Dish

By Compiled by JANET K. KEELER

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 30, 2000

A weekly serving of food news and views

CONSTANT COMMENT

"I'm awfully sorry for people who are taken in by all of today's dietary mumbo jumbo. They are not getting any enjoyment out of their food." -- Julia Child, June Esquire

DE-CONSTRUCTING

Explanations from the inside out

MEGA PACK DEEP DISH PIZZA LUNCHABLES

The package boasts 40 percent more food but doesn't mention that it also contains 52 percent more fat and 82 percent more sodium than the original Lunchables pizza. Nutritional content: 670 calories, 23 grams of fat, 99 grams of carbohydrate, 20 grams of protein and 1,310 milligrams of sodium

• 2 soft pizza crusts (4 by 4 inches)
• Pizza sauce by TombstonePart-skim mozzarella cheese by Kraft
• M&Ms crispy (8 in the pack)
• 12-ounce CapriSun splash cooler in a "wide mouth can"

VARIATIONS ON THE THEME

Making a recipe your own

Taking potato salad to a Labor Day celebration? Here are some variations on the classic mayonnaise, dill pickle and celery version. All ingredients are added to taste:

• Greek: Feta cheese, chopped Kalamata olives and minced fresh parsley.
• German: Crumbled bacon and chopped eggs; add brown mustard to mayonnaise.
• Californian: Roasted, chopped garlic cloves and diced sun-dried tomatoes.
• Heartland: Fresh corn, chopped red bell pepper and scallions.
• Upscale: Crumbled blue cheese, chopped pine nuts and minced watercress.

AT THE STORE

OXO engineers have taken another humdrum kitchen accessory and put their brainy noodles together, this time creating a better ice cube tray.

A clever cover slides in either direction to release as many cubes as needed. Such a cover keeps freezer odors out and makes trays easy to stack as well. Oxo Good Grips ice cube trays are $3.99 each at specialty housewares stores.

IN THE MAIL

Calling all snack food junkies. Now there's a potato-chip-of-the-month club to satisfy your cravings. Call (800) 313-2332 and receive six 5- to 7-ounce bags of chips each month for $16.50 plus $5.75 for shipping and handling.

GOOD MANNERS

If you've ever been torn between the tabletop and the floor, here's what you should really do with the trash from condiment containers. Sweetener wrappers can be tucked under your saucer or next to your plate, lying flat. Leave butter wrappers or jelly containers on your butter plate.

COOKING CLASS

[Times photo: Patty Yablonski]

Save time in the kitchen by using an egg slicer to slice not only hard-cooked eggs, but also fresh mushrooms for salads and sauteing. New potatoes (small red skins) cooked for potato salad may be sliced this way, too, though the tender peel might tear off.

NO. 1 HINT FROM HELOISE

Question: How do I clean cloudy drinking glasses?

Answer: Soak them for an hour or longer in slightly warm (not boiled) white vinegar. Then use a nylon-net or plastic scrubber to remove film.

Glasses still cloudy? The damage must be etching (tiny scratches that occur in the dishwasher) and is permanent, sorry to say.

To avoid: Hand-wash your best glasses.

-- http://www.heloise.com

THIS WEB SITE COOKS

http://www.fishingpal.com

Looking for a way to cook your catch? Log on to Fishingpal.com for plenty of recipes and cooking tips.

For example, "Cook lean fish wet and cook fat fish dry. Wet means boiling, steaming, pan frying, deep frying, poaching. Dry means baking, broiling, grilling, planking, smoking, warm air dried, salted."

Here's the site's list of which fish is which: Lean fish would include catfish, perch, walleye, pickerel, white bass, cod, flounder, fluke, cobia, channel, grouper, ocean perch, sheepshead, speckled trout, red snapper, drum. Fat fish would include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, shad, trout of all freshwater varieties, striped bass and hybrid, bluefish, mackerel, redfish, salmon, swordfish and tuna.

Compiled by JANET K. KEELER from staff and wire reports. Food comments or questions? Mail them to the Taste section, Newsfeatures, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731 or e-mail floridian@sptimes.com.

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