Another spinach lover here. We most often cook it the way Althetrainer mentioned, sauteed with garlic. I often buy the spinach pies at our Middle Eastern bakery but have never made them at home. Since I rarely buy tomatoes out of season, we eat a lot of spinach salads during the winter. Ive posted this one before. Its on the lighter side and a good complement to heavy dishes like lasagne. LEMON SPINACH SALAD 1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms 1 lb. young spinach leaves, washed and stemmed 6 Tbs. olive oil 2 Tbs. lemon juice 1/4 tsp. salt 1 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese 1 clove garlic, slivered Finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon 1 hard cooked egg Freshly ground black pepper Wash mushrooms and combine with spinach. Chill. Mix oil, lemon juice, salt, cheese and garlic. Chop up egg and sprinkle over salad. Add lemon rind to salad and grind pepper on top. Pour dressing over salad right before serving and toss. Note: Best if dressing is made about an hour ahead of time and garlic pieces removed before pouring on salad. Crumbled bacon pieces can be added if desired. ------------ Vegetable timbales have always been one of our family favorites for meatless meals. Its common to find recipes for them in early 20th century cookbooks. SPINACH TIMBALES 2 (10 oz.) packages frozen chopped spinach 4 eggs 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 cup butter, softened 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice Cheese or hollandaise sauce, if desired Cook spinach according to package directions; drain thoroughly. In small mixer bowl, beat eggs until foamy. Stir in cooked spinach and remaining ingredients except sauce. Divide mixture between 5 greased 6 oz. custard cups. Place cups on a rack in a 10" pot or deep skillet. Fill skillet with hot (not boiling) water to 1/2". Put a loose piece of foil over the cups, shaped so that the steam drips back into the pot instead of on the custard cups. Cover with lid and cook over medium heat for 18 to 22 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Loosen edges with knife; unmold. If desired, serve with sauce. Makes 5 (1/2 cup) servings.

If you mean the Vietnamese spring rolls that are served in VNmese restaurant, here's how they're done. The rice paper do not need to be soaked. They get too soggy. Get a bowl that is larger than the rice paper, fill it up with warm water, just dip the rice paper into it and lay each out on a foam plate. It will soften after a few minutes. Do not soak them too much ahead of times; rather, soak them 10-15 mins. before using them. If I need to stack them up, I normally, just wet it on one side of the rice paper and stack them up unevenly for easy removal. Ingredients for fillings: Any soft type of Lettuce: Boston lettuce or Cracoviensis (asian: leaves are long red and green or just green) Peppermint leaves Cilantro - cut them in 2-3" long Rice noodles - boiled, drain in a colander, run in cold water to stop it from cooking. (note: they cook quite fast, within minutes) Boil or steam pork meat (pork loin is fine). Once done, take it out let it rest for 10-15 mins. before slice them thinly. Boiled medium to large shrimps. I normally just use pre-cooked cocktail shrimps and heat them up slightly. Slice them in half lenghthwise. Once all these are prepared, you can chose to roll them up yourselves before serving or just bring all these ingredients to the table and let each person roll it up themselves. Here's how: Lay a damp rice paper on a plate. Tear up a couple of pieces of lettuce leaves and lay it horizontally on and at 1/3 from the edge of the rice paper. Leave some room on the left and right side for rolling. Next lay a layer of 2-3 slices of pork meat and then a layer of the rice noodles on top of the leaves. Next layer is a few peppermint leaves and cilantro across. About at the center of the rice paper, lay horizontally 3-4 pieces of shrimps with the cut side up. Now, you're ready to roll them up. Roll them up as you would a burrito. Fold the horizontal side of the ingredients inward, then fold the left and right side in, it should hold them together. Then, roll in the rest tightly but be careful not do it too tight. Otherwise, it'll break. I don't measure much when I cook. We, VNmese, normally just eyeball how much to make for how many people. Hopefully, you can guess. Don't know how clear my instructions are but hope you get it. Natalie

My dinner was a huge success! I'm a beginner with lots to learn and you have all been wonderful. We sliced the bones off the roast, salted liberally, and tied the ribs back on 2 days before cooking (another Serious Eats, Food Lab article - scroll down to SALT). I read that the salt will draw the moisture out at first, but then it will reabsorb the moisture along with the salt, carrying the seasoning deep within the meat. This was the only thing I did differently from a few weeks ago when I ran my trial run, and this roast was far superior. It was the same cut of meat (choice), from the same store (CostCo), and cooked the same way. So it must have been the 2 day seasoning. I let the roast sit on the counter for 2 hours, then used the Serious Eats Food Lab recipe to cook low and slow - it took 4 1/2 hours for the 11lb roast to reach 122. I did make a mistake here - instead of removing the roast from the roasting pan to sit for an hour (like I did 2 weeks ago), I simply tented the roast in the pan. I think the pan caused the roast to continue to cook. I used the same probe and oven as 2 weeks ago, so unless it went bad in that time, this has to be the reason it was overcooked. However, the flavor was fabulous, so I really have no complaints. Following the Serious Eats recipe - it did go back into the oven for 10 minutes at 500 to develop a beautiful sizzling crust. I made 2 pans of Yorkshire puddings. When everything came out of the oven and my guests were serving themselves, I popped the second pan in and proudly served a second helping to all at the table 30 minutes later. What I learned from this is the pan makes a HUGE difference! I bought a new muffin pan since I didn't have 2 and the new pan the YP's rose so high and popped right out unlike my old pan where they still looked OK, but I had to use a knife to work them out. I made my Au Jus ahead of time by making a rich stock from browning bones, oxtails, veggies for a couple of hours and them simmering them for 24 hours. I did this 2 weeks ago and froze it. Yesterday I let it simmer for another couple of hours and added any Jus from the meat before serving. I'm so glad I did this! Not only was it easier on me, but I never would have had enough Jus otherwise. Everyone took a little Au Jus cup on their plate and I put the rest into gravy boats for the table - most of which was used. I'm very proud of my dinner and I couldn't have done it without the help from all of you on this forum. :-) Thank-you! Jeri

