Gifted Gourmet

I detest anything slimy that has to be swallowed ... so I would have to go with boiled okra ... ewwww! and it isn't as if one could simply swallow (but I prefer to "spit" here! ) the disgustingly gooey okra pods ... somewhere along the line, you just have to "chew" the okra ... fried okra also is not a big "turn on" for me either .. on the theory that it would ultimately mix with one's saliva and turn gooey inside of me (and I would "know" that!!) ... ewwww redux!!

The first time I can recall being drunk was during my freshman year at college ... and riding with my boyfriend on the back of his huge Harley in the 10 degree snowy winter weather of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois ... Arriving at the intended destination, we had a lot of gin, which is most definitely not my drink (too perfumey for my refined tastes.. ) ..but the party was fine, everyone doing grass (hey, it was the 60's, you know!!) and more and more gin .... the worst being the interminable ride back to my dorm quite certain that I was going to die horrifically mangled in this Godforsaken little college town on the frozen, snow covered pavement because I could not hold on to him ... nor he onto the Harley ... To my amazement, when Death did not appear (too cold? too much cloying gin odor? Death doesn't care for Harleys? whatever...), I staggered into my dorm and spent a long, cold evening clutching my cherished porcelain receptacle ... since then? No boyfriends with Harleys ... no Harleys! .. and no more gin... no more snowy Illinois winters!! and I never enjoy being drunk anymore.. the loss of control thing just doesn't work for me at this age ...

I applaud your comment here, therese ... humorous writing, especially on food topics, is too often treated with either disdain because it appears to lack "gravitas" or is simply dismissed for its satirical rather than serious focus ...

It is a real town!!

http://www.sbjf.org/sbjco/schmaltz/yiddish_phrases.htm for starters ...

See? I knew Pan ought to have done the response here!! Thanks for filling in the gaps in my memory! Told you it was far from p.c. And what does the warbonnet mean? ..Kosher for Passover ... it is affixed to foods which observant Jews buy for Passover ... and some not-so-observant Jews as well!

A traditional Jewish housewife who ran the entire home in an excellent fashion ... didn't Rabbi Ribeye mention this somewhere early on? Now I recall,from his Schmaltz thread, he wrote: balabos = bal-a-BUS = master of the house, major domo

Among themselves, the Native Americans say to each other (and my Yiddish is even worse than Pan's, which he knows quite well!): "Loz em gayin" ... let them go ..... and then, on Chief Mel Brook's feather headress, the words in Hebrew: Kosher l'Pesach ... Truly, to get the total Brook's experience, one has to see the picture in its entirety .. it was so anti-politically correct, it boggles the mind today ...

and then there is: Lollipop, Texas Chocolate Bayou, Texas Chestnut, Illinois

Prod, prod, prod. I think you have to hear it to believe it!! and it was a typically droll Mel Brooksian comment ...

Then there is Strawberry, Arizona and Carrot River, Saskatchewan ... Dumfries,Va. and Rice, Va. Blueberry Hill,Maine Chicken, Alaska Burnt Corn, Alabama Cocoa, Fla. Oysterville and Starbuck, Washington ..oops, brand name! You did say "Gifted Gourmet, keep 'em coming" did you not?? and then there is Sugar Tit, South Carolina .... so that either works with foods or sexual reference town names....

Among the more unusual: Hot Coffee, Mississippi Two Egg, Florida Pietown, New Mexico Cookietown, Oklahoma This what you had in mind, Pan?

Thanks for reminding me of this scene! It was that which I thought of at the beginning of this thread but couldn't recall the film's title ...

An excellent beginning to this topic can be found in The Book of Jewish Food : An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York by Claudia Roden....

About mixing horseradish with a mayonnaise base .... I have bought a product, not unlike Arby's Horsey Sauce, which is made by Boar's Head .. it is just such a mixture and is, albeit sweet, not a bad accompaniment to beef ...

Ah, those Mozartkugeln! Our city guide explained that the gold-wrapped ones were superior to the silver-wrapped ... and sold only in Salzburg ... Mozartkugeln have a core made of marzipan, surrounded by a layer of dark and a layer of light nougat crème, coated in the finest chocolate. They are divine!! Thanks for reminding me about them once again! I bought a number of them on my visit to Salzburg a few months ago ... but gave them all away upon my return....

Casablanca: mint tea, b'stilla, couscous

Five years ago, I took my daughter to Paris for her 25th birthday and, while we had a marvelously exciting week, I, too had the pleasure of trying to find suitable vegetarian meals for her. We ate at an Italian restaurant (pasta, of course) on the Champs d"Elysees a few times ... and then at a variety of other places where she found it difficult to eat around the jambon and ecrivisses, which seemed everpresent on top of dishes. Even the Chinese places were not easy for her! But, because we both spoke the language, it seemed much simpler to ask about the ingredients in the dishes we ordered. Fortunately, there is so much to see and do there that we packed a million different things into our week! and watching her face light up in the Louvre, made it all worthwhile! Next time, I'll go for the food, by myself ... and go back to Fauchon!! There, the air is perfumed with pure butter!

Even though Atlanta has become quite cosmopolitan now (see Blais with its 31 course tasting menu!), more traditional Atlanta favorites would definitely be fried chicken and cornbread and blackeyed peas .. all decidedly indigenous to the town since it was unceremoniously burned down in the "wa-wah" (Civil War, ya'll!!) All the above washed down with our local favorite beverage: Coca Cola!! Grits!! OMG, how could I ever leave that out??

Aside from my gravlax recipe, which I now do with an Asian twist, I have been known for my cheesecake (which I made repeatedly for my catering clients) and my best dessert called, with great affection, "the Snake" .. Phyllo ring filled with my homemade marzipan and orange blossom water ... very crispy and buttery and made in a coil on a pizza pan!! Topped with confectioners sugar and sifted cinnamon .. very Moroccan .. which is where I spent two years as a child ...

That is what I had heard as well ... but I think at some point, it has to be frozen or pitched out ...

and what happened to our "one word only" rule??

sorry ... error messages keep appearing .. ignore please ..

Thanks for the new concept ... recipe? Pure cocoa or cut with a little confectioners sugar .. to inflame the authoritites yet a little more??