highchef

a supplier for my husbands office brought plate lunches from Zea's...in Lafayette. I thought it was a regular meat and 3's but turns out (after a google search) that it is a chain. I'm not much for driving a couple of hundred miles to check out a chain, but the lunch he brought home was pretty good..normal hot plate. However, he's enamoured, as is his staff, with what I see on their menu is called roasted corn grits. I would have thought is was more of a cornbread 'spoonbread' cassarole with roasted corn and some green onion, some chicken broth..pretty much what we make for the holidays, but with roasted corn instead of shrimp/crawfish/oysters. Has anyone tried this place and know what I'm talking about...? I think I may have obligated myself to trying to replicate it for their next office party. Thanks!

Hi again, help please. Shellfishfiend, please tell where is Herby K's? Can you advise where a Southern Made donut shop is near here? Thanks, we have big breaks between games on Sat.

I have never tried to make a ham from 'scratch'..always wondered though. I hope someone answers for you, so we can both find out! About the swift's ham, I know there's a lot of pressed ham in tins, I'll do a search for you. I have one in the pantry but can't for the life of me remember the name. When I get home, I'll check.

I will be there weekend after easter as well, I hope someone helps us both out. I really would like a good soul food joint, let me know if you find it.

if your going to Galway, at least go on to Clifden, and then to the coast....

the bananna is heavier, and it drops, in the time you have it squished, it's already blackening...and it's heavier than the dough. Try.....throwing flour on your banannas before mixing them in... you know, I've had this same problem, but it seems like I took the whites out of the egg and whipped them up to a stiff point, mix and/fold and with the dough folded with the mix it makes it lighter./

I wash my sinks with lysol every morning and again at night after clean up. I rinse with hot water (heater is on high, I like hot water HOT). I think that's plenty clean, huh? I'm not big on using one cutting board for fish, one for meat, one for chicken, etc...but I do just use one board for what I'm cutting, then throw it in the dishwasher and if I need another one I get it out. each board goes into the dishwasher after use. The washer is set for heat dry as well. I know I'm pretty strict onl hand washing in my kitchen. Even the neighborhood kids won't touch food without washing their hands first cause they know I'll ream em. (ever have a kid come in from playing football and stick their hands in a big, newly opened bag of chips?)

My first thought is things to go with your cheese. pepper jellies, quince paste, sweet jalapano rings. My second is a top notch coffee selection. third is dessert wines...with cards that describe the cheeses/fruits that go best with them (or cheesecakes). then, really cool cheese trays, knives. know what I have trouble finding? domes. cheese domes, cake domes that fit 4 layers of cake and are 9 inches in diameter, square domes for square cakes...forget that, not gonna happen!

I'm clueless about the subject (gellee), but interested in the concept of a layer over the ganache in truffles. Would a port jelly do the same thing? I know I've seen such a thing...somewhere. I think it was a clearer thing, like a dark brown apple jelly.

I believe chef johnny, it's your turn to suggest a menu item!

I've gotten better, no appliances at all ON the counter. however, my cabinets are full of things that I sometimes use. Now someone start a thread of the stuff that's really on our countertops!

secret? but not around here, (maybe, lately) is file' powder. I also like tony chacherie's, but I eat a lot of seafood during lent.

Dario, how do you do the rice w/meatballs? Is this made as a risotto? or just like regular meatballs in red sauce but served w/rice instead of pasta? Thanks for the help. I made risotto last friday and added some mushrooms, pretty good but next I'll add some shrimp.

shrimp remoulade (sp) easy if you mix the shrimp w/sauce and mound in bowl w/crackers for everyone to help themselves. the cheaper smaller shrimp work great for this. Hot crab dip, so bad for you but the tastiest thing ever. If you have access to baby eggplant, stuffed veggies w/again the crabmeat... stuffed artichokes gumbo imho...30lbs of crawfish isn't a whole lot...

If you can find it, check out Time Life's series. I think it's Cooking of the World, but mine is boxed up and I can't find it...I think it's under all the stuff from my mil's house. anyway, there is one on Japanese cooking..the whole thing is very worth while getting. Try to make sure the little recipe books are with it. That's not a huge thing, but a very valuable one.

I understand how much work is still to be done. Our summer is filled with cleaning up property in Cameron. I'm glad you'll still be with us Brooks, you helped me a lot before/during/after Rita and I know how your heart breaks as you drive through N.O.. I've been there several times since and have done my best for my friends and family...all who are now back in rebuilt homes and making the best of things. It's hard, as most of them are teachers. It's a community rebuilding, and I've seen a lot of good from it. My friends who are in nursing are having a bad time. It'll be better in the end, I hope and pray. I know the people of Cameron have preserverred (sp?) (Brooks! couldn't you at least have gotton us a spell check while you were on the board!!) And I know the parishes' of New Orleans, Jefferson, as well as the Mississippi coast are still sawing, hammering and nailing, as we are here. Good going. Patty

Oh, but does your wife have e-gullet? tell us what she brings home and you'll have a great meal.

