Jaymes

My favorite of this genre is Donna Hay's 'New Food Fast'. Snapper with pine nut brown butter sauce in 20 minutes, can't beat it with a stick. The book is organized into chapters of 10-minute (or so), 20-minute and 30-minute dishes, and almost exclusively uses fresh ingredients. Was not familiar with Donna Hay's book, but it sounds absolutely wonderful, even if just for that snapper recipe alone!! I am going to look for it this afternoon. Too bad Ching didn't take the opportunity to do a comparison between the Sandra Lee book, and those of Hay & Ray..... (sounds like a comedy team). Ching could have done a great deal of good with her overall premise.... By demonstrating a better way. She could have taken that opportunity to make a real difference - and sent people scurrying for better options like Hay & Ray, instead of the Sandra Lee book. Edit: Tighe - I've decided to buy several of the Hay book to give as gifts for my kids. My daughter is 24, a teacher, lives alone, is trying to get "into" cooking, but has a very busy work and social life. I know she is not yet ready to tackle big long projects, but that sounds just like something she'd use. Ditto, my son, who is 27, and always looking for something non-intimidating to whip up in the kitchen in his bachelor pad. Thanks again so much for telling me about them!!

LOVE corn pudding. Would like that recipe for sure. We have never had that with our dinner, but think it would go well. We have: Turkey, cornbread dressing, giblet gravy made with all the giblets and the neck meat. Waldorf salad (ambrosia is traditional in the south, but we like the less-sweet Waldorf better) Creamed peas with mushrooms Sweet potatoes candied with bourbon, orange zest, butter, brown sugar, marshmallow topping Cranberry sauce Creamed onions with chopped peanuts on top (a Yankee came to Thanksgiving dinner once and we made this for him and everyone liked it and it's now a staple) Pumpkin Pie and Pecan Pie Dang dinner makes you proud to be American, don't it just???

I cook for people who don't feel bad. And, especially, for those who do.

I don't think you'll find anyone on eGullet that isn't on Hsiao-Ching's side in this. To me, that's not the issue. I think of so many things I wanted to try when I was young - the game of bridge, art lessons, tap dancing (ain't that a mental picture?) - that I was hesitant to attempt because I was a little intimidated that the "experts" might look down their noses at me. Cooking can be that way to those who feel unskilled, ignorant, and inept in the kitchen. So, now we want them to appreciate and learn the joys of preparing their own food. And along comes Ching to write an article decrying the use of prepared foods. But, sadly, the tone of her article was not oozing with the warmth of a hospitable, open, generous kitchen. She called everyone who might find some value in Sandra Lee's methods a herd of sheep mindlessly following trends, unable to determine their own needs or make up their own minds. I wish that her article had taken more the tone of the posts on this thread... i.e., it's a sad trend to dispense with homemade dinners, that a productive kitchen is the soul and heart of the home and family, that good cooking does not necessarily take more time than bad, that disposables are bad for the environment (which Northwesterners take very seriously), and offering alternatives. One that I use is Rachel Ray's 30-Minute Meals. Ms. Ray does sometimes use prepared foods, but she invariably mixes them with items fresh from the market. Ms. Ching could have commented on how unfortunate it is to lose the traditions in the kitchen, to rear children who think Kraft invented Mac & Cheese, and to decide that the only thing one must wield in order to be a good cook is a can opener. I also believe that it would have been helpful and enlightening to have selected several recipes from the book, and given quick and easy alternatives for their preparation. I repeat. When you insult people, you rarely put them in a mood to learn anything from you. And I strongly doubt that the people she should be trying to reach in that piece felt moved toward anything but intimidation, annoyance, and an inclination to defend themselves.

Remembered this post from last year - Wanted to tell you that I made your cranberry Waldorf salad last night. We barbecued a half-turkey on the grill and I wanted something good to go with it. This was a real winner. Thanks....

I found the tone of his/her article to be incredibly condescending. It's been my experience that if you wish to educate people, it is never a good idea to begin that process by insulting them. Edit: Want to add that I agree with the points - it DOES only take a couple seconds to grate carrots. But I repeat that insulting people has never, in my experience, led to any kind of epiphany on their part. I believe this food writer could have made many more points by discussing the ease with which one can turn out "real" food, not to mention how satisfying it is. But instead, the entire tone of the review was insulting. And I suspect those exact same readers he/she was trying to reach, just read that condescending crack about blindly following trends and bristled. And learned nothing.

Well, I guess that's absolutely right, Rachel. I, too, am now in the mood for "Mongolian."

It certainly does sound better to add the seasonings, oils, etc., directly to the meat first. Unfortunately, in my experience, they always have the meat last on the "serve it yourself" buffets in the hopes, obviously, that by the time you get to the more-expensive meats, you will have filled your bowl with bean sprouts and cabbage.

Rachel - that is EXACTLY what happened in the M-BBQ restaurants I frequented. Some of the places had the griddles just smooth, with no holes or slots, but several of them did have very small holes or slots in order to allow some of the juices to drip through and the smoke flavor to permeate the dish. It is the exact same thing as you describe. Just that the places that had griddles with the small holes - the food seemed to taste a little better, so we preferred those. All of the ingredients were raw - just as you say. You piled up your plate with the raw stuff, went outside where several chefs were holding forth over their barrels, cooking two or three orders at a time. The smoke wafted up through the night. It was wonderful. After handing them your plate, you went back inside to the rice line and loaded up as much rice as you wanted on a clean plate and then went back and stood there watching as the chef finished up your order. You could chat and visit with him and tell him how much or little you wanted it cooked. Then he scooped it up with a spatula and you held your plate with the rice out and he dumped your BBQ on top of it. If you didn't want rice, or wanted it served separately, then you took an empty clean plate out and stood by the barrel watching the chef finish up. There was considerable competition among the restaurants for who could offer the most innovative buffet line of ingredients. Several places had pineapple, which I loved. Another had pickle relish. That's right - sweet pickle relish just out of a jar from the U.S. It was surprisingly good. The buffet was arranged so that you always got the veggies first, of course, then the meats last, with the sauces and oils and flavorings after that. It was always "eat all you can."

