Susan in FL

All/both dinners that you post always sound good. Are there other restrictions on your food besides no solids? For instance can you eat food as flavorable or as spicy as you wish, and what about acidic, or high fiber foods? (No particular reason for asking, other than being interested...)

Linda, once again, thank you. This did the splainin'! I knew this was the place to get a Complete Gumbo Education. I especially did understand the part about licking and picking and drinking beer. For Gumbo, killing them and throwing the junk back, and cleaning them on the spot, makes sense to me. What an interesting thing it is, to discover the differences in local regions. And here I thought I knew a lot about fresh seafood, raised on the Delmarva Peninsula, crabbing, clamming, fishing, etc.! This is way cool.BTW, Friday I made the Pickled Shrimp recipe that's in your family, and we enjoyed it last night for a first course, with bread and butter and beer... yummy. None left. Except some onions and dressing, and today we're going to throw some asparagus or some kind of vegetables in there to marinate. Oh no, what was the damage from your hit? I hope you all are OK. You're not too late to join in and share your wisdom! I have gotten just about all of my questions answered, but still am enjoying the continued discussion. What I haven't gotten to yet is finding the additional recipes that you mentioned, the jambalaya, the etouffees, and that shrimp creole you were talking about. As I said, I'm learning a lot. I will check around in frozen seafood sections, to see if anybody sells "gumbo crabs," if we don't do the fifi thing. Who knows, they could be there, but I wouldn't know it because there haven't been many occasions for me to look at frozen seafood. The only thing I can't do... Shrimp that has been frozen is against the Floridian Religion, so I will buy the tiniest of the fresh.

I did photo tonight's dinner, but just couldn't capture it well. We started with Pickled Shrimp (thank you very much, Fifi and family). Then... grilled veal chops topped with truffle butter, fried sage leaves, and sweet corn flans with tomato-corn relish. The flans and relish called out for crabcakes. I'll serve it with that next time!

That was what I made the one time before. Wow, looking back now at how good that was, I realize I did very well for a first-timer. Lot's of research before making something like this pays off. This is new to me. Before moving here, I was used to going crabbing, bringing home a bushel or so, and steaming them live. We haven't gone crabbing in FL yet, but they are blue crabs that are caught here, and we buy them live. In my life, I've always known not to cook dead crabs... if they died, they were thrown away. It intrigues me about being sold as you described. What a hoot!Here are some from one of our recent crab eats. Thank you... I wouldn't have known.

I'm sorry to be so thick headed... but... I'm not sure what frozen blue crabs are, and moreover, I'm having a hard time with the idea of putting live whole blue crabs in the gumbo after getting the roux just right and adding the vegetables and cooking, simmering, etc. I guess a pound is just three or four (I've never referred to live crabs by their weight, only the number), but I'm wondering what cooking live crabs in that will do to the consistency of the gumbo. Please let me know if I'm understanding this correctly. If that's what you say to do, Brooks, I will! Have you posted the recipes for your Jambalaya, etoufees, and the best shrimp creole recipe you have ever had yet? Thanks!

Wow. Do you do therapy sessions? Speaking for myself, I know I am very singleminded generally, and especially so when it comes to cooking, to a verified fault I own. It has its pluses - looking inward, a fierce desire, a sense of mission, I suppose I would say. I am also a hell of a social animal; I simply like to keep the two separate. I liken cooking to painting, or writing, or any other activity which requires concentration to give pleasure. Bottom line, I don't know that this desire for quiet shared by a few (including myself) is as much about an inability to concentrate as it is simply a choice about how best to go about the work at hand. Paul Paul, I like that. Do you do therapy sessions?

Good, we have available plenty of fresh shrimp of all sizes and blue crabs. Are the crabs steamed first or thrown in raw, and would that be when putting in the crabmeat, shrimp and ham? The recipe also listed chicken at that point. Did I miss something or maybe that would be "chicken of the sea."

From Russ:

The best Steak Tartare we've ever made was our first course last night. It was from the same Saveur piece as the Schnitzel Holstein. After that, we had rotisserie grilled duck with a cantaloupe and avocado salsa; with the Steak Tartare, Franciscan Cabernet and with the Duck, Brancott Pinot Noir.

I'm with you about scrapple. After 50 years of life with scrapple, it's been an adjustment to life without, except for bringing some back from trips up north. It was a staple in our house. Were you asking what restaurant has the best, or what brand is the best? We never ordered it when eating breakfast in restaurants, because we had it at home a few days per week. As for brand, my favorite was either Delaware Maid or Rapa, depending on the mood of my taste buds. Woody, do I recall correctly from our trip in April that Eden Cafe moved from the main drag to Baltimore Ave., where so many other restaurants have been? If so, is it still as good? I hope so and I hope that location is not a jinx.

I guess it would be an overstatement to say the dishes tasted identical at this Jambalaya Jam Festival in Melbourne, FL. We could tell they were different from each other, and had some variation in ingredients, but they were far from each being distinctive. They all tasted of basically the some flavorings/spices. I must say, they tasted good, though, and that was one of the events that fueled my interest in learning more about all this. This was when I found out my mother-in-law likes Shrimp Etouffee the most. We all ordered something different at one point, and tasted each other's, and she wouldn't share much of hers. I have lots of questions! Here are some of them... What are these gumbo crabs that you warn not to omit, and what is the difference between gumbo shrimp and other shrimp? ...Are these recipes in the FoodBlog thread where the Chicken and Sausage Gumbo is, which I haven't read entirely yet, or RecipeGullet?You mentioned freezing what's left of Brooksie's Seafood Gumbo. Is it almost as good after frozen as fresh? You did mention that it's better the next day, so would you suggest if I were going to make this for a bunch of company that I make it the day before, and just hold off on the oysters until reheating? Thanks for the links. In one of them I found Duck Gumbo and printed out that part. We grill ducks a lot (including last night) and that sounds wonderful. I also saw a mention of Turkey Gumbo. I've got several turkey thighs in the freezer that were on sale and I'm thinking about that.

