YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM! SAUERKRAUT SOUP YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM!

 

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
 --------  ------------  --------------------------------
    1      lb.           sauerkraut, canned or fresh
    1      large head    firm cabbage
    3      tablespoons   butter or bacon fat
    1      large         onion -- sliced thin
    1      rib           celery -- finely chopped
    2      cloves        garlic -- finely minced
    2      cups          canned Italian plum tomatoes
    2      lbs           beef, short ribs
    2      quarts        beef stock
                         salt and pepper to taste
                         juice of 1 lemon
    2      tablespoons   sugar
    2      tablespoons   flour
    1      tablespoon    parsley -- finely minced
    1      tablespoon    dill -- finely minced
    1      cup           sour cream
 
 Drain sauerkraut and rinse well in cold water, squeeze dry, pulling
 apart to remove any lumps. Discard cabbage core and shred fine. Place
 both in large kettle. Heat 2 tablespoon of the fat and cook the onion,
  celery, and garlic in it until the onion is translucent. Add to the
 kettle. Add the tomatoes, beef, stock and salt and pepper to taste
 and bring to a boil. Simmer for about two hours, or until the beef is
 tender, skimming the surface as necessary to remove foam and scum.
 Add the lemon juice and sugar and cook for 10 minutes longer.  Cook
 the flour in the remaining tablespoon of fat until golden in color.
 Stir into the soup and cook for about 20 minutes longer. To serve:
 slice the meat, discard the bones. Place the meat in the bottom of
 the bowl and sprinkle with parsley and dill. Pour in the soup. Serve
 with sour cream.
 

I never really tried putting any of the other stuff into the hummus (aside from more garlic... which resulted in me being banned from eating it in the same room as the wife).  I did see the kalamata olive hummus at the store, but I think it's probably best to just stick with the base hummus and then have the olives or whatever on the pita. 

The hummus with halved grape tomatoes and olives was phenomenal.

I never really tried putting any of the other stuff into the hummus (aside from more garlic... which resulted in me being banned from eating it in the same room as the wife).

Oh, god... I love garlic... I LOVE garlic, but you just opened the container and I could smell it the other end of the apartment. 

I seriously have no idea how much you must've put in there to get it like that. o_O

Zahnnie, that sounds so good... I wonder if my basil plant has enough leaves to make it yet.

Z:  Alton says you can use pistachio nuts instead of pine nuts.

Tip for carmalizing Creme Brulée: use a torch. Just a handheld butane or LPG torch. It's much easier to control than the oven broiler.

Plus, fire! 

fixer...post the recipe for the lemon bars you made, pwease?

Absolutely, darlin'.

------
Lemon Bars

Crust:
1/3 cup butter (no margarine or shortening)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour

Cream together the  butter and sugar. Beat in the flour until crumbly. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 8x8x2" baking pan. Bake at 350°F for 15 to 18 minutes - just until golden.

Filling:
2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon zest
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Beat 2 minutes or until combined. Pour over baked crust. Bake 15-20 minutes more or until lightly browned around edges and center is set. Cool on a wire rack. If desired, sift powdered sugar over top.
------

If you don't have a lemon you can leave out the lemon zest and use slightly more lemon juice. Also, the next time I make this I'm going to double the filling and see if it still sets correctly (because the filling is yummy).

I figured this is as good a place as any for this.  Post your favorite recipes or ask for any recipe advice here.

I'll start by putting my hummus recipe here.  I'll put in more later.

• 1 788 g can chick peas drained & rinsed, can juices reserved
• 4-6 cloves garlic¹ crushed with the flat of a knife and tossed into the food processor
• 2/3 cups tahini
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• About a tsp of coarse sea salt, give or take (to taste)

Put the garlic, beans, tahini, lemon juice and oil into the food processor and beat it up a bit.  I then added in splashes of the bean juice water until the desired consistency was reached (about 1/2 cup) and the salt last to flavor it.  I then sample-tasted it heavily before putting it into a pyrex dish in the fridge with a thin layer of olive oil covering it.  Sooooo goooooood.

_{1 - there were some tiny ones in there, not sure how to count them}

Just thought I'd let you know, I tried your recipe and threw in some chili powder and green onions. It was my very first successful hummus attempt and it was delicious! Thanks so much for the recipe.

Here's some more middle eastern food to eat with all the hummus everyone is making:

Bourek
Ingredients:
1/4 c  Vegetable oil                     
1 sm Onion; chopped (1/4 cup)
1/2 lb Ground beef     
1/2 ts Salt; or to taste 
1/4 ts Black pepper                                                             
1    Egg; beaten         
2 tb Flat leaf parsley; chopped
6    Phyllo sheets; 12x17" ea (I used wonton wrappers, actually.. they're a little easier to work with IMO and they fry very nicely)
Lemon wedges for serving
 
Directions:
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a skillet, add the onion and stir-fry over moderate heat for 2 minutes.   Add the beef, salt and pepper and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Add the egg and parsley and fry for 1 minute more.
Cool well.
Take 1 phyllo sheet and spread it out flat with a short end nearest you.
Place 2 heaping tablespoons of the beef mixture 2 inches in from the short edge. Fold both long sides in toward the middle, beginning with the short end roll the phyllo to shape a packet 4 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide.
Repeat with all the remaining phyllo sheets and stuffing.
Set aside.
Put the balance of the oil in a skillet over moderate/low heat and add
the rolls. Brown on both sides for about 3 minutes; the low heat prevents the very thin pastry sheets from burning.
Drain the rolls on paper towels for a minute.
Serve warm with a squeeze of lemon juice.
Serves 6

I like them best with a bowl of tomato soup to dip them in.  I've also seen them eaten with gobs of harissa sauce on them--but that's way too spicy for me.