Jaymes

Yes. I recall many years back reading a newspaper feature about Princess Grace telling Caroline that she (Grace) was sending her (Caroline) to Paris for a month or so to study cooking at Le Cordon Bleu. Caroline reportedly refused to go, saying, "Why should I learn to cook? We pay people to do that."

When I was 20, I couldn't cook either. Nor did I need to, frankly. But then, at 24, I got married. We entertained a lot, and went to the homes of our friends. Often we were asked to "bring something." An appetizer, vegetable, soup, whatever. And then along came the babies. Three of them. I figured out that cooking was going to be a part of my life, like it or not. So decided that I might just as well get good at it. And now, some 40 years later, I am. I think it may be a bit too early to judge your friends.

Don't know where you live, but if you choose not to make your own, it might be worth a little investigation to find other options. There are several Amish communities nearby us and we buy homemade cream cheese from them.

First, congratulations! If you don't have good knives, consider that. Working with good knives is a source of endless pleasure. If you've got good knives, consider the green egg option. It'd look great out on your deck.

I came through KC a couple of months ago and went to LC's. Yes, the Lenexa location has closed. My observations: The 'burnt ends' that everybody talks about are wonderful, but I was disappointed in that I was expecting something different and unusual. Although I was thrilled that I found 'Texas-style' BBQ brisket somewhere besides Texas, 'burnt ends' turn out to be just the brown bits of Texas-style brisket cut into chunks. And yes, they were delicious -- as good as Lockhart's brisket, I thought. Liked the sauce. Not so sickly, cloyingly sweet as is much KC-style sauce. The place looked clean enough. I chatted with LC at some length, and he wasn't exactly spotless but, what the hey. It IS a BBQ joint after all. This visit did remind me why I don't like sweet beans with my BBQ. I do like sweet beans as a side with ham slices, or fried chicken, or pork chops, or hot dogs or hamburgers, etc. But with BBQ, I prefer southwestern-style pintos. The sweet beans just taste like more sweet BBQ and I very much prefer a difference in flavors. Should add that I also had the ribs. They were overdone. Dry and 'burnt' but not in a good way. But no big deal. It happens, you know. Just makes me want to go back and give them another try.

As are an old American favorite -- hoecakes.

When I was a kid, many of the most popular recipes for baked apples included Red Hots -- small, round hot cinnamon candies.

Busboy makes an excellent point. The way one group learns about another is through research and then converting that research into a form that others can absorb and understand. Even enjoy. Some folk are better at that than others, true.

I use it all the time as a substitute. As others have said, it's always handy.

This is particularly good as a dip for cold grilled shrimp.

Do you have this recipe still? It sounds extremely yummy and I would greatly appreciate it!Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie Bow down to Jaymes people! This is an awesome and so, so easy recipe! What a wonderful combo of flavors! Thanks Jaymes! Wow. That's pretty high praise. Thanks for letting me know. And I should add that although I had sort of "forgotten" about this recipe, I just made it again myself, for the first time in years. It is good....and easy and an interesting twist on the usual pumpkin pie. As I told Katie, during the Thanksgiving season, when turkeys are often a loss-leader in the grocery stores, I'll buy one or two extras, have the butcher saw them in half, store them in the freezer until summertime. Then for a small dinner party, I'd smoke them out on the grill, and serve them with a cool and refreshing congealed cranberry and apple salad, with that frozen pumpkin pie for dessert. Katie, again....thanks for the compliment. I'm glad you tried it, and very, very glad you enjoyed it.

