FistFullaRoux

A discussion of drinks (hard and soft) developed in the south has to include the Hurricane. And speaking of New Orleans, Southern Comfort. Also, Ski from Kentucky, as made famous in the Kentucky Headhunters song "Dumas Walker". And if I recall correctly, the Cuba Libre was developed in Florida. Though I may be mistaken. And would a snoball be considered a beverage?

Well sure! You're so worried about your mouth going up in flames, you don't percieve other pain Just kidding. Seriously though, I've heard capsaicin works well as a pain releiver. Here's a blurb I found at Click here "Capsaicin is the purified extracted alkaloid from red chilli peppers (capsicums). This is the substance that makes chilli peppers hot. The purified form capsaicin has been found to relieve pain by reducing substance P, which is found at nerve endings and is involved in transmitting neuralgic and arthritic pain signals to the brain. Pain relief is not instantaneous after application as it is the cumulative depletion of substance P over a period of weeks that brings the full effect." Sounds plausible. This might be more reputable a source, however click here Neat-o!! Pass the tabasco, please. The way I understand it is that the stimulus (whether it is ice, hot water, menthol, mild electrical shocks, capsicum, or whatever) overloads the nerve endings, which makes them shut down, or temporarily stop sending information to the brain. At least that's the way a physical therapist once described it. It's simply a matter of overdriving the nerves so they think something is wrong and turn themselves off. I may still have a connection at McIlhenny. A friend of a friend was a member of management there. Not sure if she still is, but I'll find out. That would make an interesting Q&A.

If you feel the need to. I'd love to be a fly on the wall during that conversation...

so what's all this then? i missed reference to this stuff? (d'you mean like chlorophyll tabs?) I'm not sure what they are. After this kind of surgery, um.... farts get really bad, mostly due to the shortened intestinal tract. Shorter trip through the system, and things don't get broken down as much as they would normally. The internal deodorant pills are supposed to help somewhat. Not in the amount, but in the... well, smell. I haven't noticed a bit of difference. It wasn't mentioned before because I didn't know there would be a need for such a thing. It's not something the doctors remember to warn you about beforehand...

Jeez. It's been a while since I updated. After the first few days back at work, she was out of work for about 5 weeks. Horrible nausea, 24 hours a day. Nothing sat right, and almost nothing stayed down. She got scoped from both ends, put on several different medications, and no real relief. Phenergen worked, but it made her a zombie. Breaking her toe did not help matters. Makes it real difficult to excercise when your head is spinning, you feel like you are going to barf, and have your toes taped together. Found out she had an ulcer. A small one, and not very deep. The doctor described it as wear and tear, not a disease process. Long story short, it was back to clear liquids and then we worked her back up to real food. That took about 3 weeks, and she was still nauseated, but at least mealtime was a little less terrible. I finally went with her to a followup doctor's visit, and I threated to stand on Doogie Howser's toes to keep him from leaving the room until we figured something out. I told him the blood tests I wanted to run to find any nutritional deficiencies, and she mentioned that she was having trouble with the sublingual B12 tablets. Said they got mushy, but wouldn't dissolve. Doctor gave her a B12 shot, and I do the honors at home now. Coupled with the ulcer meds, she was as close to normal as you could expect 2 weeks later. She squeaks now. It's that sort of half hiccup-half burp thing, and she does it 3 times when she's full. It's almost cute. She has lost 84 pounds since the surgery. She practically rents clothes, they only fit her for a couple of weeks. She is back to being a happy person, and she has lost so much weight, her face is changing. She had to get a new ID for work. She grinned about that for 2 days. Food wise, she's good with just about anything. She's still avoiding tomatoes. We finally got a grill, so it's been a lot of chicken and lean burgers, but she is happy with it. She also found out that she does like Japanese. When she felt more like going out, we made a decision to try new places. We have a few new favorites. She also discovered that she likes peanuts now. Before, she didn't even want to smell them. Now, she's about to develop a monocle... As long as she chews well, she can tolerate everything, except battered and fried items. Even with the breading removed, it gives her trouble. She eats a surprising amount of fruit. Even her doctor was surprised with the amount of fruit she can handle. The sugars seem to give her no problems. Plain milk is still an issue, but she can handle dairy products. Strange but true. And those internal deodorant pills don't work worth shit. Other than that, she is able to find something to eat on every menu, she's learned what works for her and what does not, and we've found out that if she does not eat, the weight loss stops. Cooking at home is not something I can do as much as I'd like, the smell of cooking still bothers her sometimes. But we work around it. I usually don't feel much like cooking during the summer anyway. Thank you for the kind notes and words. It's been an adventure. I'm just happy to have her back. Even if there is less of her.

