how interesting that deborah started this thread today--thank you! there is a very small (and CRAMPED) oriental market not terribly far from us and we stopped there yesterday to look around and pick up a few things just unknown to us. it was fun! i'd never had any thai food until 2 years ago and there was a nice restaurant that had a very small buffet every day. pad thai and tom gai soup were always there and most of the other dishes changed daily. i LOVED that soup and when i spotted fresh lemon grass yesterday, decided i had to attempt making it. there are about a dozen recipes for it on the "food down under" website and they are pretty similar to the one deborah posted. having said that, i simply don't recall the taste of either something like ginger (as a sub for galangel) or chili peppers in it but guess i'd be wrong about that :) in any case, i have dried red pepper flakes, or sweet chili paste with garlic or chipotle peppers in adobe sauce that i can use (VERY sparingly in our household). anyone have any suggestions on which might work best in this recipe? and maureen--ex or no, those sound like really great memories to me! it must have been quite the adventure for all of you! Here is a link that might be useful: tom gai

I worked with a chef for years who was originally from Mexico and he was very good about mixing various cuisines together. Basically, if it tasted good, he'd do it. So, we ended up with Cajun Catfish tacos with a cilantro jalapeno cream sauce. It was one of our most popular bar food items. I believe they now even serve it in the restaurant area at lunch time. I don't have an actual recipe, but they're easy to make. The catfish is marinated in Cajun seasonings...many grocery stores carry the pre-marinated item. Grilled, the catfish is folded into soft flour tortillas with some chopped tomato and onion and some finely shredded cabbage. This is drizzled with the cilantro jalapeno cream which is basically cilantro pureed in sour cream, with minced pickled jalapenos to taste.

Here's the one for Grilled Flatbread from ATK: Makes Four 9-inch Flatbreads Why this recipe works: The dough for our flatbread recipe was a challenge: It had to be slack enough to be stretched, yet strong enough not to rip. We strengthened the dough by using high-protein bread flour and increased elasticity by adding plenty of water and oli...(more) Flatbread can serve as a quick appetizer or a light accompaniment to a meal once it's been cooked the coals should still be hot enough to grill meat or fish. For the best flavor and texture, grilled flatbread should be served as soon as possible. Spinkle with coarse salt before serving. Dough 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1cup water (8 ounces), room temperature 2cups bread flour (11 ounces), plus more for work surface 1tablespoon whole wheat flour (optional) 2teaspoons sugar 1 1/4teaspoons table salt 1teaspoon instant yeast Topping Coarse salt Plain olive oil Optional Topping Choices 2ounces Parmesan cheese , finely grated (about 1 cup) 1/2cup coarsely chopped herbs , such as thyme, parsley, basil, marjoram, and oregano 3tablespoons sesame seeds mixed with 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves; sprinkle lightly with lemon juice before serving 1/2cup chopped fresh oregano leaves and 6 ounces crumbled feta 2tablespoons minced anchovy , mixed with 6 tablespoons chopped black or green olives 1/2cup basil pesto or tapenade 4cloves garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 4 teaspoons) 1/2teaspoon red pepper flakes 1/3cup extra-virgin olive oil 1. FOR THE CRUST: Combine oil and water in liquid measuring cup. In food processor fitted with plastic dough blade or metal blade, process bread flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, salt, and yeast until combined, about 5 seconds. With machine running, slowly add liquid through feed tube; continue to process until dough forms tacky, elastic ball that clears sides of workbowl, about 1 1/2 minutes. If dough ball does not form, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time and process until dough ball forms. Spray medium bowl lightly with nonstick cooking spray or rub lightly with oil. Transfer dough to bowl and press down to flatten surface; cover tightly with plastic wrap and set in draft-free spot until doubled in volume, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. 2. When dough has doubled, press down gently to deflate; turn dough out onto work surface and divide into 4 equal-sized pieces. With cupped palm, form each piece into smooth, tight ball. Set dough balls on well-floured work surface. Press dough rounds with hand to flatten; cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes. 3. Gently stretch dough rounds into disks about 1/2 inch thick and 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Working one piece at a time and keeping the rest covered, roll out each disk to 1/8-inch thickness, 9 to 10 inches in diameter, on well-floured sheet of parchment paper, dusting with additional flour as needed to prevent sticking. (If dough shrinks when rolled out, cover with plastic wrap and let rest until relaxed, 10 to 15 minutes.) Dust surface of rolled dough with flour and set aside. Repeat with remaining dough, stacking sheets of rolled dough on top of each other (with parchment in between) and covering stack with plastic wrap; set aside until grill is ready. 4. TO GRILL: For Charcoal Grill: Ignite 6 quarts (1 large chimney) hardwood charcoal or briquettes in chimney starter and burn until fully ignited, 15 to 20 minutes. Empty coals into grill and spread into even layer over three-quarters of grill, leaving one quadrant free of coals. Position cooking grate over coals and heat until grill is medium-hot, about 5 minutes (you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill grate for 4 seconds); scrape grate clean with grill brush. For Gas Grill: light all burners and turn to high heat, cover grill, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes; scrape cooking grate clean with grill brush. 5. Lightly flour pizza peel; invert 1 dough round onto peel, gently stretching it as needed to retain shape (do not stretch dough too thin; thin spots will burn quickly). Peel off and discard parchment; carefully slide round onto hot side of grill. Immediately repeat with another dough round. Cook until tops are covered with bubbles (pierce larger bubbles with paring knife) and bottoms are grill marked and charred in spots, 1 to 2 minutes; while rounds cook, check undersides and slide to cool area of grill if browning too quickly. Transfer crusts to cutting board browned sides up. Repeat with 2 remaining dough rounds. 6. Brush grilled sides of 2 crusts generously with garlic oil; top each evenly with one-quarter of topping, if using. Return flatbreads to grill; cook uncovered until bottoms are well browned and toppings are heated through, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer flatbreads to cutting board; repeat with remaining 2 crusts. Sprinkle flatbreads with salt to taste; cut into pieces and serve immediately.

