Jaymes

Wow. I had forgotten I started this thread, well over two years ago. And now it's something I make a lot, thanks to the excellent advice I received. So, a big thank you to all of you that helped me out so long ago.

Sounds to me like Flemish Deer Stew.

Several of the participants on the show were men. One of them is even married. Yes, and I remember when the auditions were announced. I think there was even some discussion of it on eGullet. The producers asked something like, "Can you be America's next style guru?" Everyone, male and female, was encouraged to apply. They didn't ask for "only little women that know their place." And the prize isn't that you get to marry the prince and live in the big castle. It includes a television contract and book deal. Anyone with the right amount of skill, style and moxie should be well on his or her way to establishing a company and making a couple million. After all, no one would accuse America's current style guru, temporarily on hiatus, of being a compliant, subservient Stepford Wife. I am certain that each of the dynamic, aggressive women on the show sees it as an excellent opportunity to advance their professional careers. And not as a terrific way to demonstrate what a great little wife they'd make.

Works for me.

I'll bet you have a Sam's where you live. They sell "Nature Sweet" grapevine tomatoes. Small, cherry tomatoes, still on the vine, and with the most wonderful flavor. That's what I'm eating at my house. They're almost good enough to make you forget that summer is months away. I know. But it's not like a big fat slice on toast with bacon and lettuce. Or, a big fat tomato, eaten fresh from the garden (wearing shorts and a tank) with the juice dripping down one's arm. And that's right, but they do make a pretty darn passable bread salad.

Funny how things kinda worm into your brain. I'm not a big fan of these shows, but couldn't help but be intrigued by this one. And now, I too, have been thinking over where they went wrong and what I would have done. I agree that having a bunch of stuff that you don't know if it's going to be any good until the last minute is a huge mistake when you've got the dynamics of a team to deal with, and the pressure of competition. SKinCA, love your ideas about menus. Exactly what I was thinking....prep ahead, simple but good, stick to the theme, make stuff ahead that you can taste and know if it's good or not, like Coq au Vin. And funny, but I also was thinking, "American dinner out by the pool? Why not apple pie and homemade ice cream." It seems that the tendency was to get too fancy on the menu. Especially, I'd think, in the early episodes, you'd be better off to do something simpler and in advance that you know you can count on, so you can relax and entertain your guests. You know, there's an old joke. It's about two guys camping, and they're lying in their bedrolls one morning, and they hear rustling off in the bushes, and look over there and see a bear. One guy hurries quickly to put on his trainers. The other guy says, "Are you crazy, you think you can outrun a bear?" And the first guy says, "I don't have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun you." That's what those folks in the competition should remember. They don't have to throw the very best, most spectacular, most dazzling dinner party Bobby Flay & Company have ever been to. They just have to beat the other team.

I'll bet you have a Sam's where you live. They sell "Nature Sweet" grapevine tomatoes. Small, cherry tomatoes, still on the vine, and with the most wonderful flavor. That's what I'm eating at my house. They're almost good enough to make you forget that summer is months away.

Re saltines...ceviche/seviche is very popular in some parts of the world that don't have tortillas, and saltines are usually served. But I also really love it a la Mexicana....on tostadas, with extra lime and Tapatia or other hot sauce. And the 'cooking.' Sometimes you can't eat it all at once, you know, so it sits for a while. When I lived in Panama, we'd buy it from the takeout counter of one of my favorite restaurants, "Las Americas." I'd buy it in those big glass gallon jars which would last us almost a week.

That's right....the meat and three thing got its start in households that had access to a garden. There were always fresh vegetables. Lots of them. And you were expected to eat them. Everyone had to do their part. Like at my grandmother's place. We always had meat and three. The restaurants just took it from there.

Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that. It was a real "uh, well, uh" sort of moment.

Well, you can't beat dialogue like this: (when trying to come up with a French menu): "And I can do my lobster tails. They're really awesome. You pull the tail out and you serve it ON TOP OF THE SHELL!!" "Oh, I was thinking leg of lamb with mint jelly." "I know, we can do both!" For French appetizers, they decided upon tomatoes stuffed with shrimp salad, which brought this observation: "That's not French. It's the English who are always stirring shrimp into some kind of mayonnaise thing." And when told that their entertainment was going to be mimes: "Mimes? Who likes mimes? Nobody likes mimes. I hate mimes." And then later, during the critique, "You've got to control your mimes." (Now I ask you, how often have you heard that after one of your dinner parties?) And the other team, who had been told that their preselected dinner party entertainment would be a synchronized swimming group, were expecting a bunch of cute, perky little scantily-clad hotties that they were going to enlist as servers, but instead a bunch of 200 lb grandmas showed up, complete with strappy black highheels that they even wore into the pool. That was funny. And those gals looked like they were having a grand time. Where do I sign up?

