Mayhaw Man

Fifi, I think that it is the shrimp. Browns are harder to peel than big fat whites for some reason and I am kind of assuming that in May (Spring, duhh) you were working with brown shrimp. Brown are Gulf shrimp (generally) as they like much saltier water than Whites. White shrimp are the ones that are generally known as Bay Shrimp, or Lake Shrimp. They are usually very large by the end of the fall and they are also the reason that the speckled trout in Southeast Louisiana are so damn huge in the fall. Tasty shrimp to eat 24x7. The skin on the white is much, much lighter and is easier to deal with than the brown shrimp. I don't know why, it's just the way that it is. Not so oddly (considering that my kitchen is in a state of total disrepair and that my central AC seems to have gone on the fritz last night) we will be boiling fresh lake shrimp (local term for white shrimp) tonight. They are nicely sized (16-20's or so, not exactly-because we bought em from the guy who caught em and he and his wife just screen them once to size, so they are kinda mixed but at $4 a pound I am not complaining). These shrimp have not been frozen. Everything is more or less being cooked outside at the moment. Humorously, my camping trip to Ontario was more comfortable than the last day and a half in my house and the AC guy can't come til Monday p.m. But that's ok, it will only be a balmy 97F. Here is how I do it (without specific spicing-I will post tonight after I do it about that) : Bring HIGHLY spiced water to a hard rolling boil (lots more water than shrimp and the water needs to be HIGHLY spiced as it is just really to soak the shrimp, not to cook them at at a rolling boil). Heave in the shrimp and wait. No more boiling (that is why the large amount of water is key-you do not want the cool shrimp to affect the water temp too much). After about 10 minutes (or so, this is not an exact science and it really depends on the size and amount of shrimp and water) out they come. DOn't worry about underboiling, it is well nigh on impossible. Shrimp cook fast and all the way through with little effort. My wife dusts them with Zatarains afterwards (she would eat fire if they put a Zatarain's label on it), I don't. I think that after-spiced stuff is some Northern affectation and I want nothing to do with it . I will photo and let you know how it turns out. We are only cooking 20 lbs., do I don't think it will take too long to deal with, but it might make for a good photo demo.

They sound delicious. Being the Texas Music Freak that I am (Texas Music is Big! ) was associating Antone's Sandwiches with this Antone's. I should have known that Texas (It's Big!) is beg enough to have two guys named Antone. One guy p=has live music, the other has food. I love chow chow on sandwiches. Especially ham and cheese.

Ya gotta have a brick oven to get bread like we have here and there are just a very few of these places left in South Louisiana (such as Lejeunes Bakery in Jennerette, where I am pictured with a large bag full of real South Louisiana French Bread) that still make the real stuff. Leidenheimer's and Binders (my personal favorite) still make the stuff by the ton and I know that a large part of their business is sending it to Houston, New York, and other Yankee outposts. You should ask what kind of bread that they make them with. Now that I have finished entertaining myself I will ask you a serious question- These are premade sandwiches from Antone's? Please tell me about them. Where are they made? Houston? Austin? What kind of meat do they put on them and do they come dressed or plain?

The issue to me is that sometimes (I am speaking of "Southern Writers" here, for lack of a better term) when others percieve that we are making fun of a group (or certain foibles) we are just pointing out the facts. For example, people that live in trailer houses (that's manufactured housing to you more politically correct types) are often mentioned in Southern writing. Well, let's face it, alot of people down here do live in double wides and their less prosperous and even less upwardly mobile relatives might even live in used single wides, but that is no reason to make fun of them. Hell, I've got friends that have spent most of their lives living in trailers. Now on the other hand, a little good natured fun poked at the people who happen to be using a car seat out of a 70 Nova as a seat on their front porch (you can tell it's out of a '70 Nova because the remains of the car is sitting on 3 cinderblocks and a chunk of firewood out in the side yard) is perfectly in line, because unlike what many of you imagine-THEY know it's funny and stereotypical. They just don't care what you think about the seat or them. So it's fair play. And even if it's not, it can still be damn funny (or tragically funny or just downright tragic, it all kind of depends of what kind of lick that you feel like hitting the canvas with). Faulkner invented a whole family tree of backwoods, brogan wearing, chicken stealing rednecks that become, perversely, kind of heroic and epic in their nogoodedness-The Snopes Family. And "the Snopes's" have become a familiar term among writers when one in looking for a euphamism for Redneck (which, in itself, is not always the terrible term that many concieve it as). This kind of writing has been going on for a long time. Pointing out the foibles of our neighbors in a fairly good natured way (and ourselves) is what we do down here for entertainment much of the time. It beats real work and keeps you from having to work too much in all this heat and humidity. I hope that this confuses things up for you.

