And you are here why?

Things I’ve learned — sometimes the hard way — in my sojourns in Italy: Dining Most menus are in Italian and in English. But, but, if there is anything that looks like a “tourist menu”, or if the host is standing outside trying to get you in the restaurant, then run (don’t walk) in the opposite direction Restaurants are closed on all sorts of random days. Always, always call ahead to make sure they’re open. Even if the web-site says they’re open, don’t trust it! Reservations are always useful. If in doubt, make one (if they take ‘em). Depending on the time of the day, you will almost certainly not get a table if you just show up. When talking to the waiter, ask about the food (if you can speak Italian. And even if you can’t!). They’ll happily describe it for hours. You’ll eventually learn to actually order the daily special. Its typically based on what the chef (who is probably also the owner, and/or the mom or grandma) picked up at the market that morning. Either wa

Add 1 tbsp oil to a sauce pan on medium heat, and then add the following 1.5 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp fennel seeds 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds 1 tsp mustard seeds 12 red chillies, dried (look for "byadgi" chillies. They should be all wrinkly and red.  If you can't find those, use 6-8 regular dried red chillies) Roast the above, stirring frequently, till you get a nice aroma, and some of the seeds start popping (about 5 minutes if you got the heat just right) When done, place on a plate, and let it cool While the above is roasting, put 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 2 cloves garlic, small 1/2" ginger, grated 1/2 green serrano chilli in a mini-cuisinart (or blender. whatever), and whir away till it gets pureed. Place the puree in the same saucepan with 1 tbsp oil , and cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, till the water evaporates, and the onion mix starts caramelizing into a light brown color (about 10 - 15

I know people that would actually like this... /via WuMo

Roast 1 lb carrots .  How?  Well, cut them into 2" chunks (or, if they're "baby carrots", just use 'em whole), put it in a large bowl, and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil and salt to taste . Mix this all up till the carrots are well coated. Place the carrots in a baking pan, and roast in an oven at 400°F for 20-30 minutes .  You basically want this to - at least - be "done" to the point where a toothpick  enters with no resistance.  After that, you can caramelize (burn!) it to the desired level of brown-ness (blackness! yes - I like it somewhat burnt-y) Roast 1 lb tomatillos .  How? Remove the papery husk (if any), wash thoroughly, cut them in half (top to bottom, not along the equator!), put it in a large bowl, and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil and salt to taste . Mix this all up till the tomatillos are well coated. Place them in a baking pan, and roast in an oven at 400°F for 10 - 20 minutes .  They'll get all soggy and stuff, b

The key ingredient here is the Mint Pesto , which is surprisingly easy to make (OK. Surprising only if you don't know how easy it is to make. Otherwise, well, unsurprising...) Basically, in a small cuisinart (or a mortar/pestle), grind together 2 handfuls mint leaves 12 roasted unsalted hazelnuts 1/2 clove garlic juice of 1 lemon 1 tbsp olive oil  1/4 tsp salt and thats that. (You might want to add some water, to get the consistency the way you like it.  Once done, use as much as you want, and put the rest in a small bowl, topped with olive oil.  It'll keep for a week or so that way) Defrost (or prepare) your shrimp (around 7 per serving, depending on size).    I usually buy the cooked/peeled/tailed kind from Trader Joe's, it takes about 5-7 minutes to defrost it, which is easy to do while you're pulling the following tomato mix together.  If you are actually cooking your shrimp, do whatever you need to do :-)   Pull together, in a bowl, the f

/via Jessica Hagy

/via Sheldon

Cut up 1 medium-sized Eggplant   into 1" chunks, with the skin on. Put it in a large bowl, and drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil and salt to taste . Mix this all up till the eggplant is well coated. Place the eggplant in a baking pan, and roast in an oven at 350°F for 30 minutes .  You basically want this to - at least - be "done" to the point where a fork enters with no resistance.  After that, you can caramelize (burn!) it to the desired level of brown-ness (blackness! yes - I like it somewhat burnt-y) While the eggplant is roasting mix up 1 large tomato diced into 1/2" chunks 8 kalamata olives 1 tbsp of rosemary finely chopped 2 cups garbanzo beans (cooked. do i actually need to point this out?) 1 tbsp olive oil juice of 1 lemon  2 tbsp feta crumbled 1 cardamom ground (the seeds! not the peel!) salt to taste and let the whole thing sit, so that the flavors infuse into each other In a small sauce-pan (or ladle, or some such), add 1 t

Put 2 cups black-eyed peas in a sauce-pan, and rinse thoroughly with multiple changes of water.  5 should do the trick - the water should eventually be pretty clear. Soak the peas overnight in plenty of water, and discard the water.  As an alternative, bring the peas/water to a boil, turn off the heat and cover.  After 1 hour, discard the water - the peas are soaked.  Easy, no? In a pressure cooker, over medium, heat 1 tbsp of Ghee (or Oil  - go with the Ghee. It tastes better ) . Add 1 onion coarsely chopped , and saute over medium high till the onions are translucent. Add 1 small bay leaf 1 tbsp cumin 1 tsp sesame seeds, and salt to taste Add the washed black-eyed peas to a pressure cooker along with 16 cherry tomatoes, and enough water to cover the peas by around 1/2". Let the whole thing rip over max pressure for 25 minutes. When the peas are cooked, divide into 4 bowls, and top with labne .  If you've got anything fizzy, pour it, and enjoy! Not