foodie52

I think that major supermarkets have to start carrying key products besides couscous and harissa in order for that cuisine to take off. We have one person in town who packages Ethiopian foods to go - they are interesting but if I don't have all the ingredients to recreate this at home, I'm going to lost interest. We carried some African sauces for a while - beautiful packaging. But apart from the label saying "Use this over chicken", the product didn't convey a whole lot. Doesn't it all boil down to marketing? And the Food Network? Chef! Time for your own show!!!! I'll watch.

Bakewise is very late in coming; at least one year past its intended publishing date, I believe. Shirley has been under "house arrest" while she finishes this eagerly awaited baking book! I think it is supposed to be released this October. I may be wrong. Anyone??

In the freezer right now: Tres Generaciones. I love that. I drink it straight as a sipper. I like Cazadores as well. I used to love Herradura when we could go down to Laredo and bring it back for $14 a liter. I also like El Tesoro a lot. I think the flavor profiles of a traditionally distilled blue agave tequila can change from year to year. Don't you?

Well, somebody's buying them , because we are still carrying them. I wonder if the grape Kool-aid also acts as a preservative because they seem to have an amazing shelf life.

Lots of good ideas here.http://www.bhg.com/home/Smoothie-Recipes.html. Basically, I like to use any kind of frozen fruit available. Availability is VERY important when teaching a class. You don't want people to have to hunt down ingredients! I use frozen peaches and blueberries the most. Fresh bananas. Yogurt for the protein. Orange juice. It's pretty simple.

I like it, but we don't use more than one bottle every six months , if that. I use more Sriracha. I love condiments....especially Branston Pickle! The original. But nothing beats a dollop of ketchup on a crisp, salty, hot french fry.

Duck cracklins, liberally sprinkled with kosher salt.

The people I like to invite for dinner are all foodies - most of them work where I do - so none of us are scared to entertain. Usually it's a " Hey, I'm cooking brisket - why don't you come over this weekend and bring a side." It's very laid back, but this way there are no expectations and nobody is keeping count.

Kitty Crider's award-nominated Austin American Statesman article on baking biscuits for her dying mother was very nice.

I just reduced fresh tangerine juice to a tablespoon, poured it over half a stick of butter and mixed it up. Stuck it in the freezer for a while, then took it out and pushed it all under game hen skins, along with some fresh sage. Basted them with the juices...... Wow, that was GOOD

Choosing one night a week for pizza night is a fab idea. Friday night is pizza night! The kids have that to look forward to and can't complain that they never get it. And you get that well-deserved break! My pediatrician always told me that, if the kids get their multi vitamin every day, the vegs aren't critical at that age. So I tried not to sweat it. Also, I'd only put like, ONE green bean on their plate, or just a spoonful of rice. No sauces. Apparently children's palates are much more sensitive than adults' and they taste foods differently. And I divided the foods up on the plate so that nothing mixed in with each other. I know that sounds weird, but most kids like their food separate from each other. I told the kids that they had to have one bite. That's all. But they had to stay at the table and eat with us until they were excused. I tried not to make a big deal about eating because that's how some eating disorders begin. Motherhood.......wish it came with a manual.

Why were you making ten different meals for everyone in the first place? Now you have some behavior modification to do! Just cook stuff that you know is good for them and that everyone likes more or less. Stay away at first from the hard core "different" foods. Stick with meatloaf....porkchops....green beans, rice, etc. The kinds of foods that are everyday. When you all sit down to the table, do NOT respond to negative comments! Smile, count to 10 and say," Gosh, I'm sorry you don't care for green beans, but this is what we are having for dinner." Nobody died from not eating before they went to bed. I guarantee that after a couple evenings of not finishing dinner, your little darlings will get the hint. But you have to be firm and committed to this:BOTH of you. Hubby doesn't get to say, "Awwww....poor babies...let me make you a sandwich instead." Try it and let us know how that works out. PS: I've raised two foodie children who are now 25 and 21 and eat everything!

My heart bleeds for the poor restaurant critic....is it policy that you have to be crabby once in a while? And anyway, I thought "critiquing" meant that you left your bad moods at home and tried to be as objective as possible. I like amuses. I like those itty bitty plates and cups and what have you. It puts me in a good mood.

Anybody else remember the cult of the "Cuisine Minceur" of the late 70's? Was given the book ( help me out..who WAS that famous French chef????)opened it once, couldn't give it away at my last garage sale.

Geez. I just wish Rachael and Emeril would get married and have their own show, all hours everyday..... Isn't that just the ultimate food network show?

The last time we were in Scotland we stayed at a B&B in Inverness. On the first morning, the proprietess said, "You've GOT to try my oatmeal brooly: I won first prize for it in a contest." Mystified, we agreed . Out came a bowl of oatmeal with a sugar crust on top. It was her famous Oatmeal Brulee!

All Arabica is high mountain. Coffee doesn't grow low down.

Sometimes I cut it really , really fine, almost like a chiffonade, then stirfry with garlic and olive oil. A little seasalt at the end and it's done.

I'm not sure I'd want to buy something from a place that doesn't include the operating manual. What are they going to do with it? Do they take it out of the box before shipping? Are they selling it on the black market???? Very strange.

I didn't have a supper club, but I DID have two neighbors who had kids round about the same age as mine, AND the same philosophy about food as I ( fresh is best, easy is good, etc.) SO, what we did for about a year is this: One person cooked once a week for all three families. Instead of popping one chicken in the oven, I put in three. Made triple mashed potatoes and triple green beans. Put it all on platters and got my husband to bring it over to the other two families. So I got a break two days out of the week from cooking. We shared cooking responsibilities during the week, so that was helpful as well. It was really cool, and also a treat because you never knew what was going to show up and you didn't have to prepare it!

Yes: those dried sausages ARE delicious! I ate plenty of them when I was a child.

My German grandmother used to call something delicious "ein Leckerbissen". My favorite things to bring back from Switzerland (my parents are in Luzern) are: socks! Knitting yarn cookbooks (by Betty Bose (sp)) Knorr packets for things I can't get here...fun things like Mehlsuppe or Currysauce Cailler chocolate: melt in your mouth Dried herb blends from Migros Marzipan French and North African olive oils Mini bottles of Kirsch and Pflumli for all my friends

Try here http://www.sainte-alvere.com/uk_accueil.asp ← And take out a second mortgage on your house while you're ordering....

How good ARE they?

Isn't truffle season over?