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Several years ago (before 9-11) we bought a tin of corned beef tongue from Harrods. As my family enjoys beef tongue we thought that we would bring it to them to feast on. As we were in the security line at Dulles, my corned beef tongue tin was scrutinized as if they thought it was plastic explosive. They kept asking us what it was. And I kept telling them. Maybe it was a cultural thing as I am certain that they had never heard of such a food. It took forever to get through the line. They even swiped it (for explosives) and we were kept there until a supervisor showed up. Maybe they just did not trust stuff from Harrods? "snicker".

The British Isles make some fine beers and ciders. Was lucky enough to walk into a beer tasting festival. The local ales and ciders were truly impressive. Unfortunately the demon Budweiser is taking over the place, and many of the smaller breweries are closing. As for Marmite, it used to be made from the yeast leavings from the brewery. They apparently gave up using the brewery dregs (from Fuller's brewery) several years ago and now make the awful stuff themselves. (Yes I know if you were brought up with Marmite or Vegemite from the get-go, you probably like the stuff. We were not, and do not.) But to get to the topic, British food can be quite good. Love Dubh Prais in Edinburgh (on the Royal Mile); have been going there for almost fifteen years. The chef, who also runs a B&B just outside the city, uses local ingredients and is a fine chef. The restaurant in the Connaught Hotel is exqusite, but pricey, as is the Dorchester (Hotel) Grill Room. Rules, a very old restaurant on Maiden Lane near Covent Garden, is well appointed and specializes in game. It is the oldest continuously operating restaurant in London, and is not overly pricey. London is not NYC, but there are many fine restaurants. And there is always the beers.

They may not truly be gone, but for us they might as well be. Howard Johnson's chicken croquettes. There are only a few HoJo's left and none of them are near where we live (northern VA). Can at least buy frozen White Castle sliders, but no luck with the chicken croquettes. At least with the sliders there are knockoff recipes that are pretty good. But have never found a HoJo chicken croquette recipe. If anyone knows of one, would be very grateful. Oh, yes, and if anyone wants to find a source of Junket, try vermontcountrystore.com.

The oyster bar in the food court at Harrod's. Eighteen quid (pounds) for six oysters and you are sitting on uncomfortable stools to boot. At an exchange rate of about $1.90 a pound, that comes to some $5.70 per oyster. And I find European oysters generally unpleasant tasting (although I love most you find in the US). Did I buy them? Heck no. Found a local pub and had bangers and mash for much less.

For Easter, love a fresh ham. Live in pork country, and even here one has to special order the roast. When I was a kid, fresh hams were readily available. Do not know why they have become so rare. But cooked properly, they are a treat.

If someone wants a recipe, will go home, try to figure it out if I winged it, or copy it if I have not, and send a typed copy. It does not bother me in the least, in fact am happy to do it. Hope they enjoy it. Am a home cook and have gotten even restaurant recipes by just asking. Not one of those recipes has ever stopped me from going back to the restaurant to order the dish again, or stepping on someone else's toes who always serves or brings the dish. Have no idea why people will withhold a recipe, unless it is proprietary. But even if it is, someone is going to figure out a knockoff (except, maybe, for Coke. Can taste cloves in it though). Give us a few days and we can figure out a substitute for almost anything. We have had to do so for some commercial preparations we could not buy anymore. Usually the knock off is more expensive and labor intensive than just buying the original. When I live in a world where I give you my recipe and you give me yours, we all do better.

The well done problem is tough. Have overcooked a rib roast and, unless it is very overcooked, still find the results edible, although we very much prefer almost raw meat. Not so with overcooked steaks. They generally come out tough and chewy. Don't know how to handle the issue, except to say if you only have a few people to dinner, have the seven bone roast cut into a three bone roast (from the large end) that you can cook well done, and save the tender small end for the rare roast.

