patti

Damn, that's where we went wrong. Talk about some tough and crunchy brownies! We figured it out in time for the second ceiling staring batch, though. Taco Bell. Always the perfect munchie, way way back in the day.

Looks great, all red 'n white 'n cheery! I really like the way you've created a pot rack from the Metro (like) shelving. Inspiring.

I really love the appetizing pictures y'all are posting. Susan, that quail looks divine! Yesterday I paid a visit to my local Asian market and was very pleased by the outcome. I asked the shopkeeper a few questions about making larb, specifically which kind of rice she used for toasting, and she got a zip lock bag and made a trip to the back of the store to give me a sample of her sticky rice of choice. It was so sweet of her. Also, she was friendlier and more helpful than she's ever been. I usually feel like she just wants to get me out of the store with my purchases, but not this time. She made my day, as did another customer, who joined in the larb making discussion. On the downside, I asked if they had Tiparos fish sauce (per snowangel's recommendation in another thread, I think) and she pointed it out to me. I'd have never known it was Tiparos because all of the writing (I thought) was in Thai. Once I got home and examined the bottle more carefully, I did find an English ingredient list: Anchovies, brine, sugar. I guess Tiparos makes more than one variety of fish sauce, because I know snowangel specified NO SUGAR. Phooey.

Um. Diet coke IN the cereal? ← Isn't this from Laverne & Shirley? Didn't she have cereal with pepsi or something strange like that...not to say you're strange. ← My grandma would put a little coffee in our rice krispies 'n milk 'n sugar. Sort of a cafe au lait rice krispies. It was good! My faves now are old faithfuls, Frosted Flakes, Raisin Bran, Honey Nut Cheerios, all sans coffee milk.

Oh, my, that looks absolutely delicious!

Varmint, have your in-laws ever said just how this kitchen came to be (from what I've read, I gather that you and your wife bought it from them)? Did it start off this way or was there an add on here and there that created the maze? I love the plans for the new kitchen and am looking forward to watching it evolve.

I don't know, since my pic doesn't look like the others I've seen, maybe I've still got my larbginity and this was only 'oral'.

I made larb for the first time last night! Yesterday I made chicken stock according to Fat Guy's eCGI's method. I've made chicken stock many times before, but decided to give this method a whirl. One of the things Fat Guy mentions is that early on in the stock making process, he removes the chicken breasts and uses them for something else. Last night I decided that my something else would be larb. I'm guessing from the pictures of chicken larb that I've seen that either dark meat is usually used, or raw chicken is the starting point, rather than cooked, because mine doesn't look exactly like other pictures. Anyway, here's my result: I have to admit I've only ever tasted larb twice before. After reading (most of) the larb thread, I wanted to taste what all the fuss was about, so a couple of weeks ago I got take-out beef larb from two different restaurants. Wow! The interesting thing to me about Thai food is how incredibly different the flavors are from what I've grown up eating (Cajun). It's really a nice adventure for my taste buds. Mine might be more of a variation of larb, but it was really pretty damn good!

Did I take all of the fun out of lots of responses? I just happened to have read Mamster's piece recently and remembered it.

According to Mamster, a five pound bag of flour is 19 cups and a 21 cup Rubbermaid container should do. Check it out here: The Daily Gullet. (Sorry, I don't know the answers to the rest of your questions.)

Strangely enough, the first food I can recall having to learn to like was mashed potatoes. I hated the stuff as a very small child. It was just too gloppy and heavy and made me want to gag. I'd ask for seconds on the spinach and the brussel sprouts, but couldn't tolerate mashed potatoes. I learned to like it by topping it with LOTS of gravy, and over time, I needed less and less gravy to appreciate those glorious mounds of creamy goodness. My father brought home a sack of raw oysters when I was about ten and I took to them immediately. I slurpred 'em down as fast as he could shuck 'em (although I had to wait my turn with the siblings). Yum! It took me a couple of tries to fall in love with sushi and sashimi as an adult, but now I can't get enough. I hated the first curries I tried, but now I love Thai curry and am going to expand my horizons to other kinds. Cilantro. Nope, just bought some this weekend to give it another go, and if you saw the movie, "Big" with Tom Hanks and recall the scene of him trying to get the caviar off of his tongue, you'll know how I reacted to the cilantro. Horseradish - first time I had it was in a restaurant, served as a condiment for a platter of oysters on the half shell. I didn't mix it with anything, but tried it just as it came and had to restrain myself from spitting it right out! Now, I adore it, especially with boiled crawfish.

Mine would have to be any of the fish caught on fishing trips with my Dad when I was a kid. The list would include bass, white perch, sac-a-lait, and catfish. Spend the day catching fish, then home where Daddy would fry them all up for us. I've never tasted better fish.

patti, your recipe looks to me like there's a heck of a lot of coconut milk. there's also no sugar and no chilis. if you still have some left, i'd add a bit of sugar (i would have added about 1tsp to the whole pot) and a big squeeze of sriracha, or some chopped bird chilis or something with heat - chopped serranos even. if you're sensetive to heat - don't add much, maybe take one or 2 thai peppers and slice them in half. you can fish them out later. i like to think about thai food as that balance between salty (fish sauce) sour (lime, lemograss,) sweet (sugar) & hot (chilis) next time, try it first with half that amount of coconut milk. the milk tones down the flavors...so you need to make sure you're stepping up the rest of the spicing. when my thai doesn't taste quite right - it's always one of those 4 that's missing. good luck! ← Thanks, Scorched Palate and reesek. I finished off this batch, but I'll know better next time I attempt it. Your tips and advice are very helpful and much appreciated. I like heat, and I'm not afraid to use it. I had some serrano chiles on hand, but wasn't sure if they were appropriate. Now I'll know!

