Cusina

Brainwash, what a great name. I'm glad to report vicarious hangovers are much easier to tolerate than the real variety. Thanks for the report Nero.

Just loved reading your blog Ronnie, thanks again for the vicarious party. Bacon fat whip in deviled eggs is brilliant. You should get some sort of global recognition for that. hillvalley, hope you feel better. I'll avoid the obvious joke about you having your ups and downs. I'm waiting with breathless anticipation to find out who is next. Who will it be??? It's worse than the suspense on the oscars and reality television.

The answer to my Prayers?? Well, it's dramatic. I'll be interested to see what you think when you get one.

Ronnie, what a beautiful spread. I can tell from everyone's responses that it was a great evening. 110 people is still quite the party! It is nice to sit down after it is all over and reflect on how many great people you have to feed some great food to. I love that kind of entertaining too. Congratulations and happy holidays!

hehehe, jo-mel, exactly what I was thinking! I hosted a bridal shower with 40 guests last spring. I intended to rent glassware but realized that Target sells them for less than $1 per stem. So we now have four dozen cheapies. Not what I'll set my Christmas table with, but they do the trick when we host crowds.

WOW, Ronnie, I'm coming in at the intermission here and this all looks gorgeous, especially that pot of jumbalaya. What a fun party! I'm glad that we will get to see it all happen. If you have a chance, I'd also like to know about your Bourdain adventures, just a gloss over. I've read that he sort of led you to e-gullet and that you are a big fan, but not much more than that. Boy, we are a demanding audience.

We do have more choices but most are lousy. Kind of like 100 tv channels, 95 of them worthless. Wow, you have 5 channels that acutally have worthwhile programming? Incredible! I agree with the fact that choices are increasing, but they are not all worthless. Every week I go to my local supermarket (we are in a place where there is no whole foods or trader joes). This week I bought three new products that appeared on the shelves, free range, fresh whole chicken, vegetable fed pork tenderloin (no "injections"), and nest laid eggs. Woo hoo!! I'm so encouraged. I buy the stuff, compliment the butcher and keep my fingers crossed that others do too so that these things stay in the case and others keep coming. It never occurred to me that I might have Wal-Mart to thank for that. I avoid Wal-Mart, not on moral grounds, but on personal preference. I just find that store jangles my nerves. Too much going on at once. Maybe I'm getting old.

Juicy juice, by the way, is 100% juice, not from concentrate. Actually might qualify as having nutrition. How many kids really grow up not knowing how to scramble an egg or make pasta/rice? That just seems unlikely to me, but I guess it must happen. How sad. I think the real issue here is that we as a political society tend to make mass generalizations about what "the poor" should do when what needs to happen is individual guidance. Take the opportunities you have in your life to make a difference and do it.

It is possible to care without being condescending. I wonder how much of that condescending attitude portrayed here actually came from the politicians and how much was projected by the journalist. The anti-politician bias and cynicism is pretty evident here. I think this is exceptionally poor journalism, written only for impact. The author fails to tell us the results of the experiment! Did this effect the politicians and perhaps change the way they execute their jobs, or not? Poor writing, poor followthrough. I learned nothing. Even worse, I believe this kind of reporting turns people off from volunteerism for fear of seeming condescending. I'm not destitute, I never have been, but the possibility that I might be someday is there. Or that my children might be. Public assistance is a safety net for Americans as a whole and no matter what your station in life is, I believe you need to be interested, care about it and worry if it is effective. It is how you focus that interest that is important. If this were good journalism, perhaps it would have looked at a sampling of politicians who did this kind of matching, life altering project vs. those who volunteered in a social service organization like a food bank or subsidized clinic and compared their effectiveness in writing policy based on the experiences. Obviously a lot of variables there, but it would be MUCH more worthwhile in evaluating the effectiveness of a program like this one.

Our Christmas eve casserole every year is escalloped oysters. Basically a ton of oysters with crushed crackers (we use matzos, even though we aren't even vaugely Jewish) and seriously doused with butter, cream and seasonings. Oyster stew is a favorite of ours as well, but not specifically a Christmas treat. My parents grew up in New England, so that is where our tradition stems from.

I like to go the zen method: Be the toast. Or the philosopher: I think therefore I am toast.

