 bottle of beer
  • 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • Cilantro, salt, pepper, and a sluice of vinegar
Brown bacon in skillet, remove and reserve, pour off most of the fat. In remaining bacon fat, saute garlic and jalapeno. Return bacon to pan, add beans, beer, tomatoes, and water to cover by about 1".

Cook until tender, about 90 minutes, or about 5 minutes in a pressure cooker (can you see that I love kitchen gadgetry??). Add cilantro, salt, pepper, and a slug of vinegar (balsamic is great with beans).

Carolyn D.
(2/20/01)

Lea Bob's Shortbread

Lea Bob's Shortbread

Here it is - I have watched the German Military guys at faire go into little sqirming puddles of goo at the prospect of not getting their share...

1 lb butter
1 cup *powdered* sugar
4 cups sifted flour

Cream butter and sugar together (don't let it get oily).  Add flour gradually.

Flatten into circles about 3/4" thick. Crimp the edges and prick the tops all over.

Bake at 375°F for 5 minutes, then lower the temp to 300°F and continue baking for 25-30 minutes.

That's the basic recipe. Of course, you can make small cookies instead, or press the whole thing into a cookie sheet and cut into bars while warm, or use cookie molds (a real challenge) or whatever pleases you. You may also want to sprinkle some granulated sugar over the top, also while still warm.

I have heard of spreading it with lemon curd, but I think that's going too far. :)

Lea Bob
(2/20/01)

Potato Chip Cookies

Potato Chip Cookies

1cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup crushed potato chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add remaining ingredients, mix well. Form into small balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Dip the bottom of a glass into sugar and flatten cookies.

Bake at 350°F for 16-18 minutes. Makes about 6 dozen.

Yum! And here I sit with no potato chips in the house. Guess I'll have to go to the store!

Katie in Bakersfield
(2/20/01)

Grandma's Amish Sugar Cookies

Grandma's Amish Sugar Cookies

Okay, for the cookie recipe. I have several versions, this one is the hands down best. You HAVE to have a pinch of salt in something sweet to really bring out the sweetness but not overdo it. The cream of tarter makes them crisper I believe.

1 cup of butter (2 sticks - NO oleo)
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup of powdered sugar
1 cup of oil
2 eggs at room temperature

Beat butter and sugars together till fluffy, slowly mix in the oil and eggs.

Sift:
4-1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp salt
2 generous tsp of vanilla

Blend in dry ingredients till mixed. May need chilling on a hot day. Roll in tablespoon-sized balls and press with a glass or cookie press dipped in sugar. Bake at 325°F till barely brown - 12 minutes approximately. Cool on a rack, store in an airtight tin - keeps in a cool place for a month.

Alternatives I can personally attest are good:
  • Add zest of 1/2 lemon
  • 4 or 5 tbsp of poppy seeds
  • Always zest the citrus over the mixing bowl, the oils that are often released are very flavorful and scented.
  • Eliminate the vanilla and use almond extract, 1 cup of finely ground almonds
  • Add zest of one orange
  • 1 cup finely ground TOASTED pecans

Marge
(2/20/01)

Kollops (Beef Stew with Cranberries)

Kollops (Beef Stew with Cranberries)

Another good one for crockpot meals is kollops. Beef stew with cranberries.

  • Cut up at least two medium onions (chunks are fine--if the pieces are too small they will dissolve).
  • Dump in the bottom of the crockpot. Brown your stew meat after dredging in flour, salt and pepper.
  • Dump browned stew meat on top of onions. Pour on one can of whole cranberry sauce (not jellied).
  • Add one or two bay leaves, and a SMALL sprinkling of whole peppercorns (about 15-20 total).

Cook on low for 7-9 hours. Before you're ready to eat, be sure to stir well.

Serve with egg noodles or something similar.

Delish.
Really.
And doesn't taste a fraction as fruity as you think it would.

