MicBacchus

V E R Y late post - There are 2 Asian markets here which have both canned, frozen, and fresh foods so cooking any kind of Asian food is fairly easy. There are plenty of Hispanic stores also. Lowe's and Piggly Wiggly have the best variety of produce, and local farmers' markets often have organic veg and meat. We are lucky to have a great supply of fresh seafood from Murrells Inlet, the southern part of the Myrtle Beach area. As for dining out -- I have yet to find any Asian restaurant that would come close to the DC/MD area where I lived. Chinese are buffets, Japanese are chain, and Thai are not exciting or varied. We do have, of all things, an awesome Lebanese market with a small dining area that serves a limited but good menu. There is a Lebanese/Italian restaurant whose owner is from the VA/DC metro area and has a . There are several chefs who buy locally and sustainably (sp?!). There is not a large military presence, but the cook at my school is Korean and I'm working on her to give us cooking lessons!!

My former MIL, (whom I love), often served grits for breakfast with canned tuna or salmon. I've never seen this mentioned anywhere before. Now that I live in SC, I'll start them w/stock and add cream/half&half when fixing them for any meal besides breakfast.

Put heavy cream in the KitchenAid, get distracted with a customer, and come back to find butter - doesn't quite work work

Although I place items on the conveyor belt by type (cold, canned, non-food, etc.), it doesn't seem to matter. The baggers appear to have their own agenda as to what goes in which bag. It appears that they place by weight (and how many of us have had bags that rip at the most inopportune time), which does have its advantages. However, rooting through many bags at home is a pain. No matter how I try, I always think I"ve found all the cold items, placed them in the fridge/freezer, and then always have to reopen it for the one missing item buried at the bottom of a bag. I remember the 'old' days, when it was a priority to bag items in as few bags as possible (keeping in mind weight and category).

Being from Balto, it goes without saying that I'm never without it. It's great on fries, especially with vinegar sprinkled on top. The smell and taste make me crave steamed crabs - which are coming into season finally!!!

Beans? Cheap source of protein, adaptable throughout the seasons.

Just saw this today - the premier issue - with a big pic of Mario Batali. It advocates a 'healthy new you'. Any comments?

Wow, did this bring back memories!! As a kid we had a guy up the street who sold snow cones from his house (this was a row house area), and he had a gazillion flavors, including Egg Cream and spearmint. The chocolate cones were more expensive, but a chocolate snow cone WITH marshmallow was the epitome of snow cone dining. And, no, it didn't harden. If I could only have one now

Well, in a perfect world, I'd clean the cooktop after every meal, but we all know that ... For several years, I used Cerama Bryte and applied it with a paper towel which didn't always quite cut it. So I'd leave the soaked paper towel over the crusty parts and let it do its thing. Not long ago tho, I discovered Weiman Scrubbing Pads so now I use those - much faster and less messy.

Due to the excessive heat in SC, I made Cold Tomato Soup (local tomatoes; no fear of salmonella) from Twelve Months of Monastary Soups. You cook down tomatoes, leeks, garlic, seasonings, and some water then strain and chill. Not wanting to waste the mushed tomatoes and leeks, I added some jalapeno and cilantro and used it to top a southwestern omelet the next morning.

I am having a craving for taramasalata, but living in a Greek wasteland (Myrtle Beach), there are no restaurants that serve it. Before when I was in MD, it was easy to find roe at places like Sutton Place Gourmet, but I can't seem to find a source on line. Anyone know of a good source? Thanks.

To echo those aforementioned - Claudia Roden's New Book of Middle Eastern Food is a delight. Arto der Haroutunian's Middle Eastern Cookery has not only a wide array of recipes but many informative bits of history, anecdotes, and fables -- "Leek is a remedy for snakebite".

After reading (and reading) several threads, I caved, so add 3 for me: Cradle of Flavor, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, and Baking from My Home to Yours. After having most of my books packed away for almost a year, It was like Christmas when I unpacked. But...there are always more books out there to tempt me!

Crabs (and dishes made from them) are historically a 'Maryland' staple. In the past (circa 1930's) steamed crabs were free in Balto bars to encourage more beer purchases. They were so plentiful and cheap that everyone had their own family recipe. It's just like any other regional specialty. That said, crabcakes made with truly fresh crab (not pasteurized) are sweet enough with no embellishment needed. Just a little mayo and box-grated toast crumbs, Old Bay and a drip of worcestershire, then pan-fry in as little oil/butter mix as possible.

The questions were 'no brainers' - you know which answers to pick to end with the result of 'supertaster'. Nevertheless, I am a supertaster, ofter referred to a 'picky' by non-supertaster friends and relatives!!

In the past 5 months just a few for me compared to others: 150 Best American Recipes Paula Wolfert's Couscous The Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table Fresh from Dover Canyon The Jimtown Store Cookbook a book on cheese and to increase my appreciation of the locals' talent - Party Receipts from the Charleston Junior League

From Claudia Roden's Middle Eastern cookbook, try the Eggplant Slices with Tomato Sauce and choose the Syrian variation that adds pomegranate molasses to the tomato sauce - terrific. edited for noun-verb agreement - guess there was too much celebrating last night!

We're just finished eating the pork chile verde - really good and used leftover meat also. We're having the Crunchy Cucumber etc. salad for Christmas because grandson loves raw vegetables and he needs to eat! Braised green beans and double polenta are on deck.

Wilted salads - my mom, who was originally from Kentucky, would pick the baby greens from our garden and layer them with hard-boiled eggs and bacon. Then she'd do the dressing with the bacon grease, vinegar, sugar, s/p to taste and pour over top. Such a treat since her garden wasn't very big, and we'd only get this once or twice a season. I've converted my Yankee husband!

When my kids were small, they and their dad went fishing and crabbing during the summer (selling crabs to supplement a teacher's salary), and we always saved some for a Christmas Eve stew. When my son was about 4, he asked for one of my recipe cards to write his Christmas stew 'recipe'. Over the years, with the addition of shrimp and oysters, the stew evolved into a gumbo to celebrate my son's birth in Baton Rouge, and where I began my culinary adventure. This year, for the first time in 10 years, my son and daughter and their families, plus my husband and I, will be together to renew this tradition of seafood stew and the traditional reading of the "Cajun Night Before Christmas". I may finally part with the cherished 'recipe' and give it to my son. My daughter's son, who at the ripe age of almost 3 has helped me stir and prep meals for about a year, will receive his own wooden spoon. Hopefully this, too, will become a tradition.

Going back a bit to the end of Oct. on this thread... I soak the rice noodles (banh cuon kho) in warm water, but when I add them, at the very end of whatever dish I'm making, they always curl up. What am I doing wrong?

A bit of a digression from the recent posts but just curious - my ex MIL (from Charleston) introduced me to grits for breakfast, but she added tuna or, for special occasions, canned salmon along with the required butter and salt. I had to be very careful when serving the salmon because everyone had to have the same amount of bones! Is this just something she started, or is it somewhat common? I've never seen it on a menu. In case someone is totally turned off, it actually is quite good this way, but my favorite is shrimp and grits, especially from Louis's in Pawley's Island.

A BLT - big slice of garden tomato, applewood smoked bacon, baby arugula, and mayo on soft bread. YUM

There are 3 chimichurris in June's Food and Wine - traditional, sweet paprika, and spicy. They sound interesting...

3 more for me - The Best American Recipes 2005-6, The Vineyard Kitchen, and Chef Interrupted (for those days when there isn't much time to cook). I absolutely cannot buy any more cookbooks until after we've moved in June!! Oh, no...there's a 20% off coupon attached to my receipt