Oh, boy, do I hear you. For some reason, I've never been good at salads. I hear people talking about how much they enjoy chopping up the vegetables -- not me! Ruthanna, I'm going to try that lemon spinach salad. It sounds great. Here is the salad that changed my life, salad-wise. It's delicious, a little special, and unlike any other leafy salad I can think of, the leftovers keep nicely. I love to eat it with breakfast, too. I got it from Betty Rosbottom's "For the Gourmet" column in the Columbus Dispatch a couple of years ago and we have eaten it many times since. I even started growing kale, we like it so much! KALE SALAD WITH PINE NUTS AND GOLDEN RAISINS Makes 4 servings (sez she; I think more) 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 teaspoons maple syrup 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt Scant 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 6 to 8 ounces kale (I use more; there's plenty of dressing) 1/4 cup golden raisins 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, syrup, mustard, salt, red pepper flakes and black pepper in a nonreactive bowl. (The dressing can be prepared 1 day ahead; cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature 30 minutes before using.) Remove and discard the tough stems and center veins from the kale leaves. Then cut the leaves crosswise into 1/2 inch-wide strips to yield 6 cups well-packed kale. (I often just chop up the leaves rather than worry about pretty strips; it's a LOT quicker.) Place the dressing in a salad bowl and whisk well. Add the kale and toss to coat greens thoroughly with dressing. Divide salad evenly and mound on 4 salad plates. Garnish each serving with raisins and pine nuts. (I like to serve it in a big bowl instead of on individual plates, so I just put the raisins and nuts on top and eventually it all gets tossed together.)