I was not a picky eater as a child, but now I am. I don't like certain textures, things like Jello will make me fight to swallow instead of gag. Neither of my kids were very picky, but Ashley liked (and still likes) more sweet stuff and processed food than her sister. She'd do things like sit down with a can of cream of mushroom soup and eat it right out of the can. She still prefers white bread and would be as happy living on fast food as she would be with filet. My granddaughter first ate everything, then became very picky, now she's becoming more adventurous again. I told her to try new things, if she didn't like it she could spit it out, she didn't even have to swallow. That got a lot of new foods into her mouth and she liked some of them. She just wanted to know that she had the option, I guess. She is also funny about texture, even when she was a baby things like pudding and mashed potatoes would make her gag. She still won't eat mashed potatoes. My grandson is an eating machine. He'll eat anything except green beans, he hates those. His problem is that he will eat until he gets sick, if it's one of his favorites. So what to feed picky eaters? I'd start with what they like, and try to branch out. He likes chicken? How about some BBQ sauce? I ground Doritos in the food processor and made chicken nuggets, those Doritos became seasoned bread crumbs. He likes pasta? What does he like on it? If it's plain, could you get away with some cheese? That cheese could eventually include some seasonings, maybe some bacon. I never met a kid who didn't like bacon, for some reason. Many kids like things they can dunk. My granddaughter still won't dunk a french fry in catsup, she hates sauces. My grandson dunks everything in catsup, BBQ sauce or ranch dressing. I think it depends on the child. I wouldn't fight over it, but if you can ease some new things into his diet, he might not even notice. Or, you might get lucky like I did on Halloween. I made some butternut squash bread, which both the grandkids love. There was some squash left over. Amanda came in, added some butter and brown sugar and heated it in the microwave, then ate a bowl of it. Bud suspiciously eyed what was left and asked me what it was. I told him that it was so good that his mother didn't share it, she was being selfish. He took me very seriously and quietly finished off the bowl, then told his mother that he'd eaten the rest of "her" squash. She told him that was OK, she'd make more for HERSELF tomorrow. He promptly announced that he'd eat that too, LOL. Sometimes a kid just wants to be obnoxious. (grin) Annie