bleachboy

I think cilantro loses everything when cooked, too. I made some black bean soup last night with tons of cilantro. The cilantro must go in right at the end. The fresh taste is what makes it so special -- cook it long, and it disappears, IMHO. Although my wife's cream of cilantro soup.. it might be cooked, and it's fantastic.

Link to the story online

Being kinda "slow", I'm only just now getting to the gumbo cook-off. I cook gumbo a lot (usually shellfish or duck varieties), but almost never with sausage, because I simply don't have a good source here in Nashville. So I had ordered 8 pounds of andouille from Poche's to put in the freezer. Of course, they have a minimum weight limit, so I went ahead and ordered an additional five-pound pack of their "party link" boudin. It's little 2-3 inch links, perfect for an hors d'oeuvre. I was almost out of chicken stock, and I needed chicken meat for a "chicken and sausage" gumbo anyway, so today I was making chicken stock. I picked out about a pound of thigh meat after it had "poached" for a bit and refrigerated it for the gumbo tomorrow. So, at this point I was a little peckish and decided to drop some of the boudin as a snack. Three mini-links. Wow! It's fantastic. The size of the party links makes for two hearty mouthfuls, and then you can put the casing aside (I'm a "squeezer"). Just the right amount of rice, a good porky flavor without being fatty or greasy, and a decent level of heat -- just right, in fact, and I'm kind of obsessive about heat. Just hot enough so you say "it's a spicy treat" but not so spicy you need to run to a glass of milk. Really great. Recommended!

Nobody knows...

I'm going to completely ignore the "healthy" aspect you mentioned. If she wants to experience Southern specialties, it's going to be unhealthy. There are a few good sushi restaurants in Nashville if she wants to stay low-fat/low-cal. Assuming she doesn't... Start with breakfast one day at The Loveless Cafe. It's traditional Southern breakfast fare (country ham, biscuits, gravy) done almost as good as at my house. Plus it has a hokey redneck yokel ambience all tourists enjoy. Skip Rotier's. It's in the press a lot and even won Gourmet's "Top 10 road food burgers" but the food is mediocre. One can only assume that reviewers are swooning over the gritty ambience and don't notice that the food is nothing short of generic. It's a grimy place where you'll be served by some grizzled old man with lots of "Southern character". Skip it. Instead, head over to Elliston Place Soda Shop, just a few blocks away. The tourists don't usually go there, and the "streak o' lean" (very fatty bacon) and the mashed potatoes and dairy drinks are rockin'. Plus, there's a (usually non-functional) mini-jukebox at every table. VERY Music City, and great for lunch. For dinner, try something more gourmet. Go to The Capitol Grille. Chef Sean Brock does really interesting things (a la Ferran Adria) but also does a lot of stuff with Southern influences. Ask for the chef, talk to him, and likely he'll do something uniquely Southern for you. He made a kick ass shrimp 'n' grits for me one night by request, and his tasting menus (again, by request) are mind-blowing). Your friend, of course, is gonna have to go to a meat 'n' three. Swett's is the best known, but again, I don't think their food is all it's cracked up to be. I much prefer Monell's. Call ahead and make sure you go when there's fried chicken. Try the corn pudding. Again, none of this stuff is remotely healthy. But them's the breaks. If you like, you can PM me and have your friend call. Either I or my wife and I would be happy to take her out some night.

Cook's Illustrated raved about the Lussino Dessert Maker by Musso. With a built-in refrigerator unit, you just put the ingredients in and turn it on. It's outrageously expensive -- the Amazon link above sets the price at $594 -- and I don't see any on eBay. But if you've got $600 to blow, I'd bet it's pretty awesome!

Yeah, way to go Sean! Next time you're at K&S, give me a ring -- I'm five minutes from there.

And, by the way, the recipe in this article for a "Ramos gin fizz" is complete bullshit. The proper deal always requires egg whites, cream, and orange flower water, and is not nearly as alcoholic as the concoction in the article. Here's a recipe: - 2 ounces gin - 3 drops orange flower water - 1 egg white - 1 teaspoon simple syrup - 1 ounce lemon juice - 1/2 ounce lime juice - 1 ounce cream - Soda water Mix the crap out of everything. I've seen it done in shakers and milk shake machines. Pour into a festive glass.

Well, I've been a gin lover for quite some time. But I would agree with the article, at least within the population of my little circle of friends. I've made aviations or gimlets for many of my friends who, while not professing to "not like gin", also didn't have much experience with it. Now, when most folks come to my place, they request gin drinks, usually whatever I'm having -- "Sure, that sounds good!" I think possibly that the smell of gin can be a turn-off to a lot of people, especially the "Have you tried Godiva chocolate liqueur? It's HEAVENLY!" type -- i.e., those that want a cocktail for dessert. Gin simply needs to be experienced in one of the handful of truly great cocktails created for it -- the martini, aviation, gimlet, gibson, G&T, or the ramos gin fizz. Experienced in this way, most people do convert!

