Jaymes

Yes, there are "loads of recipes on the net" and loads of recipes here on eGullet, since we've already talked about it many, many, many times. Yes, there are versions that are "not rich not particularly moist....blah blah blah," just like every single other type of cake for which many recipes exist. But there are also versions that are extremely rich and extremely moist and extremely flavorful. Several are posted on eGullet, including mine. At its best, it is in fact one of the most rich, moist and flavorful of cakes, possessing the tang of buttermilk and vinegar, and a subtle underlay of chocolate. And also in fact, it was very popular before "that movie with Julia Roberts," and many locales around the US even had Red Velvet Cake cookoffs, some of which, at state fairs, my recipe won, long before the movie. In my personal opinion, different strokes for different folks. But, hey, no offense taken.

Don't know if you ever made Leche Quemada to your satisfaction, but I was looking through my old recipes and found this one, from a friend that was raised in Falfurrias, down in the valley, close to Kingsville. I'm sure it's the same thing as what would have been served in that restaurant. Leche Quemada (Mexican milk candy) 1 3/4 C sugar 4 C whole milk 2 t vanilla Whole pecan halves, if desired Combine sugar and milk in heavy large saucepan. Bring to a boil, and then turn down the heat until candy is rolling at a very low boil. Stir frequently (actually, 'constantly' is better, if you can manage it) until the candy is thick enough that when you stir it, you can see the bottom of the pan. This will take a while, at least one hour. Be very careful not to burn it, but you need it to be well-thickened. Take off of heat and stir in vanilla. Pour candy into buttered 4 x 8 loaf pan. You're going to cut the cooled candy into pieces, so if you want a pecan half on top of each one, you have to estimate where you're going to be cutting, and press the pecan halves into each piece while the candy is still hot. When the candy cools completely, cut into squares or oblongs. PS -- Some restaurants in south Texas add shredded coconut to this, and omit the pecans.

How about the Aussies? Anywhere serving Aussie Pie? Oi oi oi?

I love this. Thanks.

Me, too. I whip some heavy cream and fold in a little sugar and Meyer's Rum to top my key lime pies. MUCH better than meringue.

You know, way back when I 'registered,' nobody registered for anything other than your patterns of china, sterling flatware and crystal at the nicest department store in town. That makes a big difference, I think. These days, when everyone registers for everything from expensive dining ware at Dillards to pots and pans and appliances at Bed Bath & Beyond to dish drainers and paper towel holders at Target to hammers and nails and saws and drills at Home Depot, it's a bit much for me. Because I 'registered,' we got 14 complete place settings of my 'good' dishes, my sterling flatware, and my crystal. I'm forever grateful for that, because those were luxuries I never would have bought myself when I was a young, new bride. Even our very first Thanksgiving, we had both sets of parents over, and our table looked lovely. We couldn't have done it without those wedding gifts. And because of that, my children grew up in a home with a nice table to gather around at special occasion meals. Neither I nor they would have been able to manage that until I was much older. The saws and hammers and plywood and dishtowels, on the other hand, I was just fine buying on my own.

Robyn...Affordable, good food doesn't have to be fattening. Lots of working class folks (like cops) can't afford going to places that are $50 and up per person. There are a great many small places with excellent and inexpensive food that are NOTHING like Golden Corral. Not to mention that Golden Corral hardly qualifies as "off the beaten path." I guess I don't understand the point of your post. Would you rather Chris' show focus on delicious, out-of-the-way, little-known, four-star, expensive restaurants with our-of-the-way, little-known celebrity chefs?

Actually, that sounds a lot like the cold cream of avocado soup I love to serve as a starter in the warm months. Although I suspect the taste would be similar, I'm sure your foam was delicious and a lot more unusual.

I know next to nothing about DC, but I have lived in other cities where there are a lot of embassies and consulates. I always go round and chat up the staff to see if there are any good and cheap ethnic eats nearby. There is invariably an inexpensive cafe somewhere within walking distance that caters to the embassy staff. I particularly remember a Russian meal close to the Soviet embassy in Tokyo and a favorite Japanese restaurant close to the Japanese embassy in Panama City. So you might hit that angle in DC. Call some of the embassies and ask where the staff eats. That's certainly a unique and interesting aspect of DC.

Interesting. I love those taste-test things. My own recipe calls for a homemade salsa de jalapeno that I make first. It has a little bit of garlic in it, so my guacamole does have garlic, but very little. I think I'll also do a taste test. Sounds like a great afternoon, making and testing guac. Wish I'd thought of it before.

There is also a lot of good info on this subject in previous threads on the topic. Here's one of them....Baby foods, formula, etc.

I've never done that, but am not scandalized. But do have my eyebrows raised. I've never even thought specifically of adding eggs to guac, but now that you mention it, I do love avocados with eggs in other applications. I often add both hard-eggs and avocados to my tossed salads, and as they get jumbled around, they kind of break down and meld into each other. Also, love avocados in my ommelettes, so again, eggs and avocados. I'm pretty sure it's a brilliant idea and I'm going to try it. Thanks for posting that.

I registered for everything and got a great deal of my china, sterling and crystal. I really hadn't planned to, but MIL, a southern society lady, insisted. I told her several times that I wasn't going to because that just wasn't "me," but she said her many friends were driving her nuts about what to get us and would I please just register somewhere so that they'd all stop asking her. I cannot tell you how happy I am that I went ahead and did it. I have entertained often through the years and the table always looked so beautiful. I've loved every single piece, and now have a daughter and two daughters-in-law that love it also. I'll be dividing it up among them when they finally haul me off to the 'home.' I insisted my own daughter register as well, and even though she's only been married two years, we've already been to their home for three formal dinners. Her table looks lovely. I did give her some advice, though, which she took and which I'll pass on here. It's true that as you age, your tastes change. It's fine if you want to get avant garde stainless that stands on its sides, or heavy, unwieldy square pottery plates, or awkward, oversized glasses, in the cheap stuff. Believe me, after a few years of trying to grasp those forks, and lift those plates, you'll eventually tire of them. So when it comes to the expensive stuff, select simple and traditional styles. That's right, stuff that your mother and her friends would have selected. Those traditional styles will stand you in good stead through 20, 30, 40, and even 50 years of entertaining and setting all types of tables. And if it does turn out that you don't use it, it'll be much easier to sell.

