Three out of my 5 'greats' involve pasta!

The other day I read in a novel somewhere about a class called "Five Great Things." It's designed for people who don't cook and it teaches them five simple dishes to do for company (mostly for guys to impress their dates). The book wasn't about food, just mentioned the thing in passing but I remember hearing about the concept elsewhere (not here in Hawai'i but it would be a great idea for Kapi'olani Commmunity College to try, I think). Most classes would choose basic such as a great steak with a sauce, roasting a chicken, making an omelet. But my thoughts went off on tangents.

Makes an interesting thing to think about for those of us who like to cook and hope to impress. I sat down and began scribbling and within minutes had 23 dishes. My criteria were that there should be at least one vegetarian dish and one breakfast or brunch dish. I was amused to note that, when I was done, three out of my 5 (well 6) "greats" were for pasta and three involved tomatoes. You can tell what I like.

No way can I keep myself to five right now, I think I'd choose these:

Al's Pasta Angelique. Learned it from a restaurateur who had an Italian mother those his restaurant wasn't Italian. It was in Everett Washington and so long ago (more than 30 years) that I don't even remember Al's last name. It's basically a saute of Italian sausage (you take off the casings), lots of mushrooms, lots and lots of olives, onions, bell pepper, parsley and garlic and served over rigatoni. Teaches knfe skills and sauteing.

Sheila's Chicken Curry. This is a simple casserole that's actually a version of chicken divan. You make a white sauce with lemon, mayonnaise and curry iit (I use hot but mom prefers mild, in it, pour it over boneless chicken breast or thighs along with blanched broccoli flowerets and bake it topped with breadcrumbs and livered almonds. Easy and always impresses because it's rich but the curry, lemon and brocoli kind of cut the richness. Teaches a new way to make white sauce (actually a very old way, and casserole technique).

Kusherie. This is an Egyptian lentil dish, vegetarian and a great favorite of mine. You need French green lentils or the firm brown lentils called masoor dahl. You can't do it with mushy American lentils. You simple cook the lentils together with long grain rice, kind of like an Egyptian meshi. But what makes the dish is that meanwhile, you carmelize a ton of onions down to nothing but a beautiful brown glaze. You chop tomatoes and cucumbers. And you serve it toppped with the vetgetables and yogurt. If you wanted to spice it with curry or somet other mixture, you could. You can make it buffet style, letting people put their own onions, tomatoes and cucumbers on top and you can use sour cream instead of yogurt. Greek yogurt is my favorite. Teaches a vegetarian approach and how to carmelize onions.

Everybody should know how to grill or fry a piece of fish. I wouuld demonstrate one or the other methods was a white fish fillet — monchon's my favorite, but hard to get these days. Any boneless, fillet would do. Get a thick fillelt for grilling, less thick for fying. I dredge the fish by lying it on a flate plate or cutting board and using a small strainer to sprinkle seasoned cornstarch over. You could do panko if you're frying. The lessoon would be how to tell when the fish is done and how not to fuss with it too much. (Don't turn until's golden and don't poke or prod.) With this, I like to use a fresh tomato relish: chopped cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and  pepper and minced garlic — flavor with a generous hand. It's the same thing you use on bruschetta and it's wonderful. Teaches fish cooking techniques and a versatile sauce that can be used in other ways.

My last choice (for now) is a tie between two lightning fast pasta dishes: Happy Birthday Pine Nut Pasta and Isle of Palms Bacon Pasta.

Happy Birthday Pine Nut Pasta is penne pasta sauteed with feta cheeese, marinated artichoke hearts, toasted pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes. The marinade more or less makes the sauce, along with the reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes. Delicious and quic. Teaches chopping technique.

The Island of Palms pasta, which comes from a romance by that name, involves cooking bacon, removing most of the fat, adding a chicken bouillon cube and a can of tomatoes, cooking the souce down a few minutes, stirring in a couple of cups of cooked pasta and then covering the whole with Parmesan cheese. Toss and serve. Teaches  proper way to saute bacon and how to have a light but right hand with fats.

I'm signing off now, going on vacation for a few days. Back at it next week. Meanwhile, think about what five dishes you'd teach a noncook and respond so I can see your ideas while I'm gone. Aloha, Wanda.

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