This recipe has been a staple at our Thanksgiving table for decades: CREAMED ONIONS 30 or so small onions -- not tiny pearl onions, but the small stewing ones - I guess about the size of a pingpong ball 1/3 C butter 3 T all-purpose flour 1 1/2 C whole milk 1 C shredded processed cheese Tabasco or other hot sauce, to taste paprika, parsley 1/2 C chopped peanuts for garnish Peel onions and cook until tender in boiling salted water. Drain well and set aside. In cooking pan, melt butter. Add flour and cook until flour begins to brown slightly and bubble, and is no longer 'raw.' Stir in milk and cook slowly, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Add cheese and continue stirring until mixture is thoroughly combined, smooth, and a little thicker than you want the eventual dish (the onions, although drained, will still contain some liquid). Add onions and stir, being careful not to break down onions any more than you have to. Add hot sauce to taste, if desired. Heat through and pour into warmed serving dish. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts, parsley and paprika and serve immediately.

I absolutely agree with this. But I don't believe that this is exclusive to the US, and I don't believe that they are the majority here.

But you know (aside from the kids) I have done these things. Anyway, I think that it is fair to say that although many Americans want to travel outwith the USA, not many of these people actually do. Given that most people seem to think that rtravel is a great way of learning about other cultures (and in this instance foods/cusines), do you think that Americans are going to more of less likely to travel in the future and how might this effect the development of dining in the USA? Increased Mexican/Latin American high end dining, compared to more 'traditional' European cusines? Adam, you've flown from Paris to Des Moines? I'm impressed. To answer your other question, I was in the unhappy position of owning a travel agency in Austin, Texas, on 9/11. Although it is my opinion that the dream of the "average American" whom we are discussing includes extensive foreign travel (for many reasons, including seeing the birthplace of their forebearers, returning to WWII battlefields, sampling the cuisine, experiencing the culture, and on and on ad infinitum), I do think that 9/11 dealt a huge setback. That caused the closing of many US travel agencies, including my own. Not only are many Americans concerned now with being targets, they are also worried (and much more so, and probably rightly) about being out of the country during another terrorist attack in the US, and being unable to get back quickly to their families, children, etc. This has absolutely nothing to do with desire and interest, though. Nor does it have anything to do with being intimidated or fearful of the other country, or the travel itself. Furthermore, not only do many American citizens of my acquaintanceship have one passport; they have two. One from the US and another from a different country that they plan to pass up to the terrorists that have just hijacked the plane. I am hopeful that eventually the political problems elsewhere in the world will ease (for many reasons, obviously), and that the American public will again be perching their "gimme hats" atop their heads and clutching their red Globus/Gateway travel bags and heading off to see the world. And, I know that it is the fashion here to denigrate FoodTV, but I believe that shows there and on the travel channel and elsewhere that feature the foods of foreign lands do make a difference. I actually began working in travel agencies when we lived in Alaska. And then in LA, before Texas. I definitely saw the residual influence whenever there was a cultural event featuring food or travel. For example, after the movie "Big Night" was a smash hit, for the next two years, we did quite a lively business on food tours to Italy. I'm always particularly hopeful about the creeping knowledge in North America of the foods of Central and South America. But it's slow going. Again, cost seems to me to be a major factor. Although I'd agree that in this case, familiarity does play a role. The average US citizen that can afford to travel to Peru wants to go to Australia and New Zealand first and I'm sure that comfort with the language and culture is a large part of the reason why. That's not to say that they have NO interest in ever seeing Brazil, Chile, Peru.... Just that they are considerably further down the 'wish I could' list.

Yes, that is typical of the things I have been able to find, but that's not it. For one thing, the other Green Grape Pie had a pastry crust, not graham cracker. I'm sure you can imagine it....cool whole green grapes, flaky crust, creamed topping. Sigh.

I've moved 37 times in my life, and lived in foreign countries, including Hong Kong, the Philippines, Panama, Germany, among others. And certainly there are smug, self-satisfied, arrogant, chauvinistic clods in each. I'd never say that such a thing does not exist in the US. But I personally do not believe that they are the majority. No matter how 'vocal' they may be. It's been my experience that the average US citizen does indeed have an interest in travel abroad. And that when they get the resources, time, money, etc., they do so. If you're talking priorities, as I've said elsewhere, such travel may well be farther down the list than other things. I wouldn't argue that. But that's not the same thing as saying that the majority of Americans are a bunch of provincial, ignorant, chauvinistic, herding, frightened, intimidated dolts. As some in this thread are implying.

