FistFullaRoux

Has anyone mentioned chicken soup yet? Anything that isn't hard to chew or eat works for me. The last thing I want to deal with when I have a cold is buffalo wings. I mean, I know where my hands have been, and I may automatically scratch my nose without thinking. Something in a bowl, with a spoon.

At the risk of opening a huge can of Acme Brand worms, The chain steak joints (Outback, Lonestar, even Ruth's Chris) have little pictures next to the grill stations. They also have their internal definitions of doneness (ie; Medium means a warm pink center, Rare is a cool red center, etc). I mean, come on. The chain places with the $8 an hour college kid on the grill get the doneness right, very nearly every time I'm eaten there. The couple of time I haven't, it wasn't far enough from what I ordered to protest. And you can throw peanut shells on the floor at some of them. What's not to like? Please note, I realize this discussion was about higher end places. But when the college kids at a chain can get the steak right, and the pros at the $40 porterhouse places can't, there's a problem. And you can always order the way Woody Harrelson did in The Cowboy Way": "Just knock its horns off, wipe its nasty ass, and chunk it right here on this plate."

Wow, that looks cool. What's the filling?

Textures, yes. And burnt stuff. Looks like eight out of ten posts talk about crispy, burnt, browned, well-done, crusty, stuff stuck at the bottom of the pot, etc. Of course, if you burned the whole dish you'd just throw it out. I gues it's the contrast thing. But the burnt stuff really is the best. I think it's more that when a baked/roasted/broiled/grilled dish is done properly, some parts are going to be done more than others. Simple physics. People who know and care about food know that the crispy edges mean that the whole dish is done right. As long as it's just the edges.

OK, maybe I should say that fresh is always best. It's true. But when your otherwordly dessert dies a horrible death in the oven, and guests are due in 15 minutes, you gotta do what you gotta do. I'm not going to fault a person for using a canned item. Please. I was raised in the country. We did not have fruits and vegetables in the garden all year round. I ate a lot of canned peaches growing up. I also ate pears and satsumas right off the tree. Guess what? They both taste good. This isn't something you would necessarily plan to serve to guests, but it is a good solution for throwing something together with little to no warning, and limited ingredients. This isn't Semi Homemade here. This is something you slam together for the family on a Thursday night when everyone suddenly develops a craving for something sweet.

It's a no brainer. no one ever thinks to heat up a sauce to put over ice cream. Add some sort of baked element, and you come off as a genius, using ingredients you can get at better convenience stores...

That ain't a bad way to go. Sign me up....

A good desperation dessert: Take whatever canned fruit you have on hand, (peaches, pears, pineapple, and apples work well for this) drain off some of the excess liquid (but keep some) dump it in a pot, add cinnamon or other seasonings, let it simmer for 5-10 minutes to thicken a bit. Meanwhile, pop a frozen pie crust (or use something similar) into the oven to bake out. Sprinkle with a little sugar and cinnamon toward the end. You can also use filo dough. To plate... One bowl, one scoop of ice cream (vanilla probably), topped with warmed fruit sauce, garnished with a chunk of cinnamon pie dough. It's the little things that make life worth living... Edited to say: Flour tortillas, buttered and sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, then baked until crispy (no more than 10 minutes) would work well as a garnish too.

Actually, what would be funnier would be to have Bourdain and Keller cooking together against Flay and Puck, with Alton being able to communicate directly with them through an earpiece. Just to hear the reactions to the comments. Or if not Alton, then Whatshisname that was doing the floor reporting. He should be allowed to stick a mic into one of their faces and ask questions like, "Is the fish fresh?" And I'd also like to point out, since someone mentioned "dumbing down" dishes for the Americans, is that Sakai and Morimoto both own (or are about to open) restaurants in the states. They are or should be used to preparing food for an American sensibility.

Satsumas in December. Chilton County peaches from Alabama. And obviously, crawfish. King of the crustaceans.

Emeril Live has been on at 8 eastern for several years now. Also repeats at midnight eastern, so the West coast gets it at 8pm as well. For a while there, it was also on at 11pm eastern. Emrul gets 2-3 hours per day - minimum - on that network.

