FistFullaRoux

Bad Boys circa 1983. Sean Penn was a pretty crafty criminal. We have a winnah!!

I was thinking of the SNL skit with Gilda Radner et al. where the family ate nothing but carbs... The Widette family.

I love wilted spinach and bacon sandwiches, add mayo. Also fig preserves and peanut butter. On a different sandwich. My mom loves potato salad sandwiches, although not since Sugar Busters. A restaurant near work here does a pastrami on kaiser roll, then batters and deep fries it. I call it a Heart Plug.

Fellow sciatica troubled person here. I nearly punched the last chiro I went to. I got no help from it whatsoever. Glad you have found something that works, though. Frozen peas, corn, diced vegetables, or anything else that is small and uniform in shape work well as cold packs. I'd stay away from breaded items, though. Unless it's an emergency. I've also put dried beans in a ziplock into the freezer and created the same sort of thing, but it heats up quicker. If you need heat, put raw rice in a sock. Tie the end, then microwave for 1-2 minutes. Instant heating pad. A lifesaver after sinus surgery. It fits contours really well, and can be held on with an ace bandage or the other sock with the toes cut out. Other G-rated food uses? A cut onion will clear the sinuses. Mayo will remove engine grease from tools or hands. Canned goods, if they are the same height, can be used as a stable standing platform for kids (at the sink, for example). Just cover it with cardboard. Cases of canned drinks work as well. Any canned drink in a pillowcase can be used to fend off an attacker. (Two points for anyone who can name the movie this was used in) Use a potato to remove broken bulbs from the socket. dern typos.

As far as creating the business plan, I recommend the Junior Chamber of Commerce (I'm a member) Chairman's Planning Guide. It consists of 10 questions that, if answered properly, can serve as a base for the business plan. It's original intent was to document each public service project that the organization does. Everything from contact information to "What would you do if the location flooded?" or "What would you do if a burglar was found dead in your exhaust system?" It has been used for everything from planning vacations and weddings to buying a house and creating business plans. I can give you the info, or the best thing (in my personal opinion) is to find a local chapter and join. If you have a local chapter, you have built in business. If you have never built a business or managed one, you can get experience by running community service projects. And you don't have to put up the money for those smaller projects. The chapter can bankroll them, as long as the CPG is filled out properly. Once you've done a few, it's an easier leap into management and ownership. The CPG is really an amazing tool for things just like this. OK, I'm done shilling for the Jaycees now. Fascinating thread. This post edited for typos.

Saute small shrimp with garlic, salt, black pepper, and the slightest hint of cayenne. But don't cook them all the way through. Add to your standard red sauce pizza and bake. Also for red sauce, ham (or Canadian bacon) and pineapple. Surprised this hadn't been mentioned yet. Although, it's hard to beat good Italian sausage with a few fresh mushrooms. As far as non-standard pizza, wilt spinach in bacon drippings, add bacon and spinach to a white sauce pizza. And what is your usual cheese of choice? I like provolone on pizza. Less stringy than mozzerella. And not as intimidating to those who do not eat "weird cheese". They'll never know the difference unless you tell them.

Why would I want to eat shitty chicken wings while staring at guys in tight wife beater tees and orange satin shorts? Same reason my wife does not come with me to Hooters. They can have theirs, we can have ours. I've found that to be the secret... Personal time and space.

All chains need a response restaturant. Sort of an anti-them. My wife wants to open a bar and grill next to Hooter's. Call it Pecker's and have a woodpecker as it's mascot. You fill in the blanks. I'd personally open a pizza place next to a Chuck E Cheese, called Big Freakin Cat, and have hourly demonstrations on how a 10 foot cat can destroy 6 foot mice with a blunt object. The video games will all have the sound turned off, and there will be microgreens on the salad bar. Everything on the kid's menu will be made of turkey, and contain no caffiene. It's sure to be a hit with the parents...

