H2-Ohhhh!

I was so hot last Saturday, all I wanted was ice cold water and watermelon. I had to be hot because I almost always drink room temperature water.  I'd been out and about in the heat and in a hot kitchen for four hours.

Anyhoo, I know flavored waters are all the rage.  I have to say that my favorite is what I call spa water.  I remember people were baffled by the flavor combination in 2001.  I had some at a hotel last week and I was reminded of how refreshing it was.

Start here:

Slice the lemon and lime in half.  Slice the cucumber.  I used about half of that.  You're probably supposed to remove the seeds, but I grew up eating the skin and the seeds.  I'm way too lazy to remove either as an adult.  Pick the mint and basil (yep, basil) leaves and slightly bruise them with your fingers.  Layer everything into a pitcher with ice.

Oops. That photo is a little dark.  Add your water and give it a stir.

Of course at the hotel, everything was suspended so beautifully in the lemonade jar ... . This will do for just me.  Let this sit in the refrigerator for about an hour.  Afterward, take out all of the solids or the water will turn bitter.  Save them and use them for garnish.  Wonderfully refreshing!

• Shun DM0706 Classic 8-Inch Chef's Knife
• Totally Bamboo Butcher Block 3 Prep Board Honey
• Impressions Pitcher

Buy The Book #4: Cook's Illustrated 2003 Annual

Whenever I can knock out a killer breakfast, I am a happy camper. One of the things I do love for breakfast is cornmeal pancakes. Many a day I opened a box of Jiffy for pancakes and not cornbread. That is until I discovered lemon-cornmeal blueberry pancakes in 2003.

This was the year I bought my first CI Annual. If you haven't figured it out, I believe the folks at Cook's Illustrated author the best recipes. Perhaps a third or more of my cookbook collection is from CI. I think this recipe is the one I use most from the 2003 volume. It truly is a breakfast favorite.

Let's get started. This is all you need to make these wonderful pancakes. I would've preferred fresh blueberries, but it's winter. I'll make do with frozen. And yes, the use of prep bowls really does help.

Start by stirring your lemon zest and lemon juice into the milk. Yep. You're making buttermilk. Let it sit for a while to thicken. You can easily use buttermilk and just add the zest. I feel Sunday biscuits coming on, so I'm saving the real buttermilk for that.

Mix the egg and melted butter.

Now, mix all of your dry ingredients. I do this in two stages, cornmeal and flour and then the baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt into the cornmeal and flour.

Dump the egg mixture into the milk and give it a whisk. Next, make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and mix in the milk mixture. I start with a whisk and then switch to a spatula. Please don't overmix. Lumps are okay. Completely smooth batter means tough pancakes and who wants that?

I used a large scoop to portion the batter. I don't care about perfectly round pancakes. This is a good thing because I can't make them! I do have some egg rings that I could use if I needed to impress somebody. After the batter is in the pan, sprinkle the blueberries across each pancake.

I am pining for a Le Crueset double-burner reversible grill and griddle. Until then, a large skillet will have to do. I added a little more oil than I should have and the heat was up a touch higher than it needed to be. Therefore, the first batch fried a little. Once you see the edges of the pancakes start to dry out (you'll see the bubbles), give the pancakes a flip. On my stove, liquids tend to pool on one side, so one pancake got a lot of hot oil. Can you tell which one?

When the bottom side has set, remove the pancakes to a plate and work it out with some syrup and butter. I also had some maple glazed turkey bacon going on the side. Add some rich coffee made from freshly-ground beans and you'd think you're at a fancy restaurant.

A couple of things would've made this better -- breakfast in bed and breakfast before noon! No matter. All was right with the world after the first bite.

These also freeze well. I stack them between parchment paper. I intentionally undercook each batch after the first, so that the frozen ones will be a little more forgiving when reheated.

Tools of the trade:

• All-Clad 12" Nonstick Fry Pan
• Glass Prep Bowls
• OXO Food Scale
• French Whisk

Greens Fees

The first time I made these sauteed collard greens, I told one of my aunts. My brother called me two days later and asked, "Who told you you could fry greens?!" Now you understand my family.

Let's get to it. I've adapted this recipe. The original is from Chef Eric Wells in Cleveland. Grab a pot. Add some water. Slice a lemon or two in half and add it to the pot. Heat the water to boiling.

Let's get to work on the greens. Oh, the joy of cleaning greens ...

Grab a leaf. Inspect both sides. You're checking for excessive grit and bugs.

