bavila

Speaking of muffalettas, I've been meaning to spank someone at the deli in my neighborhood grocery. They sell prepped sandwiches of all different stripes, and in the last month or so have been offering muffalettas. The first few times I saw it the ingredients seemed to change up a bit, but it still sort of looked like the muffaletta I knew. Then came the sun-dried tomatoes. What is with that? Like the olive salad needed competition? The sdt's have stayed. I must find out who is responsible. The Nawlins originals must come back so we don't forget that muffalettas don't have silly things like sun-dried tomatoes!

Ah the snack fairy -- that was good. As for the soups. I don't think I'll try them. Even passed up the free samples at the grocery store the other day. But they don't bother me. Campbell's must not think they're "fooling" anyone who really "knows better", and if it gets more people excited about trying new flavors or new ingredients, I can support that. On a somewhat related vein, I broke down and bought my daughter the Dora the Explorer chicken noodle soup the other day. She loved it. Sigh...

Three steps forward, two steps back, maybe? I was thinking about the kid thing the other day. I know Tulane will help reopen Lusher Elem and Mid schools through a charter arrangement with the school system. I think that was a deal-breaker for them to get enough staff back to open the university. Hopefully that will start a chain reaction. And I heard from a Tulane friend that she saw a sign at Popeye's "Help Wanted, $10/ hr". Hard to imagine.

TJ's in Annapolis also has dried dragonfruit. I too was disappointed with the taste, especially because it is so beautiful, and the name is so enticing to kids! Glad to see some serving suggestions.

I'm not a native Marylander, so I've never actually had the Maryland ham, but have heard of it. I was also thinking along the mini-quiche line, or maybe individual savory custards (saw a recipe on epicurious for chorizo and mushroom corn custard). But I like the ham thing. Which makes me think...ham biscuits. More of a Virginia item, but I did live there once upon a time. My neighbor made ham biscuits with sweet potato biscuits, yum.

We'll be having my son's dedication (our version of a baptism or naming ceremony) on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The church service is at 9, and I'm thinking of having brunch at the house around 11:30 or noon. What should we serve? I'd like to avoid sit-down items, and make-ahead or at least most-of-prep-ahead would be necessary. The only thing I'm pretty sure will be on the menu will be my very popular pumpkin bread. Maybe some orange-cranberry scones. What about a protein? Thanks! B

Uptown should be getting a little busier over the next week or so as Tulane will be opening up for students to return to campus. Thanks for keeping us in the loop, guys.

I just happened to be reading Consumer Reports' overview of ranges last night (and I think this is short enough to quote without getting in trouble): "Pro-style: still problematic. Like many other pro-style appliances, new gas cooktops from Bosch, DCS, Fisher & Paykel, and Miele offered little value. A pro-style gas range from Thermador performed well, but baking was mediocre. In our last survey of stand-alone ranges, Thermador and Viking were relatively repair-prone gas brands and Jenn-Air was among the more repair-prone electric brands. Our new data indicates that Thermador and Viking have also been repair-prone for gas cooktops, while Dacor, Jenn-Air, and Thermador have been repair-prone for electric wall ovens." I think this is from the Nov. 2005 issue, so you may want to check out the hard copy -- online ratings/reviews require a subscription, otherwise I'd set up the link. The GE Profile came in much higher in their rankings than Bosch.

Oh no, you should still be concerned about mercury. A non-pregnant friend of mine got mercury poisoning, apparently from eating tuna steak (I think she ate it a few times a week). She had to go through a rather unpleasant series of chelating treatments to get it out of her system.

I don't like buying whipped schmear because I'm opposed to paying for air. I try to stick with a little room-temp softening for spreadability. Of course, don't ask me for consistency in my financial principles -- I regularly purchase bottled water for convenience.

What causes my hunger? Right now I'm constantly hungry, namely from nursing a 7-week old baby. I definitely have been experiencing the "I need carbs" feeling after workouts. Interesting that pregnancy and nursing seem to have exacerbated this feeling -- all that fluctuating blood chemistry. Early in pregnancy, I didn't get morning sickness so much as the feeling I would pass out if I didn't have a bottle of gatorade in my hands at all times. On a psychological level, I can crave food (though I wouldn't call it hunger) when I want to be comforted (although, isn't there some physiological basis to this?). But also taste memories can get me going. Like last night watching the Iron Chef America featuring duck. Just the thought of duck dishes from the past can get both my tear and salivary ducts going.