I do like some of the varieties. I don't eat them often (anymore) but the Cheesburger Macaroni and the Cheesy Hashbrowns are the better ones, they just require a little modification. I make the cheeseburger one according to the recipe, but I also add a generous handful or two of some decent cheese near the end of cooking. Works fine that way. The hashbrowns are made according to directions, but I make my own cheese sauce to put over top of them. Recently I've started using Alton Brown's cheese sauce recipe from his baked mac and cheese episode. Works great served over browned potato particles... The chicken helper is pure turn-your-face-green-and-make-little-gaggin-sounds. Tuna helper is far easier to make from scratch than the box. edetid fer spellin

Holy shit! What Nero said. And regarding the Campbell's soup thing, I had the misfortune to spend a couple of days in a Red Cross shelter during a hurricane. They served us heated undiluted beef vegetable soup over plain old steamed white rice. Turned out to be darned tasty. Haven't made it since, but I may have to try it again...

Canned asparagus. Cold from the fridge. I got that one from Mom.

Does this take you all morning and into the afternoon? Do you have a method to share? I love grapefruit, but echo everyone else's complaints about it. I once made a wonderful recipe of grapefruit, ginger, and star anise compote, it was truly delicious, but I'd never do it again because it took forever to peel those *%$ grapefruit!! It's not difficult, after a bit of practice. The epiphany for me was . . . USE A KNIFE! (duh, but I'm a slow learner) Cut off the top and bottom of the grapefruit so you can see the actual flesh (no membranes) Cut down the sides, again so you see flesh. Working over a bowl, hold the grapefruit in your left hand (right hand if you're left-handed). Pick a membrane, any membrane, and start there. Cut down as close as you can along one of the membranes, then move to the next one and cut along it, cutting out the section of grapefruit. Continue around until you're left with nothing but a big lump of membranes. Squeeze out the extra juice and you're set. Works for oranges too. Now, for me, the way-too-much-work-for-what-you-get food is fava beans -- shell, shell, shell; blanch, peel, peel, peel -- two hours later, you have. . . beans. Great. Anyone know the cooking term for this? I seem to remember someone on Food TV refer to these as imperials (or something similar) when refering to a lime cut in this manner.

Well, I do use BBQ sauce on mine, although it is my version, not the traditional baked thing. But in my recipe the BBQ sauce is cut by a vinagrette, making the twang of the vinegar and olive oil the center of attention. The ketchup based sauce adds a little sweetness, some spice, and a bit of smokiness. Also note that the recipe I put in above is actual BBQ'ed shrimp, though this could work well in the oven. Also note that my recipe does not need 8 lbs of butter to make it taste good. What these other places are doing is closer to shrimp scampi.

Normally, they don't leak. It's the heavier weight of crude oil, probably. Besides, oil is found at shallower depths all around the area, so it's not like it's out of place. The oil serves another purpose in that it provides some support for that formerly empty space which could then potentially become a giant sinkhole as you feared. People in Texas found out the hard way when the water level in the Edwards aquifer started dropping. It runs through a maze of limestone caverns, and without the water up near the top providing support, the tops started crumbling, taking acres of farmland and the occasional driveway down with it. The liquid in the hole helps support the weight above it.

