Jaymes

The reason why North Carolinians don't make sweet tea with sun tea is that you need the tea to be HOT if it's to absorb the stupid amounts of sugar local tastes demand. This is also why I sneer at those who suggest I can add sugar to cold unsweetened tea at the table if I want it sweetened. Not the same! It probably gets hot enough in Texas to make little difference, though. And the real reason is that I don't like sweet tea, so in truth, I guess I never learned how to correctly make it. For some reason, sweet drinks just don't seem to quench my thirst. The way Jin feels about sweet meats (which I have no problem with), I feel about sweet drinks with food. Don't like sweet wine, or Coke, or really sweet lemonade, or sweet coffee, or tea (hot or cold). At least not with my meals. On the other hand, when it's really hot here, which is from May through September, nothing tastes so good as a big glass of iced coffee, with lots of cream and sugar - but not with my dinner. So, anyway, I didn't know that about the hot tea and the syrup. They say you learn something new every day. On eGullet it seems I learn something every hour.

Didn't you graciously offer to get Mom's recipe and give it to D to make for his meal? Good thing he didn't take you up on it!!

I remember reading a couple years ago that some outfit, that considers itself our protector, was warning against sun tea because the water doesn't get hot enough to kill the invisible creepy-crawlies in tea bags. I'm by myself now - only make sun tea when I'm entertaining. Most of the time, I just toss a couple bags in a glass of cold water, set it in the fridge overnight. Been doing that for years. Heat doesn't seem to make any difference tastewise - it just speeds up the process. If there were seriously any bad bugs, I'd probably be loonier than I am.

Just read this thread - reminded me of the microwave meatloaf recipe I gave my son several years back. He often made this in his dorm room when he was homesick. There are better recipes around, but this one is blazingly easy and quick, and you can keep the dry ingredients on hand. Ten minutes later and you're eating meatloaf. Microwave Meatloaf - 1 1/2 lbs ground beef 1 egg 1 can tomato sauce (8oz) 1 cup instant oats 1 T instant chopped onions 1/8 t garlic powder 1 1/2 t celery salt 2 t sage (Food cooks better in microwaves when they are in a round shape. My son had one of those white Corningware souffle dishes. He made this recipe in that, with a glass or cup in the middle to hold the shape of the round meatloaf. As a dorm kid, he didn't want a lot of cleanup, so he did this all in that one big dish.) In large bowl, beat egg slightly, just to mix. Add remaining ingredients and toss lightly to combine. Form loaf into doughnut shape in round microwaveable dish. Cook on full power for five minutes, rotating at least once. Add glaze. Glaze: 1/3 C catsup 1 t Worsty horseradish to taste 1 T brown sugar 1 T prepared yellow mustard. Glaze meatloaf and return to microwave. Cook another five minutes, or until done, rotating at least once.

What everybody here does is to first make sun tea, then put it in a pitcher, and then people add as much or as little sugar, or lemon, or mint as they like.

First of all - we're having another Austin eGullet chowdown - this Sunday, 22 Sept, 6pm at T&S Chinese. Now that you're here, maybe you can make it! I love Vespaio. They had the best Esalata Caprese there I've had outside of Italy. Been several times, and it's always wonderful. I don't like waiting and I don't like noise, so always go weeknights just as the place opens. Reale's, for the "typical" American-Italian is I think quite good, and on the Austin food thread, several other people mention it as well. It's family owned and operated - an Italian-American family from New York. You should check on the Austin Food thread - there are lots of good recommendations. Vespaio is mentioned several times. So, about Sunday????

I know that the British expats living in Thailand, where the temps hover around the 90's with great regularity, would still prefer their hot tea to anything. Well - that's right. They did pretty much trot all over the world colonizing the blighters, didn't they? And even when one went "out to the colonies" one preferred one's tea to be steaming. So, maybe there's no hope.

Obviously not. I used to make iced tea frequently from loose tea leaves. Just don't do it much anymore. And, if I had my girlfriends coming for, say, a bridge luncheon, and I'd brewed up some tea from some fancy ingredients, they'd probably ooh and aah, and try some, but they'd also expect me to have 'regular' iced tea available as well. While we're on the subject -- it has been my good fortune to know a great many Brits throughout my life. Most of them make unpleasant faces at the thought of iced tea. It always seemed odd to me that they enjoy hot tea so much - why not iced tea? It's the same flavor after all. So I've given this matter some considerable thought. And here is what I have decided. Hot tea provides comfort and warmth. Especially when it's cold and damp and blustery outside, it nourishes the soul and spirit as well as the body. It makes one feel that one is part of a long and respected tradition. In the US - in areas where I've lived anyway - people drink iced tea to quench their thirst. And it's largely a seasonal thing. When it's cold outside, I don't think of having a nice big frosty glass of iced tea. But when the temperature is hovering in the high 90's, for me there's nothing as refreshing as iced tea, especially with a squeeze of lemon and a sprig of mint. So, my suggestion to the Brits who are trying to understand our mad fascination with that ghastly and horrid iced tea, I'd ask that rather than comparing the iced version of our tea, with your traditional cup of hot tea, compare it to a glass of lemonade. More as a cool drink when the weather is stiflingly hot. I have never been in England when the temperature is hovering in the high 90's. I suspect that if it did so more often, the English would soon succumb to the delights of iced tea.

In the South, traditionally if you're having a luncheon or something, and you want the tea to be particularly good, all your girlfriends expect you to make "sun tea." When you arrive, you'll often see a big glass gallon jar sitting outside brewing, the little strings and paper labels hanging from under the lid.

Please don't forget to tell us what you took and how it went. Was it supposed to be the traditional "health salad" that several people mentioned earlier in the thread?

Would definitely suggest Commander's Palace. It is really classic New Orleans' fine restaurant. In my opinion, every noted food destination has one or two restaurants that have been long considered as the best. Even if they aren't any more, I like to visit them, just so I am in the know, and understand what everyone's talking about. It's kind of like "seeing the sights." And both Emeril and K-Paul honed their skills there before opening their own restaurants. Also suggest: Nola, Port of Call (burgers) