Salade Cuite

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             FOOD FUNNY
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Thanks to Rosemary Zwick for sharing this with us:
 
'Twas the week after Christmas, and all through the house
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste
At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.
 
When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).
I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,
 
The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."
As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt
 
I said to myself, as I only can
"You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!"
So away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip
 
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
Till all the additional ounces have vanished.
I won't have a cookie - not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
 
I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.
I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore
But isn't that what January is for?
 
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

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             TODAY'S RECIPE
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"Salade Cuite" is just fancy-dancy French talk for "cooked salad." If
you are into putting on airs (as I am) you can toss this one into your
conversations like so: "The salade cuite I had my last time in
Marseilles wasn't nearly as amusing as the Chef's recipe." Try it. Your
friends will stare at you wide-eyed.

Salade Cuite

1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped onion
1 shallot, finely minced
1 Tbs (15 ml) olive oil
4 heads lettuce (red leaf, green leaf, Boston, Bibb, or a combination of these) washed, coarsely chopped, and slightly damp
1 head radicchio (Italian chicory), optional, washed, coarsely chopped, and slightly damp
1/2 tsp (2 ml) fennel seeds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
A grating of fresh nutmeg

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over moderate heat and cook the
onion and shallot for about 5 minutes, until translucent but not brown.
Add the lettuces and stir until the volume is reduced. Add the fennel
seeds, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook partially covered for about 10
minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lettuce it completely limp.
Continue to cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until the liquid has evaporated.
Serves 4 to 6.
Received on Wed Dec 31 12:35:07 2008