Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Simply stated: Boil them up. Toss a little butter and cut up garlic. When finished toss some more butter.
surrah

I've gone down the column and no one mentioned the one thing I get there, the "French cornichons". Having been married to a Frenchman over 50 years, this is a must in my house. My grandchildren go wild and eat it like candy. It's great with meat. I've had some cheeses and some different trail mixes. Love to go down the aisles and whatever strikes my fancy I get it. The last time I was out of milk and got a quart there. I must say it tasted a lot better than the supermarket. Are there any special "TJ" cows.
surrah@optonline.net

For one of my vegetarian friends I found a recipe that combined leeks, cabbage and diced potatoes all of which were cooked in water (can use chicken stock with the right company) and then added a bunch of dill. Never thought the taste would be so good. Also added lots of butter. surrah@optonline.net

Get a recipe for pickled green tomatoes. If you like sour pickles (Jewish style) you'll love pickled green tomatoes. You can see them in the supermarket. Check the ingredients; that will give you an idea of what makes them pickled or get yourself to the library and find a cook book with instructions. It's as easy as pie and probably easier. Or get on the internet; they'll find you a recipe for sure. I got a great recipe for french cornichons. I grew them in my garden when my French husband brought back the seeds from France one year. They were great. surrah@optonline.net

The best cheesecake I ever made was a recipe from a Hadassah cookbook and it was made with cottage cheese and sour cream (I decided I would put the cottage cheese in the blender so it would be smooth. Added all other ingredients and poured it into a cookie dough crust. The concensus of opinion from all who tasted it found it fantastic and it was. Smooth, silky and who cares if there's a little crack in the top.
If anyone wants the recipe I'll send it on.
surrah@optonline.net

Thank you all for your comments. I loved that you took the time to answer me. But I have decided tht the "cheese police" can do what they want. I'm going to stick to the ones I like and there are plenty of those. I'll just have another puff pastry with whipped cream instead.
Now tell me why I make the greatest mussels this side of France (the only compliment I ever got from my french spouse) but yet I will not eat them and he loved them and so did my two sons. I guess there's a reason I'm a little weird. My late husband always turned his head when I ate "gefilte fish" but I thought it was great and I'm sure there must be a french version of this item. So who knows what turns one on and what turns one off. Thanks again for clearing things up for me. Shirl