The secret is letting the noodles cook a little longer so that they're soft and adding all of the ingredients to the hot or warm noodles.
Here's my recipe:
1 pound bag mac noodles,cooked past the al dente stage.
4 big potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes-drained of all water
4 eggs (or more if you like) boiled and chopped
1 head celery, cleaned, chopped into small pieces. Use the leaves, too as they add flavor.
1 can of tuna, drained and chopped up into small bits (they'll never know its in the salad)
1 large carrot, shredded
1 tsp. white pepper
1 cup Best Foods Mayo (Kraft Mayo is Ok but do not use Miracle Whip)
Optional- add 6 scallions/green onions, chopped up finely.
I cook the noodles separately and drain the water back into the pot and cook the eggs with the potatoes. It takes about 20 minutes to cook. You can remove the eggs after five minutes.

While the noodles are still hot or warm, add all of the ingredients and mix well. I top this with the green onions and cover the bowl. Refrigerate overnight. As the noodles will absorb some of the mayo, check the salad before serving and add additional mayo until you like the texture and taste.
There ya go! Aloha!

If you're trying to find what's in that picture above, just grab some biscuit mix and make a few. Bisquick would work well as its not sweet. Cut up some really ripe strawberries and toss in a tablespoon of sugar and none at all, stir and let sit for a few minutes to get the juices flowing and make the shortcake just like the dish in the photo.

If you want that cakey kind of shortcake, Ralphs sell them in packs of either four or six in their bakery sections. You can just fill them up with fresh berries and top with whipped cream.

Buy a Sara Lee pound cake or a prepared angel cake at your locak market and cut it into small cubes. Layer the pound cake cubes with fresh whipped cream or Cool Whip and your favorite berries or sliced bananas (dipped in lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. You can also buy packaged pudding or custard and add that as anothe layer. This is a trifle. The British have been making these for ages using custard and fruit. The more layers you make the prettier the dessert.

My favorite is to use homemade or jarred lemon curd. Layer that over pound cake cubes, sprinkled with fresh blueberries, whipped cream and then another layer of cake, curd, berries and whipped cream. You can add one cup of freshly whipped cream or Cool Whip to each jar of curd before adding to the bowl but still add one layer of whipping cream as an individual layer.

If you're an Oreo lover, you can crush about three packs of Oreos and create this masterpiece.
The layers are in this order...
Oreos, whipped cream or Cool Whip, chocolate mousse or pudding, Oreos, whipped cream, mousse or pudding, whipped cream and a sprinke of crushed oreos on top.

Are you trying to make a cheesecake?

Alpine Village sells "Farmer's" cheese for an outrageous price. You can find it in the fresh cheese section next to the meat deli.

You can buy small curd cottage cheese, rinse it completely in a strainer and dry it with paper towels.

I make my own. Its really easy.
Buy a gallon of whole milk and pour it into a stock pot. Bring it to a boil. The milk will boil UP so watch it carefully before it comes to the boil stage. Remove it from the heat and add one cup of plain white vinegar. Give it a gentle stir from the bottom up and cover the pot. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes. As the milk cools, curds form making the cheese.
After cooling, strain all of the milk into a stainer into either another large pot or a very large bowl. The liquid in the bowl is whey which you can use for other recipes. Its actually really nutritious. Rinse off the cheese curds with cold water and sprinke with lightly with salt. I use 1 1/2 teaspoon. Make sure you rinse it well or you'll still taste a bit of vinegar.

The cheese is ready to use now or you can pack it away in a baggie and refrigerate.

I was originally told to strain it in a cheesecloth, rinse, salt and wrap the cheese up tightly in the cloth and put a weight on top of it so it strains even more. That's not necessary to do. You can just dab the cheese with several good, thick papertowels and its dry enough for a cheesecake, strudel or blintz recipe.

I'm dying to type, Bon Apetite! Ok, I did.. Enjoy!

You may use loquats in any recipe that calls for peaches, nectarines, apricots or plums. Toss some peeled chopped pieces into a basic muffin mix, make a pie, breads and even cobblers or crisps. You just have to taste it before baking while adjusting the sugar in your recipes. I have a tree full of ripening fruit and still have jam made from last year's batch in my cupboard. You can even make fruit rolls out of them using a basic fruit roll recipe which you can find online. I love to toss them in a fruit salad with sliced bananas, blueberries, and orange slices. Good stuff, Maynard.

Just make sure to discard the seeds as they can be toxic. Make sure your dogs don't eat them whole, too.

I just learned that Texas Loosie's has chicken fried steak and its the same frozen patty that Johnny Reb's uses.

I just passed by there and the sign for Sam Woo's is gone. There seems to be another owner there now. I'm still looking for good bbq pork in Monterey Park. I go there once a month for a meeting. Any suggestions? I'm trying to find a take-out place near Atlantic and Garvey. Thanks!

Where can I purchase slab bacon in the west Los Angeles, Westchester or S. Bay area? Any suggestions?

This recipe is for the old fashioned "elephant ears" you'd find at a fair or carnival.

