viva

Damn you Floridians! <sob>

As always Andie, you're on it. Thanks! And, you're right about the egg + vanilla, then milk order - I've always done it but never really realized why. PatW - mine has been sitting around for about 6-7 months now, and it's good stuff. The first several months there was a lot of weirdness about the smell or a bite of the alcohol that really worked itself out later. My advice is to put it in the deep recesses of your cabinet where you won't see it, forget about it, and make it a pleasant surprise this summer sometime!

Frighteningly enough, I was eating some peanut M&M while reading that post - and got a visual and sensory image of that tooth while crunching down on the peanut. ::shiver::

I'm glad I'm not the only one! The wide-mouthed in particular is best. Iced tea, lemonade, sparkling water, all with plenty of ice and a bendy straw!

Good - glad to know I'm not the only with oil. Great idea to wick it with a swab! Next question: does your extract curdle milk or cream? Mine does. I suppose that's the alcohol. (I remember the cementmixer shots we used to do in college!) If this is common, is there a solution? I really love the flavor of my extract but vanilla and milk go together a little too often for me to ignore the curdling.

Harold's is still here, isn't it? I swear I just ate there sometime last year. Can't imagine they are all closed. ← Oh no - I'm sure all of those Harold's Shacks are still open and doing a brisk business - I'm just sadly not in Chicago any more to enjoy them.

Anyone have a few drops of thick brown oil floating on top of their extract when they pour it out? Mine (madagascar with bourbon, by the way) has been sitting in the back of the cupboard for about 4-5 months now, and has a very vanilla-y scent and taste, the brown oil is only annoying in that it is visually unappealing. Was awesome sauteed in with some apples, sugar, and butter the other day.

I use lard quite frequently for cooking - simply because I bought a 10 lb tub of it to do confit with, and had a lot left over! I love it. I find I don't need much because the flavor it adds is so rich. As for pie crust - I personally prefer a half-lard/half-butter crust - lard for flakiness, butter for flavor! Yum.

That's a neat idea. I made a blackberry vinegar with the summer blackberries, and I bet that would taste great with club soda.

The breakfast chicken biscuit is new for me (a newbie to the southeast). I gotta say... it's pretty tasty.

Available where I am now: Bojangles Cajun Chicken Biscuit Fond memories of chicken chains past: Harold's Chicken Shack chain (Chicago, South Side)

Pies with dairy in the filling do not freeze well, but I've done fruit and nut pies of all kinds. You can really get a jump on your thanksgiving baking by making ahead. I did all my pies in October last year which saved a huge amount of time.

I just don't divulge what's in the recipe, unless there's an allergy/addiction or religious/ethical aversion to something. Case in point - an aunt who "hates" liquor in food...no aversion to liquor in a glass, just "hates" it in food. Lemme tell ya... she gobbled up my apple pie that had a good half cup of liquor in it, as well as the oxtail stew that had an entire bottle of red wine in it. "Oh, this is so good." Yes it is! But the sister who doesn't eat pork... I'll let her know if a pie crust has lard in it so she can eat something else. But I'll sure as hell still make the lard crust.

I just did Scuppernong/Muscadine grape butter with cloves and cinnamon. Very nice combination with the musky grape flavors. <clickety for photos>

Cool - thanks ladies! Cabbages are starting to show up at the market, and I think it's high time I tried my hand at kraut. I'm also smack in the middle of collard heaven here in Raleigh, so I can see having a couple of comparative cabbage vs. collard batches going.

Wow! That's all I have to say. Wow!

And let us not forget the Lipton Onion Soup Mix as hamburger flavoring.

Smart Chickens for $1.59! I pay $3.99. Gawd.

Jars of pre-chopped garlic. For when I am just that lazy.

I've wanted to try sauerkraut (LOVE sauerkraut), but I've got a recipe from an old cooperative extension cookbook that's a little intimidating (there's a part with wooden sticks and cheesecloth that I just can't visualize to save my life). Anyone have a nice simple approach to sauerkraut?

This brings to my mind Canadian author (and national treasure) Margaret Atwood and her dystopic vision of engineered poultry in her book "Oryx and Crake". I can't find the quote and I lent my copy but here's the idea in her own words from this site: "ChickieNobs are chickens that only grow the most desirable chicken parts, for example drumsticks and breasts. They have no beak, eyes, or brain functions other than digestion, assimilation and growth." I highly recommend the book, it may be her best, and it is full of black humor regarding GMO's among other things. ← Excellent book, and kind of freakishly accurate as it relates to the chickens.

Ooh. Quince and apples is one of my favorite combinations. In a pie, with raisins and a reduced sweet wine...

Bison Ribeyes and ground Bison Burgers are delicious. I wish they were more widely available.

Seriously! I've got to try this so I can relieve my red-stained fingers from the duty of breaking up the various pods.

I assemble a mess of apple turnovers (I use a lard/butter crust) and individually wrap them for the freezer. Take one out, bake it, and there you have it...hot apple turnovers!