Baldur

Also thought they had the coolest new species, The Kazon (Klingon wannabes from a ghetto society), the Viidians, species 8472, the Krenim.

lilalee

So, whats cookin' today??? I need a good salad dressing made from olive oil, please!

Dragon

I must say Baldur, I agree with you about DS9. I watched the first season pretty much out of loyalty to Gene Roddenberry but I couldn't really get past that. I thouroughly enjoyed Voyager though I missed a few seasons because I too had no cable (though I wasn't against cable, just couldn't afford it) so when I started missing out Kes was still there and when I came back 7 of 9 had arrived. I still need to catch up to those middle seasons!
Desperately wanted to watch Enterprise but even with rabbit ears got nothing but noise out of the channel it was on and by the time I had cable I didn't have clue what was going on.
I really must see if the movie rental places have some series to rent and see if I can catch up!

Baldur

ok Lilalee here is a basic viniagrette that you can customize witrh whatever herbs you prefer.

Viniagrette

In a jar combine:
3/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup vinegar (I prefer balsamic, but cider, white or the red wine types are fine too)
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon prepare mustard (the dijon type or basic yellow)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1 small garlic clove, smashed
ground pepper
salt (optional, I don't use it)

cover the jar and shake well.

Some people might add a teaspoon of sugar or honey.
You can add any other minced herb that you like instead of or in addition to those that I've used. Tarragon, chives, parsley, chervil, etc etc
(Baldur would also add 1/2 teaspoon of hot red pepper flakes)

Baldur

+d, that should read:
'prepared' mustard

Baldur

let the dressing sit a little while for the herbal flavors to blend.

I make a decent salad of dandelion greens and wilted onions and goat cheese using this in the early spring.

lilalee

This does sound good, and do have some herbs, fresh and dry, will make it Saturday. Thank you! Your the best!

Baldur

ok since we're all thinking food now try this:

Baldur's cheese tortelini salad

take 2 packages of frozen cheese tortelini (small cheese filled Italian pasta, which in RI are sold in 13oz bags).
Boil them according to package directions, drain them and allow them to cool.

While doing this take:
2 large Spanish onions
6 large green bell peppers
2 large sweet red bell peppers
2-3 cloves of garlic

Clean and de-seed the peppers
Peel the onions and garlic
Dice the onions and peppers into 3/4" to 1" pieces (approx, the same size as your tortelini)
Smash the garlic with the side of your French knife or mince it very finely.

Take:
2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil
and saute' the onions and peppers until the onions are translucent and the peppers are slightly cooked but not mushy.
In the last minute or so of cooking add the smashed garlic.

In a large bowl combine the cooked pasta and the sauteed vegetables.
Also fold in:
1 pint of small cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup of balsamic viniagrette salad dressing
1/4 cup of fresh chopped parsley
1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (optional)


I also add approximately 2 cups of cubes of vegetarian faux chicken meat (brand name Quorn) to up the protein, but this is fine as a salad without the protein.
But you could add cooked diced chicken or cooked peeled,de-veined, de-tailed shrimp.

I serve this immediately slightly warm, but if making it ahead of time refrigerate it promptly. It is fine cold too.

Baldur

also -r in comment #524

lilalee

I like the sounds of this one, but may I ask, how many servings does this make? Seems like alot?

Baldur

"All Baldur, All the Time:

I think my main problem with Deep Space Nine was the wishy-washy attitude of everything
The Bajorans wanted/didn't want the Federation, the Cardassians were always neither here nor there.
The sense of camaraderie that one got on starships just never seemed to be there on the station.
At least in the first season it seemed they couldn't get necessary supplies which boggled me. The Federation would have seen to it that DS9 was quite heavily protected, especially after the wormhole was proven to exist.
Eventually Worf arrives and a starship is assigned there but I think that was really very late considering how strategic Bajor obviously was from the very beginning.

Baldur

The tortelini salad as a side dish would easily be 12 servings.
I've always brought it to cookouts where there were large crowds, but it was always just 1 of many side dishes there.

What works in it's favor is that there is no mayonaisse in the recipe. Too many salad recipes contain it, so this is a nice change.

lilalee

I will make it this weekend. We have a Italian store here called Sofo's, and have never seen it there. But, will buy the tortelini there. People do tire of the mayonaisse salads, but I make a potatoe salad dressing with light mayo and softened cream cheese thats really good. Use as much or little cream cheese as you want. But, it makes the potatoe salad a little different. Someone always ask what's in it, as it's creamy. Thanks again!!

Dragon

Creamy potato salad sounds really good.

lilalee

It is, and got the recipe from a old lady who use to cater to teas, and ladies luncheons!!

Baldur

If I have it on hand I add a dollop od sour cream in with the mayo, which accomplishes pretty much the same thing.

I don't really measure out anything for potato salad but the technique never changes.

Aways cook the potatoes in their skins and then peel them after they are cool enough to handle safely.

Always add a light splash of vinegar before adding the mayo

Always add a little dry english mustard

So many times I've gone out and had other people's potato salad. Even otherwise good cooks will serve something that is just basically cooked cubed potatoes with mayo. It's amazingly bland
A little mustard and vinegar adds bite
A little diced celery adds crunch
Diced hard cooked egg adds richness
A little minced fresh parsley adds a fresh note.

Baldur

-d +f

And also potato salad should never be soupy or runny, that is the absolute biggest sin. If it turns out that way boil 2 or 3 more potatoes, peel them and mash them coarsely with a fork.
Fold them into the runny salad, that should absorb the excess moisture.

Baldur

Whew! Baldur is tired.

Whilst I was discussing the Star Trek universe and typing out recipes I handled a huge nasty cleaning project here in my kitchen

Twice a year I move both the stove and refrigerator out away from the wall and clean around them as well as the floor that they rest on.

Baldur

When first moving into Chez Baldur I gamely attacked this very same project only to find that in the 25 years since the house was first built no one else had ever done it.
It took an entire day of straight ammonia, steel wool and a putty knife to remove the accumulation.
It looked amazingly good when finished but I attack it again twice annually so as to never have the same nightmare build up again.
So early summer and just before the holidays I'm in there with the heavy artillary

Baldur

Robert is rather handy so I gave him a project to help keep the debris at bay, with sheet metal he built a barrier that bridges the gap from the edge of the countertop to the edge of the stove top.
I had built a prototype of cardboard to explain what was needed but I confess I has seen a similar devise made of plastic years ago so the concept was not originally mine.
He measured and cut and hammered and did very well. Over the first week he tweaked the design a bit and now it works brilliantly.
No more tomato sauce bubbling over and into the impossible to clean regions.