Jaymes

Well, the story goes that it was the folks in the Florida Keys, where the limes grow wild, who tried to come up with a good dessert using canned milk since, back during the war, they couldn't get fresh.

Having lived all over the world, including some twenty or so US states, but with a "Southern" heritage, I can assure all y'all that the difference between "stuffing" and "dressing" is simply regional nomenclature. There is no other distinction, unless someone wants to make one up to suit themselves. "Dressing" is just what some folks refer to when they're talking about "fixing up" something. You can dress a salad, or a hot dog, or a deer, or a leg of lamb, or your puppy, or your ownself, or whatever. In this case, a turkey. I never in all my early born days had a pan of cornbread dressing that was cooked outside of the turkey cavity. It was stuffed up inside and it was always referred to as "dressing." When our large southern family got together, we usually had two big turkeys, and the cornbread dressing was shoved up inside. I remember once when my Aunt Stella Mae tried to bake a side dish of it, no one would eat it because they said it was "dry." You NEVER called it "stuffing." At one Thanksgiving dinner, fifty-some years ago when I was about eight, we had company from up north and the guest asked if there was any "stuffing," and my grandmother said, "Down here we call it 'dressing,' dear" and she passed the cornbread dressing. And later, after our guest had left, I asked Grammy about it and she said, "I guess she wanted that ol' gummy Yankee white bread mess that they call 'stuffing' up there." I now put half of the cornbread dressing up in the turkey, and bake another pan of it just because it's so popular at our gatherings that what's up in the turkey isn't nearly enough. To try to offset the dryness of the pan-baked portion, I add extra chicken broth, melted butter, and a raw egg or two. But some of it is stuffed and some of it ain't and it's all damn sure cornbread dressing.

With winter coming fast, I was trying to think of some good and hearty dishes to steam up my kitchen windows and fill our home with savory aromas. And then up pops this thread. Want to add here that carnitas are a great preparation for adding whatever suits the mood. I don't usually add additional sugar because we don't like our meat dishes to be particularly sweet, but I do know folks that add a bit. And as I think has been pointed out in this thread, also Coke or 7Up or other soda, and milk. Whatever floats your boat, or in this case, browns your pork. Oh, and PS, NVNV, thanks for the compliments. Makes my day.

Nothing so high-tech as this, but I have kept a hand-written notebook with all my special recipes for years, just so the kids will have them, "after." And now, all three of my children are married. When each married, I went to my local cookware/gourmet store and bought one of those looseleaf notebooks that are made especially for writing down recipe collections and wrote out the best recipes from our family and put them in the book. I also sent some pages to the prospective mother-in-law and asked her to write down her family's favorites. Then put them all together and gave them to the new couple as a small wedding gift. As I said, pretty low-tech but those notebooks that they sell just for that purpose are handy and my kids seem to really appreciate them.

In my family, Thanksgiving is no time to experiment. We always have a traditional Cornbread Dressing very similar to the one Fifi outlined. I got the recipe from my mother and she got it from hers and she got it from hers before her. It's Cornbread Dressing. Which I stuff into the turkey.

And another thing that adds to my confusion is that the name of a particular cheese in one part of Mexico seems not to necessarily be called that in other regions. For example, in far northern Mexico, Sonora, etc., queso ranchero was what I preferred for my Caldo de Queso. Elsewhere, queso ranchero seems to be another cheese entirely.

So, um, jgm....can I please have the recipe for Edna's Cookies?

Bummer. I must say that I've never been all that impressed with Wink, although my experience has been better than yours. Hope your next outing goes better. Is BF here in Austin to work?

The Summer Squash recipe in Suvir's new cookbook (thread here) is really wonderful, slightly exotic for those unaccustomed to Indian food, and has no tomatoes. I made it the other night and recommend it. And our family's favorite way of preparing summer squash came from my grandmother, who used to own a restaurant featuring home cooking, especially vegetables that she had grown out back. Squash Trim and cube three or four yellow squash. In the bottom of a medium saucepan, put a little butter. Smash and mince one large, or two small, garlic cloves and saute briefly in the butter. Slice one white or yellow onion and add to pot, along with squash. Add no water. Turn heat to lowest setting, cover pot tightly, and allow to slowly cook. The squash will begin to release its juices. Stir from time to time and continue cooking until squash is tender. Remove lid from squash and turn up heat. Break one egg into pot and stir rapidly. As egg scrambles and cooks, it will slightly coat the squash. When egg is cooked, remove squash from heat and stir in a little sour cream, or some grated cheese. Any kind will work. Serve immediately. I'll go out on a limb here and say that in my opinion, this is the best, easiest, and tastiest "every day" method for cooking squash that you will ever find. Edit: Should add that this works brilliantly well for all summer squash: yellow, zucchini, pattypan, etc. In fact, my favorite thing to do is a mixture.

