AuntieEm

P.S. Brooks, I loved the wedding cake comparison....

Sorry to be so lax in responding, just got home from my visit and read all your great responses.....my father bet me that I'd never be able to find out anything about the nectar cream, but I put my money on all of you!!! Thanks for the info, I'm going to see if I can't get some nectar syrup for my father's B-day next month....what a suprise that will be! I hope it lives up to his memories! Thanks again, you guys are great!!!

I'm visiting my 90 year old father, and he mentioned an old ice cream flavor from N.O. 's Katz and Bestoff........called it nectar and cream. The ice-cream might have been nectar and a soda made from it called nectar & cream... Any help with a flavor or a substitute?? He doubts that I can find anything related to Katz & Bestoff, much less a food related response, but then he doesn't believe in the internet either............Thanks for any help! Anne

Well, no BUT it is close to Mayo (really!) Also just discovered there is a Noodle, TX! And Forks of Salmon, CA

Two Egg, Florida

Wow, I suddenly remembered a recipe I had years ago, saved with care but never made, for whole smelt baked in a rye bread crust with bacon and onions..it was Scandinavian, maybe Finnish...It was baked for a really long time, 4-5 hours and the little bones just "melted" into the pie.. I remember that it sounded like a great winter's day project. I think the name had something to do with rooster.....Now I have to go google just to see if I'm delusional! Here it is! (edited to add link)

CRAB

Evaporated milk Sweetened condensed milk Non-dairy creamer ...and then assuming I could exceed three in the axis...Bailey's Irish Cream cuz it tastes like canned milk!

Dare I mention the chicken ( or was it game hens?) in "Eraserhead" ....

Not overused, but annoying..a Boulder reviewer once described a veal dish as "obdurate & recalcitrant", which I consider to be personality traits rather than food adjectives. I'm sure the veal was tough, but lay off the thesaurus!

Ditto on peanut oil...I think I used generic veg oil when I got my first skillets, many years ago, but recently got a new iron comal and chose peanut as I heat it dry and considered the smoking point issue. NEVER soap, just hot water and a brush..nothing EVER sticks to my skillets.

Black-eyed peas & ham hocks! The ubiquitous Southern New Year's day good luck charm! Never thought of it as a midnight..thing..but I think it should be your first meal of the new year.

I absolutly agree on the canola oil effect. I think it has a flavor as well as an off smell. And it's used in so many things..probably most of the reason why commercial salad dressings taste so bad. I used to think that Best Foods ( Hellmans ) mayo was a pretty good commercial product, but now i swear I can taste an off flavor. Another big aversion for me is canned milk, either evap or condensed. It just smells sour. It used to make me crazy in Mexico when canned milk was always served with coffee...I swear I can smell it across the table.

Tried this dish from Food & Wine at Thanksgiving and it was a hit. It is a variation of Southern style, but nice flavor combo! chipotle braised collard greens with tamarind

Here's a couple of products found on line, but I have to wonder if they're worth the investment. A good press and a comal would probably be faster, as one can be pressing some while cooking others....... cooker #1 cooker #2

Coming soon to a city near you! HE'BREW

FIT (fruit & veggie wash) works great to clean that waxy/sticky film off tomatillos before roasting, pickling, cooking, etc. Kosher salt & cut lemon for scrubbing down wood cutting boards

Share our Strength has a program you might find of interest! ( I noticed there's one in Portland) S.O.S. Frontline I've been involved in SOS programs over many years and think they do alot of great work.

It's perfectly reasonable for customers to request a division of payment, 50/50, 3 ways etc or even $ amounts, at the end of the meal. Most POS software supports this easily, and it's not terribly time consuming. The only real problems exist when customers want to pay for specific meals without informing the server in advance of ordering. This always takes alot of time and reconfiguring of individual amounts. Problems arise, too when large groups want to pay individually in cash, as a server making change for 10 or 15 guests can take a bit of time! Caveat Emptor.....as a customer you should always check your credit card receipt when multiple cards are used, not just for the correct $$, but to make sure that amount is on YOUR card. When a server is shuffling 4 or 5 cards mistakes can happen! As far as increasing tips, I don't think splitting the bill has any baring on the end result. Each person will just tip as they normally would, some rounding to an even dollar, some EXACTLY 15, 18 or 20%. It's interesting to see how different people at the same table will tip differently on exactly the same amount.

Have you ever visited the GardenWeb site Gardenweb? they have lots of canning tips and jelly recipes on the "Harvest Forum". I think a peach or mango chutney w/ habs is hard to beat. Here's another link to recipes:clickity

For me this would have to apply to seasonal foods, as it is the very nature of "limited availability" that drives the obsession! Therefore: Cold cracked Dungeness crab Abalone Corn on the cob Asparagus English peas (only from the garden) Cherries Perfect tomatoes (w/ buffalo mozz & fresh basil) Peaches