This one was on the table at a book club potluck last week. Everyone raved and wanted the recipe. I'm going to cross post in new recipes. Zucchini Pickles - Heidi Swanson, 100 Cookbooks There are quite a number of ways to play around with the personality of these pickles. Sometimes I shave the zucchini paper-thin, resulting in a whispy tangle of pickled zucchini and onions. Other times I want my pickles to have a bit more bite, structure, and definition. In those instances, I slice the zucchini thicker, perhaps 1/8-inch, and let them drain as long as possible, sometimes overnight refrigerated. Also worth noting, when I make them for our personal condiment stash, I used a brown natural cane sugar. It gives the pickle liquid a brownish cast that, quite frankly, weirds people out if they don't know what is causing it. So, if I'm making the pickles to bring to a BBQ or something, I'll make them with regular organic cane sugar - one that is lighter in color.
 3 medium zucchini (1 pound / 16 oz / 450 g), thinly sliced
 1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
 3 shallots, thinly sliced 1 1/2 tablespoons fine grain sea salt 
1/4 cup (small handful) fresh dill sprigs 1 small fresh red chile pepper, very thinly sliced 1/2 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds 3/4 cup / 180 ml cider vinegar
 3/4 cup / 180 ml white wine vinegar
 1/3 cup / 1.75 oz / 50g natural cane sugar 
Toss the zucchini, onion, shallots, and salt together in a colander and place over a bowl to catch the liquids. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least a couple hours. Toss once or twice along the way. You're aiming to get as much liquid out of the zucchini as possible.

When you're finished draining the zucchini, shake off any water. At this point you want the zucchini as dry as possible. Place in a 1 liter / 1 quart jar along with the dill, chile pepper, and mustard seeds. Alternately, you can cram them into a 3/4 liter Weck jar like I do, but it's always a bit snug in the jar. Combine the ciders and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves, and continue to boil for a few minutes. Pour the liquid over the zucchini and seal the jar. Let cool, then refrigerate. The pickles are good for a week or so. 

Makes one large jar. Prep time: 120 min - Cook time: 5 min Here is a link that might be useful: Quick pickled zucchini

Here's a recipe I wrote down about 10 years ago, but I still make it similarly: Lasagna Pasta: 1/2 cup semolina flour 1-1/2 cup unbleached white flour, to start 3 eggs 1/4 tsp salt Filling: 1 pound fresh spinach, not frozen 1/2 pound Mozzarella cheese 1/2 pound Provolone cheese 1/2 pound Asiago cheese 1/4 pound Parmesan cheese 2 cups ricotta cheese 1-2 eggs 1/2 pound Prosciutto 1/2 cup fresh basil 2 tbsp fresh oregano 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/8 tsp Cayenne 1/2 tsp salt 3 cups (24 oz.) prepared tomato pasta sauce (separate recipe) First make the pasta by combining all ingredients in a large food processor. Process until the dough forms a ball and rolls around without sticking to the sides. You may have to add small increments of flour to get to this point. If you have too much flour, you can add a few drops of water, but you will not want the dough too dry at this point. Remove the dough from the processor and knead with more flour until the dough is elastic and not sticky at all. Knead the dough by folding it over in half after it has been very lightly dusted with flour. Then flatten the dough and repeat folding over and flattening until it is the correct consistency. It is better to be slightly too wet than too dry, as flour can be added when you are putting it through the pasta machine. Allow the dough to rest for one hour, covered. This time is required for the moisture to be absorbed fully into the flour. Next, cut the dough into pieces make approximately 2" diameter balls and roll one piece out with a rolling pin so that it will be in a flat shape for the machine. Try to keep the edges from tearing if possible. Keep the rest of the dough covered until you are ready for it. When the dough piece is flat enough, put it through the machine at the first setting (#1) and then fold it into thirds and roll it through again at the same setting. This makes the dough into a more rectangular shape and gives it straight sides. Folding it over also allows you to get a tiny bit more flour into the dough. As you continue rolling the dough, sprinkle it with flour (I use a flour shaker, which looks like a huge salt shaker) to prevent it from sticking to the rollers. Excess flour can be dusted off but does not really hurt, since you will not be folding the dough again. Stop at position #4 or #5, which is thicker than you would use for fettuccine. When you have rolled out all the dough, place the strips on a broom handle (or similar object) to dry. This will take about an hour. You will not need to boil the pasta. While you are waiting for the pasta to dry, you can make the filling. Begin by washing the spinach and drying it through a centrifuge or salad spinner. If necessary, dry with paper towels as well—you want as little water as possible left on the spinach. Remove the tough stems from the spinach, and place the leaves into a glass or Pyrex bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and microwave at high for one minute, stir, and the microwave one minute more. Allow the bowl to rest for about 5 minutes covered, and then place the spinach in a colander to drain. You may want to save the liquid from this for another recipe or vegetable broth. After the spinach has drained, remove it to a chopping board and form it into a flat shape for cutting. Using a chef’s knife, cut the flat shape into 1/2" squares. This is as much as the spinach needs to be chopped. Set the spinach aside and allow it to cool further or store it in the refrigerator. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese with a beaten egg. Grate Mozzarella, Provolone, and Asiago with a coarse grater and the Parmesan with a fine grater or Microplane. Add to the ricotta and egg. Sauté the Prosciutto in an iron skillet for about 2-3 minutes, and then chop coarsely. You can substitute pancetta or bacon if you prefer, or it can be left out altogether for a vegetarian version. Cut the basil leaves into a chiffonade. Mince the oregano, and add the basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and cayene to the cheese mixture. Add the chopped Prosciutto and stir to combine. Layer a baking dish with sauce, pasta, and filling, repeating these layers, and then ending with pasta and a small amount of sauce on top. Store or freeze what you do not want to consume immediately. Bake at 350° covered for about half an hour, or until it is completely hot throughout. It is better not to bake portions that you want to save for later--the fresh herbs lose some of their fresh flavor when reheated.