Reporting back on the Summer Squash recipe on page 85. I did make it. Our family eats a lot of squash and I was really looking forward to trying this. Suvir says in the introduction, "Even in the dead of winter, cooking this dish brings summer into my home." And that's a very apt description of the beautiful bright summer colors simmering aromatically in the skillet. The dish was easy to do, and very tasty. Exotic without being overwhelming (important since I'm cooking for my 80-something parents with sensitive tummies), the flavors combined with the slightly crunchy texture of the squash to make a truly delicious side dish. We loved it, and will make it often. And I'm looking for the next thing to try from this wonderful book. And PS - Suvir. I see that you are still listed as a member. If you do read here from time to time, hope you see how many people are enjoying your efforts.

Now THAT'S what I love about Austin. Live music at the airport AND the grocery store. (And thanks for the compliment, Memesuze )

And a camera.

"Several hours" to Lockhart? Huh? Lockhart is about 25 miles south of Austin. From the airport (where most of these visitors are arriving and departing from), it's a straight shot and you can get there in 15 minutes on a good day. And I wouldn't call the Salt Lick "in town." Depending on where you are in Austin, of course, it seems to me that it takes about the same amount of time to get to either one. And the BBQ at Smitty's is MUCH more worth the short drive. As it appears that Joiei discovered.

Shrimp Butter 8 oz cream cheese 1 stick butter 1 can baby shrimp, drained 1/4 C mayo 1 t lemon juice 1 T grated onion salt, white pepper, Tabasco or other hot sauce to taste Allow cheese and butter to come to room temperature. Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth.

I have a friend that raises chickens. Recently she gave me about that many eggs. I made a bunch of pound cakes (6 eggs each) and froze them. Made a Spanish egg & potato tortilla, which we ate for dinner, and some quiches, which we also froze.

Sorry, but I felt compelled to add something about that very definite BBQ statement. BBQ in Central Texas is a VERY personal thing, and everyone has their favorites. But very few folks would agree that Salt Lick is the "best." It can be fun, especially for a group, but it is rarely, if EVER, mentioned as being in the same category as the Lockhart joints like Smitty's, Black's, Kreuz, among others; City Market in Luling; John Mueller's; Cooper's in LLano. Salt Lick used to be much better, back before the original owner and founder died. The new folks seem to be far more interested in selling tee shirts and koozies and hauling in large busloads of tourists from up north and catering weddings than they are in the quality of their food. They even have opened a new spot in the most chi-chi part of town. They call it an "upscale BBQ Bistro." That's three words I never thought I'd see in the same sentence. I'd suggest that you skip it. And head for Smitty's in Lockhart, instead. Get your festive Salt Lick Holiday Wardrobe now!

Tonight I'm trying my first foray into Indian cooking. I'm making the Summer Squash. My family loves squash, and I'm excited about this dish. I've decided not to tackle several recipes at once, but am going to attempt to make one each day. Or at least every other day. Suvir, I own several Indian cookbooks, but sad to say, have not cooked from them. Your book seems so accessible. I, too, would like a list of one or two from each chapter which are particularly recommended for newcomers to Indian cuisine. Thank you, foodietravler, for letting us know which ones you've been successful with. Anyone else cooking from the book?

Hey, me too! I was a DJ for WHOO radio - "Cool Chris" As for the food, the main thing I remember was that most of the shrimp served in restaurants was either "frahd" or "U-Peel-M."

I guess I'd agree with whoever it was that said this thread might have gotten more pertinent information had it not been relocated to the Southeast forum. But I chose to add my recollections about growing up in the South and eating "Southern Food" in nice restaurants because, although the fact that this type of cuisine seems to be moving northward is new, eating it in white tablecloth restaurants is not. For whatever that's worth, and however germane it is to the overall query.