First of all, the views in Australia are not 'crappy,' nor did I say so. The view of Ayer's Rock is magnificent, and deservedly world-famous. But I'm not sure I'd want to make a great many repeat visits there. And I do think that the US has a great many more diverse travel destinations, and they are more easily accessible. And just because, according to your statistics, Americans actually TRAVEL outside of their home country less than do Australians, that does not mean that the "average American has NO interest" in doing so. Not only is that a sweeping generalization, and an absolute, but it makes no accommodation for priorities. As I said, the average American may wish to see the US first. For one thing, it IS cheaper. You don't think that a week in Paris for two, staying in mid-priced hotels and eating average meals, doing some typical sightseeing (Seine cruise, Eiffel Tower, etc.), buying a few souvenirs, flying round-trip from the center of the US, paying someone to watch the kids back home, for our hypothetical middle-aged couple from Des Moines would cost $5000, all told? Call a travel agent and find out.

And surely, on that we can all agree. Without question, in my view anyway, travel is the single most educational, instructional and broadening experience anyone can undertake. And I also agree with others that have said that no matter how much studying one does in one's native country regarding the cuisine of another's, no matter the number of lessons, cookbooks read, etc., until one visits that country, sees it, touches it, feels it, smells it, one's knowledge and understanding cannot help but be incomplete.

And obviously, without an exhaustive study, it would be impossible to exclude other factors for the lower rates of travel -- such as perhaps (as others have said) vastly greater diversity, and ease of travel, when comparing each country. I mean, frankly, if I had a choice of, say, repeat visits to Ayer's Rock, vs Grand Canyon, Redwood forest, Rocky Mountains, Seattle, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Key West, Boston, Tucson, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orlando, Chicago, Anchorage, Juneau, New Orleans, to name just a few, I know what I'd choose. I'd rather return to any one of those destinations again and again. And to say that "most Americans" have "NO interest in traveling outwith the States," is pretty strong. Although I personally wouldn't even agree with that conclusion had you used the more likely "LESS interest in traveling...than the average Australian," based upon nothing more than that statistic, with no examination given to other possible reasons besides a lack of interest. It's quite possible and, I think, most likely that the "average American" is just more interested in seeing the US first.

Sorry folks, but I just don't buy it. If dad's a cop and mom's a nurse and you've got three kids, what would YOU choose -- $5000 and you leave the kids in Des Moines and head to Paris for a week? Or putting that money into the children's college fund and trying to pay off the back end of your mortgage? And maybe hope that if you save up, you can all go to Disney next summer.

I do believe, firmly, that the main reason holding back Americans from foreign travel is money. That's not to say that it would be impossible for the average working guy and gal to save up and go anyway, but for many of them, just working paycheck to paycheck, the thought of "blowing" (which is how they would see such an unnecessary expense) a minimum of a thousand bucks per person (and in reality probably much more) on foreign travel is simply out of the question. Places like Cancun may indeed seem more "familiar," but they are also easily do-able for most US citizens for $500 and under, including a 2-4 hour charter flight and three nights hotel. And you're right that the average American heading for Cancun or an all-inclusive in the Caribbean is probably not interested in the food. But -- Almost without exception, when you ask "just folks" what their dreams are, what they'd do if they won the lottery, what they plan to do when they retire, the number one answer is "travel." And, it's usually to Europe. Contrary to what most of you seem to believe, Europe holds no fear for the average US citizen (although that's the least flattering, and therefore most attractive, possible reason because we seem to love putting ourselves down). However, the truth is that most Americans tend to see much of Europe as an older, prettier, more historic and interesting version of the US and quite likely, the country of the origin of their forefathers. Believe me, folks, barging the canals of the UK, for example, is just not intimidating, even to Mr. & Mrs. Johnson of Ames, Iowa. And neither is Australia, or New Zealand, all very high up on the average non-traveling American's wish list. It's true that the average US citizen does not pine to begin their travels with a couple of weeks exploring the back alleys and food stalls of Hong Kong, or skiing in Japan, or backpacking the Himalayas, or trekking through big ape country in Africa. But having spent eighteen years in the travel industy, I absolutely, positively guarantee you that when discretionary income skyrockets dramatically, and the house and schooling and furniture and cars and kids and hospital bills and other responsibilities, obligations and necessities are taken care of, even Mr. & Mrs. American-As-Apple-Pie-Never-Seen-The-Ocean pack their suitcases and head for the airport. And are damn glad to be doing it. And it isn't because they've suddenly conquered their "fears."

