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Toast Boxes My Mother used to occasionally make these for my Brother, Sister and I when we were little. Bread, store bought white - 1 slice/person Butter, enough for number of slices Toast Bread, medium to well done works best Butter Bread Cut Toasted Bread into 16 pieces a bit larger than 3/4" square. You should end up with four crustless interior squares, eight four-sided pieces with crust on one edge and two pieces with crust on two adjacent edges, and two three-sided pieces with two straight sides and one curved crusted edge each Reassemble the pieces in the shape of the original slice, and serve on a small plate with a fork For some reason we considered these to be a special treat, perhaps because eating toast with a fork seemed rather exotic. PS: Toast Boxes also make an excellent base for hot beef or hot turkey sandwiches. Keywords: Side, Easy ( RG1618 )

It works better if you slice 90 degrees from the seam, or up to the flat sides of the pit. SB ← That's good to know. ← You can also slice around the circumference horizontally. This way, (just as when you slice 90 degrees from the crease), the sharp edges of the pit become a cutter as you twist the peach halves, as opposed to trying to break the pit loose along it's strongest points of attachment. SB (it works okay with plums too)

Just because a high fat diet can contribute to cancer or heart disease there was never really any reason to believe a low fat diet would have an opposite effect. It may seem logical, thus worthy of study, (although I don't know 415 million dollars worth?), but our bodies mechanisms don't function in accordance with grammatical rules of the English language. A premise based on an opposite doesn't change cause and effect into effect and cause. Common sense would seem to provide a better conclusion; that too much or too little of anything isn't good. SB (too bad "common sense" has become an oxymoron)

It works better if you slice 90 degrees from the seam, or up to the flat sides of the pit. SB

A fish goes "swish" .... as it gets away! SB (which "the big ones" often do!)

I love to make it with my 2.5 yr old Grandson when Mom and Nana are gone. We both use his little blue plastic bowls and eat while sitting on the couch, which Nana would not approve of! SB (and he puts Ketchup on his)

Pig, cow and sheep probably all originated as onomatopedic representations of the sounds the animals make? SB (or maybe not)

For instance, King Arthur's Pie & Pastry Flour is an unbleached flour with 9.2% protein. Their cake flour, appropriately known as Queen Guinevere, is bleached and has only 8% protein. SB

King Arthur resisted producing a pastry flour for many years, and they suggested substituting 2 Tbl of cornstarch for an equal amount of flour in each cup used to lower the gluten. SB (has done it with moderate success)

I started buying donuts at the bakery every morning about the same time I quit smoking. I often choose the colored sprinkles because they're so cheerful. SB (didn't gain any weight though)

Personally, I like Emeril and give him a lot of credit. However, there are an awful lot of people, many of whom post here, who don't care for his personality and unfortunately allow that to color their judgement of his culinary talents. SB (cook and let cook, that's all I say)

yes SB

I've been hesitant to chime in too much on the smoking bit, even though I was a heavy smoker for many years, because my "quitting" was more like an epiphanic cessation than an act of will. The subject has taken on so many political and social implications it's easy to lose track of the basics. It's difficult to seperate anecdotal from statisitcal information when it comes to smoking, but on the theory that any odd bit of information might prove helpful to somebody, I offer these thoughts. Nicotene is, in it's own way, a wonder drug. It's one of very few substances that can act as either a stimulant or a depressive. It's cheap and easily administered, and therein lies the problem. Most of the harmful effects are inherent in the delivery sytem, ie: smoke. Most of us have our first experience with tobacco courtesy of a "friend". Often these cigarette were purloined from someone's parents. (My parents didn't smoke, but I remember my friend Sootch's Mom smoked Salem 100's and his Dad Chesterfield straights. Quite a combination!) Many people's experience with smoking never advances beyond this stage, but .... Nicotene is such a powerfully addicting substance that when you reach the point of actually purchasing your first pack, the odds are one in ten that you will pretty much be a smoker for life. You can make pretty good money betting against people trying to quit. In fact, you used to be able to give 10-1 odds and still come out ahead! Of those who manage to quit via various methods, (cold turkey, patch, gum, hypnosis, group therapy etc), the percentage who are successful long term is about the same. People who are of average weight and smoke moderately don't exhibit significantly more health problems than those who don't smoke. However, smoking seems to multiply any other health risks exponentially, especially being overweight. Since we never know what health problems we may develop in the future, not smokling or quitting is the safest way to go. I don't claim my opinions are based on the latest scientific information, but neither is most of the quit smoking information we see. You have to wonder when most of the anti-smoking ads we see are funded by tobacco companies after they, the government, and the plaintiff's attornies cut themselves a mutually profitable deal at smokers expense? I don't mean to play devil's advocate, or discourage anybody. The point is, lots of people have quit. It ain't always easy, but it can be done. SB (best wishes)