Yes, those are two in the fridge right now, in addition to an asiago caesar. I'm a vinaigrette girl most of the time.

Glad to hear my saffron isn't the oldest around, although mine really is saffron. My husband picked it up in Turkey in 1998 when he was deployed. He got a ton of it, and I've only used a few threads.

Growing up we had some sort of salad most nights. While my parents were hardly adventurous eaters or particularly scrupulous about high quality ingredients, they did (and still do) maintain veggie gardens 3 seasons of the year. So while there was the ubiquitous iceberg most of the time, there was also homegrown toms, cukes, radish, peppers, carrots. Later my dad got into growing his own leaf and bibb lettuces and spinach. Never saw dressing made by hand at home -- I mainly went for the Wish Bone Italian those days, or Marie's Creamy Italian. And I never did care for a whole lot of dressing. What I get a kick out of though is thinking about the influenced-by-canned-foods-revolution salads my mom would churn out. Canned pears topped with a dab of mayo and a bit of shredded velveeta (I kid you not). Canned asparagus with a bit of mayo (I think, I never actually ate that one). And something involving canned peas and the orange "French" dressing. I too love salads, and will throw just about anything into them. I also like making my own dressing, but more often rely on Brianna's and the like. I like them as a meal -- grilled meat on some nice greens is oh-so-easy. And I like them as a side or first course as a convenient way to get my veggies in. As a tribute to my mom I feel compelled to add something she has probably told me about at least ten times in the past year. When she washes her lettuce, she dries it by putting it into a zippered mesh lingerie bag and tossing it into the dryer on the air/no heat setting. I stick to my zyliss spinner.

Merci, Brooks.

Merci, cher! File (possibly Zatarain's) is sold in stores here, but I'm skeptical of its freshness. And worse than that, in the last few years, I've come across file which is actually sassafras and thyme. I don't know if this is done because thyme is cheaper than sassafras or what, but I was quite UNpleasantly surprised by this once when I'd made a gumbo for 20 people. I like thyme, but I like even more to know what I'm using. If I could find an artisanal/handmade source, that would be cool.

Actually, local folks are often used in motorcades for POTUS. The assortment may have just looked more motley than usual due to the circumstances.

ooh, ooh, can I get some of that file? Seriously, my mom used to get me La Caboose file, I think at Festivals Acadiens, and now she claims she can't find it. I'd love to get my hands on some really well made stuff. Love the FEMA gumbo recipe, by the way.

Amen to that. I'll have to add this to my list of place to visit when we go home this winter. I plan on a trip to New Orleans similar to one we took to NY in October, 2001 -- go just to drop some cash (meager though our contribution may be) into the economy.

As for Milagai's question about beans -- beans and bean dishes are often perceived as unsophisticated, probably because they are so inexpensive and end up on the tables of so many poor people. But the US doesn't have the corner on bean prejudice. Bean soupis a legendary staple in the Congressional members' dining rooms. I know a former Congressman who was entertaining a foreign dignitary there (I think from a South American country, but don't quote me) who was quite offended at the suggestion that he eat bean soup since that was poor people's food. Me? I love beans. And I would be perfectly willing to try a veg restaurant if there were one in town. But I like Holly's suggestion that veg restaurants offer a meat option.

Yay! File under carpe diem... I've never been to Galatoire's, and was truly saddened by the thought of never having experienced it. Next trip to NO I will not skip it!

Duh...don't know why I didn't think of this earlier. Contact Marcelle Bienvenu. I think she writes a column for the Times of Acadiana.

My mom would make a green tomato chocolate cake. It was dense and moist, not too chocolatey and not too sweet. Don't think I have the recipe though...

Do ice cream flavors count? I've been calling my newborn son Chunky Monkey.

When I was home in Lafayette this Spring I looked through my grandmother's old recipes. Included were some newspaper recipe clippings for squirrel. I think they were from (what is now) the Daily Advertiser. And probably any older cookbook from the area would have some recipes. As for persimmons, I like mine super ripe and unadulterated. Mmmmm....