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Ok, I did it. I made them this morning with some sausage gravy. They are light, fluffy, delicious. But kinda short, like me. I think that perhaps I patted them down too far, as they were about a half inch to maybe 3/4 inch tall. I patted, cut with a 2 inch cutter, then dreged them in the sausage grease, and baked them at 425 for about 14 minutes. How do I get them taller? They really didn't seem to rise much. Damn tasty though.

I have a big dry erase board in the kitchen. I have TERRIBLE memory. Damn. What was I gonna say. Just kidding. Seriously, I need a list for 3 items. Or, I'll forget two of them and pick up 4 more. Whenver I think of something we need, or whenever I run out of something, it goes on the board. Then when I'm going shopping I write it down by categories. That saves me from running all over hell's half acre trying to get everything. It also allows me more time to leisurly peruse the isles for new and interesting things, or see something that reminds me that I needed that and forgot to write it down. I wrote a big ol' list on Sunday. Left it at home. But Central Market is there on my way home from work. So I tried to remember what I needed. I went in for paprika, oregano and coffee. I came out with coffee, nutmeg, curry powder, herbs de provence, cloves, dill, honey, and balsamic vinegar. Looked right at the oregano, and thought to myself. Nah. I don't need oregano. paprika didn't even cross my mind.

Caviar. Nasty salty fish egg slime. Granted, I've not tried it in years..... I'd love to be all cultured and stuff and go into orgasmic wriggles when I ate caviar, appreciate the finer nuances of beluga, but ew. FISH EGGS!!!. Oh. And sweetbreads.

I don't have anything to add other than I'd love to learn to make Texas Style biscuits. Any recipes you want to share will be appreciated and used. I've don't recall ever making biscuits from scratch, unless scones count. My Ma was a bisquick kinda gal. I grew up thinking biscuits were these lumpy shaped drop dealies. Imagine my delight when I discovered rolled biscuits! So I'd love to tinker around with you and get really good at making biscuits. What a delightful story you have about your aunt's cutter!

Mel, thanks so much for sharing your life with us. It occurs to me, that while I can get really stellar pastries, bread and the like at Central Market, that perhaps I should be doing my civic duty and shopping at a local mom and pop bakery when I need baked goods that I'm not willing to produce myself. I AM willing to pay premium prices when I want good stuff. I'm not willing to pay 75 cents for a crappy danish I would pay $3.00 for one that makes me weak in the knees. Maybe one person won't make a difference in keeping a M&P bakery open, but by gum I'm gonna do it, thanks to you. Its worth making a longer or separate trip to get better goods, and to support small business. Thanks for helping open my eyes. I wish I lived down the street from your place. Then again, my plump posterior is thankful that I do not.

well, yes. Shiraz is really my fav for just about anything, but I do (obviously) like variety That, and the bottle that the Regnard Chablis comes in is shapely, like a woman. Better with melon too, I think. Gosh, now I'm... thirsty!!

Well dayumn, Scott. If I'da knew you were gonna be over in my neighborhood I'da walked over to the Dary-Ette and had a float with you! They make their own root beer.

With as much ghee and as much of the hottest chile powder you can stand. Fresh chiles work too. I'm partial to habanero. I like to mash them and mix in the ghee and peppers as I mash them. It gives sweet heat a whole new meaning.

With as much ghee and as much of the hottest chile powder you can stand. Fresh chiles work too. I'm partial to habanero. I like to mash them and mix in the ghee and peppers as I mash them. It gives sweet heat a whole new meaning.

I used to hide the chocolate bar stash in an old ziplock box. Until one day, the SO was rummaging, bumped it, and it collapsed, spilling the loot. He ate it all. Now, its in a Tampon box. HA! find THAT, Mr. Cadbury Caramel Egg Thief! I can gaurentee he won't be bumpin' into that or looking in there either. Safe.

I for one am very sad that they are going under. As far as I'm concerned, they are the only fast food sandwich worth eating. Ok, with the exception of one of the Thundercloud's subs. Veggie Delight or something like that. Damn and double damn I'm gonna miss that bread.

My understanding, Monica, is that they are raw coffee beans and that you roast them to get what we know as that lovely dark brown bean of the gods.

Capricorns like variety. Their love of variety makes them flexible and changeable and the life of the party. They're always trying new things and, therefore, tend to have a lot of different salad dressing flavors on hand at any given time. Visit the cupboard or fridge of your Capricorn friends if you want variety-they have at least four different salad dressings in there at any given time. Go on, look. Ok, so that fits. Freaky.

