heyjude

Varmint, all of the above. Crispy, smoky, chewy, salty and sweet. The out come depends on how crisp you get the bacon before coating with the nuts/brown sugar mix. Cook whole slices and then slice in squares, about 5 or 6 per slice. They can be served hot or at room temp. Invite Klink.

The wonderful result of most of these combos is that the taste is so much more than the sum of its parts. I brought Cambazola and a stronger Roquefort to eat with soft dried apricots and pecan halves to our last PNW eGullet party. It was very complex for a 3 part bite. I'll start a new topic about this because the Bacon Candy from same party also rules with few ingredients and little effort.

Very sadly, it is now the Poilane Memorial section since Lionel Poilane and his wife died in a helicopter crash last weekend. I hope they had family to carry on.

That's the one. The song came into my head as soon as I posted. It's very authentic.

Ron Paul, which was verrry expensive, closed a few years ago and he now works for someone on the city council. Elephants is fabulous for ready to go food, but is not really a deli. There has always been a good German deli just off Powell east of Milwaukee. I hope it's still there. Kornblatt's on west 23rd has good New York Jewish style. The Zupan's on Burnside also has high end take out and cheese. The store that used to be Stroheckers also was good. I haven't been there for ages. What else do you want to serve?

The Le Pichet roast chicken is being demo'd at Seattle Cooks. Tickets are available at Larry's and I assume there is an online schedule at www.Seattlecooks.com

Malarkey, we just did go back, last night and can now rave about the crispy onions, the hummos and the paella. Drinks were great again and the Brasa Sundae is a little different every time. We'll have to keep checking it out. Who's organizing the eGullet gala? We should discuss at Nightscotsman's.

It's about the bargains. Here in Seattle, the various nut butters(Mr. Heyjude's daily breakfast)are $4.99 as compared to as much as $16.99 at Whole Foods. Next time you are at D&L's, check their price. Other prices are comparably low at TJ's, often as much as 50% less than supermarkets and specialty stores.

I went to all the cooking stage presentations and was happy with the professional demeanor and absence of prima donnas. The whole event was successful depending what one was expecting. It's impossible not to miss some readings because of overlaps, there are not enough bargains and my feet are still cold from the cement floor, but there was something for anyone who reads. On the James Beard stage, the chefs and authors all seemed disappointed that they couldn't serve their creations as did their audience. Maurizio Mazzon of Il Fornaiao made gnocchi and a pasta dish. Cynthia Nims was very funny and spontaneous. Alton Brown is a one man circus and pied pipered Norman Kolpas' audience away to the book signing area. On Sunday, Joyce Goldstein was the superstar for a standing room only crowd. Her book, Saffron Shores, had to be recalled for reprinting because the ink/paper smelled so bad it couldn't be kept indoors. She signed book plates to put in the new edition. The cookbook review panel which had to be put together late because of a cancellation, turned out to be lively and could repeat next year. I'll be involved again and invite you to join me.

At MsRamsey's request and thanks for asking, I'm reminding you all about NW bookfest on 10/19 and 10/20 out at Sandpoint. This is a new location, but there will be shuttle buses from assorted venues. There is a .org web site which is not always user friendly, but as always there will be printed programs in The Seattle Times and elsewhere. There are some activities for everyone including the food obsessed. Joyce Goldstein of Square One fame, prolific cookbook author Norman Kolpas, and Alton Brown are among our draws. I'm still setting up a cookbook review panel. Please come and be a good audience-ask lots of questions. See you there.

OK. Now let's find a date that most of us can be there after MsRamsey returns from gallivanting. My in-laws will be here from 11/20 thru 11/25 and while they do eat, I'd rather go elsewhere with them. I'll call Brasa when we decide. Just remember, half-price is from 5:00 to 7:00, but we can drink until close.

While I was waiting for my group, I added up the bar menu and figured we could have everything on it for just over $100. So, I really think, we should all meet there soon, order one of each item and lots of drinks and then order more of our favorites. They deserve to make money on us from the alcohol and we deserve lots of the sundaes. There are still several items that none of us have tried. We ought to give them advance notice. How does this sound for a November get together?

At least, for those of us in Seattle, America's Test Kitchen(on PBS) is doing Brownies today Check local listings. Not that Christopher Kimball could match our combined brilliance.

