Jaymes

I don't think there's much doubt they'll be back. Even if they don't think so now. A city like New Orleans seeps into your soul. Not so easy to dislodge.

Let me add my request for a link to this recipe. We love squash -- eat it several times a week -- and I'd really be interested in finding a new way to prepare it. Rachel, who made it?

Is that recipe in the book?

I want to thank you all... Thanks to the hosts, thanks to the participants, thanks to the guests, thanks to the folks that had considered canceling but are now coming anyway, thanks to the other eG'ers that can't make it, but who are contributing to this thread. Following along, reading about the preparations, seeing the photos, feeling the anticipation and increasing excitement of this 'coming together' of good food, good fellowship, is a relief beyond words of the sadness and inhumanity we're all witnessing elsewhere. Please keep it up, y'all. And fry a hush puppy or two for me.

I've subscribed. Silly me, but I thought I'd wait until I've read a few issues to make up my mind what I think of it.

That thought has crossed my mind as well. After all, she seems to be a ratings darling, for whatever reason. And has even spawned several websites. So who knows. But one thing of note.... The original post on this thread was last year. So, as of today, maybe she's only been renewed for one more year, rather than two.

A tchatchke is defined as a "cheap showy item," but has come to mean a decorative trinket that bears some emotional connection to the owner. i.e.: If you go to Disney World and have enough money left over after buying food and drinks to buy yourself a Mickey Mouse Snow Globe - you have just purchased a tchatchke to commemorate your visit. Yiddish. Pronounced, roughly, 'chotchkee.' And also defined as a 'dust-catcher.'

We've had several threads here on the food in Belize, and the general consensus is that it's a pretty uninspiring food destination. Unfortunately.

Can any of you Napans update this?

Not to mention the plural of y'all, and the possessive. You'll have to practice before you get there. Try this: "I just loved all y'all's covered dishes so much I liketa died."

Ever since my very first visit to Mexico, thirty-five years ago, I've preferred my hot chocolate made with water. But that shouldn't have surprised me. When it comes to candy choices, I also prefer dark chocolate over milk chocolate. Actually, my favorite is strong hot chocolate made with water, and a big dollop of whipped cream on top. Sipping that dark, hot chocolate up through the sweet milky cream is my idea of heaven in a cup.

If I were going to be in San Diego, and if I were a fellow with a 'food information' thing going, and if I were in search of adventures to have, consume and write about, I would not miss the site of the Original Caesar Salad. It's been a few years since I was there, but it was definitely write-worthy. Not to mention that there is lots of good street food in TJ, as there is in any Mexican town.

That line is always there, and it's quite unruly. You can tell the first-timers because they're standing patiently and politely, waiting for their turn, which never comes. You're right that the reason for that raucous line is the egg custard tarts. They are heavenly.

I suggest you leave San Francisco and drive up to Sonoma. Take the highway north, and then cut across to the coast, traveling through the redwoods. Two 'don't miss' things on this route: First, Eureka in Northern California; eat at the Samoa Lumber Camp Cookhouse. And, Gold Beach, Oregon, where you'll take a ride on Jerry's Rogue River Jetboats.

No worries, mates. Just order one of these handy gadgets: TV-B-Gone.

I'm sorry. Can't answer that. Don't know you that well. After all, we just met.

Smokers manage to "make it" through a two-hour movie, a two-hour flight, a two-hour concert or stage play, a two-hour trip to the dentist, an eight-hour sleep. Obviously they can "make it" though a meal. But I'm with you -- until the patios are smoke-free, I, too, will just work around it. Oh, and try to sit upwind.

That actually sounds pretty tasty... could you get me the recipe? Um, yeah. I did, actually, in this thread. Twice. There... And here: Pretty self-explanatory. Oh, and get back with me, will you, and let me know how you liked it?

i assume right in the middle of a desert the repertory is somewhat sparse On the other hand, I've also lived in Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas. I know from desert.And the Great American Midwest ain't it. I think it was meant as a joke. Or perhaps, a reference to it being a cultural (as opposed to physical) desert. The use of winking smileys would seem to support this assumption. Perhaps you're right. Or perhaps it was written by somebody that lives in Germany that has never visited the American midwest and is working off of incorrect assumptions. Although I agree with you that assuming the former is the wiser course.

i assume right in the middle of a desert the repertory is somewhat sparse Desert? I don't get any of this. Don't know which "midwest" you all are talking about. I've lived in Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. And certainly traveled throughout the rest of the "midwest." It's all farm country. In fact, it's called the "breadbasket of the world." And it is. You drive for miles and miles and miles past row after row after row of cultivated crops. And there are roadside farm stands throughout. There's no "desert" here whatsoever that I've been able to ascertain. On the other hand, I've also lived in Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas. I know from desert. And the Great American Midwest ain't it.

That's okay, we all knew what you meant.

Yep. Nothing wrong with eating a cup of bacon grease. Never saw it in a restaurant, though. It was more a 'just folks' type of thing. But don't fret. You can fix it for yourself. It's quite easy. Here's what you do: Get an empty tin can and keep it handy on the counter right beside your stove. Pour your sausage and/or bacon drippings into it every morning until you've got at least a cupful. On serving day, heat the fat until it's liquid. Slice off one or two good chunks of white bread. Let them soak in the warm fat until they're completely saturated. Then pour more fat into your skillet and when it's sizzling hot, add the bread and fry it until it's nice and crispy on both sides. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and you've got it. Get back with me, will you, and let me know how you liked it? And, according to our housekeeper, who ate it every single morning in winter, all that grease "keeps you warm." No small feat in Germany's brutal winters. Look y'all, I'm not saying that fried bacon grease can't be tasty, but it hardly fits with the (equally stereotypical) description of "the average European" eating their vastly superior "fresh breads, complex and varied cheeses, fresh fruits and vegetables." Which was my point. Silly to pass sweeping judgments, you know. Either way. I'm just saying.

I hate that cliched 'Europeans are better' stuff. Frankly, I lived in Germany and I'd take Fruit Loops, Kraft Singles and, especially, salads composed of iceberg lettuce and one eighth of a tomato (ranch dressing on the side, however), over something I often saw in Germany: slice of white bread, completely soaked and saturated in some sort of meat drippings (usually sausage or bacon grease), and then fried in more grease, and served sometimes with more grease-based gravy over the top, but usually not. And sometimes with meat on the side, but usually not. Just basically grease fried in grease, with just enough dough to hold all that grease together. Grease on grease in grease. Yuck. It's been my experience, having lived literally all over the world, that every country has its 'good eaters,' and its 'simple crap' eaters. Sweeping generalizations are rarely accurate. And some years back, I read an interview of some Soviet bigwig that had defected. He said something akin to, "You people in the West think it's the lure of your cars and televisions and other consumer products. But it's not. It's your supermarkets that bring us to our knees." And I know just what he means. I, too, have been brought to tears walking through a Safeway or Piggly Wiggly right after having returned from living in some foreign country or another. It's all here. Whether or not you choose the "Fruit Loops and Kraft Singles," or something more "complex and varied" is up to you. It's here and available to all if you want it. Something that most certainly cannot be said for the majority of countries on this planet.

And just in case you'd like something refreshing to imbibe while you're busy working in that hot kitchen, let me suggest Peach Sangria.

Lite Ranch Dressing livens up a baked potato when you're dieting.