Spanish Potato Tortilla Tortilla de Patatas by: Janet Mendel

Here is the classic all-time favorite Spanish egg dish, tortilla de patatas. A Spanish tortilla is in now way even remotely related to the Mexican flat corn or flour wrapper-except that both are round. In Spain, a tortilla is a round cake of eggs and other ingredients, a sort of omelet. But neither is a tortilla the same thing as a frittata. For one thing, it's never baked. And, to make a tortilla properly, you need a lot of olive oil to slowly, slowly poach the potatoes.

You will find tortilla served in chunks at just about every Madrid tapa bar, the perfect accompaniment to a glass of wine, but it's also good for breakfast, lunch, supper, or a picnic.

Use a well-seasoned omelet pan or lightweight nonstick skillet for the tortilla. A cast-iron pan will be too heavy for turning the tortilla.

Cook the potatoes in lots of olive oil and drain it off. Return only a spoonful of oil to the skillet to cook the tortilla and save the remainder for another use.

Serves 4 for lunch, 20 as a tapa

1/2-cup olive oil
2 pounds baking potatoes (about 4 medium), peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
1-teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped onion
6 eggs

Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes and turn them in the oil to coat them thoroughly. Reduce the heat to a medium-low and cook the potatoes very slowly, stirring frequently, without browning, for 10 minutes. Sprinkle them with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt.

Add the onion and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the potatoes are fort-tender, 20 minutes more.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl with the remaining 1/2-teaspoon salt.

When the potatoes are tender, place a plate over the skillet and tip the pan to drain excess oil into a small heatproof bowl.

Stir the potatoes into the beaten eggs.

Return a little of the reserved oil to the skillet and pour in the potato-egg mixture. Cook over medium heat until the omelet is set, about 5 minutes, adjusting the heat so the tortilla does not brown. Shake the skillet to keep the tortilla from sticking.

Place a flat lid or plate on top of the skillet. Hold it tightly and tip to drain out any excess oil into the heatproof bowl. Then invert the tortilla onto the plate.

Add a little reserved oil to the pan and slide the tortilla back in to cook on the other side, about 3 minutes more. Slide it out onto a serving dish and serve hot or at room temperature. For tapa servings, cut the tortilla into 2-inch squares, making 20 pieces. For lunch servings, cut it into wedges, serving 4.

BUY NOW Cooking from the Heart of Spain

Sign Language byline: Jennifer Rosen

At the Airport Grill, where my dad used to take us for a hamburger in the 60's, the bathroom choice was "Pilots" or "Stewardesses." A slam-dunk lawsuit today, still, you knew where you stood (or sat, if you were a stewardess.) It certainly beats having to decide if you're a Buoy or a Gull, a Turtle or a Tortoise, or which of the odd silhouettes most resembles you and your clothing. Easier, too, than my neighborhood hangout, Mels, where the triple choice of Men, Women and Ladies requires more reflection than I'm usually in the mood for.

A too-cute wine list scratches the same blackboard. I applaud restaurants for the effort, but headings like "Grills, Thrills and Wild Things," "Cutting Edge," and "Silver Linings," raise more questions than they answer. 

Attempting to describe wine makes sense if you share a common language. Alas, many terms mean one thing on wine lists, another to professional tasters and a third to the average diner. Let's decode some common ones.

Dry: Refers to sugar, or lack of it. Does not mean mouth-puckering, rough tooth-coating or bitter. Those are the work of tannins and acids. Dry wine can be smooth as silk. High-alcohol wine, like Viognier or Zinfandel, sometimes seems sweet, even with little or no sugar. Taste a little rubbing alcohol and you'll see.

Rich: If they made Shiraz-flavored Koolaid and you used seven packets for one pitcher, you'd have rich. Also known as concentrated or extracted, it means more color and flavor.

Fruity: Does not mean sweet. Arguably, all wine should be fruity - it's made from fruit, for heaven's sake! If you smell peach, pineapple, blackberry, and, yes, even grape, the wine is fruity. (If you pick up gooseberry, you're faking it. Gooseberries are a hoax perpetuated by wine critics, and do not, in fact, exist. Quince and Bramble, two other common wine descriptors, do exist, but no one really knows what are.) On a wine list, fruity usually means simple: you taste the fruit and nothing but the fruit.

Floral: smells like perfume, flowers, or the soap in the guest bathroom that everyone's afraid to unwrap. 

