Ira, what kind of recipe is that?

I have one for Peccorino-Romano too...remove block of cheese from wrapping, use vegetable peeler to shave thin slices, eat. Drink nice red wine too. Yum. Trish

So, when and where will we be having a pot luck?

>..I will have a Bombay Martini at home tonight to honor your contributions to the board.<

Thank you, maitai.

I shall have one in your honor this evening.

Regular or sapphire?

>Ira, what kind of recipe is that? <

A very simple, but elegant, one. :)

"Regular or sapphire?"

After years of sapphire martinis, I have reverted back to the Bombay regular.
((H))

Lemon Souffle Pancackes with Raspberry Sauce and fresh raspberries from the Hot Stanford Court (Ca and Powell, SFO).
3 Eggs - separated
1/3 Cup All Purpose Flour
3/4 Cup Ricotta
1/4 Cup Butter - melted
2 T Sugar
1/4 t Salt
2 T Grated Lemon Zest

Method:
Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks. In another bowl, stir together the egg yolks, flour, Ricotta cheese, butter, sugar, salt and lemon zest until well mixed. With a large spoon or a spatula, fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Gently stir, there should still be small pieces of egg white showing. Heat skillet or griddle over medium heat. Grease lightly and spoon out about 3 large Tablespoons of batter for each pancake - I like mine a bit larger -.
Cook slowly for about 1 1/2 min, then turn the pancakes over and cook about 30 seconds. Keep the pancakes ward in 250 F degree oven until ready to serve. Serve with raspberry or maple syrup and fresh raspberries.

Raspberry Syrup

3/4 Cup Light Corn Syrup
3/4 Cup Fresh Raspberries
3 t Lemon Juice

Method:
Combine syrup with raspberries and bring to a boil. Simmer five minutes and remove from heat. Allow to cool, then add lemon juice. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, pushing hard to remove seeds.

World class stuff! Enjoy with a great Champagne.
M

Another to honor my friend Carla Weston - she is a Costa Rican Naturalist with a Master's degree who has dedicated her life to educating everyone who comes near her about the very special place Costa Rica occupies in world biology. It's her recipe.

Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Rice and Beans)

Ingredients

3 Cups of Rice (I prefer 2+)
1 Chopped Onion (mas, IMO)
1 Chopped Red Sweet Pepper (mas, tambien, perhaps green or Serrano too)
2 Cups Beans (Red or Black) Black and a few more
3 Bay Leaves
2 T Dripped Coffee (mas, IMHO)
2 T Salsa Lizano (mas tambien)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 T Sugar
Cooking Oil
Garlic

Directions
Soak the beans in water the night before. Drain them the next moring and cook them in the pressure cooker with water, bay leaves, 1/2 onion for 20 minutes. Set aside. Cook the rice in the rice cooker as you normally would. Set aside. Put some oil in a large frying pan. Brown chopped onion, and add peppers. Add the cooked beans,with some of the liquid. Add coffee, Salsa Lizano, salt, pepper, sugar and garlic. Add the rice and mix.
If the rice looks too white,add more bliquid from the cooked beans. You may also add fresh cilantro at the end if you wish. Serve, ENJOY!! Buen Provecho!!!

Yum,
thankyou for the Costa Rican Beans and Rice recipe. I will try it over the weekend!!
A little twist on my all American Celebration BBQ cook out!

Incredible recipe-- nah.. but a girlfriend and I JUST got together to make a great salad we had in Mexico. Good for this time of year.
Beautiful to take to barbeque etc.
Salad:
sliced Mango
sliced avocado
diced red and yellow tomatoes
sliced real thin red onion
grilled marinated shrimp (we used "large")
plenty of fresh cilantro- chopped

I made a dressing with lotsa lime, OJ, olive oil, balsamic.

Beautiful and GREAT with fresh ripe ingredients

Here's a way to improve inexpensive balsamic vinegar:

Put the entire contents in a glass or stainless steel bowl and set in a slow oven (225 F) until reduced by half.

The liquid will become more syrupy, sweeter and develop a nutty flavor.

It won't make your 6-yr old stuff taste like it's 100, but it is much better.

Oh my, this thread is a classic in the making (or perhaps it's a continuation of another?) Thanks, Calamari.

Mikemo, what does 'mas' mean? We make beans and rice here in Louisiana, and it's one of my favorites. The older folks always add a ham bone for extra flavor. The coffee addition sounds great! I'll try it. BTW we serve it with hot pepper vinegar at the table.

Crosbie, the fruit salad/shrimp is going to be on my table this weekend!

I'll dig through my stash to make a contribution later, but for now, I can encourage y'all to try serving bresaola with tomatoes, bits of green onion tops, and shaved asiago, drizzled with your best olive oil. It is a starter at Albergo Panorama in Gerra on Lago Maggiore, but the switch to asiago is mine. J.

One of the best dishes I ever had was in Rome. There really isn't a recipe, but it would be easy to do if you had access to the absolute freshest ingredients. It was smoked goose carpaccio and peaches. The goose was laid very thinly on the plate and the peaches were also sliced extremely thin and layered over the smoked goose carpaccio. It was drizzled with olive oil and simply delicious! I'm not sure where one comes across smoked goose carpaccio, but if anyone ever does let me know!

Grilled;

That sounds like an interesting dish (I love goose!), but I'm not sure I understand "smoked goose carpaccio" - I thought carpaccio meant uncooked. Was it smoked or raw? (I don't think I could handle raw goose).

I'll jump in here and try to answer St. Cirq's question. Carpaccio is smoked or air dried, I think. I get the impression that goose carpaccio would be like prosciutto, only goose instead of pork. Maybe someone else will confirm this or provide a correct response.

Hi StCirq,

Carpaccio has come to mean anything sliced very thin.

Thanks, Betty and ira:

The only carpaccios I've ever had were beef and various fish - all quite raw, and delicious. Interesting, too - I just looked up "carpaccio" in my big Dizionario Garzanti, and it's not in there!

jmw44 - mas is Spanish for more. Author is saying she adds more or this or that ingredient. Glad you are enjoying this post. Where is your recipe?

For MikeMo: What is Salsa Lizano?

To my surprise, many "middle class" Costa Ricans spend a lot of their income on basic food for home consumption.
Many eat beans and rice more than once a day.
Again, I was surprised by how good, but relatively bland the basic dishes are which is why I add extra stuff (mas).
Salsa Lizano is a CR commercially available pureed vegetable salsa in a plastic jar. It's available at lots of Latino markets here in DFW.
The unusual Salsa and the coffee give the unique flavor.
This not a competitor to the great stuff from Louisiana, but a different "side".
M

Ira,
Thank you so much for your suggestion about balsamic vinegar...it made my Trader Joe's stuff taste so great it was unbelievable!