Sides

Pre-heat oven to 450 F. Cut of part of the bottom, and peel off a layer or so nasty- or tough-looking outer leaves. Toss in a pan with salt and olive oil. -SRD

' 450 Farenheit, no garlic necessary, careful not to burn if you use it, bacon optional...lots of oil. shake pan often xxoxox' -ILS

Re: Oven Temp: ' Temp: as high as it will go.' MPD

It's up to you whether you add garlic with sprouts or a bit later (the charred bits are good!), chopped or crushed whole cloves are both good. Chopped bits of spicy sausage (Andouille is ideal) or pancetta are a mighty fine addition.'-MPD

Re: Cooking time: 'Hard to say or, as [FRB] would say, it's all intuitive. I just keep an eye on them. I like them good and crispy on the outside (30 minutes?). It's a good idea to agitate them or roll them over with a spatula so that the outsides cook evenly.' -MPD

'Refried kidney beans Anne Sophie and John style'

'1-2 onions chopped, 1 garlic clove semi mashed, 1 pound can kidney beans, 1 tbsp chili powder if mild type otherwise less., 1 tsp ground cumin (grind whole cumin yourself-it tastes much better), 1 inch tomato paste, salt and pepper, wheat tortillas, chili sauce, grated monterey type cheese or cheddar, chopped tomatoes, lettuce'

'Sauté the onions and garlic clove in olive oil. Sprinkle on the chili powder and cumin and let them toast a little bit before adding the beans and the juices the beans are in. Crank up the heat and boil all the juices into the beans adding the tomato paste before they get dry. Then keep frying and mashing the beans, scraping them off the bottom of the pan until they are half crusty, half pasty. Put them in a tortilla with cheese chili sauce, fresh chopped tomatoes and lettuce. An incredibly easy and tasty dish that fills you up and makes you feel good all over.'

-JD

'Take several totally plain and piping hot boiled or microwaved potatoes and fork them roughly (so there are lumps) with TONS of butter (or tons of good olive oil), lots of salt, and pepper until you have a enormous rough, lumpy mound. Then snip into shreds a handful of fresh parsley from the garden and fork that in too. The dish should be pretty salty and extremely buttery (or oily) with a nice fresh grassy overtone.' -ILS

5 pounds sweet potatoes, 1 cup coconut milk, 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon salt.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake potatoes on a baking sheet until very soft, about 1 hour. When cool enough to handle, peel and mash.
2. In a small saucepan, heat coconut milk with curry paste over low heat. Mix coconut milk mixture, half the sugar, half the butter, and salt into potatoes. Keep warm until ready to serve, or cover and refrigerate up to two days.
3. At least 30 minutes before serving, heat oven to 425 degrees. Put potatoes in a baking dish, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover potatoes, dot with remaining butter and sugar and broil until brown and crusty on top, checking often to prevent scorching.

From NYT. Tested and vouched for by SRD. Sometimes I do the quick & alone version of this--oil a sweet potato, poke some holes in it with a fork, stick it in the oven for an hour or so at 400 Fahrenheit or so, take it out, cut it open, slather it with butter, shake on some brown sugar, salt and cayenne pepper, mash inside the skin, eat as soon as it's cool enough.

Ingredients:
orzo, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, pine nuts, crumbled feta (a block or so), scallions
Directions:
Cook orzo in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until tender, then drain well in a colander. Whisk together lemon juice, oil, and salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl, then add hot orzo and toss. Cool orzo, then toss with pine nuts, feta, and scallion greens. Season with salt and pepper. -AL

Notes from your sister:

When I want this to be more substantial, sometimes I also chop up red pepper pretty small and throw it in. Delicious with lime/cilantro shrimp on top, bratwurst on top is also good.