Jaymes

I feel pretty sure this fad never made it to France, but it was quite the rage in the US for a while: Harvey Wallbanger Cake http://allrecipes.com/recipe/harvey-wallbanger-cake/ Oh, and PS - I really love Coquille St. Jacques. Interestingly enough, just ordered it last Friday night at a local restaurant that bills itself as offering "fine Continental cuisine." Only now, speaking of fads, the Coquille St. Jacques was "Deconstructed."

I remember Harvey Wallbanger cake showing up at just about every dinner party I went to for a while there.

Lobster Thermidor.

Great post, except for this part. Everybody knows that, in addition to pimento cheese, Velveeta is essential for combining with Ro-Tel for chile con queso dip.

My recipe for spiced ham: Score your ham. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes per pound. While it's baking, baste frequently with glaze. Glaze 2 C brown sugar 1/2 C white wine 1/2 C honey 1/4 C Dijon mustard (or sprinkle of dry mustard) 1/2 C frozen OJ concentrate 2 Tbls powdered cloves 2 tsp white pepper 2 tsp ground ginger Put all ingredients into small saucepan and heat, stirring until well combined. Then baste baking ham, about once every 15 minutes or so. Time it so that you run out of glaze when the ham is done. Important note: Baste with the concentrated glaze from the saucepan, not with the juices from your baking pan. Important note #2: This glaze does not make a good sauce for the ham. The texture of the powdered cloves is not pleasing. If you want to make a sauce for the ham, strain the pan juices through cheesecloth to remove the powdered cloves.

I just want to reiterate that anyone interested in savory dishes featuring lemon would be badly remiss not to at least give these two of the several above-mentioned suggestions a go: avgolemono soup, and chicken/veal piccata. Two of the world's great classics.

Wow, Franci, thanks! They all look so good - and easy. Hard to know where to start.

Speaking of fruitcake cookies, here's a link to my recipe, which I have been making for many years, always with great success. http://forums.egullet.org/topic/13510-christmas-cookies/?p=160269#entry160269

Franci, if you feel comfortable and have the time ( ) would you mind sharing with us several of your favorite "go to" pasta sauces? Especially any "stand-bys" that you go to when in a rush? Everything you've posted on eG has been pretty wonderful in my book, and I'd love to know more.

Rather than trying to "reharden" cheese and hoping for its original texture, maybe you should just go for a spread - in essence a spicier pimento cheese. Sounds like the taste is wonderful. Think if it were I, I'd just serve it with bread or crackers and a spreader. Or maybe plop a spoonful of it on top of the patties next time I make burgers. You must have thought of this but decided you'd rather have a solid block. I'm curious as to what you see as the advantage of having a solid block of cheese over a spread.

To say it's legendary is no exaggeration. Mom & daughter started selling them in their garage years ago. It's a great story. And now it's considered by many to be the finest burger in Texas. As of the last time I was down there, a few years back, it's still a "you've got to know" kind of deal. Still selling them out of the garage in the old neighborhood. No sign. No regular hours, really. Like I said, you've just got to know.

Well, don't expect too much! In-N-Out is my favorite large-chain burger, by far. However, it is a large-chain burger. It's not going to beat a burger individually-made at one of the few (and dwindling) mom & pop-style burger joints still left. In-N-Out has really fresh bread, meat, veggies, and I love them. But they ain't no "Gonzales Burger" is all I'm saying: http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/217/1476309/restaurant/McAllen/Gonzalez-Burger-Donna

Interesting. I suspect that the melting and then cooling of the shredded cheese might account for the weird texture. I am reminded of trying to cool and then reheat pizza. Sometimes the cheese doesn't come through the process with the best of textures. But, makes me think about trying to make something more akin to the traditional pimento cheese but, rather than cheddar or other typical "pimento cheese" sorts of cheeses and pimentos, going for jack cheese and jalapenos - a much spicier version. I always make the ubiquitous pimento-cheese-filled celery stalks for our Thanksgiving relish tray. Maybe I'll try something considerably spicier this year.

I am reminded of this. And can't help but wonder... Shel, did you ever try to make pimento cheese? And, if so, how did it go?

Personally, I think there's probably a very good reason why pimento cheese is a popular classic, while pimento cheese mixed with canned potted meat ain't. There aren't many festive holiday tables in the South that don't feature a relish tray including celery stalks filled with pimento cheese. I like to add finely-chopped green onions or chives to my pimento cheese.

Thanks for letting me know. It really is the number-one way we've fixed squash in our family for generations. My granny would be pleased.

I've actually been on vacation on the Oregon coast, so haven't done any cooking at all for two weeks. Back now. Kind of swamped getting back into my routine. Not sure when I'll get a chance but am definitely going to give it a go as soon as I get a spare minute.

My personal favorite, pancit: http://pinchofyum.com/filipino-pancit

Yes, and we recently had a member telling us that he had a friend traveling to Istanbul, and asking us what we would suggest that he ask his friend to bring back. We sure could have used your expertise on that thread. I know I'm not alone in saying that I'm thrilled to see you here.

Kind of surprised by the number of folks here that say they never put yellow or white onions in their salads. Are y'all aware of the many sweet varieties of white onions that are absolutely perfect in salads? Maui onions, Colorado sweets, Vidalia, and Texas 1015's come immediately to mind. So very good raw in salads, sandwiches, etc. And, if you'd like to try something really terrific, but a bit unusual, next time you're tossing up a green salad, instead of tomatoes, put in melon balls. It's remarkable how much they kind of taste like tomatoes in a salad, but with a twist. You have to add the melon balls instead of tomatoes; they don't work well together. My favorite summertime soup is Cantaloupe Gazpacho. This is particularly interesting to me because, again, the flavor profile of cantaloupe turns out to be much like tomatoes. But, um, well, different.

There is also a Mexican bay leaf. I buy them dried in Mexican markets. http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/ingredients/detail/mexican-bay-leaf I use bay leaves a lot. My mother preferred simple kinds of cooking and foods. She didn't use a lot of herbs or spices. But our whole family loved her beef stew, and we'd eat buckets and buckets of it. The only herb she put into it was several bay leaves. The first time I tried to make beef stew in my small apartment after I left home, I didn't have any bay leaves, and didn't really understand what a difference they made. Of course, the difference was considerable. I have a bay plant for fresh leaves, and dried versions of laurus nobilis, and the Mexican bay leaves I mentioned above.

Howdy, Cowboyardee. Are you perhaps an Italian cowboy that's fond of canned ravioli? So much easier to pack in your saddlebags, I'll warrant. Glad you're here! But wonder...in what part of our globe do you tie up your hoss? .

Well, Dee of Iowa, I'm thinking it's a pretty safe bet. And Gillian, want to tell you that there are quite a few of us here that have children that have grown and gone and our culinary adventures have changed as a result. I'm sure we will all be interested in reading about what you're cooking up there in your Hockley Valley. I know I am.

"Gillian of Hockley Valley." Sublime. Like a lovely novel.

Let me also welcome you. I'm not much of an "Anovista," but am hopeful you'll offer some other tips, insights, recipes, etc., from the UK. Glad to have you here.