Special K

You know you're an eGulleteer when a stranger in the grocery store takes a look at your cart and decides to ask you what you'd serve for snacks other than chips and dip, and you start firing so many ideas at her that she stops you long enough for her to take out a pencil and a piece of paper to jot down notes. She says, "I guess I asked the right person!" Then you keep going until her eyes glaze over and she starts backing away from you. . .

I believe I have the last bottle (actually the last gallon jug) of Alligator Soul Chipotle Mayo. The restaurant's bottler recently told them they were not going to bottle it any more, and they sold them the last of their inventory. I surprised the chef so much with my request (or was it my charm?) that he sold me a couple of gallons before he could stop himself. But I think that was the last time they'll do that.

Sorry to take so long to get back. We drove up that weekend from Magnolia, got to within a few blocks, and the car's brakes started smoking and we had to pull over. Naturally, I let hubby wait for the AAA guy while I went to Alligator Soul! No lunch, sadly, had to get back, but they did sell me two gallons of the mayo! Sad to say, though, that's probably the last time they'll sell it to a customer (I think I just caught them by surprise). It turns out that the current owners bought the restaurant and the recipe about three years ago, and they had it bottled by a company in Kent, which sold it in area grocery stores. That company recently (a few months ago) said they no longer were going to bottle it, and they sold the rest of their inventory back to the restaurant, which is using it up. Then I guess they'll start making it in-house again, but just for their own use. So I'm doling it out very parsimoniously while I try to replicate it. Big trip with friends planned for some weekend soon. I hear that on Saturday nights there's great music, and from what I saw and the aromas I inhaled while waiting for the mayo, the food, I'm sure, is great! I've talked to several people here at work who are regulars and love the place as much for the entertainment as the food. Edited to remove a stupid misplaced apostrophe.

Well, it's been many years, but if I could go back in time I'd go to Bern's steak house and then to the Mullet Inn. There used to be a great pizza place called CDB's in Temple Terrace, near USF. I don't know if any of these places still exist.

I haven't been - yet. I just found out about the place, searching the 'net for their amazing chipotle mayo. They don't sell it online, and I can't find it in stores around Seattle any more, so I'm going on a day trip! If the meal is halfway decent, and they let me buy a crate of the mayo, I'll be one happy camper.

About the barefoot issue, we also take off our shoes when we enter the house, BUT we each keep a pair of kitchen-dedicated Danskos handy, for safety's sake. The shoes are clean, the floor is clean, and our feet are safe! As I mentioned earlier, $267 a stitch!! About holding off on doing the dishes until the next morning, I used to do that - it was just the thing for my arthritic hands, which always ache more in the morning. Now I have a dishwasher, which I run at bedtime, and a hot tub, which helps all of the arthritic joints. My kitchen garbage goes in a small bag that hangs in a gizmo on the inside of the cabinet door below the sink. Also lurking there is my (open) compost bin. Both go out at least nightly, so nothing sits in there long enough to stink up the place. I think the bag-hanger thingie actually came with a lid, but I removed it because it made for an extra step (when I'm working, I just keep the door open and toss things in either the bin or the bag as necessary. And of course the cabinet gets cleaned and sanitized regularly. And I've got the solution to the cat on the counter problem. Mine's too fat to jump up there! Actually, he's pretty svelte now, but when we first moved here and found him (the previous owners had abandoned him!) he was a bit on the portly side. Early on I saw him try to jump on the counter and fail miserably; he's never tried since. Aside: He doesn't jump on the counter anymore, but when he gets hungry he goes looking for food. He can open any drawer or cupboard in the house, and he never closes any of them! Sometimes I come out to the kitchen in the morning and it looks like that scene from The Sixth Sense (below the counter only, of course)!

Alarming: Barefoot in the kitchen. I'm pretty sure my husband is cured of that one, though. I think it came to $267 a stitch. Amusing: Whenever he's adding anything to anything, he has to do it from at least a two-foot height, thus ensuring a big mess. all over the kitchen and his clothes (Wear an apron? Him? No way. Anyway, what he'd need is a dropcloth). Ah, well. He's an enthusiastic, pretty good cook, and he has many other redeeming qualities. Amazing: My dear Mom is still alive and hasn't killed anyone, either by poisoning them or burning the place down. If forced to eat her offerings, I've learned to rely on 90-proof gin to kill whatever. Actualy, that smooths over a lot of other obstacles, too.