Hi, Toliver, agree with the cube steak, because it is a relatively thick cut of beef, but the minute steaks I have seen are usually very thin and can be tossed in a pan and be fully cooked in a minute or so. Can easily make your own with a cheap cut of beef and a whomper. (Give them a few minutes in a teriyaki sauce and the result is wonderful). Minute steaks are fun on Sunday night when no one wants to seriously cook, but cube steaks are usually thicker and what I think you want for CFS. Again can make your own if you buy a round, or sirloin piece, on sale. But it is usually a fairly inexpensive buy even if the butcher does it. We cannot get a decent CFS in a local restaurant, so have to make it ourselves. Believe the breading should only be flour. Push the flour into the steak, let it rest in the frig, and push some more in. Then fry in a cast iron skillet with plenty of oil. We enjoy the result.

Don't remember my first drunk, but Huevos del Toro raised an interesting issue. (Am fairly new to this forum, so if I am out of line please let me know.) And that was making hard apple cider. Stopped at a roadside stand a number of years ago and found cider that someone had placed XXX on. When we asked we were told the cider was a bit older and had started to ferment. We bought every container and found it delightful, if very mild in alcohol content. Then went out, purchased some more gallon containers, removed some of the cider, dissolved some regular old sugar in it (it required some heating), and when cooled returned the sweetened stuff to the cider container. No measurements, just winged it. Left the screw cap unscrewed just enough to let carbon dioxide out and left the stuff in the back of a fridge for several months. We wound up with a wonderful, clear, alcoholic cider. (No, we added no yeast, there was plenty of natural yeast on the apples, and used no fancy equipment like a fermentation lock). Repeated the process every year until everyone started adding preservatives to their raw cider. That kills the fermentation process, alas. Now we can only make it if we buy the apples and make our own cider. But if you have access to freshly pressed cider, and would like a treat, just try it.

Can't say I have ever had a craving as strong as fifi's, but every few years have got to go back to New England for soft shell clams. Although technically found to the mid-Atlantic region, have only found the clams on the menu in New England. Fried or steamed is the problem, which to choose, which to choose? There are a zillion (OK, I exaggerate a bit) clam shacks throughout New England, and almost all are great. If you are ever in Boston can always try the Union Oyster House (has been there since colonial days, Daniel Webster was a regular). Maybe not the best fried clams in New England (people will argue for years whose are), but they put out a fine product and the place is worth a visit. Would have mentioned Sabrett hot dogs but those I can get in Costco.

Brains, for personal reasons, could not eat, and probably live insects. But of normal stuff, cannot eat bananas. Cannot even stand the smell of bananas. If a banana peel is in my waste can at work, will remove it immediately. Have no idea why. Just something about them that affects me viscerally. Probably am the only person on the planet with the aversion, but it is a real one. Otherwise, am pretty normal foodwise.

Lived for many years in New England and cannot think of a better use of lobster than baked/stuffed (OK, lobster americaine, but that takes a day and we can knock off the baked/stuffed in less than an hour). Just take the bug, 1 and ½ to 2 pounds, this is not for chix, and stick it with a butcher’s knife in the cross in the head (take a look, it is easy to find). The lobster dies immediately. Cut it the long way down the belly side, but not all the way through, including the tail. Now it is split open and you can remove the head sac, it comes out very easily, the vein, and can wash away the tomalley, and roe (if any), if you wish. Then make a stuffing with crabmeat, sautéed onion and bell pepper in butter, Old Bay spice, and crushed (to a powder) Ritz crackers. It also works well with scallops, shrimp, even phony crab. Stuff the body and bake until done (about 15-20 minutes at 350, depending upon the size), When we lived in New England lobsters were fairly cheap and we could make the dish, from live lobster to finished product, in less than an hour. Great when folks were coming to dinner after work on a Friday night.

In the late 70's I was working in a medical research lab on ways to prevent hyaline membrane disease in preemies. We used rats. We cleaned rat cages. I became familiar with rat poop. Fast forward several years. We are visiting Boston and tred a local brew called Haffenrafer's (sp?) Private Stock (known to our Boston native friend "the Green Death" . After drinking the bottle, at the bottom, was a rat poop. Maybe that was why they called it the Green Death.