Here you go, Vettin. I thought you were just looking for links . Since you want T&T recipes, these are all restaurant recipes that are tried and true. Hash Brown Potatoes with Cream Source: St Paul Hotel, St Paul MN 1-1/2 lb fresh shredded hash browns 4 green onion tops, sliced 2 c heavy cream 10 strips cooked bacon, diced Seasoning Salt to taste Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl. Pour into a buttered 10 inch baking pan or casserole. Bake at 35oF for 45 minutes until golden brown on top. [](http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=10&imgid=308027383) Tuscan Garlic Chicken Olive Garden\-Inspired by our Culinary Institute of Tuscany, this chicken pasta dish is layered with flavors! Servings: 6 cook: 30 min(s) Ingredients: 3 lb(s) Boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 1/2 cup(s) Flour, plus 1 tablespoon 1 Tbsp Salt 2 tsp Black pepper 2 tsp Italian herb seasoning 1 lb(s) Penne pasta 1 Tbsp Garlic, chopped 1 Red pepper, julienne cut 1/2 cup(s) White wine 1/2 lb(s) Whole leaf spinach, stemmed 12 oz Heavy cream 1 cup(s) Parmesan cheese, grated Preparing the Chicken: \- Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, black pepper and Italian herb seasoning in a shallow dish. \- Dredge chicken in the mixture, shaking off any excess. \- Saute the chicken in batches, in a large, nonstick, ovenproof skillet \- with enough oil to coat \- over medium\-high heat for about two to three minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crisp. \- When finished, transfer the ovenproof skillet to a preheated oven at 350 degrees F. Cook for approximately 15 minutes or until cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Preparing the Pasta: \- Cook pasta al dente (or according to package instructions). \- Drain and set aside until needed. Preparing the Sauce: \- While the pasta is cooking, heat 1/2 to 1 fluid ounce of oil in a sauce pan. Add the garlic and the red pepper and cook for approximately one minute. \- Slowly add remaining one tablespoon of flour and stir to combine. \- Next add the white wine and bring to a boil for about one minute. Add the spinach and the cream and bring to a boil. The sauce is done cooking when the spinach becomes wilted. Complete by stirring in the parmesan cheese. Preparing Tuscan Garlic Chicken Entree: \- Partly coat the pasta with the sauce, transfer to a large bowl (or individual dishes) and then top with the chicken, the remaining sauce and extra parmesan cheese. Serve and enjoy. Chocolate Turtle Torte Source: St Paul Hotel Crust: 3-2/3 c pecans 1-1/4 c sugar 7T unsalted butter In food processor blend pecans and sugar, add melted butter in steady stream until combined well. Turn out mixture into a 12" tart pan with removable bottom. Press to 1/8" thickness on bottom and 3/8" on sides. Bake at 350F for approximately 20-25 minutes or until lightly toasted. Cool. Filling: 1lb semi sweet chocolate 2 c heavy whipping cream Bring cream to a boil and pour over coarsely chopped chocolate. Mix until chocolate is melted and mixture is combined well. Pour into cooled crust and refrigerate for 3 hours or up to overnite. Caramel Sauce: 4oz unsalted butter 1 c sugar 1 c heavy whipping cream 3/4 c crushed pecans (for garnish) In heavy saucepan melt butter, add sugar and cook until dark brown (not burnt). Add cream and remove from heat. Mix thoroughly until mixture turns a rich golden color. Drizzle over slices of torte and serve. Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing Source: St. Paul Hotel Dressing: 1 c sugar 1/4 c poppyseeds 1/2 c Sesame seeds 1 c salad oil 1/2 c raspberry vinegar dash paprika 1 T worcestershire sauce 1 T minced onion Combine sugar and vinegar and whisk until sugar is dissolved. Add remaining ingredients and chill well. Serve over baby spinach leaves and sliced strawberries. Garnish with brie cheese wedges. My notes:you may want to half this recipe, as it makes a lot of dressing. This is one I came up with based on the list of ingredients on a deli label. The original salad came from Dayton's Marketplace deli. Dayton's used to be a large department store in Minneapolis, later became Marshall Fields, and then sold out to Macy's. Not sure what the exact recipe was, but this comes darn close! LOL Greek Style Pasta Salad 1lb pasta, shells or farfalle work well 3 stalks celery, chopped 1 can black olives, sliced 1 large tomato, chopped 1/2 c chopped red pepper 1c mayonnaise 1/2c Italian dressing 6-8oz crumbled feta cheese 4oz grated parmesan cheese Oregano to taste Black pepper to taste Cook pasta per package directions, drain. Place pasta in bowl with celery, olives, tomato and pepper. In small bowl combine mayonnaise, Italian dressing, parmesan, oregano and pepper, gently fold in feta. Toss with pasta and vegetables, chill until ready to serve. And another from Dayton's Marketplace: Broccoli Linguini 1 lb linguini 3 oz olive oil 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 lg bunch broccoli, finely chopped including 1\-2" of stems 3/4 c chopped walnuts 1/2c pitted black olives, sliced 3 oz parmesan or romano cheese, grated Salt to taste Pepper, freshly ground Cook linguini according to package directions until "al dente", drain. Heat olive oil in large skillet and sauté garlic until golden. Add broccoli, walnuts and olives, cook and stir over medium heat until very hot. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour over hot linguini, sprinkle parmesan over top and serve immediately. Linda

BTW, my city has an extremely popular restaurant that specializes in Macaroni & Cheese entries called "Homeroom". Lines out the door I've heard. They may even let you write on the Black Board with chalk. Anyway, if you want to read their Menu for ideas, just google/whatever Homeroom Oakland, CA

This recipe is the most authentic and most delicious version I've ever encountered. I grew up in S. Louisiana, relatives both in N'awlins and Cajun country, and this version resembles what I had growing up. It's got a lot of ingredients, but trust me; this is worth the effort. In fact, I have made large quantities of the sauce ahead of time and frozen it in portions, and then later heated it up, adding the shrimp about 20 minutes before you serve it. The link is to a Google books page; it's not the most legible, but you can decipher it. It's from my favorite all time cookbook, Richard and Rima Collin's The New Orleans Cookbook. The glitches in the image of the recipe might confuse you, but in paragraph one you're adding the tomato paste; you don't add the shrimp until paragraph two of the recipe. Once I was in Miami Beach on Lincoln Road, and had a very similar dish (spicy shrimp in a tomato sauce) served in a bowl made of fried plantains. I was in heaven. I was later told by a Puerto Rican friend that it was called mofongo.