And in that, I'm not particularly well versed. I haven't sought out the Soul/Southern food restaurants elsewhere, since this does seem to be, as you state, a relatively new 'thing' up north, and since for the last ten years I've been living in Texas where it's just called 'home cooking' and it's available everywhere. Most notably, I guess, in the many cafeterias across the south. It WILL, as you say, be interesting to see what happens to it now that it's traveling. Oh, and PS. I haven't lived in Florida in some years, but I can assure you that when I did, the first thing I discovered much to my surprise was that CENTRAL Florida, the interior, DEFINITELY counted as 'the south.' It was just like living in Georgia. And while I'm sure that Disney has had considerable effect on the Orlando area, I'll bet that most of interior/central Florida is STILL 'the south.' Y'all.

First of all, let me, like others in this thread, tell you how much we appreciate your taking your time and sharing your knowledge with us. My personal biggest problem with cooking Mexican food in the US is my inability to find good authentic cheeses. I do haul cheese back when I visit Mexico, but most of the time that's not possible. And since the shelf life of cheese is so limited, it's not like I can stock up for several month's worth. I am obviously aware that there are many "Mexican-style" cheeses for sale in US supermarkets, but they are a sad substitute. So my questions are: what do you do about Mexican cheeses? Which of the commercially available US-made cheeses do you believe are best?

In my experience, 'Southern Food' being served in white tablecloth restaurants is most definitely not a new phenomenon. As someone else here stated, Soul Food, and Southern Food, may overlap but they are not necessarily the same. And for me, that point is made quite sharply in my own mind by the fact that I grew up in the 40's, 50's, 60's eating what is now called 'Southern Food' (but in our world was just 'food') in fancy, white tablecloth restaurants. It was served in a gracious, stately, courtly manner, in nice places, sometimes the 'country club,' sometimes in restored and converted old plantations or Victorian houses, perhaps out on the verandah in pleasant weather, and we children had to get all dressed up and mind our manners, so we'd often go to this type of restaurant for Sunday supper, right after church. PC or not, these restaurants usually were staffed by elegant and dignified black gentlemen, impeccably groomed in either white or red jackets and black bowties, career waiters, who were very kind to us kids. An old mansion in Montgomery, Alabama, comes immediately to mind. We were never allowed to order fried chicken and my parents didn't either because we were at a 'nice' restaurant and no one knew how to eat it without using your fingers, which wouldn't be proper at that sort of place. But we did order things like sliced country ham with raisin or pineapple sauce and fried catfish with dirty rice and stuffed pork chops with cornbread dressing and several kinds of greens and other vegetables cooked with plenty of butter and a pinch of sugar and bits of bacon and corn pudding and fruit ambrosia salad and buttermilk biscuits and cornbread with honey and sweet potato and pecan pies and peach and blackberry cobblers with ice cream. And to drink there was iced tea with a sprig of fresh mint or iced coffee for Mom & Dad and lemonade or Shirley Temples for the kids. I'm not familiar with any 'Soul Food' places like that at all, then or now. I believe that it's because the largely African-American servant class of the old south didn't get the 'high on the hog' stuff. So while we were having the stuffed pork chops, they were stewing up the ham hocks. And as far as eating out went, while we were dining in nice Southern Food 'restaurants,' they were down in 'colored town' eating in BBQ and Soul Food (although it wasn't called that then) 'joints.' Fair or not, and it clearly was not, that's the way it was, as I recall it. And while I obviously have no way of predicting the future, in so far as the past goes, I do not personally believe that serving Southern Food in such upscale, gentrified surroundings (in the South, anyway) jeopardized "its character and authenticity" one little bit. If anything, I'd say it enhanced and preserved it.

Ah yes. Heading toward the classic Beef Wellington.

And when I'm slicing up a bunch of apples to use in a baked dessert -- like apple pie, for example -- I drop my sliced apples into a large bowl of Sprite or 7-Up. It, too, "holds" the apples, and imparts no discernable flavor whatsoever, that I can tell anyway.

Boy, now there's a great idea. Pineapple juice. I'm doing that from now on. Thanks.