Elephant Ears
2 c Milk
5 tb Sugar
5 tb Shortening
2 tb Salt
2 Envelopes Active Dry Yeast
2 c Warm Water (105-115 degree)
6 c All-Purpose Flour
2 qt Vegetable Oil
Cinnamon Sugar

Scald Milk; add Sugar, Shortening, & Salt. Cool to lukewarm.

Sprinkle yeast onto warm water in lg. bowl. Add Milk mixture & 2 Cups Flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough additional Flour to make stiff dough.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board; kneed until smooth & elastic, about 8-10 min. Place in a greesed bowl, turning to grease top. Cover & let rise in a warm place, until double in size, about 1 hour.

Divide dough into 6-8 balls. Roll each out in the form of an elephant's ear.

Heat oil to 375 degrees. Deep fry elephant's ears, one at a time, for about 3-5 min. on each side or until golden brown. Serve hot, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Makes 6-8.

You can get them at any market in Los Angeles. Even the hispanic markets have them available. I can usually find these near the bacon section. Also, the Alpine Village Market in Torrance sells these, too.

Are you going to make a pot of beans with them?

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Alpine Village
833 Torrance Blvd, Torrance, CA 90502

I only wished I had seen your message before we went there and wasted $40 on dinner. The chicken fried steak turned out to be something like a cube steak that was prepared like a chicken scalloppine dish. Although I ate it all as I was hungry, it wasn't good and it certainly was NOT a typical chicken fried steak dinner. My husband didn't even think it was made out of beef and wouldn't eat it. The restaurant should call it something else as the entire South would definitely not call what I ate last night a Chicken Fried Steak! It might be going downhill but I must say that the service was great. There must be some little old fashioned coffee shop somewhere that serves a good Texas type of CFS in L.A... where, I don't know but it certainly wasn't Steven's!

I just found out that Steven's Steak House off of Atlantic Blvd. in the City of Commerce has CFS on their menu. My husband and I are going there for dinner tonight. Will let you know if it was any good (or not!). $9.40 for the lunch$14.00 for the dinner and I called them and asked if they made their own or used a frozen patty. I was told that they make their own. We shall see!

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The Steak House
2933 Rolling Hills Rd, Torrance, CA 90505

I'm trying to find one great spot where I can feed 100 people great Hawaiian-style appetizers/pupus and drinks of all kinds in Orange County. We're helping plan a wedding and can't seem to find anyone who does a great polynesian "spread" for a reasonable price. We're also trying to find a great beach that's set up for weddings. Help, please? And thank you!

We go to Johnny Rebs for the Chicken fried steak, too. Its not a homemade steak as its frozen and shipped in from Advance Meats in Oklahoma but its the closest thing in the area to a homemade steak. Its good, too.

Pann's CFS isn't bad but its not great. Its never consistent so you never know if you're getting a good meal or not. Sometimes the chicken fried steak is fried to perfection and other times, its greasy.

I've even had the chicken fried steaks at Claim Jumpers. I did not receive a huge, thick steak as mentioned below in K's review. Their steaks are frozen then grilled but they are breaded and come with gravy. They're good but Johnny Rebs has more of a "crunch" to their steaks.

Truxton's in Westchester has CFS on their menu but they only serve it over the weekend. I have yet to try their version. We tried to order one this last Thurday night but the waitress said that they couldn't make it for us. We went to the restaurant to treat a young marine recently posted at Camp Pendelton who loves the meal and was disappointed that he couldn't order it. If anyone tries their steak, let me know please. I'd like to know if its good or not.

Also, BJ's at the Fox Hills Mall has CFS. We haven't tried that either. I think that Dinah's has it on their menu as well. Its just a frozen patty and not that great but then, Dinah's doesn't have the best coffeeshop food around anymore either.

If you're craving a breaded steak and are willing to try a good alternative to the basic gravy-dripping meal, I would like to mention the "milanesa" steak at Casa Gamino at 4937 W. Century Blvd.. The restaurant serves Mexican food and their milanese steak is a large, breaded steak served with freshly chopped onions, tomatoes and parsley on top. They make it fresh each time and its consistently good. It comes with beans and rice, tortillas and a salad so its a filling meal. When we have our chicken fried steak craving and don't feel like driving 30 minutes to Long Beach, we go to Casa Gamino. Its on Century Blvd., directly east off of the 405 freeway.

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Pann's Restaurant & Coffee Shop
6710 La Tijera Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045

I also found sheets of good puff pastry at Top Value Market on Inglewood for anyone else who might be looking for the dough. They have a small but decent middle eastern food section there.

Smart N' Final also carries a large box of puff pastry sheets for restaurant usage. You can find it in the freezer section near the frozen waffles or frozen cakes and pies. Any good middle eastern market should have it. Why don't you try some of the kosher markets on Pico near Robertson. Surely they have it as they carry a lot of eastern treats.

I called Pavich's so thank you for the suggestion. The man who answered my question told me to go to Goga Market and that's where I went! Thanks, again!