I lived in Austin in the early 90's, and Shiner Bock was the liquid of choice for a lot of people, including myself. Texas was as far as it got, but I remember the first time I saw it on the shelves in Louisiana. Shiner has some sort of distribution deal with the same company that imports Corona. I haven't had one in a number of years, so I do not know if there is a difference in quality since they have expanded their distribution.

Hang on just a second there. I've been in some real dives, a few biker bars, plenty of bars with specific clientelle, and a number of college hangouts. I have only seen one confederate flag in that entire time, and that was a biker bar. The vehicles out front may be a different story. But I know of no (with that one exception) bar owner who would ever open himself to that kind of controversy. For the most part, people who run bars are business people. Money is green. That makes most of them colorblind. I'm not saying that there aren't racists in the south. There are racists in the north, east and west too. They wear boots, dirty jeans, Armani, and uniforms as well. You have judged a large number of southern bars, and therefore their customers, to be racist. You are even saying that those particular bars are the reason the original question was posted. Not even close. The question referred to an inquiry about the drinking habits and general atmosphere of a typical southern bar. Not the percieved prejudices of the place's operators. Please refrain from making general accusations having nothiing to do with the subject. We (meaning people who were born/were raised/or currently live in the south) are not all racist, any more than all New Yorkers are 1st generation immigrants, or citizens of DC are murdering theives who will step over a dead body in the street.

Please note: I do not know what the hell I am talking about when discussing jellyfish. Besides being the name of one of my favorite bands, I've neither eaten or prepared jellyfish. This was simply a play on the peanut (butter) and jelly(fish) idea. But if it works, what the hell, right?

I'm wondering if they can be somehow battered and fried, kind of tempura or thai style. Serve it with a spicy peanut sauce and watch the kids freak out...

Being that she is an insider who just got a promotion, my bet is she won't be willing to stir things up too much. No pun intended. I really hope she opens up some sort of dialogue with their viewers to get some honest reaction to the "Dweezil and Lisa" syndrome that has been unloaded on us for the last several months. I think offering and really listening to input would go a long way in loyalty, if not increased ratings. Of course, the whole thing is about the ratings. If the dumbing down of FTV is not interesting new viewers, then it should stop. If it is increasing ratings, then the more advanced audience has to be addressed, or they risk alienating them. OK, us.

Please let us know how it went. Pictures, details, the whole thing.

I've always been told to never eat the dead ones. My mom regularly stands over a pot with a big spoon to knock the runaways back in.

Outstanding. I just got a 50% off (table of 2) and a $25 gift certificate from two of our favorite restaurants for $4.66 This rules. Thank you for sharing it.

And Mayhaw, what about the places in Louisiana that will have a free supper once a week? Usually gumbo, a good rice and gravy, maybe a sauce picante or jambalaya. And usually held on Sundays or Tuesdays. Go in order a beverage of choice, and a plate of yumminess. Follow up with several more beverages for dessert, maybe a game of pool (or rarely darts). Catch the Saints game if it is on. What could be better? An airconditioned oasis serving libations of your choice, with free food and a football team playing in a taxpayer supported stadium. I miss that.

Just so you know, I had to look at this three or four times before I realized something. Shop Rite is an actual grocery store chain in the northeast. Shop Rite is also the name of a convenience store chain in Louisiana. That's why I couldn't figure out why you people were buying scallops from a convenience store. I need coffee. Now.

They may have been dealing with the same trouble I've had from time to time. They couldn't figure out how to eat it without just mashing it all together. I've been presented with dishes (not just desserts) that I can't figure out how to eat without looking like Cousin Ernie from the country who is still giggling at the indoor outhouses. I'd stick with just the ice cream. I've pretty much gotten over that hangup. But a lot of people have do trouble with that.

Me too! and I am a practicing (still perfecting though!) card-carrying heterosexual! She seemed very knowledgeable and she should have been more prominently featured even! She should have been on the mike with AB. She knows her stuff, she was the one feeding AB the info. Put the dorky floor walking guy at the desk with AB, and make her the floor reporter. It's essentially what she was doing anyway, but off camera.

AKA "spudrubble"

I think it was more a matter of not having Sysco boxes everywhere. And what brand were those jars of spices? Looked interesting, but it kind of reminded me of the Rachel Ray generic "Chicken Broth" with the fake labels. Was that product placement, maybe? I noticed the Kraft logo evey time they had a full screen graphic.