Some thirty years ago at the home of a friend, I had a Green Grape Pie. It was one of the best things I've ever eaten. She gave me the recipe and I made it several times. But then, during my many subsequent moves, I lost the recipe. My friend also moved a lot, and we lost touch. Finally, about five years ago, our paths crossed again. I immediately asked her if I could get that recipe. But unfortunately, she told me, she had lost it as well. In fact, she said, "I was going to ask you for it. I've Asked Jeeves and searched my cookbook collection and Googled my little heart out, but can't find anything to approximate it. This is what I remember: first (and most important) -- it was made with whole green grapes. I've found many recipes for various grape pies, but they all involve extracting the juice and straining it. This pie was served cold, and it was whole green grapes held together with a viscous liquid. It called for several things, primarily white grape juice from a jar to which you added various things (including some brown sugar I believe, and maybe some sweet wine, perhaps lemon juice, maybe a little spice, such as nutmeg or anise or something) to flavor and thicken it. I believe that you baked the crust, then thickened the liquids (perhaps with gelatin or cornstarch or cream of tartar), tossed that with the whole green grapes, poured it into the crust and chilled to set. It was served it with some sort of cream on top. It was absolutely delicious -- light and refreshing. And very unusual. I've managed to come up with something similiar, but I don't think I've quite got it. Has anyone else heard of it?

A passport isn't required for travel to Mexico, Canada, and possibly other countries IIRC. Correct that a passport is (currently) not needed for US citizens to travel throughout much of America, but I think that's what FG meant, right?

This provided a truly surreal moment for my daughter and me while dining at a restaurant in Mexico. At the next table were four ladies on holiday from Texas. As much as I hate to feed negative stereotypes, my daughter and I could hardly manage to stiffle our giggles while one of the woman engaged in this exchange with the waiter: "Don't y'all have queso? I don't see it on the menu." "Cheese? Si, senora, we have cheese. What kind of cheese do you want." "No, not just cheese. Melted cheese. With, um, you know, tomatoes and chiles and stuff." "Melted cheese? With chiles? We have queso fundido -- flameado." "I never heard of that. Does it come in a little bowl?" "Uh, bowl? No, Senora, um...it comes in a...I don't know how to say it..." He asks for help from another passing waiter. "A skillet. Little." "Skillet? No, no, that's not what we want. We want queso, chile con queso....you know, with Velveeta and RoTel." "Velveeta and RoTel?" "Yes. It's Mexican. All the Mexican restaurants in Texas have it." My daughter and I watched his face closely as he considered this. "Well, Senora, I am sorry, but I have never been to Texas, y don't know of this, but we don't have it. Can I get you something else?" "No. (Sigh.) We'll just order lunch." "Okay," he said, clearly relieved, snapping to attention and returning his pad and pen to the ready position. "What would you like?" "You know, y'all really should have chile con queso. It's very easy. You just melt Velveeta and RoTel tomatoes. You should tell your chef all about it. I'm sure you'd sell a lot of it." And, sadly, since we were sitting poolside at a large resort in Playa del Carmen, I'm sure she's right.