I wanted to add that I did get down to Goga Market. Its a small place with a nice inventory of Croatian food. I'm not Croatian so I wasn't sure what half of the things were that they sell there.
The owner was just wonderful and was very helpful. He told me that the puff pastry they sell is the kind that you can roll out into huge rectangles. I bought 4 packs of the stuff and was amazed just how far I could roll out one piece of the pastry dough. I made a three and a half foot apple strudel that night! I'm ready to use more of the dough to see if I can make a danish kringle or kingler with it.

Thanks, Cheri! I completely forgot about Surfas! Thank you for your tip! I really appreciate it.

I'm dying to make a Croatian cheese pastry that's boiled then baked. I cannot find large sheets of puff pastry dough in my area. Does anyone know where there is a Croatian market or any other kind of market (not Jons Market, please) where I can find this type of pastry dough? I need a place that is south of the Culver City area or in Culver City. Thanks!
(Pepperidge Farms frozen dough won't work for this recipe.)

Ok, I just found the Goga Market right after I posted this. I'm still looking for something closer to home. Thanks!

Hi All!

Anyone know where I can find "Baker's Cheese" in Los Angeles? Alpine Village carries Farmer's Cheese for an outrageous price but its not Baker's Cheese. So if you're a Cheesecake baker and use Baker's Cheese in L.A., where do you buy it, please???? Thanks!

I have an easy recipe using a cake mix.

Buy a white, yellow or even lemon cake mix. Any brand will do. Make the cake mix according to the instructions except use butter instead of the oil. You can melt it before mixing or just use room temp. butter. (If you like the richness of a sour cream cake, you can add a 1/2 cup of sour cream, substituting it for 1/2 cup of water called in the cake instructions.)

To the cake mix, I add 2 TB of grated lemon zest and 3 TB of lemon juice. I like nuts so I add a 1/2 cup of well-chopped walnuts.

Using a 9x13 inch pan that is either spray-coated with a non-stick spray or use the new Reynold's Non-stick aluminum and line the inside of the pan before using and place your batter in the pan. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes until the cake done. You can stick a knife into the center of the cake to see if its done.

You can glaze this but its great plain. If you want to glaze the coffeecake, use 2 cups of powdered sugar, 1 TB of lemon zest, 2 TB of lemon juice and mix well until the icing is smooth. If its too dry, add a TB or two of cream or milk.

Enjoy!
Anne

Vons Markets actually make fairly good cakes. I was extremely impressed with a half-sheet cake that I ordered for a birthday celebration. Not only was the frosting and lemon layer excellent but the cake itself was light and rich like a cake from Hanson's Bakery. You can order any kind of cake you like at any Von's for a decent price. I paid under $35.00 for a three layer 1/2 sheet cake which beats out any privately owned bakery. The picture is the cake I ordered. I asked for pale pink decorations and asked them to write only "Happy Birthday" on the cake. It was gorgeous and tasted great!

Thanks for suggesting La Sinaloense for tamales! I'll definitely go there and buy some. Any idea how much a dozen tamales cost? And do they really sell fresh tamales every day? I sure hope they do because I don't want to go there and there aren't any tamales available! Thanks again! Annieamie

I'd like to thank you for the excellent review that I read on Mexican restaurants in Inglewood. Apparently, you get out more than I do and am braver than I am to try some of these smaller restaurants. Since I'm writing to thank you, would you mind answering another question for me? Do you know where I can find a store that sells great homemade pork tamales? I don't like the ones from Corn Maiden and used to buy some from Lucilles on Sepulveda and at Robert's Market on Manchester in Westchester but those never seem to be fresh. I know that you said that the best ones probably come from street vendors but I was hoping to find a little store somewhere on Inglewood Ave. where they're made fresh daily and sold by the dozen. Thanks again for your wonderful review! Annie

I've been driving up and down Inglewood Ave. in Inglewood for years as its part of a daily route I take to and from various other areas. There are so many new little restaurants on that one street. I was wondering if any of you out there in Chowhound Land ever tried any of these places and what you thought about them. There's also a little place called Azteca on Arbor Vitae. Has anyone been there? It always looks empty to me but then, I only see it during the day .

I'm just trying to find some real, authentic mexican food instead of the reheated frozen stuff that a lot of the restaurants serve in the LAX area. .. Thanks!

Thank you so much!

Does anyone have any idea where I can find dried apricots that are dipped into chocolate here in Los Angeles? I was hoping to find the large Australian apricots which have been glazed or glace dipped in dark chocolate. Please let me know if you know who has these for sale........... Also, has anyone ever had a candy which is made out of 2 dried apricot halves stuffed with marshmallow that is wrapped in waxed paper? IF you know the name of the candy or where I can buy it or even which country it originates from, please let me know. Thanks so much!
Annie

I found them at the Sea Empress, Monku so thank you again for your suggestions.
In case anyone else is interested in them, they are $2.86 for two and you can buy as many as you like. They were good, too! I picked up a dozen of them for my family. They're even good cold, right out of the refrigerator!
Good stuff, Maynard!!!

ProfessorSalt? What do you use the manufacturing cream for? I have a quart of this in my fridge hoping that it can be substituted for whipped cream. I'd love to know what you use this product for and if you have any great recipes that you'd be willing to share that contains this product. When you have time, please let me know? Thanks! Annieamie