OK, potential NC-17 rating: If you are easily offended, now would be a good time to click the little back arrow button. Hmmm. If my lover were male, I'd vote for chocolate mousse. It seems useful, and of course, exceedingly sensual. Hell, with the chocolate mousse there, I might not need the lover Maybe some lamb chops for reganing strength. I like the idea of offering the lover a bite while I hold the bone.... Kinda like the old grape offering scenario. And shiraz. Don't forget the shiraz. If my lover were female, cantelope, strawberries, honeydew melon and mangos. There is something exceedingly appealing about the thought of sharing each bite of lucious fruit with said lover, and licking up the inevitable drips of juice, or sliding the satiny fruit over soft, smooth skin. And having the favor returned, for that matter. A Grand Regnard Chablis seems apros pro. Perfect for..... sipping. Roast chicken for something more substantial, as its also a good candidate for eating and sharing with fingers.

Hmmm - Nessa we need to fix this Monica, Its a work in progress, thats for sure. He will eat spicy roti, some fusiony Indian food, most fried Indian food. Two weeks ago he grabbed something from the "frozen for work" stash. He forgot the cardinal rule. Little container = nessa's. Big container = his. He got the last of my channa dal. He made enough sad faces at work that the girls there offered to buy him dinner. After eating it, he said it "wasn't bad". >snarl< He is getting more adventerous, and everyone is entitled to their preferences, I suppose. Although, how he can't be in love with Indian food as I am is really quite beyond my comprehension. As for laundry... I do it. I cook, I clean, I even do windows. At least once a year, anyway.

That sounds divine, Monica! I sometimes grind some cinnamon stick with my coffee. I love to play with things like that. We have at least one remaining Ethiopian grocery store that sells green coffee berries and Ibriks. I've long pondered getting them and totally butchering the whole thing.... Thanks for the ideas!

My man? Cook? Lets go with no. Nor does he grill, Mr. Al Dente. He does, however, gracefully allow me to serve him what I cook, grill or barbecue. For the most part. Indian's out. More for me.

Its my understanding that its the same cut, or close enough. US pork Manual

I just found leg of lamb for $1.99 a pound, a steal in this area, so I'm forcasting Elie's recipe for Lebanese Beans and Rice in my very near future. Thanks so much for sharing!

My fat of choice depends on what I'm cooking. While I love butter, I use it sparingly unless I'm baking. I go through a lot of olive oil and peanut oil in my general cooking. Chile oil is also popular in my kitchen I also use a fair amount of black sesame oil, but generally add that after cooking. I've got some beef fat frozen, waste not want not and all that. But my absolutely favorite fat of all, regardless of how often I use it, which isn't terribly often, is smoked pork fat. I'll eat it on just about anything. Bacon grease is manna from heaven. Who am I kidding, I like all fats. Every lucious last one of them. My next one to try is mustard oil.

Is Hot Breads the place between Zyka and Taj? I wasn't impressed with them, but I chalked that up to not having an Indian palate. Cumin and salt in shortbread was a nasty surprise to me. However, the proprietors were very kind and let us taste all manners of things. I ended up getting some stuff that was good, but I don't remember what. I prefer the candy counter inside Taj.

A friend and I went to Zyka about a month or so ago. I had: Aachar Gosht: A Hyderabadi specialty, goat meat is simmered with fresh tomatoes, fried onions, fresh cilantro and tempered with whole garlic, cloves, fennel seeds and whole red chillies. $4.99 She had: Kadhai Chicken (boneless) Boneless chicken pieces cooked in an Indian wok with garden fresh tomatoes, ginger juliennes and coarsely ground spices. $4.99 Neither was really noteworthy and I didn't think that I'd be back, but I might be willing to give it another try. Maybe we caught them on an off day. It wasn't bad, mind you, and I do want to try the lassis. I also want to try the vegetarian place on the other side of Taj.

This blog is gonna absolutely ROCK! Elie, I just can't wait! Is Houston getting a cool spell like we are up here in Dallas?

Puttanesca for sure. Carbonara would be second, I guess. Although, now, if we aren't limited to Italian pasta sauces, I love some chile oil and thai basil over top wide rice noodles. Thats hard to beat. Granted I'd probably like anything with rice noodles involved so maybe that doesn't count

I like them any way I can get them. Southern style with as much pork as possible, or drowned in that pickled pepper juice stuff. . But my favorite way of all, is a cold salad where the beans are cooked till just less than crunchy, then marinated in black sesame oil, mushroom soy sauce, splash of sweet rice vinegar, dash of sugar, and tons of red chile paste.