patti

Some of my black Creole friends (in the Lafayette/Iberia Parish area) regularly use dried shrimp in their seafood gumbos and stews, as well.

Jason, it looks great! I know you previously stated that jambalaya must have tomatoes. Were there any in this dish? I think the closer you get to New Orleans, the more likely you'll see red jambalaya. I like them both, but if I make it, it's brown. I find that my Creole friends are more likely to make it red than my Cajun friends.

1. Onion confit 2. Larb, laab, larp 3. Tator Tots (and it isn't as if I'd never had them, but the Tator Tot thread forced me to have them again, as if I'd never really tasted them)! 4. Curry - thought I hated it, but then learned how different curries could be. 5. Roux. Yeah, I've grown up with gumbo and made it a million times, but hadn't made my own dark roux in many years. Felt shamed into doing it. Countless others.

It's on my Christmas list!

We've had our satsuma tree for a little less than six years and this is the second year to get a really plentiful crop. They are sweet and juicy and delicious. Even our golden retrievers, who don't usually like fruit, love to be hand fed sections of satsuma. I haven't used them to make juice or anything at all; we're too busy eating them out of hand and giving them out to friends and co-workers. Our lemons are nice and lemony, but ugly as hell. Don't know why. <shrug>

Abra, thank you so much for taking the time to post "the rest of the story." The wine pairing dinner looks fabulous! Your clients are extremely lucky to have you.

Your wild salmon was supposed to look like sausages?

WolfChef, you need to delete the parenthesis at the end of the URL and it should work fine.

Yes, Abra, there are other paw crossing dogs. Teddy, the older of our two golden retrievers, also does it. I don't post much these days, but I must tell you how fantastic your blog has been. I admire everything about you and your adventurous cooking, exciting presentation, wonderful photography skills, and the energy you put into doing all of this. Not to mention that I'd love to dognap Riley. He's adorable. Thanks for all the work you're doing for us.

Six unopened bottles of Jolie Blonde beer, in original carton, from 1984. I figured it wouldn't last and might become a collector's item. The artist for the beer label was George Rodgrigue, now (in)famous for his Blue Dog paintings. I was right that the beer didn't last, but I've never researched the collectibility of the bottles.

Fist, Sorry to be so late, but I missed this thread when you first started it. I am so very sorry to read of what a difficult time your wife (and you) have been going through over the last months. I'm sending positive thoughts your way. Patti

Maybe they don't want any smartass chickens.

Nice ass.

My late father was in no way, shape, or form, a foodie, gourmet, gourmand, or any equivalent term, but in the last couple of years of his life, his diet was severely restricted for a number of health reasons. During that time, he watched the Food Network religiously, simply because he wanted to see the food. If he couldn't eat any of it, he at least wanted to see it prepared and enjoy the final product food porn. My father's been gone more than five years, but I'm still grateful to Emeril for all of the hours of entertainment pleasure he provided for my dad. Maybe Rachel Ray is doing the same for someone else's father.

From a maze to amazing!

Great report! You raised her right, didn't ya?

It was nice getting to know you and your fair city. Thanks for a very interesting blog!

Dirty rice (aka rice dressing) is one hot side dish that is popularly served with fried chicken in my neck of the woods. Perfect solution as to what to do with the giblets, if you haven't fried them with the chicken. I'd comment on how good y'all's chicken looks, but I'm pouting out of jealousy. Hmm, no smilie with a hanging lip on it.

Nullo, according to Alton Brown, low fat buttermilk is the buttermilk of choice for fried chicken. Alton's fried chicken recipe from Good Eats Edit: Um, and also according to slkinsey, above. Duh, I should read before replying.

You're in luck! There's a CD-ROM available for the John Folse book. I don't have it, yet, but I'm considering it. The big books don't play well with others on the bookshelves, either. They require their own spot (on the coffee table, sure, but I'd like to be able to fit everything on the shelves).

For dinner tonight I braised a garlic stuffed tenderloin in beer, made a reduction and served it with white rice, black beans, corn and dinner rolls. That was for the menfolk. I ate slices of the pork loin with a nice salad. For lunch today I had pan fried batterless chicken thighs (a la Susan in FL) and a lovely salad of spring greens with sliced red onions, and really ripe and tasty cherry tomatoes. For dinner last night I baked tilapia filets and steamed some broccoli. Not a fancy dish among 'em, but all home cooked.

Have fryers become bigger in response to our need for everything to be super-sized?

This is cruel and unusual punishment! Can't you ask your contractor to post pics of the progress while you're gone? Will you be posting meal pics while you're in N.O.? Pics of you chowing down on boiled crawfish?

Thanks for the link, MizDucky. I've bookmarked it for future reference.

Your chicken looks pretty darn awesome, too, Helen. I am so impressed by all of the variations you tried. Which one tasted the best?