And as far as my first food memory, I remember this one time my mom ate garlic.... Actual first food memory was McD's french fries in the back of the car, driving from south Louisiana to Pensacola (on old US 90 - pre Interstate) where my dad was stationed in the navy. I was about 2. I don't remember this next part, but mom says I used to bite off the end of the fry, suck out the soft part in the middle, then throw the limp fry carcass into the front seat. It was my signal that I wanted another one. We won't even go into what usually happened around Pascagoula...

And who could forget the infamous Blackened Voodoo Lager? It went on to be banned by the state of Texas. In retaliation, Louisiana outlawed Lone Star. I think the border skirmishes have tapered off, and Lone Star in once again available...

The only thing that makes it look like it may be on the up and up is the fact that he is using escrow for payment. Fro eBay's site: Generally the securest way to pay for high priced items Payment is held by the escrow service until you receive and approve the item As long as it's eBay's escrow service, it should be cool. If it's anyone else's, fuggetaboutit.

Baking soda, dishwashing liquid and toothpaste will clean nearly everything in the house if you apply it right. If you work on your car, rub about a half teaspoon of cooking oil into your hands, then wash them with dishwashing liquid. Use an old toothbrush (or a cheap one) for the fingernails. If you don't have a Dremel tool, get one. The wire wheels and buffing disks work great around pot handles and on the bottom of pans when they just get too icky. I clean the oven racks with them too. I've also used them for cleaning the nooks and crannies of the oven and dishwasher. Do yourself a favor and put an extra paper towel dispenser on the other side of the kitchen. We have one next to the sink, and one under the cabinets near the stove. A small fan next to the stove can be handy. Ours is mounted under the cabinet opposite the paper towel dispenser. And never underestimate the power of zip ties. They held up the range hood at our old apartment for a month until the landlord fixed it.

It is, in fact harder to find gators north of I-10. They are there, they just don't snatch little old ladies dogs out of the yard as often...

You can walk into nearly any locally owned (and a few corporate) convenience store in Acadiana and get steaming hot boudin out of a rice cooker for about $1 a link (1/3 or 1/4 lb). Wrapped in wax paper or aluminum foil, you walk/drive and eat.

Last night it was.... um... leftover Krispy Kremes from yesterday morning. It worked for me....

I just discovered this complete waste of time.... The automatic egg peeler

Well, at least these people have a half a clue about what's going on. Most of them have been to Mobile (We won't even start on that whole "who's first" subject) I still haven't figured out why they throw Moon Pies. If you could have seen my face during my first Mobile parade. I'm this Cajun who didn't even know that Mobile HAD Mardi Gras, so I get drgged to one when I first moved out here, and these nuts are throwing baked goods, made in Tennessee? I have banned them from the hotel this weekend. First one to show one in public gets a face full of Silly String... The second one gets antiqued with a sock full of powdered sugar (We're in tuxes. ) The third should not occur. Although, maybe I should carry a squirt bottle and tell them it's full of Tabasco, just to keep these people in line....

There are the famous meat pies available at a number of places in Natchitoches, along with great pie in LeCompte (Lea's Kitchen). I have a sister in Alexandria, a good friend in Bossier, and my brother went to school in Natchitoches, but the only thing anyone ever mentioned from above say, Opelousas, were the two listed above. Isn't Hammond sort of about 35 miles north of I-10? To be technical about it... That reminds me of my uncle. He was from waaaaaaay in the swamp. "North of I-10, they're yankees. North of Alexandria, they're damn yankees."

Carnival season is about to start in Birmingham. Or rather, Birmingham is about to get a carnival season. I am a member of the Jaycees, and our state convention in this weekend in Birmingham. I helped picked the theme, and The First Annual Mystic Krewe of Vulcan Ball will be held Saturday night. When I went home for Christmas, I found a place that sold mix and match beads by the pound. Better than buying them by the case, if you only need a small amount. I'm making 3 or 4 king cakes tonight to be frozen and baked off Saturday morning. One of them is to be auctioned off for our scholarship fund, and I fully expect it to pull a couple of hundred bucks. The baby in that cake is an heirloom gold plated pewter baby. Someone got it on eBay and donated it. That will be a hoot... Second line!!!

