Mabelline

I wonder if you could use your coffee/or/spice grinder to make some regular sugar finer?

That reminds of a Roseanne episode where one kid was being a kid-type pain and she says something like, "Now I know why some animals eat their young."

Marge is a visiting little darlin'. fifi and I are just irrational about Bassets and jackal10 obliged so nicely with a picture. At present I am waiting,waiting,waiting for Mayhaw Man to come back and report about his son's roast. Hope he posts it here.

I have read the whole thread, Mark, and sought to give you some advice about your problem. But I keep coming up with the fact that no matter what you wish to do, the ones who need the talkin' to are precisely also the ones obtuse enough to be a real problem in the first place. The father taking his child around the room was a sweetheart-but someone should have said something like it could not be allowed because of the hazard to staff, diners, and dad/child. I would seriously consider a children welcomed night,have reservations inform callers from the get-go like previously mentioned, and segregate a child area. By the way: read sweetheart as a synonym for @**hole. I think there is hopefully a special ring of hell for anyone who puts others off their feed.

My gram too had two recipes that we all loved that were great. One was sailboats, basically hollowed out french rolls with a hamburger,green pepper,onion,and green chile stuffing. She put little triangles of foil over the filling while cooking, then stood those up when she served them. Hence sailboat. The other was cheeseboats-rolls again, but you slice off an end, hollow it out (save the breadcrumbs for something else) and make up a sharp cheese,chopped black olives, green onion,pimento stuffing. Put on the ends and bake. Aah... that gram passed in '93 when she was 96, and I still miss her. And like you, I make these and they are missing something.

I don't know exactly, I guess just the way your replies are sounding. Like the thoughts are not as painful to transmit. But bully for you!

I am definitely going to make that. I have every ingredient but the Maggi. I don't suppose Kitchen Bouquet is an adequate subsitute? I don't even remember why I have that. Pan, you sound as if you are feeling better. At least I hope so.

fifi, I'm going to have to look around in my "receipt" books to come up with something properly scrumptious. I don't know about you, but as I read more of jackal10's stuff, I realize how many olde English recipes I have word for word,excepting the weights and metrics.

When a rancher providing certified grass-fed brings their animals to an older age, there's usually more flavor and perhaps more fat. But a small producer is more or less penalized for trying to bring cattle up right, not fast. There are also certain characteristics carried by certain breeds,such as the furor over wagyu. This has happened before, it'll happen again. Breeds such as Simmental, Beefmaster, Santa Gertrudis, Brangus all exhibit the big frame, heavy muscle feedlot candidate. Up here folks tend to Angus, Hereford, and Black Baldies (an F1 cross), old breeds that are hardy and don't exhibit the problems of the so-called exotics. There are so many variables that you really need to establish a relationship with a good meat provider. Ask questions. Read up. Google Cattle Breeds and start there.

Will you be chef or guest of honor or both?

Actually, I have a holiday to ask about. Now don't get me wrong, I am not an American soap opera watcher, but I was addicted, addicted I say, to BBC America's Eastenders. I watched it mainly to pick up on my ear for fast-spoken English.Jamie Oliver holds no difficulty for me as a consequence. But anyway, whenever they were celebrating Bank Holiday I went blank...what is it, if you please? Do you eat something special?

Oh, my I fear I am too dumb to do this yet, although I keep saying I have to settle down and catch up all my instructions. I got a digital camera, too, so now I really have to line up my ducks in a row. Maybe someone can move Marge and insert some antlers on her Mayhaw Man, you are indeed fortunate in your sons.Responsibility with a firearm is something little understood.

Mayhaw Man, my manners are sadly lacking. Congratulate that young man for me. Was he up a tree(you know what I mean)? Was he on a leasehold? At least I was very happy to see that Marge looked like a typical American Basset.Have you ever considered rescue Bassets?

Ooh, Ooh, I know! I was going to mention how weird it seemed to me when I first got up here, that I'd say how much I liked backstrap,or back steak, and no one knew what it was. Up here it's bone-in butterfly steaks. Also, I read all of Pan's warning about the red in cherries- and I shall definitely find something else-maybe plumped-up craisins or something.

What did you think of Marge on jackal10's blog? The adorable-ness.!

Someone who drinks could tell you better. I forget its' proof, but it is lethally high.So, too, are college kids, sometimes, because they love to put it in punches. I guess it's a Southern answer to 151 rum.

Thanks, fifi. I did indeed mean the skin went faasst. And I suspect we mighta been subjected to a limb-pulling about the cordeceps and wolfberries. From what I saw the cordyceps was a mushroom for 1000$ for 100 grams! That ought to make the truffle mourners feel better. As far as the wolfberries, I ain't using them to get healthy, I'm cooking to eat. Speaking of healthy, not to fear, Pan. This is the one and only use I make of mara. cherries, and I chop them real small. But I might think about replacing them with something. But speaking of those little red orbs, I once went to a genuwine redneck party, a baby shower where believe me there was some "haut trash cooking" going on. The baby's future grannies had got together and made a real special treat for everyone. There was one of those monster bar service jars of said cherries, all the syrup drained off, and refilled with Everclear. And they were so proud because they'd "aged" it for 3 WEEKS.

Hummingbird cake is like the only fruit cake I make for kids. It's so simple it's embaressing. Make a yellow cake batter, add 2 or 3 mashed bananas,1 small bottle of drained, chopped maraschino cherries, and one can of crushed pineapple(use that liquid for your cake), and 1/2 t.'s of nutmeg and cinnamon. You either glaze it or frost it. Sorry I forget it might be taken literally. I suspect it got it's name because of it's colors. Kids love it!

Yep, my roast turned out a roaring success. It was pretty big, and I came home with a couple of hunks(eensy hunks). No pork skin- it was nailed. Everyone there complimented me-which sometimes does not mean to let it go to your head,Indian folks will compliment some pretty execrable stuff so as not to hurt your feelings. The proof to me were the people going back for more. The ginger was great! Don't have any idea why I haven't used it before now. The older ladies told me they never saw that before, and I wish I had a picture of their faces when I told them it was invented by "ikway Wabiska" (white woman-not derogatory). They told me to thank you.So I add it to my thanks. Wish someone would post back about the Chinese spices.Have heard of wolfberries, don't know what they are, but Cordyceps is too much for post-Christmas brain. Had taken a hummingbird cake, a Boston cream pie, tamales, dates stuffed with chiles and cream cheese, the ham and the bison. Came home with posole and some of the most excellent green chile pork I've ever eaten. SO is still in a food coma, bless his heart!

Jackal10, my thanks for all of this wonderful STUFF. And a special thanks for including Marge! As far as the Hogmanay celebrating, I saw your picture and I figure one of your neighbors will tag you for the "footfirst", so get your malt whiskey and coal ready!

Did you see Warren Zevon's last interview on David Letterman? Well, he explained his "sudden" onslaught of cancer was due to his same phobia of docs.Pain in the kidneys could indicate that he's torn something and is leaking blood, for criminie's sake! So,you do what you have got to and drag that boy's donkey to a doc. Please.

Most merry and happy holidays! To you and yours... Jill's trifle looks scrumptious and Marge the Basset shall be a lucky dog indeed!!

if you go to ww.texasmonthly.com, you can source something. I subscribed because I miss it so much- then I read food stuff to beat myself up.

And one more thing. I've reached saturation point of seeing those same shots of the cows with it. They are the same ones from the English coverage, and it just saddens me to see them. I'm sure everyone knows what it looks like.

With meringue