So okay, I watched this tonight and laughed out loud about four times. Given the fact that my current life contains few such opportunities, I think I'll watch it again.

Apicio...your flan sounds wonderful. I guess that we can thank the Spaniards because everywhere they went, they seem to have left a flan legacy. What part of the PI are you from? And what are you now doing in Canada? Have you found any good Filipino food there? Also, regarding the flan, are there any other toppings you ever use? Sometimes in Mexico, I have gotten flans with Kahlua poured over, among other liqueurs.

First, sign me up with the Roman Meal crowd. We never had white bread, which my grandmother called, "That ol' cotton bread that turns to mush in your mouth." I still remember the first time I had it, when I was about eight or so, at the house of a friend. Roman Meal is still my fave for sandwiches, and also the bread and butter and sugar sandwiches. Also still love the butter & brown sugar toast....hey, that's basically just butterscotch, after all. And it's just as good with white sugar. And we did the basic pie dough circles, too. A gringo version of bunelos...made with flour tortillas. And how about rock candy.... sugar water that you put in a glass, and then you drop a string into, and large crystals form. So you're eating nothing but pure sugar -- speaking of no redeeming social value. But our real treats were snow ice cream, and rice pudding. Basically made the same way, though one was cold and one was hot. Snow ice cream: scoop up some snow (avoiding the yellow, of course) and combine it with heavy cream and sugar and stir and eat up. Rice pudding: take hot rice and add butter, sugar and heavy cream. Maybe some cinnamon or raisins if you're in the mood, and stir and eat up. Oh, forgot snow maple candy. Boil some maple syrup and pour into a thin ribbon on the snow. It hardens immediately. Yum.

Boy, that's been a while ago...I had forgotten about it. For about a year, that was my number one "company veggie" dish. It's delicious.

I want to add my congratulations to Katie. And also, a thank you to eGullet, for being the kind of place where I can 'meet' good folks like Katie. And even consider her a friend.

Just an aside....when I've had a plethora of eggs, I've made pound cakes, which freeze nicely, and make good gifts. Also, Rancho...have you gotten into the Spanish tortillas? They use up a lot of eggs, and they're wonderful.

Somehow, this is wildly amusing....the shrimp thread has turned into the tips for searching thread. But hey, y'all, if it helps, I'm glad. So thanks for the thanks. And you're welcome.

How about Sauerkraut Soup.... I don't believe anyone else has mentioned it. Am I the only one that likes it?

Ours, too. In fact, more than once we had traditional 'breakfasts' for dinner. Pancakes, waffles, French toast....I'd cut up some fruit and fry a little bacon or sausage or leftover ham. And I even remember occasionally saying something like, "What's wrong with you kids....lots of people have Cheerios for dinner."

Are you perhaps thinking of the Happy Baby Food Grinder? I have one. Don't use it anymore, but it was invaluable, simply because I'm so lazy I refused to fix separate meals for the kids when they were babies, realized that rice cereal is evil and vile, and was simply too cheap to spend way too much on tiny jars of baby food. Yep, that's it! In addition to "Happy Baby" it also made for a "Happy Mommy."

There have been quite a few previous discussions on eGullet regarding King Cakes. If you do a search, you should be able to find some. Of particular note is this thread: All About King Cakes which offers several recipes and other information. Host's note: the link above no longer works, but it pointed to this recipe in RecipeGullet: King Cake.

So okay, you've got me there.

Also, when my kids were in the infant/toddler stage, my handiest and favorite tool was a small, portable food grinder (actually, I had two of them) made just for that purpose. I set it on the table for every home meal, and stuck one in my purse to take along to restaurants. Whatever the rest of the family was having got ground up and fed to the baby, right from the grinder. It was a lifesaver. And, I think it also taught each of my children to appreciate and enjoy all kinds of food.

Ah, so really more of a supper club in which everybody gets to take home lots and lots of neatly packaged leftovers? That sounds like a very cool idea, particularly if the participants are all similarly involved in food but come from different backgrounds. And that would be economical in terms of both food (because you'd buy in bulk) and time.So....a sort of expanded version of the traditional Christmas cookie exchange.... interesting.