Here are a few of my favourite spinach recipes. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table ================================ From the California Culinary Academy Crab Layer 1/2 pound crab meat, picked over and flaked 1/4 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard Salt and pepper to taste 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 large eggs Spinach Layer 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter 2 teaspoons flour 1/2 cup whipping cream 2/3 cup half and half 1 1/4 pounds cooked spinach Drained and squeezed to remove excess moisture 3 eggs 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon sugar salt to taste Sauce Mix together, 1 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon finely minced roasted red pepper 1 clove of minced garlic salt and pepper to taste. Clives for garnish . Preheat oven to 375°F. For the crab layer: In a medium bowl combine the crab, sour cream, lemon juice, mustard, salt, pepper and cayenne. Stir in eggs and set mixture aside. For the Spinach layer: Melt butter in a heavy saucepan until foamy. Whish in flour and cook for 3 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Whisk in whipping cream and half-and-half. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer slowly 10 minutes. Stir occasionally, scraping down the sides and around the bottom as necessary. Mixture will thicken as cooks. Remove from heat and stir in spinach. Let cool. Stir in eggs, one at a time then add black pepper, nutmeg, sugar and salt. To assemble the terrine: Grease an 8 cup loaf pan/terrine pan with butter. Spoon half the crab mixture in the bottom and cover with all of the spinach mixture. Spoon remaining crab mixture over the spinach. Set the terrine in a baking pan and pour 1 inch of hot water into the baking pan. Bake uncovered until golden brown and puffy. Approximately 30 to 45 minutes. Cool on a rack and then refrigerate. To serve, run a knife around the edge and invert on to a serving platter. Slice about 1/2 thick slices and place two on each plate. Decorate plate with a lettuce leaf and place a dollop of the sauce on the lettuce leaf. Garnish with a few chives. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table =============================== http://www.achefshelp.co.uk MAKES 8 SMALL SOUFFLES 1 lb of fresh baby spinach Béchamel sauce Made with:- 2 Tablespoons Butter 1/2 small onion 2 tablespoons flour 5 oz milk 2 eggs, separated, plus 2 egg whites 6 Tablespoons grated cheddar cheese 2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan Cheese Freshly grated nutmeg Salt and pepper . . Preheat the oven to 350°F Grease 8 small or 4 medium size ramekins. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Wash the spinach and shake most of the water off leaves. Cook until tender with just the water that is left on the leaves (Takes just one minute or so).When cool enough to handle, squeeze the excess spinach to get rid of excess liquid. Chop it finely and add to the béchamel sauce. Remove from the heat, add the two egg yolks,cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Beat the four egg whites until stiff and fold into spinach mixture. Divide the mixture between the prepared soufflé dishes and place in a pan of hot water. Place in oven and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until they have risen and browned but are still creamy in the centre. Serve immediately. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Spinach Squares =============== These are really good. They are from a Woman's Day Home Entertainment Magazine from Dec. 1982. 2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen, chopped spinach 1/2 cup choped onion 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons chopped parsley 8 eaggs beaten 10 to 12 soda crackers, crumbled (2/3 cup) 2 teaspoons herbs, (thyme, rosemary, dill) 1 teaspoon pepper 1 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups grated cheddar cheese Parmesan cheese paprika . Thaw and drain spinach. In large skillet, heat oil. Saute spinach, onioin, garlic and parsley until lightly cooked. Add eggs, crackers, seasonings and Cheddar cheese, mix together. Pour into a greased 8 1/4 X 13 1/2 inch baking dish. Sprinkle top with parmesan cheese and paprika and bake at 325 for 45 minutes, or until knife inserted in centre comes out clean. cut in small squares, about 1 3/4 inches. May be served hot or cold. Makes 36 squares Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table =========================================== 1 to 2 tablespoons butter 2 leeks chopped (White part) 1 garlic clove minced approximately 2 cups, of fresh baby leaf spinach (tightly Packed) 1/4 cup fresh dill chopped 5 slices of bread, buttered, crusts removed and cut into 1 inch cubes. 2 to 3 eggs 1/2 cup cream salt and pepper goat cheese (small pieces) 1/4 parmesan cheese . Heat butter and saute leeks, when tender add garlic and saute for a minute or so. Add the spinach and fry until just wilted. Remove from heat. In a large bowl beat the eggs with the cream. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the leek mixture and add the chopped dill. Add the bread cubes. Mix well and then add the goat cheese and parmesan cheese. Pour into a buttered casserole dish, or 3 or 4 ramekins, sprinkle with a little more parmesan cheese and bake in a Bain Marie for approximate 20 minutes or until golden.