A salt dome is just that. Imagine something about the size of a large stadium (or bigger), completely made of salt, but solid. They are found near large bodies of salt water in the marshy areas. What happens is, large parcels of salt water got cut off from the (in this case) Gulf of Mexico. So you essentially had a big salt lake, seperated from the gulf by sediment from rivers and whatnot. After a while, the water evaporates, leaving giant pools of the solids that were dissolved in it. More time passes, and the land extends over the dome and buries it. Then men come along and find them, grind them up, and sell them to you to put on your table. This is oversimplifying, of course, but there you are. Remember that these look like coal mines, in that to get to the salt, you go down a shaft into what becomes a cavernous empty space underground. Only the shaft is left to get back up. It's not a strip mine. The really interesting part is that when they have removed the salt, you are left with a big hole in the ground. This is where the Strategic Petroleum Reserve comes in. The Federal government keeps a stash of crude oil in these empty salt domes as emergency fuel. It's always fascinated me to drive down some of these roads in the middle of nowhere and stumble across National Guardsmen providing security for the things. Ah, the salt dome. The utility player in Louisiana's history...

Yup, the original "big sucking sound." And I lived in Vermilion Parish at the time. the whole area was off limits for years after that....

When cooked down, I'd think the apples could be thought of as onions, at least to those who didn't know apples were an ingredient. There's a similar sweetness, but the aromatic part is not there. I think it would work. Anyone try it yet?

So how does one get salt out of the ears?

Well, at least Tony had the advantage of being Jeffery's employee. Rocco may have kicked Tony out of "his" kitchen, but he's still probably drawing a check from Jeffery while working somewhere else. I mean, he was making 80K before the raise, at least according to Rocco.

I agree that I am not completely up to speed as to what's going on. I also think that we are on the same page as far as Rocco himself goes. I'm not rooting for the guy. As much as I hate to see anyone lose a job or go broke on a venture, he's doing it to himself. He is not operating within his own abilities. It's a classic case of someone biting off more than he can chew. To a certain extent the show itself is dumbed down for the population who knows little to nothing about food or the business. It would be one thing if the show was really centered around food and it's preperation. This is a reality show, not a cooking show. But real reality isn't sexy enough for network execs. There has to be conflict or drama to be able to sell it to a major network. Otherwise it would be on Food Network. So drama is enhanced and manipulated by editing and music and any other number of production tricks. Anyone see the Gideon/broken elbow behind the scenes thing?

I wonder whether you might expand on what you felt was suspicious about the editing in the episode? No mention was made by anyone (on the show at least) about the getting a raise and getting fired on the same day (or at least the next day), which it what it looked like. My suspicion is that it happed at least a few days apart, and was edited to look like he was being rewarded by one side and disowned by another. Mark Burnett has been known to do stuff like this in the past, most notable with Survivor. Also regarding the firing, did anyone Tivo or tape this episode? Can you tell what date was on Rocco's computer when he was talking to Laurent in his office when he was clearing his schedule for the next few days? Remember he said that they had been looking at Tony since September with the idea of letting him go. At least we can figure out the interval between the suspicion and the dismissal. About the fire, the more I think about it, the less suspicious that seems. It's just that Rocco's happened to coincide with the fire. He leaves, the fire starts, it gets dealt with, and he returns to see the damage. It could be a coincidence, but it would be a very strange one. And I somehow doubt that NBC's news department is producing this. I don't think that any news department would enter into agreements with advertisers. If they are, then I'm sorely dissapointed. The "cast" probably had the TV rules written into an employment agreement. Anyone know if they had to get union cards to be on TV?