We've actually touched upon this subject before. There are a great many other amusing stories regarding the pluses and minuses and perils of giving out recipes HERE.

Oh boy, you're right. That's hilarious. Laughed so hard, got tears in my eyes. Here's a line or two, regarding substitutions she made for the Honey Apple Cake: "It was GREAT! I did make a few changes, though. Instead of 3 1/2 cups of flour, I used 1 can of drained chunk white tuna. Instead of baking soda, I used 1 tbl sweet relish, and I replaced the baking powder and cinnamon with 1 tbl mayonaise and a touch of dijon mustard." Something tells me that lady has been burned by other people making substitutions on her recipes once too often.

Hi..The cherries at Costco come from Washington state...and I guess it is cherry season there.... Ah well, there you go. That explains that.

If you're currently debating whither Dallas or Houston, let me cast my vote for Houston. The cities are so large that you can't do either justice if you try to cram both into one show. So I say Houston. I know that the "off the beaten path" bit is misleading because so far they've primarily selected cities that are already extremely well known as being great restaurant towns. But, frankly, Houston isn't. It's time to amend that incorrect impression. And it's a very large television market (especially when you include the entire metropolitan area, and other metropolitan areas that are only a few hours' drive, like Austin & San Antonio, and are full of people that visit Houston often and would be interested in food shows featuring Houston, like me) so I'd think it would be the better choice by far! Houston is an international center of commerce, banking, oil, shipping, education, medicine and health care, space exploration, and the like, making it a destination for business persons, tourists and other travelers from all over the globe. For example, there are quite a few excellent middle-Eastern restaurants in Houston, catering to oil families from the OPEC nations that spend a lot of time there. I'm sure the concierge at the Four Seasons could suggest a few. And then there's Houston's enormous Asian population. I am not sure, but believe I read somewhere that Houston's Vietnamese population is second-largest in the US, and that's second only to Orange County California. If you had someone interested in Asian food, do you think they'd immediately think, "I know, let's go to Houston!"? You could probably do an entire hour on nothing but Houston's noodle houses and pho joints. And there are also New Orleans influences there. Excellent Cajun and Creole sandwich shops and cafes selling po' boys and boudin. (That influence obviously has increased with the recent influx of Katrina evacuees; which, I'd think, would be something else of interest to Chris' TV viewers. It certainly fascinates me. Might be fun to seek out somebody that previously owned a restaurant in New Orleans that was displaced, and now has opened in Houston. I'm sure there are several. That would be an interesting Houston angle that other cities might not be able to match.) In addition, there is Houston's proximity to the Gulf. The show could (and should) include some seafood shack-type spots down in the Gulf towns. And there's always the more predictable BBQ and Mexican. Not to mention that Houston is home to the extremely amusing Mr. Walsh. Who, if enticed to join y'all on this excursion, might mention it in his column, thereby increasing viewership. My personal opinion is, hands down, Houston and the Gulf. Absolutely no question about it. A great, and little-recognized, food town. And a huge television market. A winning combination, I'd think, in any tv producer's book.

I like Shiner Bock a lot, and it's my "standard" when in Texas. I'm always happy to see it, and particularly pleased when it's on tap. It's also my fallback, if the establishment doesn't have my favorites. Which are Dox XX, and the German Octoberfest beers.

I'm in New Hampshire, and I just called the local farmer's market and they said that it wasn't cherry season yet. When IS cherry season? And if it's cherry season in New Jersey, why isn't it cherry season in New Hampshire?

I don't recall the "salt-rimmed cocktail glasses" packed with anything but margaritas, but the shrimp cocktails you describe are available all over Mexico. They usually come in either a large goblet or pilsner glass, and they are delicious. Look for them in any restaurant that serves local specialties.

Perhaps, in the interest of brevity, folks that are tempted to join in here with their same arguments, could just link to their exact same posts on one of those several other threads.

Yes, so many options to flavor the meat with rubs and marinades before and during the cooking. Interesting. I'd also be interested in knowing their opinion of heavy sauces (in particular those heavy, sweet, tomato-based sauces) in which some people insist on drowning the final product -- heavy sauces that overpower and completely mask all of that smoky, nuanced flavor that they worked so hard to infuse into the meat.

Sign me up with the avocado crowd. Also, a BTPB. No lettuce. Bacon, tomato and crunchy peanut butter. I guess you could add lettuce, but that's just weird.

Very interesting article. I particularly liked the bits about which fuels (charcoal, gas, different types of wood) impart what flavors to the items being cooked. But really almost no mention about sauce. Guess that, once again, these folks (as I) think BBQ'ing is "all about the meat."

Can you imagine? I don't know what I would say if someone did THAT! Right. It would be pretty obviously awful of them. But I did have one fellow try. He was a notorious cheapskate and one of the reasons I developed my system. So I lingered a little at the table, pretending to be looking for my car keys, then after everyone else had started out, I stood up and dropped an extra $5. This guy saw me, and started to turn back to retrieve a portion of his tip, but his wife kept pushing him, saying "Oh no you don't," and she kept pushing him, right out the door.