Well, when Viva said to Elvis- "Would you like my mashed potatoes? I don't like them very much." Elvis will say (not would, will. as Mojo Nixon says "Elvis is Everywhere"), " Why yes I would ma'am. And thank you. Thank you very much." Mojo Nixon-Elvis is Everywhere

My point is, "who conspicuously didn't say it". Although every writer has to cater to the reading publics' tastes, I think it's sad when Mr. Davis adopts a self-degrating attitude towards his heritage, even when it's done in a humorous fashion, in order to satisfy publishers sereotypes of Southerners. SB (not a Southerner himself) Davis did no such thing, in my opinion (which may not be worth much, as I occasionally enjoy a Zippy Mart pimiento cheese sandwich). I read the article as an acceptance of things the way they are and as a description of the fashion in which he takes advantage of the situation. I have benefited from the same situation over the years and there is a strange satisfaction to be had there. It's fun pulling Yankee legs. The thin wire that a Southern Writer has to walk is another matter. Just because you set out to have a little fun with our Northern Brethren, does not mean that you can outright insult those in the South who managed to learn how to read by the light of a smoky fire in their dogtrot (see what I mean, it's a thin line ). Being an enlightened redneck is a fine way to get noticed (or get elected to National Political Office or get your own TV show ). I thought that it was a very enjoyable piece. Brooks

When I used to commute between San Diego and Dublin I got in the habit of ordering the kosher meals. They always seem to have been made with a bit more care, although I would not go as far as saying that it was good.

I thought this said Vegan Landlord meets beet eaters

I flew Minneapolis to New Orleans on Northwest last week (I love these partnering agreements-Delta Miles for Northwest Flights-woohoo-hopefully I will get to use them before Delta goes belly up)and the tasty treats being offerd were from TGIF. The guy next to me bought one ($10USD) and said that it tasted like it had been riding around in the luggage compartment for about a week.

To me, the processed stuff is less of a mystery than anything else. Think about it. Highly processed foods are a result of modern technologies being applied to acheive a couple of things 1) Easy to eat and easy to prepare (often preparation only involves opening the package an putting the stuff in your mouth) 2) A desire to accentuate and heighten whatever flavor (or flavors) are most appealing to the average person-i.e. in less prepared foods the flavors are often, almost always, more subtle than in prepared foods. Generally, in my little mind anyway, prepared foods are usually really salty, or really sweet, or really meaty, etc. They go right for the palate on a very directed, limited level and I suppose that is what man wants at this point in our evolution as in every culture where these foods are available and affordable they basically jump off of the shelves and into the gullets (e or otherwise ) of the eater. These foods give cheap, easily attainable pleasure to the eater. I have just explained Twinkies and Ring Dings. I deserve a Nobel Prize.

Whipping Cream Strawberries Honey A whip (for the cream, of course. Get your mind out of the gutter )

I eat the tail when the shrimp are baked , fried or broiled-not when they have been boiled or stewed-too chewy. I generally, but not always, pull the tail when they are going into soup. In fact, I love fried shrimp tails. They are not as good as fried bream tails, but pretty close. Edited to say that okra and shrimp go together like white and rice.

Tabasco. No matter what. Tabasco can make it edible.

Several options for opening bivalves

I love them too, when I am the seller. When you are the buyer, especially one with a life, you don't have a chance on a bargain on there anymore. I already have a sink with a second disposal in my island, so I guess maybe this one compartment thing makes some kind of sense-but I'm going to have to think on this a while.

I wanna see em opened up. The exception is that when I am at the bar and the guy is staying a tray or two ahead of the slurpers (like at Aceme, Felix's, or Casamento's in N.O. I never order them in a strange place while I was sitting them in a dining room unless I knew, FOR SURE, that they had not been sitting in a walkin somehwhere. Oysters are already a little dicey, even if perfect, and since they are basically growth culture looking for a catalyst, I prefer to get them from the shell to to my mouth as quickly as possible.

