I like to make Arepas and top them with a slice of fresh mozzarella (homemade from powdered milk) and anything else I happen to have on hand - pulled pork and shredded raw cabbage, slice of deli ham and thin apple slices, seasoned shredded chicken breast and avocado slices.... -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Venezuelan Cooking

Sure Pat, I'm not sure this will qualify for your Louisiana favorite but it is good tasting. Quantities are not exact. You can adjust to your liking. Olive Salad Spread pimento stuffed green olives,black Greek olives,Calamata olives --we get our olives from the olive cart in the deli. 2 spoonfuls of each olive type. Maybe 16 of each type? 2 TBS capers, drained 1 celery stalk, chopped 2 carrots, chopped 2 roasted red peppers in oil, chopped 1 sml red onion, chopped 2 tsp celery seed 2 tsp oregano 3 cloves garlic, crushed fresh ground black pepper to taste olive oil, start with 1/4 cup, you may need more Put all ingredients into food processor. Pulse a few times to break down the veggies into small bits. You want the consistency to be of a paste for spreading but still be able to see the veggies. Put the spread into a covered bowl and let marinate over night. It keeps for about a week in the fridge. Hope this helps in your search Pat! NancyLouise

Ruthanna, that corn and shrimp salad sounds amazingly good, it will be fresh sweet corn season here in a month or so and I'm going to copy this. If it's half as good as your fish with tomato basil butter, it's a winner! Marilyn, I'm also keeping the green bean salad recipe. I have 6 rows of Royal Burgundy beans about 4 inches tall right now, another month or less and I'll have all I can eat. The salad sounds, well, "flipping awesome". LOL Here are a few of my favorites. The first two came to me in a Chef's newsletter that I receive daily, a remnant of the days when I owned a bar and grille. I don't like blue (or bleu) cheese, so I leave it off. The nuts are good enough to eat by the handful. Pear and Blue Cheese Salad with Spiced Candied Pecans and Raspberry Vinaigrette Makes 6 servings Ingredients: 6 ounces fresh spring mix salad blend Raspberry Vinaigrette (recipe follows) 2 ripe pears, sliced 3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese 3/4 cup Candied Pecans (recipe follows) Preparation: In a large bowl, toss together the spring mix and the Raspberry Vinaigrette. Dress the top of the salad with the sliced pear, blue cheese and candied pecans. Serve at once. Raspberry Vinaigrette Ingredients: 2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar 2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam 1/3 cup canola oil Preparation: Blend the vinegar and the jam in a covered blender for 10 to 15 seconds, then add the oil in a slow, steady stream. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator if not using right away. Spiced Candied Pecans Ingredients: 1/8 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper pinch cayenne 1 tablespoon butter 3/4 cups pecan halves cooking spray Preparation: Mix the sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, pepper and cayenne together in bowl. Melt the butter in small skillet over medium heat and add the sugar mixture and pecans. Stir constantly, until the sugar has melted and nuts are coated. Cool on a piece of aluminum foil lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Another recipe "throw back" from the days as a restaurant owner, but this can easily be halved or more easily, divided into thirds. I leave out the olives. (Yeah, I know, I'm picky) I also sub local smoked whitefish for the salmon a lot of the time and sunflower seeds or almonds usually take the place of the pinenuts because they are extremely expensive and difficult to find here in the boonies. Smoked Salmon, Olive and Wild Rice Salad Makes 24 (8 ounce) servings Ingredients: 3/4 cup white wine vinegar 3/4 cup chopped tarragon 1/2 cup (3 ounces) chopped shallots 1/3 cup lemon juice 1/3 cup olive oil 1/3 cup chopped chives, 1/4-inch 1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper 4 1/2 quarts (4 1/2 pounds) cooked long grained white rice 1 1/2 quarts (2 1/4 pounds) cooked wild rice 3 pounds hot smoked salmon, flaked into 1-inch pieces 1 1/2 quarts (1 3/4 pounds) blanched green peas 4 1/2 