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smitten kitchen

I made something really good and simple for dinner last night: buy a box of tabouli mix (or make your own, I was lazy) and make it. Add in around 2/3 cup chickpeas, 3 chopped plum tomatoes, a large chopped cucumber, around 1/2 chopped red onion, red and/or green peppers, and a few of those mediterranean pickles chopped up. Add the zest and juice of 1 lemon, and around 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Top with feta and serve with tzatziki and pita chips.

In general, a lot of middle eastern food is vegetarian, and very flavorful.

I don't think this is new - I remember this coming out years ago and getting it as post-Passover dinner. It wasn't so good - it tasted like they put a string cheese in the crust. I wonder why they are making such a big deal out of it now.

er...."ones" not "once"

I think Ben's Deli does something like that.

Here's the recipe:

Use an 8" spring form pan. Spray only the bottom of the pan with flour spray.

1 ¾ cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 stick butter – or margarine and 1 tsp. oil
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
If using margarine- 1 tsp. butter flavor
6 Tbsp. of milk –alternatively, you can try 4 Tbsp. milk and 2 Tbsp. sour cream and 1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt

Sift the flour and baking powder. Cream the butter until fluffy, then add sugar gradually as you are beating, beating until light. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flavorings. Add dry ingredients at #1 speed alternately with the milk (and sour cream if using), one third at a time. Stir only enough to blend thoroughly, do not overbeat.

Spread into greased and floured (bottom only) 8” spring form. Cover with topping (below).

For topping:
½ cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup sugar
4 Tbsp. butter
1Tbsp. milk

Heat together the almonds, butter, sugar and milk until the sugar dissolves. Put a teaspoon of flour (use sifter or strainer and finger) over the top of the cake batter. Pour the almond mixture evenly over the batter, then bake at 360 degrees for 35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Let partially cool in pan. Release the side of the pan and take out of sides of spring form; let cool completely. When completely cooled, release the bottom.

Slice into 2 layers- upper half a little thicker than the lower half. Spread filling onto lower half, and top with upper half.

Meant to say - bee sting won't work if you want it frosted, since the best part is the yummy topping, but it would work well as a backup!

What about an almond flavored cake of some sort? Or a really moist yummy white cake with amaretto frosting and the apricot curd filling?

do you want it frosted or not frosted? multiple layers or single layer?

my grandma makes a "bee sting cake" that she fills with lemon curd - it would probably be just as good with apricot curd, and it is so good - it has a crunch sugary almond topping.

I will say that though I'm not a fan of dogs at restaurants (as I previously said), bringing in therapy dogs or seeing eye dogs in training to restaurants is obviously important, since they need to learn how to act in different situations.

the White Barn Inn was, and remains to be, one of the best meals I've ever had.

Kosher hot dogs are all beef. The "no butts" part of it is because beef from back of the cow isn't kosher. I've never had a non kosher hot dog, so I can't compare, but I know a bunch of people who have had both and prefer the kosher.

Oy, thanks for putting in the link, engmcmuffin! It looked like the html worked in the preview box, but I guess not. Sigh...

@wunami - most things in NYC are more expensive then elsewhere. However, this doesn't seem to be the typical diner, where even in NYC you can often get an omelet for $10 or less. This seems like much closer to a "restaurant" (in terms of quality of food, not necessarily the basic dishes) than it does to a "diner" - does that make sense?