Spicy: Exotic. Can refer to anything in the spice rack. Gewurztraminer is always described as spicy because, a) that's what Gewurtz means and b) there aren't any other things that smell like it. Spicy in a Syrah means cinnamon and black-pepper-up-your-nose.  

Body: A tactile thing: the glop factor. Light-bodied is skim milk or water. Full-bodied is heavy cream, honey or 10-W-40.

Big! Huge! Blockbuster! A Monster!: Three possible meanings. With California Zinfandel, it refers to how your head will feel the next morning; that is, the wine packs a punch. In the case of Cabernet or Barollo, it means tannins like a three-day-old beard. Either the wine is too young, or you're meant to tough it out, saying things like, "Now THERE'S a wine!" Applied to other reds, it means super-rich and full-bodied. Beware; when it comes to food, blockbuster wines are about as friendly as a Sumo wrestler with diaper rash. 

Soft: This term sells oceans of Merlot every year. It means not enough acid or tannin to last, refresh or excite. Lemonade without the lemons. No complexity, nothing that would tax your brain. It's a plot, can't you see?? They think you're too low brow to appreciate anything better than pablum. They want to turn you into pod people! Forget soft wine! Get out of that ghetto, man! Make like an infinitive and split! 

If you follow this guide and still aren't crazy about the wine they bring, give it a chance with your meal. Under whelming sipping wine can make beautiful music with food. But go easy on it, or you could find yourself in front of two doors in a hallway, wondering if you're a Porpoise or a Dolphin. 

Gerbet Macaroons by: Tina Casaceli Director of Pastry and Baking Arts The French Culinary Institute

Makes 25 macaroon sandwich cookies
Estimated time to complete: 2 hours

Ingredients
115 grams (4 ounces) almond flour
200 grams (7 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
For the meringue
90 grams (3½ ounces) egg whites,
at room temperature
8 grams (2 tablespoons) confectioners’ sugar
For the finish
100 grams (3½ ounces) raspberry or other jam

Equipment
Baking sheet
Parchment paper
Food processor fitted with the metal blade
Rubber spatula
Sifter
Standing electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment
Pastry bag fitted with a #2 tip
Wire racks
Offset spatula
Prepare your mise en place.

Preheat the oven to 162°C (325ºF).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Combine the almond flour and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process for about 1 minute or until very fine. Set aside.

To make the meringue, place the egg whites in the bowl of the standing electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment. Beat on low to aerate. Add the confectioners’ sugar, raise the speed to high, and beat for about 3 minutes or until soft peaks form. Take care not to over-whip or the meringue will be dry and it will be difficult to fold in the dry ingredients.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a rubber spatula, fold the almond mixture into the meringue until well-blended.

Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with the #2 tip.
Carefully pipe fifty 2.5 centimeter (1-inch) rounds of the macaroon batter onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Set aside for about 1 hour or until the macaroons form a skin on their surface. This is extremely important, as the skin helps the macaroons hold their shape during baking.

Bake the macaroons for about 10 minutes, or until firm and just beginning to brown around the edges. (The macaroons should not color much during baking.) Watch carefully, as the high sugar content will cause the cookies to burn quickly.

Immediately transfer the macaroons to wire racks to cool.
Using an offset spatula, lightly coat the flat bottom of 25 of the cooled macaroons with a thin layer of jam. Cover the jam with another macaroon, bottom side down, pressing gently to make a sandwich cookie.

Serve the macaroons immediately or store them, airtight in layers, at room temperature for a day or two.

TIPS
Buttercream, ganache, or pistachio or praline paste may be used as a filling in place of the jam.
A drop or two of food coloring along with 3 milliliters (½ teaspoon) of any extract or 15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) of fruit brandy can be added to the meringue.

EVALUATING YOUR SUCCESS
The baked macaroons should be smooth and round with no cracks, crunchy on the exterior and soft and chewy in the interior.
The baked macaroons should be consistent in size, shape, and color.
There should be just enough filling to hold the two pieces together as well as to add a bit of moisture.

BUY NOW!!  The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts 

Domestic Abuse and Women – Know the Signs and Get Help

Nearly one-third of all women in the U.S. will experience domestic abuse at some point in their lives.  This epidemic causes physical, mental, and emotional harm, for both the women abused and the children who witness it. Understanding the signs, and being able to recognize them in your own relationship or others, is key to being able to get help.