I agree that it is not good manners to expect free drinks. And as a patron I don't. My customers at the bar don't either, but at least around here it is a traditional way of expressing (in an entirely discretionary way) appreciation for steady custom. We have the same deal here and sometimes it gets dangerous. Our favorite bartender usually gives out "bonus" shots of Jameson. Fortunately that bar is within walking distance. If a place gets to know you on a first name basis around here, they need to comp. at least a drink or two or many folks assume you don't appreciate their business and won't become regular customers. On a completely different note, my puppy eyed children always get free cookies or donut holes at the bakery. And there are the yummy free samples in the Chocolate shop. I expect my butcher would give away free stuff too, if I asked, but I expect they run on a slim margin, so I don't as I want them to stick around!

So, peas, optional ham and purple underwear, toss change around and that's it? On to the happily ever after? Wow, I have been so deluded. We just drink champagne and make fun of Dick Clark. I WILL be in Savannah for this new year's eve however, and so I'm very glad to have learned the customs. I can look like a native. (HA!) Any suggestions as to where to be in Savannah for new years?

Orbit Gum Not usually a gum chomper, but when you need some you need some. You know?

It's that E-Gullet Effect again! As I unloaded my cart at the local grocery last night I realized just how far I have come. Almost everything I purchased came from the natural foods dept. or was fresh meat, dairy and produce. I didn't even walk through the center of the grocery store except to pick up a bag of PB cups for a baking project my daughter requested. Those aisles of prepared stuff don't apply to me, making my shopping trip much shorter. This has made my trips to the store much more interesting. It's like a field trip in search of the best and the brightest for our table. Definitely wasn't the case a year ago, B. eG.

Yesterday in the grocery I HAD to have grapefruit juice. What the??? I never drink the stuff. Is there some vitamin deficiency I don't know about that makes one crave grapefruit? Sure hit the spot when I dropped the groceries on the floor of the kitchen and chugged a glass though. Good stuff.

Interesting question. Your dinner sounds like a wonderful idea. Let us know what you decide? Here is my small list. Oysters Clementines, citrus in general Spiced nuts Egg nog, brandy Peppermint and chocolate cinnamon, cloves and ginger champagne almonds and butter, both sweet in cookies, pastry and savory over vegetables Cranberry Chestnuts Brie in pastry

My favorite is chicken sauteed in wine with gruyere, parmesan and dijon in with the cream. We eat quich quite a bit in the cold months. Great with soup and salad for dinner. Do you all do anything special with the crust to make it more savory or is it just a standard pie crust?

Hmmm... essential... Well the obvious appliances (can you imagine only having an ice box??) a mixer, sauce pan, 10" iron skillet, pasta pan, baking sheets, pie plate, stoneware deep dish baker, rubber scrapers (heat proof), spatchula, extra sharp kives of at least 2 sizes (6 and 8 inch, maybe a paring knife), wooden cutting boards, dish towels, cork screw/bottle opener, kitchen scissors, whisk AND LEATHER POT HOLDERS They rock, they go in the washer. I'll never be without them again. I probably missed some.

Al_Dente, you'll have schools of resplendent responders I'm sure. You'll have to screen for the ones with flippy, smoochable hair. Mahaw Man, this was my favorite page on that web site. There is not a single sober person anywhere to be found. I want a Social & Pleasure committee!

my two cents. I have to differ. I like the tilt head. My best girlfriend has the heavy duty model and I find it to be futsy getting the bowl and paddle in and out of their seatings. (Pinched my fingers, ow). No really smooth way to do it. Maybe I'm just all thumbs, but that is my preference. I've had mine four years of weekly (more during baking season) home use without problems. One more thing, buy the extra bowl, comes in very handy.

I think I need a shower... Great writing, licentiously delicious. (Fish, I can accept but Party hats and kazoos??? Now that's just plain weird. )

And the only side with chili, in my world at least, is cornbread. Ours is a sweetish version with honey and whole corn kernels in the mix. Not traditional but tasty.

GG Mora, Very devilishly creative. Al, thanks for the invite. I'd love to accept, but it would be kind of a long commute. Not that your chili wouldn't be worth it of course. I just realized that I started this post and didn't post my OWN chili makings. Duh, sorry. Ours is usually goes something like this: Ground Beef Chopped tomatoes Tomato paste (we like a thicker consistency) Red and white, sometimes black, beans (whatever is around) Onion and garlic BBQ sauce (either a simple homemade or sweet baby rays) Chipotles in adobo sauce S & P Cilantro Next time I'm going to add chunks of beef and some chorzio to the mix. The more meat the merrier. Also want to try dark chocolate and venison sometime. They sound interesting.

Cannot wait to try this. It is one of my all time favorite beers. I bought it by mistake a few years back and boy, was I glad of the error. I'm glad to hear that this year's brew is a good one.