Feta and Vegetable Rotini Salad

Ingredients
3 cups Tricolor Rotini pasta cooked, drained, and cooled
1 cup Crumbled Feta cheese
1 cup Cherry tomatoes halved
1 cup Chopped cucumber unpeeled
1/2 cup Sliced black olives
1/2 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1/4 cup Red onion finely chopped

Preparation
Toss all ingredients in a large bowl and cover. Refigerate for at least one hour to blend flavors.

Greek Honey Puffs

Ingredients-- Batter --
1 packet (2 1/4 oz) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees F), divided
1 large egg, at room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vegetable oil (preferably safflower), for frying (or, other high temperature oil)
-- Honey-Lemon Syrup --
1 cup honey
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
-- Garnish --
1 or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, to taste
1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped


Preparation
In a large bowl, mix yeast and sugar into 1/2 cup of the warm water. When mixture turns foamy, about 5 minutes, stir in remaining 1-1/2 cups warm water along with the egg, flour, salt, nutmeg and vanilla. Mix until batter is thick but smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled in size, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours. (The dough should be very soft and bubbly.)

In a deep fryer, large heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat 3- to 4-inches of oil to 375 degrees F. Make sure there is at least 2-inches between the oil surface and the top of the pot.

While oil is heating, prepare honey-lemon syrup. Add honey, sugar, and water to a small saucepan, mix to combine and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest, and simmer until lightly thickened. Remove from heat and keep warm.

Working in batches, slide dollops of the batter (about the size of a heaping tablespoonful each) into the hot oil, making sure not to crowd the pan. Dollops will puff up and float to the surface. Fry, turning occasionally, until pastry is a crisp, golden brown on all sides, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove carefully with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat as many times as is needed. Place drained puffs on warm platter and keep warm.

To serve, place 4 or 5 fried puffs into the warm honey-lemon syrup. Allow puffs to soak for about 10 to 15 seconds, remove to a small plate, dust generously with cinnamon, and sprinkle with walnuts, to taste. Or, (no dunk method) place 4 or 5 puffs onto a small plate, drizzle with warm honey-lemon syrup, dust generously with cinnamon, and sprinkle with walnuts, to taste.

Loukoumades are best if eaten warm, the same day they are made.

Makes about 36 to 40 puffs, or 8 to 10 servings.

SANDWICHES

Ingredients

1 hard-boiled* egg (large), peeled and chopped
1-2 Tbsp mayonnaise (to taste)
2 Tbsp chopped celery
1 Tbsp chopped green onion
Curry powder (to taste)
Salt and pepper (to taste)
1 leaf of lettuce
2 slices dark rye bread, toasted

1 Mash up the chopped egg a bit with a fork. Mix together the chopped hard-boiled egg, mayonnaise, celery and onion. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and curry powder to taste. Mix with a spoon.

2 Toast your bread slices. Put a layer of lettuce on one slice of toasted bread, spread the egg mixture on top of the lettuce, put another slice of toasted bread on top.

Makes one sandwich.



Famous Hamburger Recipe

Ingredients
1 lb hamburger meat
2 heaping tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary leaves (not the stem)
2 Tbsp A1 sauce
Salt and pepper to taste (perhaps half a teaspoon of each)
Buns
Lettuce
Tomatoes, sliced
Onions, sliced
Avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
Mayonaise, ketchup, mustard

Mix the rosemary and A1 sauce into the hamburger meat, distributing evenly. Add salt and fresh ground pepper. Form out the hamburger patties. If the meat is low-fat, you may want to add some grapeseed oil or olive oil to the mixture, or after the patties are made (but before cooked), rub some oil over them. Place on a hot grill or grill pan. If you are indoors with a grill pan, be sure to use your stove fan. If on grill pan, lower the heat to medium high. Grill on one side until you can see the juice begin to run at the surface. Flip over and grill on the other side, again until you can see some juice coming through. If you wish, grill the buns on remaining grill surface. Onions can be either served fresh with the hamburger or sautéed a little in olive oil.

Serve burgers with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, avocado, mayo, ketchup, and or mustard. (For the low-carb version skip the bun.)

Serves 3 to 4.