It's not so surprising when you think about it? Smoking is about taste! Sure, it's a nasty, addicting habit when done to excess, but initially you do enjoy the flavor. The olfactory aspect of tasting would seem to play a prominent role. (Smoke tastes different when exhaled through the nose or mouth.) Certain other flavors, like coffee, go especially well with tobacco. Chocolate too, if I recall correctly. I can't off the top of my head remember any foods that didn't go particularly well with a smoke .... milk maybe? That's why there are so many different brands of cigarettes. And then there are cigars smokers, and you don't even want to begin to thinking about pipe tobaccos. After not smoking for many years I still maintain that one of the freshest, most delicious tastes extant is the first Pall Mall taken from a new pack. Even the second one isn't nearly as good. Then you have to smoke 18 more before you can open another pack. That's where the problem begins. SB (If they sold Pall Malls individually wrapped I'd probably still smoke)

Here are more "secrets": http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/fruitcakesec.htm I really think most pros and/or competitors use a glaze during baking, or a wash afterwards, to seal the top. The tip about putting foil over the loaves so the don't dry out too fast would also help in this regard. SB

Here's a story about a fruit cake competition: http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/sa/content/2005/s1453430.htm It's not much help. but it does mention cracking. SB (still suspects there are "tricks of the trade")

Competitions have rules. Rules are subject to interpretation. A glaze is not icing .... so maybe brush the loaves with honey? If you don't want to push the envelope, at least take a close look at the other entries and see if they may have resorted to such trickery. SB (also good at uncovering cover-ups)

Add a nice honey glaze and pretend the cracks are intentional! SB (expert at cover-ups)

I agree. Reality based culinary competitions are like giving the Super Bowl trophey to the team that knows the most Rolling Stones lyrics. But most people apparently can't come to grips with the idea of Emeril being "Top Chef"! SB

[ FLASHBACK! I haven't thought of this in many years. My Mother used to make us a "special treat" called Toast Boxes. It was just toast cut into squares and served on a plate! SB (has a clever Mother)

I have no regard for lipstick, and very little for etiquette, but in consideration of decency I tear messy or sloppy items into smaller pieces so as not to mess up my luxuriant Fu Manchu style mustache. I suspect other men with facial hair do the same thing? SB (hasn't been able to eat an ice cream cone in many years)

How about Bologna? SB (not a big Proust fan)

What does the cornstarch have to do with this? SB (at first glance thought you said "Velveeting"!)

Besides being a chef and tv personality, Emeril is a very successful businessman . He has feduciary responsibility to his financial backers and associates that can complicate matters under unusual circumstances. Unfortunately, in business as in personal dealings, some issues can never be resolved to the satisfaction of all parties. I don't know what size shoes Emeril wears, but I've walked nary a step, let alone a mile in them.

When I stopped smoking, (which is a more accurate way to describe it since "quitting" implies a conscious decision), I didn't gain any weight. But I didn't save up any money either. It's never bothered me when others smoke, (GF smokes about a half pack a day), but even if it did I'd need a lot of nerve to complain after all the places I smoked up over the years. About the only residual behavior I can trace back to smoking is carrying a toothpick in my teeth during long distance driving. And, just in case you might think I was one of those people who smoked but wasn't physically addicted, I used to actually dream about how many cigarettes were left in my pack for the next morning! It didn't kill me; you should be able to do it! SB (noticed almost all the "quitters" were on this thread a few moments ago)