Hammond? Or Ponchatoulia (sp) (sometimes spelling Louisiana towns is pretty difficult, especially for me. I've been over the basin a thousand times, spell it? I'm lucky I can pronounce it!). I put them up every(almost) year. I make them like fig preserves, but don't cook as long. If you bring to a boil and put them up asap, they'll stay in fairly good shape. I don't like to cook them any more than I have to to get the product to set. If I had a way to set without pectin, i.e. without boiling at all I would. I've considered just boiling syrup, adding fruit and then adding pectin, but am afraid there must be more heat in the fruit to kill 'whatever' needs to be killed. I know there is a danger to home canning and don't want family and friends to fall victim to my misjudgement....so I add a big dose of liquor in the end. Between a short boil, and a shot or two, I figure I've killed all the bad guys. I'm using chocolate liquor now, but am thinking of trying something new. I might get in trouble though, everyone loves my Hammond strawberry preserves. Let us know what you turn out, this could be a good thing!

Do you think we could figure out this cake next? I loved the icing, Dad used to get bent because I'd eat half of it off the top, and pick out the raisens. I'd love a piece of this cake today, raisens and all!

we had Mary B's Sunday morning. I bought the huge ones, 10 to a bag. One filled me up. They're so good it's not really worth it to make homemade anymore...unless they're bisquits to go with dinner and I want to show off. I love the buttermilk ones, they're the closest thing to homemade I've ever had. Only sllightly less calories than popeyes. I really need to check the fats etc on those things, that's the only reason to limit using them. Can you freeze homemade bisquits like that? That would be a useful thing to know.

OK, now I'm thinking of a reverse rootbeer float. rootbeer in the whipped cream, vanilla (cherry?) soda and ? icecream??? This could go on forever... This thread is why I bought rootbeer this week.

If it's clumping your worried about, do as we do in Louisiana..put a wee bit of rice in the shaker. It breaks the salt up when you 'shake' and absorbes moisture from the air...we're pretty humid around here too. Honestly, though, the only time I see this anymore is in the older resturants..mostly the mom and pop places. I don't do it, but my parents did. I think it's a holdover from pre-a/c days. I have lots of different salts now, and with a/c I've never had the clumping problem. I use coarse salt when cooking, but as noted above, it dissolves anyway. I use coarse salt because it's easy to handle, and throw into a hot pot. but if it's humid, and you don't have the air on, the rice trick works.

sometimes the easiest thing to do is to go directly to the site of one of your main ingredients. Like cream cheese..I go to John Folse's site, because he has a dairy, but also to kraft and organic farms. all the large labels have huge recipe data bases on their sites. I mean, for example, check out hormel. I go crazy with epicurious because of the damn popups that my blocker ignores or doesn't see...they crawl across whatever you're trying to read and sit there for about 3 seconds too long. BUT! Of all the recipe sites I've ever seen, I've never seen a better rating system. I sort by fork ratings and go from there. The ability for people to tell you their problems with a recipe are invaluable. They're also good for a laugh, because half the time they've subbed ingredients to the extent that's it's really not the same dish anymore. I do love that recipe review anyhow. You just have to weed out the reviews that screwed it up...you can opt to add any review to your printed recipe too, and that's cool. If someone has a comment that you think is wise, then the notation is already on your recipe when you print. I wish foodtv reviews were the same.

I have a very, very high instep. standing in my kitchen on tile floor KILLS my feet. I can get away with my tempurpedic slippers doing breakfast, but then I have to have some support. I tried gelmats, but was having to wash them outside 2-3 times a week. I have lots of boys through my kitchen every day, eating and walking around, so floors have to be swept often and mats and rugs washed. I gave up with the mats and rugs and found some shoes that support my feet. I got a pair of mbt's..they've helped my back, support my feet, and have improved my posture. I hope they've improved my butt too. so far no comments on that. They are expensive, but I've worn mine every day for 18 months. I put 2 miles a day on the treadmill after I've cleaned up and only take them off when I'm leaving the house. On weekends I'll keep them on longer. They are ultra supportive footwear. Here's a link http://www.swissmasaius.com/Default.aspx?lang=en-US. I did warn you they are expensive? Mine are almost 2 years old now and are doing great so I guess I'm getting my money's worth.

When I get specks I pot roast them with turnips. that's the only time I ever cook them. I think chaote squash get a bum rap. easy to grow, and great matchsticked in a salad. Cooked and stuffed they can handle and compliment everything from a delicate crab mix to italian sausage. Now i'm going to have to hit the farmers market in the morning, I feel a ratatouille (sp)coming on.