Lone Star

Where is it located?

Perhaps you have just been broken up and re-assembled?

Down here on the Gulf, the guys get together for a big gumbo cook a time or two each year. It always involves at least one run to Kemah for shrimp, crab and whatever else they decide to throw in and a couple of runs for beer. Other faves: Shrimp boil in the backyard with propane and kettles or catfish fry. The only consistent ingredient is mass quantities of beer.

We always go to Casa Rio when in SA. Love the atmosphere at night and the Mariachis. Food is typical Tex-Mex, nothing fabulous, but not Monterey House either. I think the next time I go back, I will just order a bowl of the chili which is delicious. Foodman, what is your favorite Tex-Mex in Houston? For an old-fashioned "hot plate" fix, I like the Spanish Village on Almeda.

My teenagers raise showhogs (barrows and gilts) and show at the major shows and our county fair. The swine are shown by breeds which in any major show would include: Berkshire, Chester White, Crosses, Duroc, Hampshire, Landrace, Poland China, Spotted and Yorkshire. The Crosses and Yorkshires are always the biggest classes and competition is very fierce! I don’t think breed matters so much for taste, it is how the animal is raised. If a way the pig is raised is important to you, contact your local FFA or 4H and find out when the county fair is. Believe me, these are some pampered pigs! They are fed very specialized diets and excerise and comfort are also major parts of their care and raising. All of the barrows are sent straight to market, and the winning pigs are put up for auction. Get a few friends together and go to the auction, have a good time, support the kids and have a freezer full of beautiful pork. We have bought several in the past, but never any of “our” pigs that have not made the cut. I can only eat anonymous pigs. In Texas, the markets are flooded with pork after the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the price drops dramatically. The only true “heirloom” type of swine I have seen here is on the Barrington Livng History Farm at Washington-on-the-Brazos. They raise Ossabaw Island Hogs, which look very much like feral hogs

Glad to see y'all are getting your glad-rags back on!

My all time, #1 favorite: City Market in Luling - best barbeque in Texas, but must be eaten with slice of wonder bread and a Big Red longneck. I will stop at Mr. Cooper's anytime I am in the Llano area for the pork chop. For everyday, around town barbeque, I like the Hickory Hollow in the Heights or Gabby's. Fifi - have you tried Foodtown for the beef ribs?

For the quick fix - apologize, pretend you did not see childish behavior, remove offensive food, go to (or send someone) to deli or bakery for fresh kolaches, donuts etc and charge to boss.. After meeting - make sure boss knows how ogre behaved and what the cafeteria sent up to serve his clients. Be prepared to inform him how a complaint should be made and who he/she needs to talk to as manager of cafeteria.

A loaf of bread and a bag of potato chips. This thread has made me try to remember what is in the cabinet on top of the fridge. I will now have to look when I get home. I am pretty sure there are vases up there, but you never know.

This is what we had for breakfast Sunday: Cook a pound of sausage and place in casserole. Cook 2 cups of your favorite grits and spoon over top. Make 6-8 indentations in top of grits and crack and egg into each one. Salt and pepper, cover with 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350. Yum!

I will point out that most people who live in Texas for any length of time, from thereon generally refer to themselves as a Texan - deservedly so. ← Ah, see, in New York, we have standards for this sort of thing... ← Most New Yawkas are from someplace else! but then--everybody gotta be from someplace! ← But, then, a native New Yorker may never concede that anyone else is a true New Yorker...sort of like what TPO says about Maine! ← No, no, no. He can say he is FROM Texas, but Texan he is not. Nor can you be unless you are a native, preferably of 5-6 generations. We do count that kind of thing around here. As for Babs cooking, well they did live in Midland for many, many years and GW lived there from the time he was 2 til he went off to school in Yankeeland. Being born and raised in Midland myself, I know that Ms. Bush had the choice of a Safeway or the PigglyWiggly to do her shopping. Not a whole lot of other choices. The climate there is not really suitable for large-scale gardening unless you have a LOT of water, so a lot of backyard gardening was for a few tomatoes, etc. My mother grew up in an even smaller West Texas town ( heck, Midland was the big city!) and every Halloween she still makes the same punch she made from her high school days. It consists of strong tea, canned OJ, canned pineapple juice (Texsun brand) and ginger ale. I asked her one year why she made it with canned and she said "where in the world would we have gotten fresh?". Bush Sr. likes to get his bbq fix here in Houston at Otto's. They have a lunch special named after him.

grape jelly and chili sauce. It is how my mother made them in high school in the 50's in West Texas. Doesn't sound very good, but they are delicious and a Halloween staple at our house.