Someone else mentioned Hut's in Austin. I remember there was practically fighting in the street around 1992 with all the burger places standing up pounding their chests. Quite funny too. Almost like the great salsa wars. Hut's is damn fine chow though. I still prefer Dirty's. And I can't believe I forgot to mention my favorite place in Austin... Magnolia Cafe on S Congress. I was there a couple of years back, and not much had changed. I still have dreams about the Chicken CCCP (Grilled chicken with an olive/herb/cream cheese topping - amazing). The Martian Landscape (Home fries - loaded), the jalapeno corncakes, the funky iced tea flavors that change around, and one of the best chips and salsa baskets in Austin. Kind of a hippy vibe to the place, but not in a bad way. I also have to admit a soft spot for Bill Miller's fried chicken. Not the BBQ, so much, but the chicken is something else. I hate this. I went and made myself hungry again.

I'll try to state the premise again. There is something inherent in message boards and email that does not happen with phone or face contact. Irony, inflection, emphasis, and some humor is lost in text. This is why there are smileis on this very page. Words seem harsher, being that we are sort of hardwired to think that the written word holds more power. A computer monitor is, for all intents and purposes, the written word. Internet or not. The thing is, we get to make our statements without interruption, and without the sort of instant feedback/body language/intangible thing going on, the statements made can get out of hand. It's like having an open microphone, the audience has to sit perfectly still and quiet in the dark, and you can speak your mind. Then the first person to get up to the mic says what they think, while the rest sit on their hands, or leave. When you have some sort of clue from another person or group of people when making a statement face to face or real-time interactively, you can adjust what you are saying. You can modify the points, use more examples, or realize that you just pissed someone off. Which is why message boards hae a tendency to stagger around, not flow like conversation does. Again, it's not opinions that bother me so much. It's attitude and perception. Sometimes people can have a controversial opinon. That's fine. But if you are going to start a contoversy, (like I did ), be willing to talk about it, and stand by your opinion. Don't say the all xxxx are xxxx and never visit the subject again. It makes it seem like "The Master Has Spoken" and the subject is closed.

I hope no one said this verbatim. [continuing] There was some of that attitude in the Semi-Homemade thread or the Rick Bayless thread. There was quite a bit of it on the Wal-Mart thread too. It's the same attitude I see on parenting lists from those who breastfeed to those who have decided to use formula for whatever reasons. The "you might as well be feeding your family from a dumpster" attitude. It sucks, it condescending, and it's wrong - regardless of the posters intent. I don't have the time, energy, or money to be a food snob. I'll even admit to liking Velveeta. YES!! That's it. That's what I was trying to get my dain bramaged self to say. You nailed it. Exactly. Thank you.

The guy who "discovered" petroleum jelly (originally made during the oil pumping process) swore by the stuff, eating a spoonful every day for the rest of his life - at least according to the legend I have heard and read. Old folk cures involving diesel or oil in some form abound. It might not kill ya, but it don't taste so good...

Maybe this should be about your favorite food in a favorite place. My favorite food memory isn't even my favorite food, but it was so perfect. As a kid, on my grandfather's back steps, eating the pears from the tree in the back yard. On summer afternoons, the back steps were the shadiest spot around. He'd take out his pocket knife (which was one of the few things I decided I wanted to keep after he passed away), and cut off a slice of those hard little pears that never seemed to get fully ripe and hand it to me, then he'd cut off a slice for himself, and we'd watch the world go by. It was perfect. It's the only time I can really say I enjoyed pears.

Not quite what I meant. It's attitude more than opinion. Don't dismiss a poster's opinion, just because they have different ones than yours. It has happened. To me. On this site. And I don't want to point out specifics because I do respect that person, and they may not have realized that they did it. My opinion is as valid as yours and anyone else's. I really don't think that anyone had done anything intentionally. These boards are as well maintained as I have ever seen. We are all fairly focused on the subjects at hand, and though we may stray off topic slightly, that's no big deal. It adds to the atmosphere. I like to think we are all friends, or at least friendly toward each other. I think I'm just trying to get everyone to look at their posts one more time before they post them, if just to make sure you are saying what you are actually thinking.