Kevin Weeks

According to Harold McGee's experiments in The Curious Cook (page 118) a single egg yolk can emulsify 100 cups of oil.

Varmint, Chopping BBQ just ain't right -- it's like praying in a casino -- BBQ should be pulled. But either way over-saucing has killed more 'Q than any other sin. Kevin

Tracey, http://www.metropulse.com/dir_suncity/dir_...rg_feature.html Dixson's is probably the best that's at least somewhat convenient to Chilhowee Park. Buddy's is a local chain and can be found all over Knoxville. It's good, if not great. Kevin

Therese, Hmmmm. I think I disagree. I think a fundamental part of the experience is the way it lasts for several hours after you've eaten. I hadn't heard of the Majestic. I'll have to put it on my list. And to return to the subject of good food, have you been to Tierra? Kevin

I managed to avoid both. Although a couple of times (many, many years ago) I auditioned with a bluegrass band at Dollywood. And I did spend a summer playing in Gatlinburg. But I was young and foolish back then.

It's a great technique.

I don't recall. I was researching harissa recipes online and ran across mentions of it a couple of times (not in the harrisa itself). Sorry I can't offer more info.

Can you elaborate on this succinct comment? I would love to hear about the food there. ← I've never had what I would call a good meal in that area and only one or two that were decent. I take that back, there's a Cracker Barrel in Pigeon Forge and it's good for what it is. But then you can eat at Cracker Barrel most anywhere without having to deal with PF/Gatlinburg. Having grown up in Knoxville, I've come to regard the "Entrance to the Great Smokey Mountains" with about the same favor as the the "Entrance to Eternal Damnation." Although I suspect the BBQ is better in the latter place.

The Varsity is the most famous. You've got to eat there at least once -- which may be often enough.

You might consider cooking in parchment. It makes a really elegant presentation and halibut would be a good choice for it.

I've run across North African or Turkish/Lebanese recipes using file. Kevin

Somewhere else.

The other night I boiled some little fingerling potatoes, mashed them coarsley with a fork, drizzled with a Spanish olive oil, added a touch of white pepper, and liberally grated Parmigiano over the top. Wonderful!

I bought my Cuisinart in 1977. I was manager of a gift store that started carrying them and so I also got mine at a discount. Nevetheless, my wife's reaction was, "You spent HOW MUCH for a mixer?!" And on a retail store manager's salary, even discounted, it was an excessive purchase -- or seemed so. I've been using that same machine for 28 years. I even created my own pulse switch for it by running a cord from a wall outlet to a light switch and outlet that I mounted on a butcher-block worktable. I'd love to replace it with a new model with a larger work bowl, but I haven't been able to justify it because these days I don't use it nearly as often. I find an old Waring blender my mother gave me better for making purees and sauces. My Kitchen Aid is better at mixing dough and grinding meat and easier to clean after grating cheese for pizza or fondue. I still use a hand mixer for whipping cream or egg whites. But if I need finely ground parmesan nothing works better and for gazpacho with a bit of texture it can't be beat. Pastry is a dream as are duxelles. And if I were ever reduced to a single counter appliance, the Cuisinart would be my choice as it was for many years after I first bought it.

According to Harold McGee most people who are lactose intolerant can nevertheless consume up to a cup of milk a day (there's much less than that in a serving) without problems and cheese is almost completely lactose-free. If you used milk treated with Aspergillus (the enzme that breaks down lactose) your husband could eat it without any worries and you wouldn't have to eat an entire casserole of mac-n-cheese by yourself... Oh... Never mind. Kevin

I've had it with bread crumbs, saltines and Ritz crackers, French's fried onions, and potato chips, but it's getting damned hard to find a properly baked mac-n-cheese anywhere. Personally, I prefer adding extra cheese to the top where it browns and get's crusty. I have one other innovation, as well. I grease the casserole with Crisco and then dust it (as for a cake or souffle) with finely ground parmesan. This creates a wonderfully crisp crust all around the dish -- and makes cleanup a tad easier.

I did grits with a crawfish sauce a couple of weeks back.

Weaver's Cafeteria on Middlebrook Pike. It's about as old-time Southern as it gets. Kevin

My favorite part is the wishbone (no, we didn't call it a pulley bone and I never heard it called that, and yes, I was born and raised in Tenn. and my parents in Al.). I drive a Camry, which for some reason seems to correlate. Kevin

It occurred to me the other day that some people eat to live, other live to eat, and that to no small extent I eat to cook. Kevin