Create your own recipe to be famous for. If I had to write down and create a specific recipe it would mostly be needed for a list of ingredients. So many need to know what is in a recipe, likes and dislikes and allergies. Or veg/meat preferences. The soup I make 'famously' is more method than recipe. I have a shelf in the door of my upright freezer for fast soups. Straight from the freezer. No thawing needed. (we often cannot plan even the morning ahead)...if I'm home late, no at all hungry, DH is home early but famished....in the pot, 1/2hour, 45 min done. low simmer and ready when settled in after pup attention, laundry etc. I try to keep 6-8 quarts at all times...down to two now. Neighbors, friends, co-workers, for illness, sadness, expecting mothers, a co-worker was due Jan 1 but delivered Dec 21. She was at work Dec 20th! . (healthy and beautiful baby)...saw her yesterday. Take a good look at your two recipes you posted. Cioppino And potato leek. Your Cioppino base stock/broth...use beef, veg,or chicken stock instead of fish/clam broth...easy on the tomato paste...I use a few soft sun-dried tomatoes. (garden harvest). Even good canned tins whole toms roasted..and roast your veg. leek tops that are usually tossed or composted make a great stock ingredient. For us and my parents I freeze stocks and various grains, beans, and greens in smaller containers to mix-n-match. I'm guessing these soups will be frozen? The method I speak of is packing containers with greens first, fresh or blanched, then chilled cooked proteins, (chicken, ham, etc) then veg grains beans...veg sautéed in broth, room temp or chilled. Ladle veg/broth/stock over the greens/protein and freeze. When reheating the greens will be the last to heat/thaw in the pot and never get overcooked like whole pot soups. Same with the previously cooked proteins. Upside down the broth/stock reheats first. I just call it 'storm' soup as it is the easiest all-in-one meal during snow and power outages or just tired and overworked. Cheese, avocado, croutons, etc, just garnish if I have it.

Lars' Algerian Chicken is easy, delicious and just as good cold or at room temperature as it is hot. It's good reheated or made into sandwiches or chicken salad too. I like it a lot. However, here in the sticks I can't often pick up the more unusual ingredients, and I never have fenugreek so I leave it out. You pretty much HAVE to have the sumac, though, so I got some from Penzey's and it lasts for several chickens. I don't always have whole chickens either, and I've just used chicken pieces successfully. And, of course, I never grill, so I do mine in the oven at 350F, works just fine although it would probably be much better on the grill. Algerian Roasted Chicken Lars--based on recipe by Chef Farid Zadi 1 whole chicken 4 cloves of garlic 1-1/2 tbsp Kosher salt 1 teaspoon of sumac 1/2 teaspoon of sesame seeds 1/2 tsp coriander seeds 1/2 tsp fenugreek 3/4 tsp cumin 3 tablespoons of butter, room temperature 1 tbsp minced Thai basil (or 1/2 tsp fennel) 2 lemons 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil Freshly ground black pepper extra herbs, 1 tsp each minced fresh oregano and basil, optional 4-5 sprigs of thyme Start charcoal for outdoor barbeque, using large chunks of mesquite wood and charcoal. Place the chicken in a roasting pan with a rack. Slide your fingers under the breasts to separate the skin from the meat, turn the chicken over and do the same with the thighs. Mash the garlic with 1-1/2 tablespoons of salt in a mortar and pestle or finely chop the garlic and incorporate the salt into it with the side of your knife or back of a spoon. Add the sumac, sesame seeds, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, and cumin and mix to pulverize the seeds. Add butter and basil and combine to mix. Tuck pieces of the butter into the "pockets" under the skin. Squeeze the juice of one lemon all over the chicken, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle freshly ground black pepper. Season the cavity with pepper, tuck in the lemon halves and more herbs into the cavity if desired. Place the chicken on the barbeque and cover, leaving vents fully open to maintain heat. Baste the chicken every 15 minutes alternating water and pan drippings. Midway through cooking turn the chicken 90 degrees. Continue frequent basting. The cooking time for a 3-1/2 pound bird is about 1-1/2 hours, depending on how hot your fire is. Cook to an internal temperature of 160°, measured in the thigh. Let rest covered about 30 minutes before carving. Squeeze fresh lemon juice into the roasting juices, and pour into a gravy boat. Add salt, if needed. Annie