These were the first two episodes I've seen this season. I watched almost all of last season. My impressions - remembering that I have only seen these two shows and read about the rest, and our view is colored by the editing and post production. Rocco is a putz. He's a putz who can cook, but he's a putz. You don't leave a busy kitchen, and not at least tell someone else to take over for you. A line cook dosen't do that, and a head/executive chef certainly doesn't. Rocco's narcissism, even though it is admitted, is going to hurt him bad. He's making rotten business decisions, he's making bad personal decisions, and he's at leat being painted to look like a celebrity. Not celebrity chef, just a celebrity. I find it hard to believe that Jeffery is losing money in that restaurant. At least not in the amounts that he claims. Don't forget, this is a TV show that's sponsored. By a lot of major corporate entities. If the deal wasn't worked so that they made a profit without selling the first manicotti, then everyone except Mark Burnett has made bad decisions. Who the hell puts a grill against a wood wall? And then, after discovering that heat+fuel+oxygen=FIRE, leaves it in the same place without adressing the issue. At least Rocco knew that making some pizzas and schmoozing with the clientelle would make things a little better. OK sure, he was holding court. But he was at least trying. Rocco needs an executive chef to oversee the kitchen. Rocco can go in and get his hands dirty every once in a while, but he needs to have somebody who can run the place whether he is there or not, and keep the "artistic vision" intact. Then he's free to roam where ever the hell he wants, he can autograph all of the cookbooks he wants, and can still keep his name on the place. I thought him making the production of autographing cookbooks in front of Tony before he canned him was completely asinine. It looked like he was trying to say "I'm the marquee attraction in this place, I am famous, and you are a glorified line cook". Even if I had liked Rocco before, it was in very bad taste for him to do that. That was just rubbing it in. edited for rotten typos

OK, so evidently what I just watched was a previous episode. I haven't caught it in a while, and there's a followup episode on now. To be continued....

So did anyone actually see the thing? Couples therapy. Unbelievable. And it was edited to make it look like it worked.... A fairy tale ending after all?

I lived in Mobile for a couple of years. I honestly cannot remember a meal. At least for the food. The only possible exception is Cock of the Walk on Government. I think. And then I'm not sure it's the food I'm thinking of. I think I was chasing a waitress. (I was single at the time ) For being a very old city with a ton of history, you'd think you could eat well. There are better seafood restaurants at the beach (which is actually 1 or 2 hours away, depending on your choice of Gulf Shores or Dauphin Island). Admittedly, I didn't do much fine dining during my stay there, but usually you can find a gem or two in the mid-level restaurants from time to time. But I got nuthin. The whole town is just kind of... eh. My biggest memory of Mobile, beside hurricane Georges, is when the wind turns north in the winter. That paper plant north of town will clear your sinuses. But I did find the archetypical Waffle House waitress there. Early 50's, fire engine red hair, pencil tucked in behind the ear, chewing gum and called everybody "Sugar". The nametag read "Dot". I think that qualifies.

As far as hall of fame posts, the hands-down winner (and I dare anyone to come up with something better) was the infamous "Good cheese smells like happy underpants" line from tanabutler on this thread.

I agree that the mass producers usually have a better product (IMHO). I'm a Jif kinda guy. But here in the south, there is the Deep South brand peanut butter. It's not ground quite as creamy, but it's not gritty either. Problem is, I'm only intersted in the Deep South about once a year. Buy the smallest jar, and usually make a batch or two of peanut butter cookies to use the rest of the jar. It's great for recipes that dont require a super smooth texture. With either one, if I'm going to use it on a sandwich, I always thouroughly mix in a healthy dose of Steens ribbon cane syrup. It's dark and tangy and occupies a space between honey and molasses. But it has to be mixed with the peanut butter thouroughly, otherwise you will get syrup soaking through the bread. Gets really sticky when that happens.

Couldn't you touch up a minor scuff in the ganache with very judicious use of a small torch? And the only other advice I have is make sure the air conditioner in the transport vehicle works, and works well. Crank up the vehicle at least 20 minutes before and let the AC cool things as much as possible (I know, with gas at $2+ a gallon, that seems excessive, but you'll only use like 35 cents worth). Especially dealing with chocolate. The orange/ganache combo sounds really good though...