patti

I guess you don't mean the old bousillage (mud and Spanish moss) ovens made by early Acadians (who learned it from Native Americans)?

Do you mean Tom Colicchio? I LOVE him. He's the best part of the show. I do miss some of last season's characters, but I think this season might get better after a few more people are weeded out. I hope.

I posted earlier about ubiquitous gumbo dinners, but growing up, the typical fundraiser dinner was barbecued chicken, rice dressing (aka dirty rice), potato salad, baked beans, & a roll.

Gumbo with white rice, potato salad, french bread, and for dessert, bread pudding. Maybe a small side salad of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and ranch dressing. Yes, I know, starch, starch, and a side of starch.

I loves me some shrimp stew made with really dark brown roux. Good stuff.

I adore the old fashioned stuffed head, brown version of crawfish bisque. My grandmother used to make it, but like everyone said, it's labor intensive. I only ever have the old fashioned kind in restaurants now. I do like the other style of crawfish bisque made with cream and lots of rich, buttery goodness. I'm willing to make that one, but not the old style.

It is? Sarnie, perhaps. ← Oops! In that case, I hate sammie! Heh. Not really.

I've never thought of "cukes" as babyish, just a nice short-hand. None of the other words bother me, either. The "sammie" thing is mostly used by Brits, so I would only be annoyed by it if someone tried to affect a faux British accent or attitude by using it. Like, say, Madonna. I wouldn't mind if the word "amazing" were never used again, unless singing "Amazing Grace," or discussing "The Amazing Race."

I always use lots of onions in my smothered pork chops, but sometimes use apple juice as my liquid of choice in the cooking process. I saw Paul Prudhomme do it on his old cooking show. When I don't use apple juice, I use wine or chicken stock. It's all good.

That sounds a little messy.

MUST. HAVE. NOW.

I hadn't really paid attention to whose post I was reading, but when I got to this paragraph, I had a feeling it had to have been written by racheld. I love the way you choose to put your words together! And you pick some purty good'uns. Great writing, as usual.

Boudin is a tasty, portable little snack all on its own. What's not to love about pork and spices and rice all mixed up in a handy casing? A link of boudin is a thing of beauty. To gild it, I take a generous portion of crusty french bread, split it open, and slather both sides with butter. Next, split the boudin casing open and spread the boudin on both sides of the buttered bread. Cover one side with the other, et voila! Boudin poboy. Hmm, now I wonder why I've never considered a fried boudin ball sandwich.

To that baked potato I'd also add grated sharp cheddar and chives, or I'd eliminate the sour cream and use crumbled feta. My son likes to combine real bacon bits with fake bacon bits, along with butter and grated cheese. He doesn't see the fake ones as a substitute, but as an additional crispy flavor of its own. Oh, and bread pudding topped with both homemade whipped cream AND chocolate sauce. And maybe pecans, if they weren't in the bread pudding.

When I was a child, our family of six used to go to 6:00 a.m. Mass a couple of times a week during Lent. Often we'd go out to breakfast afterwards, to a little place called Courthouse Cafe. Sometimes Daddy would only allow us to order a small breakfast of biscuits and jam with juice, other times, we could have a full breakfast. What I remember most fondly, other than the six of us sitting together at the restaurant, was the richness of the thick chocolate milk, the grits, slow-cooked, buttery, and sublime. A bite of grits, a bite of toast, chased with that delicious chocolate milk ... mmmmm. You'd think I'd be waxing nostalgic about the eggs and crispy bacon. Oh, those were good, too. But the other three tastes, those are the ones I remember best. Another food memory is my first taste of raw oysters. Daddy brought home a sackful, and we all sat in the garage as he shucked them. We each waited our turn, one by one. I was a little nervous about it at first, so Daddy gave me a little sleeve of saltines. A fat, fresh oyster, a saltine, and a dash of Tabasco. Great stuff!

I completely agree. My sandwiches most often have mayo on one slice and mustard on the other. No dry slices!

Why would anybody stop at one that DIDN'T?

At first, I misread "peering" as "peeing"!

Excellent work, patti. Yep, a flying squirrel. You can find some more information about them here. Did you recognize it from having seen one before? Or, like me, did you figure it out from its appearance? We still have no idea how it got in the house, of course. ← It had a squirrel face to it, and I thought maybe you quanitified that it wasn't a "tree" squirrel as a clue. I googled flying squirrel and that seemed to be a match. No experience with them, and I hope my first experience won't be in my bedroom during the night!

Nope, not a tree squirrel or a chipmunk, or even a rat. These animals are reportedly very common, but rarely seen. ← Flying squirrel?

I'd be one of the garblers. Merriam-Webster online shows two pronunciations. Goo-da for the cheese and how-da (with aspirated 'h') for the place. http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/aud...da001.wav=Gouda http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/aud...oud01.wav=Gouda

I finally saw the commercial for these today. The bowl looks pretty bad, and I tend to like mixing things up on my plate. If they're truly going for those who like a plate lunch, then why not make it a plate lunch instead of a bowl of gloppy carbs?

Looks like the Jardin du Palais-Royal - so is it Le Grand Véfour? ← That was my guess (which I didn't post), but I must confess that I only thought it might be Paris because of the most recent episode of the Sopranos. In a dream sequence, Carmela left a restaurant and the place she was walking (and saw the late Adrianna) looks just like Therese's photo. Then I did a few searches to find out what restaurant it might be, and came up with Le Grand Véfour, which borders Palais Royal. Still don't know if we're right, though.

Is it in Paris?

Try a ginger dressing on your spinach and strawberry salad. Delicious!