Varmint

And here's a photo of Diana:

Have we ever had a discussion about "secret" recipes and people's desire to keep them secret? I always wondered about this protectionism.

Egad, Ron has no nose or ears!!!! No hair either!! The poor mutant.

Are you sure you want this line to be part of your legacy here? Splain, please.

To quote the Indigo Girls, "When God made me a Yankee, he was only teasing." I use that line all the time, as I've lived in North Carolina for more than half my life. As far as pimiento cheese is concerned, I like to spice it up a bit with some hot sauce. A good, strong, sharp pimiento cheese also goes well with hot pepper jelly, a combination on menu at Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill.

Touch of milk. Whisked with a fork, but not to homogeneity. Butter in pan over medium-low heat. Turn very infrequently. Lightly salt. Crank up heat at end for just a few moments to finish. Serve. Never watery. Large, soft curds. Good on a freshly made buttermilk biscuit with Maple View Dairy butter, grits, and bacon. Good on their own, too!

figsfigsfigsfigsfigsfigsfigsfigsfigsfigsfigs. Oh, and any of my remaining Grandma Varmint jellies (she passed away 2 summers ago, but I still have a couple of dozen jars left).

The first cookbook I received was the NY Times Cookbook, but the first one I paid any attention to was the Frog Commissary Cookbook: This guy introduced me to flavors I had never heard about back in the 80s (Thai, Vietnamese). It was a fun book to read and offered lots of good insight. I still use it today (and it has the best carrot cake and pecan pie recipes).

Of course, the chef may have found some special item that wasn't in sufficient abundance to put on the menu, but he did indeed reserve it for customers who requested something off menu.

That was me, Steve. Thanks for noticing. I was simply trying to distinguish between asking for an off menu item and demanding it. I'm a firm believer in the former, but not the latter. I guess now the question is whether one should expect to be accomodated, and, as Basildog asked, whether a denial affects your assessment of the establishment?

Steve, you may have addressed this already, but if you were to look at the menu, find nothing that inspired you and then asked if the chef could prepare something different, how would you respond if the kitchen couldn't accomodate your request? In many ways, this thread follows a basic tenet with which I follow quite frequently: Often, one doesn't get what he truly wants unless he asks for it. Asking is one thing, but demanding is another. I don't see Steve demanding anything, do I?

Believe you me, Holly, they were nowhere near as good as Abbott's peanuts. These boiled peanuts were canned -- part of a gag Mr. & Mrs. Fat Guy cooked up. We were also served Coffee Crisp candy bars as one of our desserts, along with glasses of milk presented by the sommelier. It was one of the finest vintages of milk I have ever tasted.

I've been served boiled peanuts at Gramercy Tavern, which is about as off off menu as you can get.

Gee, whiz, H-wood, isn't that the second time in recent days you've brought up the "fluffer" term? Down, boy, down!

I'd appreciate any links to retailers selling these types of woks.

I remember taking a summer clerk to one of our local Southern institutions ("Big Ed's"), where they have squeeze bottles of blackstrap molasses on every table. He had ordered some smothered pork chops and started squeezing the molasses on the meat. We asked what the hell he was doing, and he replied, "I'm just putting some soy sauce on my pork chops." Ugh. He didn't get a job offer, of course.

Cutting molasses with butter is for tourists.

My previous law firm had attorneys with interesting given names and nicknames: Amos, but was called Buck Nigle, but was called Tex Julian, but was called Bo Another interesting phenomenon in these here parts is the naming of children. Parents will name their daughter something like "Almeda Louise Smith", but they call her, "Sue". Given names found on the birth certificate have nothing to do with what they're called on a daily basis. Each of the 4 times we had a child, we told people what their names were going to be, and we were promptly asked, "What y'all gonna call him/her?"

Yeah, if it ain't got rabbit and squirrel in it, t'aint worthy of callin' nothin' more than vegetable soup! Seriously, most Brunswick Stew served today (even at the good barbecue restaurants) is really just sweet, glorified Campbell's vegetable soup with some meat added. It's really a shame that so few places take care with their veggies, good meat, and maintaining an appropriate level of sweetness.

Lots of cream works really well, too!!!

I've always wondered whether you could make some sort of pudding out of old biscuits. Are quick breads good for that type of thing?

Grits first: Grits have truly grown up in the South, and you can find nearly anything can be added. Truffle oil? Maybe that's a bit much, but grits have become a palate for a number of different ingredients. I made grits with smoked mozzarella the other day, and it was a damn fine dish. People in these parts don't refer to different sodas by their brand name; they're all "Coke." If someone asks if you want a "Coke" and you respond in the affirmative, they'll ask you, "What kind?" Dr. Pepper, Hires Root Beer, and Mello Yello are all "Cokes." The word "mash" is used instead of "press" or "push," as in, "Could you mash that there elevator button for me, shug?" Finally, a non-food tradition is that for our elders, we often use the title "Mr." or "Miss" (never Mrs.) along with the person's first name. Thus, my wife would be Miss Marcella. New Yorkers get a big kick out of this one.

Brig- Go ahead and cancel your membership now. You keep the coffee maker (which is a good backup) and you don't have to pay anything else. Then you can get really good mail order coffee (or commission Fat Guy to roast some for you on a regular basis). The avatar is very, very disturbing.

Cumin & coriander encrusted catfish with warm guacamole; Rosemary roasted potatoes Roasted brussels sprouts Homemade vanilla bean ice cream with strawberries and Cointreau

And I expect an invitation for this Zebster, provided it's Mrs. A who is cooking!