Linda, the recipe is pretty much just what I said (in shorthand) in my original post - pour some heavy whipping cream into the mixer bowl fitted with the whip. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let 'er rip at medium high speed. First you'll get whipped cream, then pebbles, and then the liquid will separate out and splatter onto the plastic wrap. At that point you stop and strain the liquid, and then you start kneading the solids to get out the rest of the liquid and it softens and turns to butter. I think the more you knead it the more liquid you press out, and therefore the higher fat percentage of your butter. And yes! The buttermilk is much better! The real reason I tried this is that I noticed the cake I was making called for buttermilk. K

Slkinsey, I bet you're right. I'll have to try that next time. And oh, yes, Annecros, it tasted much better! And it wasn't any trouble at all - it was fun! Something about kneading that butter juuust to the right consistency . . . I'm sure I got something much closer to "European" butter because I got more of the liquid out. To be fair to my husband and friends, they really didn't get to taste the butter except as in the cake along with the buttermilk (an aside: the cake got raves - it was a chocolate cake recipe from a recent Barefoot Contessa episode; the secret ingredient was a cup of freshly brewed coffee). We had burgers for dinner, so I didn't make bread. I need to make some and have a "bought vs homemade" butter tasting.

Has anyone else made their own butter after reading Daniel Patterson's "The Way We Eat" column in the NYT magazine last Sunday? So cool, and so easy! (Whipping cream, mixer, plastic wrap over the bowl, whip on medium high for about ten minutes until there's separation and splatterage, strain, knead.) I saved most of the butter just as is, but salted some, and made a couple of compound butters with the rest. I used some of the buttermilk in a cake. I guess I always knew how to make butter, but it never occurred to me to try it until I read "Curd Mentality." Spouse and friends remain singularly unimpressed - "Why would you go to all that trouble?" I knew you all would understand. (Please excuse if this topic exists elsewhere or I've posted this in the wrong forum - I looked but didn't find it). K

I use a couple of lacquered wooden sake boxes, one for Kosher and one for Grey. I used to use little caviar spoons to scoop out the salt, but lately I've just been grabbing a pinch when I need it.

Lettuce and anything that rolls to the back of the crisper drawer. My fridge sits in a niche - seemed like a good idea, until I realized that I can't open the doors all the way, which means I can't open the drawers all the way . . .

If you don't mind traveling for about an hour (beautiful scenic drive), you could head to Big Sur and hit either Ventana or Post Ranch Inn, or my favorite, Nepenthe's (a little bit further south).

1. Janssen's Temptation 2. Hash browns with caramelized onions and a ton of butter 3. Oven-baked thick fries, coated with duck fat and sprinkled with rosemary & S&P And, of course, the humble baked potato, loaded with butter, sour cream, chives, and bits of bacon.

Mmmmm . . . egg salad! I usually just make it as Fat Guy does, but sometimes I use chipotle mayo. I've never tried it with duck eggs, but I will! Oh, man, I want some egg salad NOW!

But the story behind the story is so sad. Adrienne Shelly, the writer/director, was murdered just as the film was wrapping up. It may not be your cup of tea, but it has won a couple of awards. I'll probably buy it when the DVD comes out. Pie - reminds me of the pie song in "Michael," with John Travolta, written and sung by Andie MacDowell's character. Pie Pie Me oh my Nothing tastes sweet, wet, salty and dry all at once o well it's pie Apple! Pumpkin! Minced an' wet bottom. Come to your place everyday if you've got em' Pie Me o my I love pie

I asked my husband, the high school chemistry teacher, about this. He said that brass is a zinc/copper alloy, and he certainly wouldn't cook anything acidic in it.

Well, I "make my own," but it's strictly White Trash Cooking night. Filling: Meat picked from a rotisserie chicken, one large can cream of chicken soup, one regular can cream of mushroom soup, one package frozen peas and one of frozen carrots, some sliced mushrooms, some of the caramelized onions I always have on hand, some tarragon, salt and pepper. There's enough filling to make one to eat tonight (which now I probably will!) and one to freeze for later. Using store-bought crusts, of course. Yes, lazy, lazy, lazy, but mighty yummy!

Oh, Lord. I guess I really AM OCD (and not OCT). I completely forgot that I'd already posted this!

In case anyone's been wondering, that IS how you set the clock - just take the batteries out and hit the "hour" button at the top of an hour. I really like this little timer/scale. It's small, lightweight but sturdy, very accurate, has a tare function, counts up and down, and uses regular AA batteries, not the fancy special batteries that were hard to find and used to fall right out of my old scale. Plus, I fee really smart because it retails for $30 and I got it for $2.99. Score! It only does lbs and oz, not grams, but I can live with that. K

Thanks, HYoungJoo, Beebs and Crouching Tyler. I'll try all of your recipes. I think I'm going back to Top Banana today to load up! I also found a recipe for pesto and another one for a fritatta. I think we have a tasty, (mildly)garlicky weekend ahead of us! K

OK, dumb question: Do I eat the flower buds? K

Yes, those are them! Oh, boy! Thanks again. K

I dunno. The label says "spears." I'll go check out your suggestions and let you know. Thank you. K