If all is good, fold the leaf in half along the vein and tear the leaf from the vein.

You should end up with something pretty like this.

Drop these beautiful leaves into the sink to soak. Use a good amount of water.

Remember patience is a virtue:

Agitate the water. Let it settle. Lift the greens out as gingerly as possible (to keep from disturbing any sediment on the bottom of the sink.) Place them in fresh water on the other side of the sink. Drain the original water and rinse any dirt out of the sink. Repeat this process until you don't find any dirt in the sink after you remove the greens. I think this picture is after the first soak.

You are now ready to cook the greens. Grab a few of the leaves and roll them into a tight cigar shape.

Slice across the cigar. If you were doing thin slices, the technique would be called chiffonade. We're making much thicker slices.

Place your cut greens into a bowl.

Your lemon-water should be boiling by now. Salt it liberally with kosher salt. Add your greens and cook for 15 minutes. Strain into a colander and then squeeze the excess moisture out of the greens. I just grab a small handful and squeeze by hand. You'll end up with little balls of greens.

After you're done squeezing, unravel the balls. I wish you could keep the bright green color, but oh well.

Now (actually you should do this while the greens are boiling), slice a good amount of garlic. You can chop, mince or press yours if you like.

Since this is for me and I love garlic, I don't mind biting into a toasty slice.

Add olive oil, garlic and red pepper flake to a cold skillet.

Heat on med-low heat until the garlic starts to sizzle. Once you hear that snap, crackle and pop, add the greens and toss them around to evenly blend everything. I like using tongs for this. Check your seasonings.

Plate and hit them with a little fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Watch out now! Sauteed greens!

Tools of the trade:

• All-Clad 4-Qt Pot
• Shun Santoku
• Shun Chef's Knife
• Totally Bamboo Butcher Block
• All-Clad Deep Saute Pan
• Oxo Tongs

The Sublime

This is another recipe by Sue Weiler. She taught a Middle Eastern Favorites class a Sur La Table in Cleveland years ago. This pine nut tart was the dessert. It is one of my favorite desserts and simply sinful. The pine nuts, honey and lemon each add a subtle flavor that blends to create a richness that is almost indescribable. Each time I serve this, folks are always up for seconds.

Let's do it. Make the crust first. Add the flour and sugar to the food processor. Take it for a spin. Add frozen butter

and the egg.

Take everything for a spin and dump the contents onto the counter.

My intent was to roll out the dough. Halfway through, I decided to just dump everything into the tart pan and press it out.

Not bad if I do say so myself.

Dock the crust and fill with pie weights.

Bake until golden.

As this cools, let's move on to the filling -- eggs, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest and pine nuts. Start by toasting the pine nuts. I don't know why I used two small pans instead of one large one. Brilliance can sometimes be fleeting.

I placed the pine nuts in the crust instead of adding them to the filling.

The filling is scary. The lemon juice makes the butter curdle and I freak out every time.

Eventually I calm down and get everything into the crust.

Bake until beautiful.

Dust with powdered sugar and serve slightly warm.

Tools of the trade:

• KitchenAid Food Processor
• Oxo Bench Scraper
• Williams-Sonoma Two-in-One Citrus Juicer
• Microplane
• Pie Weights
• Tart Tamper

My Favorite Salad

This is my favorite salad of all time. The recipe is from Sue Weiler, a chef and instructor in Cleveland. I hadn't had the salad in a couple of years. Low and behold, I walked into Whole Foods one Saturday and smelled the distinct aroma of fried Halloumi cheese. It was on! Thanks to Sue, I had the perfect recipe for this.

Halloumi is one of the coolest cheeses ever. It doesn't melt, so you can grill it or fry it.

It's a firm cheese and slices easily.

Brown on both sides in a nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Let's get going on the salad dressing. Whip out your mini food processor. Miracle has a mini bowl, so I used that. Start with garlic and dill. I like a lot of both.

Take it all for a spin.

Add fresh lemon juice and a little honey. Stream in the olive oil while the processor is running. You should end up with something like this.

Now that the dressing is done, let's move on to the rest of the salad. Get some red and green grapes. Slice them in half.

Place your salad greens on a plate and add a couple of tablespoons of dressing.

Toss the greens and add the grapes and cheese. Good eating is immediately ahead!

Tools of the trade:

• Shun Paring Knife
• Williams-Sonoma Two-in-One Citrus Juicer
• KitchenAid Food Processor
• All-Clad 10" Nonstick Skillet