Holly Moore gets max credit for introducing me to Usinger's dogs. He's right -- they really are the best. I've taken to always keeping them on hand in the freezer for when I get that hot dog urge. Normally I prefer mine either fairly plain -- mayo and dijon mustard -- or completely over the top, usually with chili and cheese on a steamed bun that sort of disintegrates. The kind of hot dog you probably ought to eat from a bowl. However, in a previous thread, somebody suggested that the best way to eat a really good wiener was all by itself sans bun, with a little dollop of spicy mustard for dipping. I've given this a try about eight or nine times, and I have to agree a good dog is best enjoyed in that way, if you want to truly appreciate the texture, the "snap", and the flavor of the wiener. I think the "Chicago style" salad-dog is a travesty. Sorry, I just don't like it. Likewise catsup. Huh?? Catsup, granted, is my least favorite condiment, but I really can't see why you'd put catsup on a delicious frank.

I'm a mayo fanatic. I'm a Hellmann's man. I've made homemade mayo a bunch of times and I must say that I prefer Hellmann's. I usually do homemade just because I'm out of Hellmann's. Hellmann's plus dried garlic powder equals an aioli that is -- in my opinion -- superior to a more traditional one. Absolutely spectacular with fries or hot potato chips. Mayo on hot dogs? Yes (esp. with 50/50 dijon mustard) Mayo on burgers? A resounding HELL yes. Slather the bottom bun good to combine with the burger juices for a spectacular sauce. Any mayo-based dip is great. Mayo!

I swear by <A href="http://www.texmex.net/Products/spices.htm">Gebhardt's</A> chili powder.

I don't drain, either. I just dump the Ro-tel and cubed Velveeta into a saucepan and turn on the heat. Always turns out perfect.

I think that the general Texas no-beans chili, as long as it had big chunky (not ground) meat, would be great atop two soft, warm corn tortillas, taco style, with white onions, cilantro, crema, etc. as available garnishes.

Apt! You just described every pastry project I've ever taken on! (Except for that spice cake, which also tasted like ass.)

browniebaker: You are right. Your hostess was wrong. Who the hell eats Cool Whip on brownies?! But just to threadjack a bit -- and I'm sure I'll be run outta town for this -- I like the combination of Cool Whip and Jell-O. Not that I ever keep either one in the house, mind you! *cough*

For what it's worth, Flay didn't actually say whether the grits had foie or not. Maybe at some point in the episode they showed it, but in his summary before the tasters he said the "10 ingredients" were: "lobster, scallops, crawfish, pork tenderloin, duck, scallions, some ginger, a little bit of cream, cilantro, and the grits" EDIT: And by the way, BAYLESS WAS ROBBED!!!

*weeps*

My primary knife is a 10" Shun Kershaw chef's knife. My wife's primary knife is an 8 or 9 inch, I can't remember. I use and abuse my knife and I love it. I hone it faithfully (on a Dick Multicut) before each use. I have used it to hack through chicken bones and stuff a few times, but I usually use my cleaver for that sort of chore. It's held up like a trooper. It maintains an awesome edge. I love the shape of the handle and the heft. Whenever I use any other knife I hold it with disdain -- it just doesn't feel as good as my 10" chef's. I would definitely recommend it, and would buy it again. I went through a number of other knives that just didn't measure up before I settled on the Shun Kershaw. EDIT: And on the subject of Japanese knives being a "fad" -- the Shun doesn't feel or act like a typical Japanese knife. I'd say the shape is much more western and it is a heavy knife. The shape of my chef's knife, I guess you'd call it French? I'm not a knife expert, but it's neither thin nor lightweight nor unusually shaped.

I make vegetable stock occasionally, as my wife is a vegetarian. I have never seriously tried to freeze it though for long-term storage. I'm assuming I would need to do this with full-strength stock, since it's not really reduction worthy. That said, you can use vegetable stock -- especially if it's mushroom-heavy -- to make lots of tasty dishes, especially soups and rice/grain dishes like risotto or rice pilaf.

Capon is wonderful as coq au vin.

I leave my onion skins on. It does make for a beautifully hued stock, and I have never noticed even a slight edge of bitterness.

I think you've been doing right so far. For me, anyway, yes -- the reduction of stock just means I don't have 16 quarts of liquid in my tiny freezer. But on your other point, I <i>do</i> reconstitute it with water if making a soup, for example. But if making a sauce, I usually just wait until things are mostly reduced, then toss a couple cubes in the pan. Savory cooking is really flexible, so I'd say just go with your gut -- stuff is bound to turn out good!

I'm a Shun Kershaw man, myself. Wouldn't trade my 10" chef's for all the tea in China!

Thank you! My wife works at the main library in our town, so I just shot her an email to bring that book home!