Yes. Grapes with seeds suspended in fruit mucous reminds me that the other night on Nova, the subject was caves. We learned that there is a kind of drippy slime that hangs from cave ceilings before hardening. It has been named "snottite".

Pits and Bones. Say, isn't that the secret society that Dubya belonged to at Yale? I actually still cut all stone fruit off the pit, eat only fish that has been well filleted and stay clear of olives that I know I'd love if I weren't such a wuss. Watermelons were a nightmare and even apples needed to be cored. I probably choked on my formula.

I'm not really a happy hour kind of drinker, but I do love a bargain, so I've got another one for you. Oceanaire, which Seattle Mag just picked as the best new restaurant in Seattle, has all oyster and shrimp choices for half price from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. I stopped in with a friend after seeing The Good Girl downtown last Thursday. We loved the presentation and the service and would've had many more if we weren't headed for dinner at Lush Life which closed for good two days later. But that's another story.

I have several thousand brownie recipes in books devoted to them, in other cookie books, in general cookbooks, in folders of clippings from magazines and newspapers, in my personal file, in vintage advertising ephemera and even in a NARAL program to which Katherine Hepburn donated her personal recipe. With all that, mamster gave me the last recipe needed after trying Alice Medrich's version from her 1999 book Cookies and Brownies. The secret is to put the hot out of the oven brownies into a pan of ice water to stop the baking. This creates a nice outer crust and a creamy middle. I guess, you can use this technique for any recipe with more than 1/2 cup of flour. If you want any outre recipes, just ask.

I've been using Evert-Fresh green bags that I buy at Whole foods to store produce. It extends veggie life by about half. As a test, I put a bunch of parsley in a bag following the directions and it is still fresh 9 days later. I think one of the supermarket brands like Glad or Reynolds has a similar product.

I think snobbery is thinking whatever you have, eat, think, wear, work at etc. is better than what someone else has, eats, thinks, wears, or works at. By that definition, we are all either snobs or victims of snobbery. But I like those pumpkin colored, dried out, phony banana flavored, peanut shaped marshmallows that they sell in cellophane bags on a rack at Quiki-mart, so what do I know?

Oy vey. This website I needed like a hole in the head. Want to chip in on a bag?

Boy, did that jerk the memory string. I never had a Seven Up, but one of my favorites was the similar Necco Sky Bar which had 4 sections filled with caramel, vanilla, peanut and fudge. According to The Great American Candy Bar Book by Ray Broekel, this candy was introduced to the public in 1937 with a skywriting campaign. The Seven up bar had different fillings over its lifespan. Be sure you ask to see this book when you come to the PNW potluck. Your life will pass before your eyes. There used to be a caramel bar called Snirkles and coconut used to be spelled cocoanut. Does any one else remember extinct treats?

Nightscot, my answer was to ilfaith about the dark Milky Way. Thanks for finding the real poop. 1979 sounds just right. Mamster was born in 1975 and I had a lot of these on our "fresh air for baby, candy for Mom" walks.

Dstone, if that's all you can find, you are not paying attention. We used to go every Sunday to worship at the altar of Trader Joe's. Stay away from the healthy stuff, but check out candy, coffee, dried fruit and nuts, juices, cheeses, chips, canned fish, jellies, etc, etc. Their prices beat every other store-sometimes by 75 to 80%. They even have premium brands like Double Rainbow ice cream, pates, Niman Ranch bacon and Jelly Bellys(my neighbors' kids love them) and Irish oatmeal for huge discounts. Just try some of these and avoid the products you wouldn't eat anyway. We now have a TJ's within walking distance here in Seattle, but if we didn't we'd shlep.

Actually, ilfaith, they used to be called Forever Yours long, long ago and they were the best candy bar out there. I finally had to swear off because there was no such thing as too many. For years, they were off the market. I was actually sad when they reappeared, knowing the challenge I faced. I think I'll get a big bag for Halloween candy this year. We never get more than a few trick or treaters.

As Aix said, using a sugar syrup in unsweetened iced tea is the solution to the gritty problem created when adding granulated sugar to a tall glass with ice cubes. A small pitcher served with the tea is an appreciated gesture at several Portland restaurants. It allows you to control the sweetness to your taste. Rubbing the lemon around the lip of the glass instead of juicing the tea keeps it less cloudy. Wouldn't you rather drink warm water than the instant, pre-sweetened commercial products?