Well-received - the Figs

When I cleared up last night, there were only a few mortadella-wrapped figs left.  Good!  Our pregnant guest told us that her doctors forbid deli foods - salami, mortadella, etc. - for sanitary reasons as in packing conditions.  Who knew?  I certainly didn't but now we all do. 

I found two other fig recipes that might work out well ...add some figs to  the Thanksgiving dressing along with a double handful of pistachios or in this sauce from epicurious.com

Caramelized Fig and Balsamic Sauce
8 softened figs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 T sweet butter
1/2 teas. Dijon mustard.

Caramelize the sugar, by swirling it around in a heavy skillet.  Add the water gently down the side of the pan, shaking it frequently.  The sugar will harden and that's when you add the figs, balsamic, butter and mustard and beat it in.

epicurious.com said it is good on meat; I dunno about that.  I "saw"  it on generous scoops of  vanilla ice cream

Cilantro
Richie made his acclaimed guacamole and something that made it even better than usual was this:  a tube of Gourmet Garden Cilantro.  It's chopped fresh cilantro in a water suspension that lives in the refrigerator until you need some of it.

Fresh cilantro here is a pain because it is only sold in great bushel-sized bouquets of the stuff and the only way to store it is in a water glass with half an inch of water in the bottom.  In seconds (or so it seems) the bouquet has become a collection of sad-looking, slimy weeds. 

Ralph's Supermarket, fresh vegetable section.  There are tubes of other herbs, but because we needed the cilantro, my focus was solely on that.