A few days ago I bought a loaf of crusty bread and the memories came back about Mama Mias. All the buzz about this garlic bread is absolutely true. Ive been visiting Mama Mias since the late 60s and there is still nothing that even comes close. After the bread is soaked in butter and baked you can see its gorgeous transparency. Then you take a bite and taste everything you hoped you saw...true perfection. Sendicks a Milwaukee grocery store also sells this bread. The ad didnt say they ship but it doesnt hurt to call. If it hasnt closed I think a nice road trip is in my immediate future!!!

Bamia (sweet & sour okra) 1 lb small okra pods 2 tbls EVOO 1 tbls honey Salt & pepper to taste 1 tbls lime juice ½ cup water Wash okra and pat dry. Top and tail it, discarding any blemished or hard pods Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan and sauté okra 3-5 minutes, turning each pod once. Add the honey, salt, pepper, lemon juice and water. Cover, lower heat, and simmer 15 minutes, adding more water if necessary, until pods are tender. Source: Traditional Egyptian dish. Stewed Chickpeas & Okra 2 tbls oil 1 cup okra in ½-inch slices ½ cup chopped onion ½ cup chopped green pepper 1 can (14 ½ oz) diced tomatoes ¼ tsp oregano ¼ tsp ground cumin 1/8 tsp salt 1/8 tsp red pepper 1 cup cooked or canned chickpeas Heat oil over medium high heat in saucepan. Add the okra, onion, and bell pepper and cook, stirring, until softened. Stir in the tomatoes. Add the spices. Stir in the chickpeas, bring to boil, lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, ten minutes. Source: "Wholesome Harvest" Okra Crustini 12-15 okra, sliced 6 garlic cloves, minced 2-4 paste tomatoes, diced handful basil, chopped white wine salt & pepper to taste Olive oil French bread Diagonally cut French bread about 3/8 inch thick. Brush with olive oil and toast both sides, preferably over a charcoal fire; of in the broiler. Saute okra in olive oil, 3-4 minutes, then add garlic and continue cooking until garlic just turns golden. Add tomatoes and a dash of white wine. Add salt & pepper. When juices start to flow add the basil. Cook until tomatoes have fully softened and their juice combines with the okra. Pile the mixture on the toasted bread slices. Source: Original recipe. Bhindi Bharwan (Indian Stuffed Okra) 1 lb okra* 3 tbls oil 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 med onion, chopped 2 green chilies, seeded & chopped ¾ inch ginger, finely chopped 1 tomato, chopped stuffing: 3 tsp ground coriander 2 tsp ground tumeric 2 tsp ground fennel seed 2 tsp Amchur (dried mango powder) 1 tsp cayenne ½ tsp salt Cut the stalk off each okra pod and make a lengthwise slit. Combine stuffing ingredients and mix well. Stuff each pod with the mixture. Saute cumin with a little oil until it starts to crackle. Add onion, chilies, and ginger and sauté until the onion turns transparent. Add tomato and cook until it turns pulpy. Add the okra and cook for 5 minutes until tender and well coated with the sauce. Serve with rice. *Zucchini or other summer squash can be substituted. Source: "The Food of Asia"

What you are describing is EXACTLY what we had at the Adobe Grand Villas in Sedona a few weeks ago. The chef there, who is outstanding, took phyllo dough, and used a scalloped edged cookie cutter, or must have used a sharp edged scalloped cutter with a circle form to use as a model, and he cut out the phyllo dough into circles. He then put them into pam sprayed mini cupcake/muffin tins, with the homemade tart sweet tangy lemon curd in them and baked them. The Phyllo dough was cooked, but "just", and they were lightly crisp and wonderful. The lemon curd was delectible and cooked well, perfectly. I have no idea what temperature he baked them at.. but, my guess would be 350. After they were done, he sprinkled them with powdered sugar and served them on silver trays. They were garnished with a slice of fresh strawberry, a thin, but nice slice, not a half or third, more like a fourth or fifth of a berry's slice, laying right on top, with a tiny little basil leaf at the top. The flavors of the tart lemon with the strawberry and basil was FANTASTIC!! Amazingly fantastic. My husband would have never ever in a bazillion years eaten them had he known that was basil.. to him, basil is SAVORY and not a herb to mix with sweet. And, he was almost embarrassing the way he gobbled them up!! I wish I had taken a picture of them.. they were so pretty and so good. He probably used three or four sheets of phyllo before cutting the circles. And, I would guess you'd need to spray or butter the tins fairly well to get the phyllo to "stick" and stay in the muffin tins. I don't know if you should try this the first time out for serving to guests, but give it a shot. It looked fairly easy to me, and the results were incredible!! Let me know if you try this!! Also.. when I make Lemon Tassies.. I use the cream cheese dough and then load them with lemon filling. Yummie in the tummie and very, very easy. They are soft and moist and delicously rich. The phyllo dough ones were far superior for light and crispy and wonderfully tart, tangy, and wonderful.

I know this is a little late to respond, but I make Rotis all the time. I try to limit the amount of wheat I eat, and using flat breads makes that simpler. I always use whole wheat flour, I find King Arthur the best, because it is finely milled and it makes for a smoother dough. Rule of thumb 1/2 as much liquid as flour. So if I am using 1 cup of flour, I use 1/2 cup water (I often use a tablespoon of whey or even yogurt or kefir - adds a little more flavor to the roti) and salt usually between 1/2 & 1 tsp. The dough is always going to be a little different. If the dough is sticky, I add a little more flour, just enough to make sure it is not sticky. I roll it in a ball and coat it in olive oil then let it rest for at least 15 minutes but usually overnight. (Soaking the dough helps remove the phytic acid, making the nutrients more available. This also makes for a more flavorful roti, as it will sour a little.) I knead the dough briefly to mix in the oil, then roll into little balls, which I flatten and roll in flour until I roll them into disks about 6". The trick with rotis is to make sure your pan is in the right heat zone. Too cool, and the roti will just sit on the pan without puffing, too hot and the roti will burn. I normally use a medium hot...it will be different on every stove. Often my first roti wont puff. If it doesn't puff a little, it will be too dense and a little unpleasant to eat. I just remove it and raise the temp before adding the next roti. Once I have the right temp and the rotis puff before burning, I add the original roti back on. Usually within a few seconds it will puff. I use a spatula to press down on the areas that don't puff, to encourage them to puff. ( I only press down on the cooked side, so not until I have flipped the roti at least 1 time.) I think I generally get about a dozen rotis per cup of flour. I don't usually try seasoning them with anything until they are cooked, because I use them for everything. I have slathered with peanut butter, and sprinkled choco chips and covered with a second roti, back on the grill. I make grilled sandwiches with them, eat scrambled eggs in them, use them for tacos/burritos, heat them, and coat them with cinnamon and sugar, they make great quesadillas, and I even throw them back on the griddle on low heat/or in the oven until they get crispy, and use them for crackers.