That is what a large portion of the FFA program is all about. My kids raise hogs and goats for show. The barrow show in March is the toughest for some kids because during the "sift" if your pig is not selected it is immediately sent to the loading pens for Jimmy Dean. My daughter will be raising a gilt for the San Antonio show this year and it will be different as the breeding animals are not sold for slaughter, but to breeders. These are animals the kids have raised since they were babies and have loved and worked with them for hours daily. I come to love each animal they raise as they all have their own personalities and little quirks, and you can't help but love and respect them when you look into their jolly little eyes. The livestock judging classes and competitions are also of benefit in the learning of the animal and its life-cycle.

Nadia - I enjoyed sharing your trip to Beirut! We lived in Kuwait for 7 years when I was growing up and my father worked for Gulf in the late 60's and early 70's. We made frequent trips to Beirut for “getaways” such as sports trips or just R&R. I know it is one of the most beautiful cities on earth. We always stayed at the beautiful Phoenician Hotel, the one with the “underwater bar” that fascinated us. My mother took some shots at daybreak from the balcony that are absolutely breathtaking. I don’t remember much about the food there, other than it was always very late when we had dinner! I remember all the different nationalites of people enjoying the city and it seemed so glamourous to me. Our last trip home, we passed through Beirut on our way to the states and it was very different. It was 1974 and we were taken off the plane and told we would be confined to the hotel for two days. There were bullet holes all over the airport and the lovely hotel we had so admired was tattered as well and everything seemed dark and fearful. Your photos and stories have restored my beautiful memories of that place. Thank you for sharing your trip.

Other great Houston Burgers: Barnaby's on Fairview Bacon Bleu Cheese Burger Niko Nikos "Athena Burger" Lucky Burger on Richmond Someday I am going to get to the Lankford Grocery!

A corn chowder with the crab thrown. Delicious, and you could freeze it if you are maxed out on crab right now.

Throw some Little Smokies in a crockpot. Mix up a jar of grape chili and a bottle of Heinz cocktail sauce and dump in. People love this stuff. It is a Halloween staple at our house.

The summer of my sixth and seventh years, I was a devoted fan of "The Galloping Gourmet" . I had a little notebook where I would dutifully and frantically try to write down what he was saying. Obviously, I did not understand what he was making most of the time and could not keep up as evidenced by my addition of "One teaspoon vanilla" to a pate recipe. My earliest memory is looking at the girl on the Clabber Girl baking powder tin while my granny made biscuits. I would get up as soon as heard her feet hit the floor and go to the kitchen to watch her. She would always make me coffee milk. I miss her. We traveled a lot when I was a child as my father got transferred quite a bit. On the first pass through London when I was eight, I remember looking at the menu and ordering roast beef with Yorkshire pudding because I thought it was dessert! After getting a doughy thing instead of a sweet, I determined never to be fooled again and would ask the waiter questions. My sisters would order things like hamburgers no matter what country we were in, but I was always up for anything, and still am! I would guess that for may of us the spark of possiblity and excitment with cooking caught our imagniations at a very young age. Cooking is exciting and one of the joys of living that we get to experience every day.

Chili-cheese Tater Tots

My husband calls her the "Yum-Yum" girl. I think some of her ideas are good, especially for tired working people with kids clamoring for dinner. Fresh and fast, if you can get over the cutesy bits. I don't recall ever seeing her use any "boxed" things like that Semi-Homemade lady. What kind of name is that anyway. I cannot even stand the sound of her voice. RR uses canned stock, tomatoes, beans etc..., but never have seen processed, packaged type foods.

I saw a French butter bell at Sur La Table last week. The butter is placed inside the "bell" or lid portion and is then placed in the bottom part which contains water and is kept on a counter top. Has anyone used this device or have any recommendations?

One of our favorite summer salads is a broccoli bacon salad. Fresh broccoli florets, red onion, crumbled bacon, chunks of a sharp cheddar dressed with a mayonnaise/sugar/vinegar dressing. Some like to add raisins or sunflower seeds. Thank you for sharing your week and your lovely place with us.

I can't help you with Sugarland, but congratulations and please keep us updated on your plans! "Ich bin ein Pearlander!"

Farmer's Market Dinner Fresh Pinto beans cooked with a slice of Smithfield ham Squash casserole Okra and tomato gumbo Buttermilk cornbread Sliced fresh tomatoes and 1015 onions

I believe that shchav is usually made from another type of sorrel, sheep sorrel, which has bigger, floppier-looking leaves and a stronger taste but isn't as common as wood sorrel. ← That must be where the Oklahoma pronunciation of "Sheep Shower" came from. They say alot of other things funny too.... I will see if I can get the wine recipe from my father.