Thanks, peanutgirl. I added more fish sauce and more lime juice (although I had used all of my fresh limes and had to resort to lime juice from a bottle for the additional juice). The flavor was definitely improved, but still not just right. Perhaps I need to try a different recipe.

Diana, your pictures are wonderful and I'm still drooling over the smoked brisket. It looks like absolute perfection. The sandwiches and fruit salad from the next day don't look too shabby, either. And yum, the chicken fried steak. Heh, I guess I like a lot of what you're eating. Thanks for blogging.

I brought the coconut milk and the chicken stock to a simmer, and then added the chicken, the galangal, lime leaves, and lemongrass to the mix and simmered 20 or so minutes. I added the straw mushrooms, fish sauce, and fresh lime juice right at the end.

Wow, those pictures from Susan, peanutgirl, and Behemoth are intimidating. I'm much, much more of a beginner in every way, but I'll forge ahead anyway. Today I made Tom Kha Gai for lunch, following the recipe here: Tom Kha Gai (Am I allowed to post the ingredient list if I've linked the original recipe?) 1 whole chicken breast 2 chicken thighs 1/2 pound of cleaned shrimp (optional) 4 stalks fresh lemongrass 4 1/2 cups coconut milk 1 1/2 cups basic chicken stock 20 quarter-sized slices fresh galangal 10 whole black peppercorns 12 fresh Kaffir lime leaves 1 cup well-drained straw mushrooms 2 T fish sauce 2 T freshly squeezed lime juice I didn't use the shrimp (which is optional, anyway) and I didn't add the peppercorns, but I followed the rest of the recipe carefully. While it's okay, it doesn't have the depth of flavor or the oomph of the Tom Kha Gai from the local Thai restaurants. I don't think it's the fact that I didn't use peppercorns, as that doesn't seem to be where the flavor is lacking. It's not sour enough or sweet enough. Or enough enough. Any ideas? Also, I'm not confident that I prepared the lemongrass correctly. I followed directions from a website, but I'm afraid I'd have more confidence if there'd been pictures showing me exactly what to do. Should I have only included the inner core in the soup? I didn't.

I'm guessing they were a limited-time-only promotional item. I can find no trace of them on the current menu on Popeyes' web site. However, I can find recipes there. (No, they don't post the seasoning blend for their fried chicken.) Fatty or not, Popeyes chicken is yummy from start to finish. Their sides are also very good quality for fast food. ← Fried chicken liver dinners aren't a promotional item down here in south Louisiana. They've been on the regular menu ever since Popeye's opened a franchise here in Lafayette, some 28 years ago. I don't know about other areas of the country, though. As far as their sides go, the red beans and rice is something that our handicapped son loved to eat, otherwise he ate mostly pureed or very soft foods. He couldn't talk, so we had to learn to understand his body language as much as we could. When he was fed Popeye's red beans and rice, his little tongue would come out of his mouth searching for more, as he cooed and smiled. (Our 17 year old, non-handicapped son coos and smiles when he scarfs down their biscuits. He could talk, but his mouth is full.) Popeye's new green beans side order is very tasty, if you appreciate southern style green beans.

Upthread stovetop asked about filé for thickening. I consider roux the thickening agent for most of the gumbo I make. I don't ever add filé to the pot; if the gumbo needs extra thickening, filé can be added to individual servings. The only time I put okra in gumbo is when I'm making shrimp 'n okra gumbo. Otherwise, no (and I love okra).

Upthread someone mentioned adding cumin seeds and someone else added sesame seeds. I had great success adding fennel seeds to mine. Really excellent!

I carry packets of Shout pre-moistened towelettes in my purse. They have saved the day on more than one occasion, as well as saved the embarrassment of once again returning from lunch wearing evidence of my menu selection on my blouse.

Looking forward to your blog, Diana!

Um, this is embarrassing, but could you subtract these six from the total? I had a $100 gift card to B&N and went nuts and spent a little under $200 on the listed cookbooks. Got home and had buyer's remorse, especially when I checked Amazon and realized I could have bought the same books for $120 (with super saving free shipping). I returned them all to B&N and although the books are now in my Amazon shopping cart, I'm resisting pulling the trigger for now. I'll save my gift card for when Chef John Folse's Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine comes in.

I prefer their Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit. Oh. Oh. Oh. Chick-Fil-A's Chicken Biscuit. So good you have to have two. (Now let me hang my head in greedy shame.)

I haven't fed this particular nasty little habit in years, but Luther's Barbecue Beef sandwich with coleslaw on top PLUS and MOST IMPORTANT, the onion ring loaf. Lots of battered (not breaded) skinny, crispy, greasy, tasty, onion rings. With ketchup. Oh, when I was pregnant for #2 son, this was my dream meal.