I came so close to getting one with hdwe for $200 bucks. I hate that guy.

Toasted Pecans Bourbon Sauce More Bourbon Sauce Just a little more...... Perfect!

Alright, I've got a "sinking" feeling that I may be making a poor choice of sinks. Assume that I've got a dishwasher and a " The Grindomanic He Man Model 12000 Disposal" and a garbage can. Why is a single sink better than a double? or a triple with the swell little thing in the middle for a disposal? This sink is a huge thing. I did not win the one I was bidding on eBay (damn those bidding programs and the people that own them, no matter what it is-if it looks like a real bargain and something that could be resold someone with no job and a computer sweeps in and buys it and about a week later it shows up for resale on eBay ) and am in the market. I can get huge (you could put one of Varmint's pigs in one of these things) cast iron/porcelain single sinks. Salvage places in New Orleans have them(literally) by the hundreds and there are a ton to choose from. Convince me and then I will go work on my wife-"She who desires a $1200 Kohler Sink"

Stairs are fine. They both look like they are about 50. I don't think she will be giving Lance Armstrong a rn for his money anytime, but she is damned mobile.

If Mann Act Violations were good enough for Chuck Berry well............. Map to come-I've got to figure it out so that we can get everyone to participate. You may end up with a hundred or so quality choices to choose from (hell, I can name 50 or so just between San Antonio and Baton Rouge ). You will need at least a CD player. You should read On the Road Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (you are leaving and all, but the description of the ride between LA and Vegas with the Samoan and Thompson is not unlike a pretty big chunk of any part of the West). Andrei Codrescu's Road Scholar Robb Walsh The Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook Lolis Eric Elie's Smokestack Lightning Macon Frye's Cajun Country Guide Walker Evans/James Agee Let Us Now Praise Famous Men ( for mood when covering the Deep South-a great and timeless work-some of the people that were in the book are still pissed as most of them did not realize that the result would be a timeless collection of photos and prose that would be studied for years) That gets you to Central Alabama- a whole different reading list is required for the Atlantic South. More to come. I fully support the rental of any convertible-at any time. A ragtop is always a good move.

Daniel- You win the "project for me" award for the day. I will post a map (and request help from others in local areas of interest), following the routes that I laid out, after you answer a few qualifying questions- What kind of car do you drive? How fast will it go? Does it have good brakes, a.c., a cup holder, and an XM radio (the radio is a bonus question )? Are you capable and willing to drive one long shot at top speed in order to make the most of your time on the road (hint-eastern New Mexico to San Antonio is not exactly a garden spot or full of dining Meccas ).

What! Are you crazy? Take the SOUTHERN ROUTE! Food, man! The I-10 corridor (fifty miles or so either side of the interstate) might be one of the finest eating highways in the world (I am counting San Antonio to Mobile). Thenoff of I-10 on to Montgomery, Atlanta, and rip it up the east coast through Georgia, South and North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, eating happily all of the way. Yikes! I might want to go with you. That's a great drive. You could also veer north outside of New Orleans and head up through Tuscaloosa, BHam, Chattanooga, and up the Blue Ridge Pkwy. Either way, the Southern Route gets my vote.

I don't have a clue what their trip route is. I will find out today.

I recieved this note from my mother this morning: Well, you can see what the rules are so what do you reccomend? Things to keep in mind- 1)They are well traveled and well off and do not need to, or try to, impress anybody ever (I love that about them) but they like nice and they like good food. 2)They have been to Seattle, but it's been a while. 3)THey live in Louisiana so Seafood is no big deal unless it's the best thing going(probably is) 4)They are going to be in Alaska for 10 days, so I'm thinking that we should avoid salmon if possible-they'll get enough during the trip. 5)Cocktails are important Thanks in advance for your help. I've spent alot of time in Seattle, but drinking beer and looking for cheap ethnic food in old downtowns and stripmalls is not their style (although they will happily do this if led there and rave about it if it is good). This is my mothers first big trip since they ripped out her heart and stuck it back in, so I want to help where I can. Whaddya got for a couple of world travelers a notch below premium fine dining but really good?