What Is Domestic Abuse and What Leads to It?
Domestic abuse is any abusive behavior—not just physical violence—perpetrated by someone against an intimate partner or family member. Anyone in a household may be a victim, but women are most often affected. The abuse may be physical violence, sexual violence, emotional or psychological abuse, and even financial or economic abuse, using money to exert control over someone.

What causes someone to commit domestic abuse is not always understood, but the desire to control and have power over the victim is considered a primary motivator. Substance abuse can also be an important contributing factor, although it is not a cause or an excuse for domestic abuse. Even prescription drugs, like narcotic pain killers, can lead to abuse and addiction that ultimately contribute to domestic violence. Drug recalls are important in limiting access, but there are also illicit drugs and alcohol that can lead to abuse and violence.

Signs of Domestic Abuse
It can be difficult to recognize domestic abuse in your own relationship, especially when it does not involve overt violence. Some signs your partner may be abusive include feeling afraid of your partner, feeling as if you can never do anything right, outbursts, being put down verbally, being limited by your partner when it comes to seeing friends and family or hearing or spending money, being threatened, or being physically harmed by your partner. It is often easier to see the signs in other women, but it is important to be able to recognize them in your own relationship. 

Asking for or Offering Help
The consequences of domestic abuse can be devastating and far-reaching, ranging from physical injuries to substance abuse and addiction, and even to death. This is why it is so important to get help if you find yourself in this situation, or to offer help if you know someone going through it. Getting help is hard, though. You may feel afraid to anger your partner or to lose your children. The only way it will stop is to get help.

You can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline, at 1-800- 799-SAFE, but you can also reach out to someone you trust, like a friend. If you see someone else being abused, reach out. Your efforts to help may be rebuffed, but be persistent and non-judgmental. Offer to listen and to help, with the kids for instance, or with a place to stay. Domestic abuse has reached epidemic levels, but being aware and being prepared to help make a big difference.

Thanks to "team at recallreport.org"

Fran lee

February 13th, 2010 Fran lee passed away...a guest on The Woman's Connection when we first started out in the 1990's.  She had her own program on "How TO" do and fix things.  But she was best known for her 1972 activism on getting rid of Dog Waste. and became law in 1978..in New York City, we now have the Pooper Scooper Law thanks to her. As Ed Koch once said "New Yorkers can hold their heads up high".  Enjoyed my interview with her and her frankness!!

Top 10 Diva Do's and Don'ts: Home Improvements Projects for Women

Guest blog by Norma Vally

1. DON’T wear loose clothing while performing home improvement tasks. Loose-fitting garments can get caught in power tools, especially saws—a potentially life threatening situation.

2. DO know where the main shut-off valves for all your utilities are located. Women need to know how to turn off the main power sources for the gas, water and electricity in their homes. This is critical in an emergency.

3. DON’T be stymied by a lack of upper body strength. For example, women can gain leverage by extending the length of a wrench—thus requiring less brute strength—by adding a long piece of metal pipe over the wrench’s handle. “Back in Brooklyn, we call that pipe a ‘persuader,’” Norma says.

4. DO mark your project materials before cutting them. The old adage goes, “Measure twice, cut once.” Norma takes it a step further, “Whenever possible, mark instead of measure is even better.”

5. DON’T buy cheap tools. Investing in good tools upfront will save you money in the long run since they won’t need to be replaced. They’ll also save you a lot of aggravation— and not being aggravated is priceless!

6. DO know which direction to turn screws and other fittings. The general rule is, “Right tight, left loose.”

7. DON’T be embarrassed to ask for help from the staff in home improvement centers and hardware stores. They are often retired trades people and can offer a wealth of information.

8. DO organize your work space and keep it clutter-free. Clean up as you work to keep the area safe and free of potential hazards, especially anything that you can trip over.

9. DON’T forget to bring along any old parts that you may be replacing when you go to the hardware store. Norma says, “It’s much easier for you and the sales staff to find replacement parts when you bring in an example of what you’re looking for.” If you can’t bring it with you, try to find a serial or ID number from the original part.

10. DO unplug your power tools when you’re adjusting a part or changing a blade. “Just turning the tool off isn’t enough,” cautions Norma. “Accidents can and do happen, so be sure to always unplug your tools.”