Varmint

NSM- Yeah, it is a cliche, but in these parts, it's a cliche that works very well. It's so damn easy and it's a good dish to get guests involved in the preparation, if you're so inclined. I serve it with different flavors of whipped cream (I like making a mint whipped cream), or a simple creme anglaise. Plus, you can make the batter in advance. You can also make this a bit more complex by putting homemade truffles in the center, so you have two very different flavors in the same dish.

Seeing 3 out of my 4 children devoured the sausage (those being the 4, 7 and 8 year olds), I'd have to say the pepper level was appropriate. These are children who generally shy away from "spicy" foods, except for the 7 year old girl who wants pepper on anything. She actually asked if she could put pepper on the kielbasa!

I thought the endive was a great complement, as it was not overly bitter. Plus, the spicy tuna was pumped up a bit with some lime juice, which ultimately worked well with the endive.

Just finished a meal of raw diced tuna with a spicy mayo, lime, shallot, basil and black sesame seeds served on endive leaves. Then we did seared sea scallops with cremini mushrooms, sweet corn, tomato, tomatillo, and thyme served on smoked mozzarella grits. For dessert, store bought pound cake served with store bought ice cream, topped with a blackberry/raspberry coulis.

Zebster is from West Virginia, you have to realize.

Brined beef = corned beef. In the next week or two I'm going to corn my first brisket, it's going to be fun! Then he's going to smoke it. Then he's going to send some to me. Then he's going to make bacon. Then he's going to send some to me. Naa naa na naa naaaa.

Then what happens when you roast a piece of fish in a salt crust, as Tom Colicchio does?

So that wasn't nutmeg in the egg nog???

If you're looking for a "hairy beer," Lagunitas Brewery seasonally makes Hairy Eyeball Ale. http://www.lagunitas.com/beers/index.html

That's sad news, Kathi. Bobby Flay, the Grim Reaper of restaurants.

Liz, in spite of my tongue in cheek sarcastic comments above, thanks a bunch for the article. That's great!

Or a soup: Gully-gatawney. Or a TV show: Gully-gan's Island?

First, the writer misrepresented the challenge. It was an offer to create a cocktail we can call our own and toast at our get-togethers. Second, "shake some nutmeg over it"? To think that we'd ever resort to nutmeg that we'd shake, rather than grate, over a drink. The horror!

Steve makes a very legitimate point about promotion. It's often a chicken and egg notion, but marketing is often the inertia required to get the attention of the media. As an example, Ben and Karen Barker, owners and chefs of Durham's Magnolia Grill, have garnered lots of attention in the national glossies. Heck, the restaurant was named Gourmet's 11th best restaurant in the US. Eleventh best? In the country???? Not on your life (the food is quite wonderful, but the service can't compare with that at the top rooms in the country). However, Ben and Karen are great promoters. They're incredibly active with the Beard House, with Ben having won a Beard regional chef award and Karen being the Susan Lucci for pastry chef nominees (always nominated, never a winner). Ben got his reputation from, what?, Fearrington House, which in the 80s was a driving force behind contemporary Southern cuisine. Many top chefs cut their teeth there. Today, you'll find Ben and Karen on television, writing cookbooks (impractical as they might be), attending functions in the big cities, and other forms of self-promotion. The restaurant remains a critical and commercial success, which is the ultimate objective. And it still garners attention.

Her parents are definitely not human. Maggie, you're an alien love child!!!

If Zeb A were checking this thread, he may be willing to post about his fraternity's "Anal Chugs." I'll stop there.

Growing up in Pennsylvania, we'd get bottles of Riunite. We'd drink a bit off the top, put the screw top back on, and then hide the bottle in a bank of snow for a week. We were convinced this made the wine more alcoholic. It did make it somewhat fizzy. The main drink I had in my youth was a Tom Collins. That, or a Flaming Orange Gulley.

And they serve Diet CheerWine there!

PJ Everclear Cherry Kool Aid

The drink we fondly referred to in high school as "The Mason Jar." 1 large mason jar 1/2 inch from every bottle of liquor in parents' liquor cabinet cover and shake. Mix with Mountain Dew. Drink copiously and surreptitiously. Vomit. Repeat. Mask breath with McDonald's french fries and Orange Bubble Yum; do not combine simultaneously.

I'd almost say to keep it as simple as possible on the first go-around, Adam. Discover how satisfying a dish rotisserie chicken can be without a lot of externalities. Butter, S&P, maybe a bit of garlic. Roast some root veggies in the drip pan to create a good flavor in the drippings. Enjoy. Then experiment with different flavors and techniques. Oh, and do brine the bird, please!

On a similar note, friends of ours made some homemade pasta that was partially (and mistakenly) made with self-rising flour, a common pantry item here in the south. Needless to say, it was not what was intended.

Klink- Glad to see the old avatar return!

The designated driver is king here in Raleigh (or queen, as is usually the case, lucky me!). We don't have public transportation and cab service is ridiculously sketchy and more expensive than in NYC. Plus, nothing is close by. Thus, we drive and one of us doesn't drink (I stop at 2 glasses of wine if I'm driving). Many people I know just "chance" it. Yikes.