Ardei copti (roasted peppers)       For those who have never tried roasting peppers, it's really easy but a little messy and I think the peppers are much better than the kind you can buy in the store.       1. Buy a few colorful peppers (red, orange, yellow are good. I don't like roasting green ones.) Right now, you can buy a six-pack at Costco. For the cooking part, one pepper is just as easy to do as six and you can freeze the excess in freezer ziploc bags.       2. Turn oven to at least 450F or 500 F. (Use convection here if you have it. You are looking to totally burn the skin. For easier cleaning, put a layer of foil over cookie sheet. Deep sided pans are not as good here. I like using jelly roll type pans that have a small edge. Spray foil with cooking spray because you will need to turn the peppers to blacken all sides.       3. Put peppers on pan with some space between them. If your peppers can stand up, that will work better since you won't need to turn them as often. Burn them until the skins are almost entirely black. (If you have extra room in the oven, you can also roast foil-wrapped garlic or potatoes since you've got your oven cranked up.) The cooking peppers smell like....burning food but don't let that bother you. The smell will go away.       4. Remove from oven and use a spatula or large spool to put them into a large mixing bowl (Use glass or stainless steel bowl or even a saucepan works in a pinch.) Don't worry if the peppers tear open. You can pour any juice into a different bowl for straining later if you are planning to save the juice. Cover with a pot cover or plastic wrap. Let sit about 5-10 minutes to steam a little. This will help loosen the skin. If you let them sit for an hour, like I once did, the blackened skin darkens the pepper inside. So if you want bright-colored roasted peppers, don't let them sit too long.       5. Here's the messy part. Hold the pepper over a bowl (use the one holding the juice if you are saving it.) You are going to peel the black skin off the peppers and remove the seeds and core. The bowl helps to : a. catch the juice which can be strained to remove seeds and pepper cores. b. catch good pieces of pepper in case the one you are peeling starts to come apart.       Some people suggest holding the peppers under running water to help remove the skin. The argument against this is that the peppers will taste better if you don't wash away the juice that coats them.       If you've cooked and covered them right, the pepper skin can be pulled off easily. If it makes it easier, you can try lightly wiping pieces with a paper towel.If you do it over a bowl, you can save the juice (and strain it) for use in salad dressings, sauces, or soups. It's sweet and slightly thick so I like to use it as an oil replacement for salad dressings. Who knows, it might also be good to include in a marinade. Boeuf Salad (Salata de Boeuf)       2 potatoes, 4 carrots, 1 parsley root, 1 parsnip (optional, one can of green peas, 2 pickles, 1/2 lb (250 g) poultry breast or beef sirloin, 300g home made mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon mustard, salt and pepper.       You get the best salad by boiling carrots, parsley root and parsnip with the meat, then take the boiled vegetables and the meat, cut them in cube shape.       Separately boil the whole potatoes with skin, then peel and cub them. Cube the pickles as well. Place everything in a bowl, add the peas, mustard and condiments. In a separate bowl, make mayonese. Add ¾ of the mayo mixture to the meat and vegetables and mix. Arrange on a serving platter.       Smooth with a knife and then cover with the rest of the mayo mixture. Garnish with a few olives, hard boiled egg white, or egg slices, pickled red peppers, parsley, etc.       Try to shape flowers, other designs and enjoy! Spring salad (Salata primavara) Ingredients : 5-6 small Boston lettuce, 2 bunches radishes, 1 bunch carrots, 4 big potatoes, 3 hard boiled eggs, 2 bunches green onions, 1 cup sour cream, 1/2 teaspoon confectioner's sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar, salt. Preparation : Wash the lettuce, cut it in pieces, arrange in a salad bowl, add carrots, radishes and the boiled potatoes, everything sliced very thinly. Then add the sliced onions and sliced hard boiled eggs. Mix the sour cream with the lemon juice, sugar and salt. 5 minutes before serving, mix the vegetables with this dressing. You can also prepare this salad with mayo instead of sour cream. In this case, add just two sliced hard boiled eggs and prepare a mayo from the other two eggs. Green beans salad( salata de fasole verde) Ingredients : 28 oz/750 g green beans, 2 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons vinegar, salt, 2 minced garlic cloves (to taste), parsley. Preparation : Clean, wash and boil the beans. Drain, place in salad bowl and mix with oil, vinegar, salt and garlic to which 2-3 from the beans boiling liquid has been added. Garnish with a few sprigs of parsley. Red cabbage salad(salata de varza rosie) Ingredients : 1 medium red cabbage, 2 tablespoons oil, 2-3 tablespoons vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, salt Preparation : Wash and julienne the cabbage. Mix with salt and rub with your hands until soft. Add oil, vinegar and sugar. Mix well. Another way: scald the chopped cabbage with boiling water and then let sit for 10-15 minutes. Drain and mix the cabbage with the oil, vinegar salt and sugar. Serve with roasts. Salt herring and onion salad(Salata de scrumbii sarate cu ceapa) Ingredients : 2 medium herrings, 3 big onions, 4 oz/100 g olives, 2-3 tablespoons oil, 2-3 tablespoons vinegar Preparation : Split the herrings lengthwise on their belly, remove roe and keep in tepid water for 5-6 hours. Then wash in cold water, skin them starting from the head to the tail, remove the backbone with all big bones, cut in pieces about two fingers thick and then arrange them side by side on a long platter, so that to resemble the whole fish. Peel the onions, keep them in cold water and then slice very thinly. Arrange the onion slices around the fish and on top of them the pitted olives. Pour the oil and vinegar dressing. Vitamin salad(Salata Vitamina) Ingredients : 1 carrot, 1 medium celery root, 2 small cucumbers, 1 big apple, 3 nice tomatoes, 5-6 ripe plums (or 2-3 tablespoons of pitted sour cherries), 1/2 cup sour cream, juice from 1/2 lemon, 1 teaspoon confectioner's sugar, salt Preparation : Clean the carrot and celery root, julienne, place in a salad bowl, add thinly sliced cucumbers and apple, peeled, seeded and sliced tomatoes, sliced plums or pitted sour cherries. Mix everything with the sour cream to which you added lemon juice, sugar and salt, just before serving. Eggplant and bell pepper salad( Salata de vinete cu gogosari) Ingredients : 2 big eggplants, 4 onions, 3 tablespoons oil, 1 lb/500 g tomatoes, 4 peppers, 4 bellpeppers Preparation : Roast the eggplants, peel while still hot and then leave on a slanted cutting board to drain. During this time, boil the tomatoes and strain, roast the peppers, peel them and cut into very thin strips. Finely chop the onions and then fry in hot oil until soft. Add the chopped eggplants, pepper strips, tomato paste and salt. Continue frying, stirring continuously, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Arrange on a plate and serve cold.