cups California Ripe Olives, halved 1 1/2 cups toasted pine nuts Preparation: Whisk together vinegar, tarragon, shallots, lemon juice, olive oil, chives and black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add white rice, wild rice, smoked salmon, green peas, California Ripe Olives and pine nuts. Toss to evenly combine. Serve at room temperature. I love pears and have access to lots of them here in the fall. I leave the cheese out of this entirely and like to add chicken to make it a meal instead of a side dish. I usually go with the candied pecans for the nuts. My apologies, I have no idea where I got this recipe. SAUTEED PEAR SALAD Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil 2-3 firm-ripe pears, cored, peeled and cut into slices 1 - 2 tablespoon honey 8 - 12 cups of salad greens and/or baby spinach leaves, rinsed and chilled 1/2 -3/4 cup each thinly sliced cucumber, carrots, and red bell peppers (optional) 4 ounces Bleu, Gorgonzola or goat cheese 1 cup chopped roasted macadamia nuts or glazed pecan pieces 1/3 cup olive oil 3 tablespoons rice vinegar 1 tablespoon honey 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract salt and pepper to taste Instructions Heat large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and allow to warm. Add pear slices and sauté in oil for 2 minutes on each side. Turn off heat and drizzle honey over pear slices, and gently turn pears so that it coats them on both sides. While pears are cooking, put greens and vegetables into a large salad bowl and mix well. Add warm pears, cheese, nuts and gently mix. Mix salad dressing ingredients, add juices from pan and pour over salad. Serve right away. Note: This is a great salad to prepare as a composed salad. First lay greens on plates. Add vegetables, then pear slices, then top with nuts and cheese. Drizzle salad dressing over each salad. Another fish recipe, fresh trout is easily available here through a co-worker who is also a guide fisherman. He swaps me fish for my homegrown beef, a perfect swap for both of us! Roasted Rainbow Trout and Black Bean Salad with Chipotle Vinaigrette Makes 6 servings Ingredients: 1 tablespoons ground cumin 1 tablespoons ground coriander 1 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 1/2 tsp salt 6 (4 ounces each) Rainbow Trout Fillets 3 cups corn kernels, steamed 2 cups chopped fresh tomato 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans 3/4 cups diced cucumber 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onion 1/3 cup chopped cilantro 1 1/2 cups Chipotle Vinaigrette, (recipe follows) 4 1/2 cups mixed salad greens avocado slices, for garnish Preparation: Mix first 4 ingredients, reserve. Place trout fillets skin-side down on a lightly oiled sheet pan, sprinkle reserved seasoning mixture on top of fillets. Bake at 450 degrees F until just done, about 5 minutes, cool slightly. Remove and discard skin, reserve. Mix corn with next 5 ingredients. Stir in vinaigrette, reserve. Line plates with salad greens. Scatter corn mixture over salad greens. Arrange cooked trout on top, whole or broken into bite size pieces. Garnish with avocado slices. Chipotle Vinaigrette Makes 1 1/2 cups Blend until smooth: 1 peeled shallot, 2 whole canned chipotle peppers, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1/2 cup chopped green onion, 1/4 cup each balsamic and rice wine vinegar, 2 tsp grated lime zest and salt and pepper to taste. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in 3/4 cups olive oil. Source: Clear Springs Foods Finally, my favorite salad dressing: HONEY MUSTARD SALAD DRESSING 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup honey 2 tbls Grey Poupon dijon mustard Combine all ingredients and store in a covered container in the refrigerator Makes 3/4 cup Annie

A recipe I've used is similiar, and very good. The ingredients are tomato slices, fresh mozzarella cheese (shaved or sliced), and red onion slices. Lay down a slice of tomato, top with a slice of red onion, and top that with a slice or portion of the cheese. Repeat. Keep laying ingredients until you have your serving. The result will be fanned. Drizzle the works with a vinagrette dressing. I like to use a wine vinegar with oil (50/50) with a little sweetener added. Ceasar dressing is a great choice too.