Brooks, I appreciated the PM. I haven't been getting notifications of replies to topics, including this one, so thanks for alerting me to these replies. Thanks to everybody so far. It's interesting about the difference between jambalaya and the others. I went to a festival earlier this year called Jambalaya Jam, and all the dishes tasted basically the same, except for the okra in the gumbo. I am not yet sure when, but I will be making Brooksie's Seafood Gumbo! Do any of them authentically/traditionally have rice mixed in?

As for me, been there done that, and now it is different. I loved that then, and now I love the empty nest.Your personal chef stories which I enjoyed, though very interesting, I guess explain part of the reason I'm not a personal chef and I didn't even know it! All that you shared was funny. Thanks for the laughs. But the dogs... that one sounded much like a horror story.

That is impressive!

I am in the mood. I made a gumbo once, and it was really good, but it was back in my pre-eGullet times. I think I have the roux part down pat (but I'm always open to improvement). I would love to see discussion about your take on the differences in these dishes, your preferences, a favorite recipe, stories, etc. Do you have any recipe "secrets" you will share? Please feel free to link any previous threads on this subject or good internet information and recipes. My mother-in-law's favorite of all these is Shrimp Etouffee, and I would love to wow her with that the next time she comes for dinner, so I'll especially appreciate any of those recipes.

BEAUTIFUL! Thanks for those wonderful photos... what good ideas for table setting and food presentation.

I'm getting a kick out of this discussion. When we have company and I'm cooking, I can listen (or pretend to) and laugh at the funny stuff and even make some mindless comments, but not more than that and sometimes not even that, when I need to focus my attention on the cooking. Crucial times, not to expect intelligent conversation from me, are when I'm doing something like swirling in butter to finish a sauce and don't want it to break down, or plating!! Much of my cooking requires my concentration. I'm so much like this that it might be to a fault and I've been thinking I should serve more do-ahead things when we have company. What I like is for my husband to do the socializing with the guests at a distance, like on the porch, while the cooking needs my full attention. I so agree about the helping. I don't want help when we have guests, and I don't offer to help when I'm a guest at somebody else's house. I guess the polite thing to do is to offer. I used to offer help, but I don't anymore, unless it's a backyard BBQ or something like that and I carry something out.

Rachel, welcome. I am glad you made your first post on this particular thread, and echo all the sentiments expressed. Please do post here and anywhere/everywhere on eG! I love getting menu ideas from this topic, from elaborate to plain and simple. In fact, I am now craving hot dogs, thanks to Bleachboy. Actually, thank you for that hot dog thread link, Bleachboy. I hadn't read through it. I intend to order some Usinger's! Yours look so good. Thank you for the compliments, and Hathor, I'll check with my husband for the ingredients he used in that wonderful sauce.

I had to look at this thread, even though you're talking Canada, because I love how you titled the topic. Good luck!

Good Evening... Tonight I'm posting right away, while the flavors still linger in my mouth. Russ cooked; he picked the first course based on what looked best in the seafood market, and I picked the main course, a recipe I cut out of Saveur. He created a red wine reduction/butter sauce with some Asian notes, for dipping outstanding fresh raw tuna, icy cold, and on the other side of the plate, still hot from the stove, pan-seared fresh dry scallops. Schnitzel Holstein (Veal Cutlets with Fried Eggs)

One of the highlights of late, two or three weekends ago I think... Herbed Clam Fritters, with a new sauce invention that I can't remember right now nor can I find where I wrote it down. Grilled Duck Breasts with Orange, Ginger, and Golden Balsamic Sauce Israeli Couscous with Peas Yellow squash from our garden Cabrales Cheese Souffles with Endive and Asian Pear Salad This was a great wine dinner, but again not remembering such details as which wines we drank is a price I pay for not posting on this thread right away. Some others... A recent weeknight dinner that was especially good was Indian-Spiced Halibut with Mint Yogurt Sauce, and Mixed Vegetable Curry. It's hot, daaamn hot. Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam keeps running through my head. Earlier this week, I pumped up the A.C. nice and cold, and cooked my first beef brisket, "Lil Pachter's Jewish-Style Braised Brisket," recipe from Saveur. With it I served plain ol' boiled potatoes for the yummy sauce and Carol Field's Matchstick Zucchini Salad, a test recipe for Leite's Culinaria. There was some of that yummy sauce left, and last night I had fresh fruit, cheeses from DiBruno Brothers, and the left-over sauce over pasta.

Huh?

Chef Abra, congrats on a job you're obviously doing well. I love your style, flexibility, and positive attitude. It's a great job on the website, too. I would recommend your services if you were in this area! Your posts sound like good guidance for FryGuy, and I second the thanks to him for starting this thread -- it is an interesting discussion -- and thanks to you for sharing your joy and pride in your work. Good luck, FryGuy!

That sounds really good to me. Do you use the usual simple syrup water-sugar ratio? Thanks!

What a very nice thing. We love beet greens, too. Their loss, your gain!