--Annie (who also likes potatoes, onions and carrots with beef and french onion soup mix--with a little extra au jus from the nifty bottle of concentrate she gets from a nearby restaurant)
(2/20/01)

Ginger Shortbread Bars

Ginger Shortbread Bars

125 gms (about 4 oz.) glace, crystallised or cooking ginger (not fresh ginger)
1-1/2 cups self-raising flour
250 gms (about 8 oz.) butter or margarine
1/2 cups sugar
1 cup all purpose flour

Chop ginger finely. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in melted butter. Press into greased 8" square pan.

Bake 30-35 minutes at 350°F. Cool in pan before slicing and removing. Store in airtight container.

I actually use a 11" x 7" pan, but don't think there are many lamington pans in the US. The 8' square will just give a thicker bar. I would use all metric measures, but it would work with all imperial ones just as well. Its the relative amounts that are important.

Susan
in sunny and beautiful Canberra, Australia
(2/19/01)

Denise's Sugar Cookies

Denise's Sugar Cookies

It was cut down from an industrial sized recipe my mom used in a very large school system.

2 cup sugar
2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup oil
1 pound butter, soft (if you insist on margyuckine--be sure it's 100% oil)
4 large eggs (be sure to equal one cup if you use different sized eggs)

Cream these ingredients together thoroughly and add:

2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. salt

Mix together:

2-1/4 pounds* (not cups!) flour
2 tsp. cream of tarter
2 tsp. soda

Add this mixture to the creamed ingredients.

Drop balls of dough on an ungreased cookie sheet. No need to flatten--cookies spread by themselves. Bake at 350° F until lightly browned on the edges. Using a standard ice-cream scoop will make perfectly uniform cookies about 6" in diameter! This recipe fills my Kitchen Aid mixer right to the top, so halving it may be necessary.

* Flour weight: use any scale, but be sure to weigh the flour. Weight will vary due to the humidity, time in storage etc. This volume could vary considerably when measured out in cups and it WILL make a difference in the final product.

FYI--you can check your scale with a known quantity, like a pound package of beans or rice.

Denise B.
(2/19/01)

T's Shortbread

T's Shortbread

Aaaaaaaaahhhh. Now shortbread I know. Don't come from a Scottish family for nothin' ya know.

1 cup unsalted butter room temp (dont even think of substituting margarine,
     though you can use salted butter, which I much prefer)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup superfine granulated sugar
2-1/2 cup flour (2-1/4 cup unbleached or white, 1/4 cup RICE flour
     - this makes the cookies crisper)

OK, heat your oven to 275°F degrees with the racks in the upper and lower thirds of your oven.

Cream together the butter and sugars. I actually prefer using salted butter, but my grandmother would have a cow if she knew. Add in the flour and mix with your hands. Yes, you will get messy. No, a spoon won't do it as well. Mix it until it just holds together. Think pie dough. If you over handle it, it's gonna be tough (you can see where a Kitchen Aid would destroy these cookies, no?).

Split the dough in half and press into two 8" cake pans. Use a fork to score around the outside edges all the way around each pan then use the tines to prick holes in the rest of the surface. This will create the traditional shortbread design which if I'm not mistaken is supposed to somehow represent the sun. I'm a little fuzzy on that. Put one pan on each rack right in the middle. After 30 min switch the pans from top to bottom and bottom to top and turn them so that the backs are now at the front (does this make sense?). This will make them cook more evenly.

Bake for 20-30 more minutes. They are done when they are a pale golden - DO NOT BROWN. Cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 min then turn out onto a cutting board. Use a long sharp knife and cut each round into 8 wedges. Cool completely. Put in an airtight container.

Now comes the hard part. Don't eat them for 2-3 days. They actually improve by sitting a little while. Of course, around here they rarely make it to the next day, let alone 2-3 days.

You don't have to use rice flour, but it makes for a much better cookie if you do. If you do buy rice flour, keep it in your freezer to store it. The stuff goes rancid rapidly. If the store doesn't have it in the refrigerator when you go to buy it, but just on the shelf, pass. I've never seen it in a grocery, just at the health food store.

