Mayhaw Man

Hopefully the lovely Dr. Mrs. Varmint will not be reading eGullet this mother's day.

Then I would probably call them really expensive French green beans But, then again, they're your French Green Beans so you can call them whatever you wish. They look delicious, whatever you call them.

Well, you need a little freezer, but I think that fruit sorbets or sherberts are pretty easy to do at the last minute 1 qt strained and seeded fruit (melons, strawberries, peaches, whatever) Simple syrup (2 cups water, 1 cup sugar) Whiz together in blender (add 1/2 cup heavy cream if you want, don't if you don't want) Dump in Freezer/run freezer until frozen Eat Can't miss. Really good. Easy.

Have you checked the price on Krispy Kreme stock in the last couple of weeks. Atkins is doing some serious damage to the price. They took a serious beating yesterday. Krispy Kreme takes a dunking (no coffee involved)

Oh Jinmyo. I didn't know you cared. Actually, haricots vert are better known down here as green beans That catfish looks great. Cumin is a nice match with the earthy taste of catfish, too. I am on my way to Middendorf's in Manchac, LA to meet my Mom and Dad for a little thin fry catfish and a couple of stuffed crabs. They have just spent the week in New Orleans for my Mama's 70th bd and I can't believe they want another meal.

New Orleans is one of those towns where big shots feel comfortable because nobody really cares who they are. There were tons of people in town for The Jazz Festival, The PGA Tournament, The Basketball Playoffs, and a couple of other events last week and Chris Rose (a funny guy and New Orleans modern day version of Walter Wincell) dishes the dirt. I walked down the track at the Fairgrounds with Harry Shearer (Simpsons, Mighty Wind) and in a 1/2 mile walk not one person stopped him. No time for big cheeses when there is crawfish bread to be had. Big Shot Dining There is a home cook featured every Thursday in the Food Section of the Picayune. I usually don't list it because the recipes are pretty unremarkable, but today's is pretty great. I often make a similar dish and I reccomend you try it. White beans are a major part of the cuisine here (but more in Southwest La than in New Orleans-where red beans are king) and if you use good shrimp stock and decent shrimp, this will knock you out. White Beans and Shrimp

What about knives? My cousin the merchant marine is great about picking up nice gifts as he rides around on his giant ship (ro-ro) and one of the best things he has shown up with recently was a set of chef's knives (brand undetermined-in Japanese-I need to photo and post for translation). He said that he spent roughly $100 US each on them and they are just wonderful (except the handles are eventually going to collapse, but not anytime soon and not at all if my wife will stop sticking them in the dishwasher ). These knives are far superior to anything I have (except my carbon Sabatiers that are going on 30 years of age-still going strong though ) and hold an edge pretty well.

Red Stripe (from Jamaica) is in a stubbie, right? I can't think of any others. We considered using Stubbies to pack Turbodog in at one point. The stopper was that the only plant making them was the Vitro Plant in Trinidad. Apparently all of the production was going to Red Stripe. I remember that PBR and Falstaff (before Jax closed in New Orleans-so late 60's early70's used them as well) used them in the 70's.

The way that soft shell crabs are identified is when busters crawl into the traps and the crab guys identify them and put them aside, They are then put into shallow tanks (which have to be checked every three hours 24 hours per day) and held until they shuck their shells. I don't see why lobsters would not be the same situation, unless lobsters head for a hole as they innately realize that they are about to molt. The possibility is tantalizing.

This brings up an interesting question: Has anyone ever had a softshell lobster and also is there any farming of these seemingly potentially delicious crustaceans? I mean, they are after all, crustaceans. I suppose that they do lose their shells occasionally and it would seem that they could be tanks like buster crabs and held till they molt. On the other hand, I am not a biologist and have no idea if this is a practical possibility or not, but the thought of softshell lobsters sends my culinary mind reeling with possibilities.

I saw Olu Dara last week-twice. Extremely nice guy. Charming as a matter of fact. He actually had a memory of something that happened at one of his shows almost three years ago. He blew the roof off of the tent during his show at the Fairgrounds.

Green with envy. Just green.

New Orleans has a huge Latin American Population and we have a bunch of great places to eat that relate to those cultures. It is nice to see the Picayune running a review on one of them La Macarena Review Marcelle Bienvenue has an interesting article on Farmer's Markets in Acadiana. I would reccomend this to anybody thinking about making a weekend drive around in the Lafayette area. There is an interesting feta and tomato salad recipe at the end of the article. Marcelle Goes to the Market More from Marcelle. This time about herbs fresh from the garden Growing and eating Herbs Some general food News from Brett Anderson of the Picayune Food News Sara Roahen of Gambit reviews Clementine's Belgian Bistrot. She likes the fries. Clementine's Belgian Bistrot

That just goes to show that it takes all kinds. I wouldn't want my dill pickles to taste like devil dogs or fish. But that's just me. If you like that sort of thing, go right ahead. Just don't ask me to participate in your mad scheme.

Dill Pickle Slices (wash, spiced flour, wash spiced flour) Trust me. Just try it.

Quiche Lorraine-classic version-good bacon, nutmeg, homemade pastry dough (with lard ) Romine and tomato salad with balsamic vinagarette Crusty French Bread rubbed with roasted garlic Honeydew Sorbet (I made it tonight-Good Lord that stuff is good!)

I haven't gone home yet. They are baked incidentally, so at least I will not have to take any more abuse on that point. And post your recipe anyway. Choice is a good thing.

You can build one of these things for cheap. Search on Cajun microwave and you should be able to find plenty of info. Here is one for example only, I know nothing about the guy

You could make that a feature at "Varmint's Spa and BBQ". Think about it. Mud baths...........Blood Baths! You could do facial packs with bacon. The possibilities are endless.

Hell, if you had a whirlpool with a good hot water heater you could just juice the water up ala Sam and have a big tub full of citrus stewed pork. Cook some rice in your other tub and you could have a whole meal and the serving would be easy-just send the guest from bathroom to bathroom to serve themselves.

Gutreau's Chef one of Top Ten according to Food and Wine Magazine. He joins a long list of other New Orleans chefs with the same award. Frank Brigsten won the award the first year that it was given. Food and Wine Awards Here is a list of neighborhood places that some of you might want to try Neighborhood Spots around New Orleans THis is an article about Dickie Brennan and his new Crepe Place. It is an intersting article as it covers his training in the rest. biz (aside from his family having two of the Flagships in New Orleans) Dickie Brennan

Life's short, man. You might want to give this one some serious thought (the girl, not the pig). And as far as the farting goes-she will eventually explode

I'll bet it wasn't anymore difficult than the trouble that Sam had getting that guy out of the trunk and into the hole.

I was given a copy of "Portland Palate" (Portland Jr League)a couple of years ago and have really enjoyed it. THere are some very good seafood recipes that are a nice alternative to the way that I usually handle it (the Louisiana/Gulf Coast way).

I could eat a few of those. They sound delicious.