FOOD

• Todd's Best Salsa
  
  3-4 vine ripe tomatoes
  1/2 bulb garlicv
  1/2 bunch green onion
  1/2 bunch cilantro
  3-4 orange sweet peppers
  3 yellow peppers
  2 red peppers
  1 lime
  salt to taste...tsp?
  note: none of the peppers are bell...they are all the small chilie type ...all scrunched up well...squeeze lime in last....fuc-king GOOOOOD!!!
  ...I used a small food processor / spinny-choppy thing, but hand diceing and mincing is always better!
  
  

• Spinach Pie
  Seen on "Baking with Julia", 1/16/99; by popular request, following its presentation at the 25th anniversary Great Delta Steamboat Meet
  Ingredients:
  -Garlic
  -1lb fresh spinach
  -1/2 cup nonfat milk
  -5 to 6 eggs
  -1 bunch scallions
  -1 bunch parsley
  thinly sliced Swiss cheese
  thinly sliced ham
  -1 red bell pepper
  -1 pkg. puff pastry sheets
  -salt and pepper
  -1 spring form pan
  Preparation:
  Roll out half of pastry dough and put it in springform pan, Trim about 1" past rim at top
  Roll out other half of pastry dough, big enough to cover top and refrigerate (cover with plastic wrap)
  Chop up scallions (just the green part) and set aside
  Chop up parsley
  Grill red bell pepper, then rinse in cold water to remove black parts. Cut in half and remove seeds. Slice into flat pieces.
  Cut spinach and wash TWICE
  Finely chop 2 wedges of garlic
  --Scramble eggs with low heat; toss in parsley, scallions and half of garlic. STOP cooking about half-way through and let cool in fridge.
  --Sauté spinach with remaining garlic and nonfat milk, STOP cooking after it is wilted and milk is blended in and let cool in fridge.
  Assembly:
  Ladle half of egg mix into bottom of pan, on top of dough
  Top with a layer of ham
  Ladle half of spinach mix on top
  Top with layer of Swiss cheese
  Ladle remainder of spinach mix on top
  Top with layer of red bell pepper
  Ladle remainder of egg on top
  Fold pastry over top of egg
  Brush edge of pastry with egg-water mix
  Lay chilled top pastry piece on top of this, then trim off excess and tuck the edge into the top of the springform pan.
  Poke a hole in the middle of the top pastry, for steam to escape
  Decorate top with knife, being careful not to poke all the way through the top sheet of dough.
  Cooking:
  Put in pre-heated oven and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour
  Remove from oven, then let stand until cool B4 removing springform pan sides
  Enjoy!

• Nancy Conner's Christmas Spinach
  This is my cousin Ed's wife Nancy's successful attempt to duplicate the spinach that is served at the Burlingame Country Club's elegant buffets. I have fond childhood memories of consuming massive quantities of this, the only vegetable dish that could make kids, who were doomed to parade in neckties and itchy wool suits, smile at those grand occasions.
  -Cook spinach, then drain ALL the water from it
  -Add sour cream and a dash of mayonnaise
  -Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg
  -Whack to desired consistency in the food processor
  -Serve with sides of grated chopped egg and a good balsamic vinegar
  
  -Yummy!

• Spaghetti a la Edwardo
  This recipe is derived from various folks. Over time and various incarnations, we have evolved the yummiest glop on the planet.
  -Mom got a recipe from Rudolph Valentino 'way back when, which had a few "secret" ingredients including anchovies and truffles.
  -My friend Jerg Jergensen lives down-wind from two Italian restaurants and he observed that early in the evening when the cooks are just starting to make sauce, there was a definite hint of cinnamon in the breeze.
  -Being as how truffles are a wee bit expensive, I have substituted 'shrooms. In my efforts to reduce the blubber around my middle I have found that turkey sausage is just as yummy as the pig variety. Out of all of the above and a bit of tinkering we have a savory collation as follows.
  Ingredients:
  1 Large yellow onion
  1 lb. Mushrooms
  1 8-oz. can tomato paste (Hunts is the best)
  1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
  1 16-oz. can whole tomatos
  1 lb. Pepperidge Farm Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage
  Bouillon (get the stuff that's pre-crumbled and comes in a jar)
  1 T Oregano
  1/2 T Rosemary
  1 tsp Cinnamon
  Butter, olive oil and
  A bit of a GOOD red or white wine (NOTE: DO NOT use "cooking wine": it's crap!)
  GARLIC: LOTS (get it fresh from the bin, NOT the stuff in the plastic bags)
  Preparation:
  Heat a bit of olive oil in the bottom of a large pot or a dutch oven; get the whole insides well coated and then lower the flame to a low simmer.
  Toss in the contents of the cans of tomato sauce, tomato paste and the whole tomatos (cut them up a bit first if you like; drain the can a bit before throwing it in the pot, too.)
  Sprinkle in the Oregano, Basil and Cinnamon and stir well.
  Peel and dice up the onion (don't get the pieces too small!) and throw it into a pre-heated skillet with a bit of olive oil to keep it company. Keep the flame medium to high and keep the onion moving. About half way through the cooking process, bash a clove of garlic (use the side of a knife and thump it with your fist) and throw it in. Cook the onion until it is just about all brown, then throw it in the big pot.
  Slice the 'shrooms kinda thick, then throw them in the skillet. Saute them with a little butter and a splash of wine. Bash another clove of garlic and throw it in. Don't over-cook the mushrooms! Throw all and sundry into the big pot.
  Peel and discard the skin from the turkey sausages. Throw the sausages in the skillet with a bit of olive oil. With the fire around medium, mash up the sausage and generally hack it up into bite-sized morsels. When the sausage is brown clear through, glug in a splash of wine to de-glaze the pan and throw all into the big pot.
  Open the can of anchovies and throw half of them into the pot.
  Every ten minutes, stir the pot and throw in two more anchovies. When the anchovies are all gone, simmer the sauce for another ten minutes and it's done!

• Granny Castagnola's Pesto
  This recipe was given to me by Richard Castagnola and in an effort to be scientific about the whole thing, we made several batches before exact quantities of ingredients were nailed down. It took *weeks* to eat it all and I didn't lose any weight, either!
  
  Ingredients:
  1/2 Collander of Basil leaves (two bunches), with the stems removed
  NOTE: when you find them in the market, they should have their stems in small bowls of water. If they don't, get them at a market that does so. If left out of water, the leaves will very quickly turn brown and lose their color, so when you get them home, put them in a bowl of cool water until they are needed.
  1/2 Cup olive oil
  1/4 Cup pine nuts
  1/4 cup walnuts
  1/2 tsp salt
  1/4 tsp pepper
  3 or 4 cloves garlic
  1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  
  Preparation:
  Toss it all in a food processor and whack it up, until the consistency is to your liking.
  Store the glop in the freezer: use several small zip-lock baggies and put about a quarter of the total in each one. Thaw and heat when needed.
  
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