Now that, I have no idea. Edit: I can tell you that I became so enamored with the Mongolian BBQs while living in the Far East that I bought three of the slotted grills and brought them back to the States. I gave quite a few M-BBQ parties in my own back yard until they became popular here, thereby losing their uniqueness factor, so I stopped.

Again - not that it matters - but I know for a FACT that they have been "around" in the Far East for at least 35 years.

Thats interesting. I was told by some fairly knowledgeable Chinese people that Mongolian barbeque, at least as how we see it in the US, is a fairly recent invention in Taiwan. Recently being the last 20 years or so I was eating what we call "Mongolian barbeque" in Asia 34 years ago, and everyone seemed well-versed on what to do and no one referred to it as being anything new. There were roaring wood fires in the bottoms of large upright oil barrels, with slotted grills on top. You went through a line and got your raw stuff, then outside to the patio to hand the stuff to the chefs who cooked it on those slotted grills. The idea was that some of the juices dripped through the fine slots, causing smoke, flareups, etc., which in turn flavored the cooking dish - a real "BBQ." I had this at several different locations in the Far East, Taiwan being one of them. EDIT: Should add that I fully understand that in the Chinese view, 34 years is but a blink of an eye and that even something invented 100 years ago would still be referred to as being "fairly recent."

But not yet Texas, eh? (Keeping in mind the original request, I mean.)

Sounds like a breed of dog. Pretty close to the truth, probably.

Years ago I attended a potluck with a Caribbean theme. For dessert I took Avocado Pie. As I recall, it was a kind of custard, although sweet. It was very very good. Jamaican, I think. I'm not sure what happened to the cookbook I found it in, but I was told it was a traditional Island recipe. Could have been back in the original Time/Life Foods of the World series (this was a looooong time ago). Don't remember exactly, but it was avocados, sugar, evap milk, eggs and the traditional "pumpkin pie" spices - cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, I think. You added a little cornstarch, poured it into an uncooked regular pie shell and baked it. It was a smash hit as I recall. I made it several times after that first one....and have seen quite a few mentions of avocado pie through the years. Edit: If anyone's interested, I'm sure you could find something similar on Google.....

Okay, so you're a lord - the Lord of the Smoke. And Cathy, I'm darn impressed. Rubs even. Okay, you can be the Lady of the Smoke. And just as Klink suggests, we'll wait to deify you. Klink - you'll let us know when???

Holly's and mine are, I believe, identical. Except she butters the outside of her sandwich before making it and I, after. And you're right. They're great. HE (Holly) is also too lazy to boil the corned beef himself except on those rare occasions when he craves a New England Boiled Dinner. But then there is never enough corned beef left to attempt a Reuben. "HE," huh? Well, Jaymes and Holly. Girl and Boy. Who'd a thought? Clearly not I. Happens to me all the time. How 'bout you? EDIT: Oh, and I often don't boil my own corned beef. Sometimes I stop by Katz's and get one of their inferior Reubens, take half of the corned beef off it, and take that home to make a proper Reuben the next night.

Holly's and mine are, I believe, identical. Except she butters the outside of her sandwich before making it and I, after. And you're right. They're great.

If I were you, I'd try to get an emergency PM to Klink.

You'll probably get plenty of responses, and you can pick which suit you. Here's what I do: I often corn my own beef, but it is more work. If you want to do that you can either dig up a recipe for it, or buy the precorned (but not cooked) beef at the store. Then you boil it. Then you slice it thinly. I usually boil it with potatoes, cabbage, carrots, celery, etc., and use it the first night for a "New England boiled dinner" served with several good mustards and some nice brown bread, and beer. Then, when it's sandwich time, slice your corned beef thinly, across the grain of course. Take two slices of some Russian rye bread and spread them with Thousand Island dressing. Get a handful of sauerkraut and flatten it out like a pancake. Then mash it between paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible. Put your sliced corned beef on your bread, then top with sauerkraut patty and several slices of Swiss cheese. Don't make this too thick! Top with other slice of bread. Now, on the outside of the bread of your sandwich, spread some butter. Grill the whole, assembled sandwich on medium heat. When the bottom is nice and crunchy and hot, turn the whole thing over and grill the other side until it's nice and crunchy and hot, too, and the cheese is melted. I have no idea how they make the Reubens at the place you mentioned, but this is the traditional, original way the sandwich was made. I don't care for the non-grilled, non-crunchy monstrosities at Katz's. If that's what you're going for, I guess you can just pre-toast the bread, assemble the sandwich by loading up way too much stuff, and then heat the thing in the microwave.

Sugar. And, it's readily available. Remember that the next time you're sitting at a restaurant and your mouth is on fire. In a small dish in the middle of the table is a little packet that holds the remedy.

Herdez salsas are the number-one sellers in Mexico with reason. They are the best. Of course, here in Texas they are ubiquitous, but I have found them elsewhere in the States, including San Jose and Springfield MO. You can usually find them if you look hard enough. Anywhere that there is a large Mexican population, there will be a store selling Herdez brand. The best table salsa is Herdez Salsa Casera in jars. You can also find it in cans and it's good too. In addition to salsa casera, they make salsa ranchero (which I don't like as well but it's also very popular) and a fabulous salsa verde.

I buy avocados at Sam's. They're nice and big and very affordable. Don't know if you have Sam's where you are, but you might try Costco, if you have that. Or other large food wholesaler.

Cold Avocado Soup