Enjoy,
Theresa - the Amazon Goddess who adores a good shortbread
(2/19/01)

Two Shortbread Recipes (one is spiced)

Two Shortbread Recipes (one is spiced)

Here are 2 recipes I use. The first one is from a British expatriate fund-raiser cookbook:

2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 sticks butter (no substitutions!)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. almond extract (opt)

Cream the butter and sugar til fluffy, then gradually work in the flour and flavoring. Roll out onto a cookie sheet, score serving pieces, and pierce with a fork. Bake in a preheated 400ºF oven for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 325ºF and bake 15 minutes more. Shortbread should be very light brown.



Leidra's Shortbread

My friend Leidra concocted this recipe. It's for a spiced shortbread.
Not traditional, but good.

1-1/3 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3 cup sifted all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt (omit if butter is salted)
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp allspice
1-1/4 tsp caraway seed (opt)

Cream butter and sugar. Mix in other ingredients. Roll out 1/2" thick on cookie sheet, score and prick with a fork. Bake in preheated 350°F degree oven for about 50 minutes.

Cut where scored while still slightly warm. Store in an airtight container. These have an even better flavor a day or two after baking!

Ann
(2/19/01)

Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookies

Toll House Chocolate Crunch Cookies

(From the Toll House Cookbook - 21st printing 1945.)

Cream 1 cup butter, add 3/4 cup brown sugar, 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 2 eggs beaten whole.

Dissolve 1 tsp. soda in 1 tsp hot water, and mix alternately with 2-1/4 cups flour sifted with 1 tsp salt.

Lastly add 1 cup chopped nuts and 2 bars ( 7oz.) Nestles yellow label chocolate, semi-sweet, which has been cut in pieces the size of a pea.

Flavor with 1 tsp vanilla and drop half teaspoons on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 min. in a 375°F oven makes 100 cookies.

I didn't go to check the back of the bag, but the only difference I note is mixing soda into water first (maybe soda is less lumpy now or something?) and having to cut up the bar chocolate.

Helen D.
(2/15/01)

Comment:

Yes, the original recipe had the soda mixed into the water because baking soda back then tended to get into very hard chunks and could not be easily mixed into the flour.

I found that I got much better Toll House cookies when I made them at my sister's house, without all of my fancy baking equipment (mixer etc.). Using a wooden spoon to cream everything and later mix in the flour, made for much better cookies -- perhaps the lighter mixing didn't develop the gluten in the flour, and made my cookies less tough.

I also don't use two eggs, because I find that if you only use one jumbo, you get a much crisper cookie, and I prefer that. I hate soft cookies.

Carolyn

Stir-N-Drop Sugar Cookies (Betty Crocker circa 1955)

Stir-N-Drop Sugar Cookies (Betty Crocker circa 1955)
Amount: about 3 doz. 3" cookies
I dug out my mom's old cookbook and here it is:

Preheat oven to 400°F degrees.

Beat with fork until well blended....
2 eggs

Stir in...
2/3 cup cooking (salad) oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. grated lemon rind

Blend in until mixture thickens...
3/4 cup sugar

Sift together and stir in...
2 cups sifted Gold Medal flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Drop by teaspoonfuls about 2" apart on ungreased baking sheet. Flatten with greased bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Bake  8 to 10 minutes, until a delicate brown. Remove immediately from baking sheet.

Deanna in Massachusetts
(2/14/01)

Joe's Cookies

Joe's Cookies

(I have no idea who Joe was - but that is the name on my mothers recipe card)

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
5 cups flour
4 tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
vanilla extract
almond extract

Cream butter and sugar. beat in eggs. Mix salt and soda into flour. Add 1 cup flour, 1 tbsp. milk, 1 cup flour, etc. until flour and milk are in (mixing well between additions) Add enough vanilla and almond, (I never measure flavors for this recipe- I've made it for over 40 years - maybe 1 tsp of each). Chill dough.

Roll thin on a floured board. Cut and place on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 400ºF until golden (about 6 to 7 min. in my oven). Remove from sheet immediately and cool on rack.

These can be rolled a bit thicker for a softer cookie. They decorate well - colored sugar and sprinkles before baking or frosting after. They make great stained glass cookies - put foil on cookie sheet, cut out large cookies - transfer to foil. use small cutter to cut a window in the cookie. Fill window with crushed lollypop or lifesavers or similar candy. Bake as usual. Slide foil off cookie sheet to cooling rack. after candy is hard, peel cookies off the foil (or vice versa).

Try to handle the dough as little as possible and use as little extra flour as you can - and when you gather and re-roll scraps, re-chill the dough between handling. I use my Kitchen Aid mixer, but have made half batches of this in food processor. As a desperate college student I even mixed by hand, but it gave me respect for pre-electric cooks.

Helen Delano
(2/13/01)

Mini Chocolate Souffles

Mini Chocolate Souffles

1 (6 oz) pkg semi-sweet chocolate morsels
4 eggs
1 egg white
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese cubed
Confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 375°. Melt morsels over hot, NOT BOILING, water, stirring until smooth; remove from heat.

In blender container OR food processor, combine eggs, egg white, milk and sugar. Cover; blend or process until smooth.

With blender or processor running, add cream cheese cubes with the blender lid slightly ajar OR through the food processor feed tube. Cover and blend just to combine.

Pour into 6 ungreased 6-oz. souffle dishes or custard cups. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until knife inserted near centers comes out clean.

Lightly sift confectioner's sugar over tops of souffles and serve immediately.

Amy
(2/6/01)

Breadstick Dip or Salad Dressing Recipes

Breadstick Dip or Salad Dressing Recipes

Not the typical recipe, but we like to stir a tablespoon or two of pesto (I make it) with a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a glass bowl, mince a fresh tomato and stir it in, then cover with Fini (gold, not silver) balsamic vinegar, grind some black pepper over, and let sit for a few hours for the tomato to marinate. Works well as a salad dressing too, but I dip
breadsticks in it.

Sylvia, not even 1% Italian, but I love the food!
(2/6/01)


The best, imho, dipping for good bread is the best quality extra virgin olive oil you can afford. That's it. Just savor the delicious olive taste.

If you must have something more, any number of herbs can be steeped. You can make a pesto like topping -- process fresh basil, a clove or two of garlic, some ground pine nuts and put in a little jug with the olive oil.

Or forget the olive oil and make a Bagna Cauda:

Melt some clarified butter into which you have chopped a bit of anchovy and garlic and slowly simmered these. Serve this warm (in Italy, bagna cauda is served fondue style with lots of cubed bread, veggies, etc.).

You could also steep a few sprigs of rosemary, or some sage leaves, etc.

Carolyn
(2/7/01)


I like good olive oil (about 4 T) with good balsamic vinegar (about 4 T). Add some crushed garlic to taste (probably 1-2 cloves and make sure it is really pulverised), a pinch of crushed rosemary, about a T finely grated strong cheese (parmesan, asiago, romano, etc). Grind a bit of black pepper over it, mix thoroughly, then let it sit for a little bit for the flavours to blend - maybe 30 minutes or so. It will separate, so mix it up again before serving.

Cherry
(2/7/01)


Yummy. Balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil with hot crusty bread to dip into it. Food of the gods.

Judy
(2/8/01)

Eggplant Spread

Eggplant Spread
My family is Romanian, too - on my father's side. Here's the recipe for what we always called

1 medium eggplant
3 tbsp. minced onion
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. sugar

Bake the eggplant in a 475° F oven until the skin turns dark and brown. Cool and peel.

Chop the eggplant until very smooth. (I suppose you could use a food processor, but I've always used that wooden bowl and half-moon chopper). Add everything else. Chill.

Serve with black bread - much better than crackers.

Barbara on Staten Island, NY
(2/5/2001)

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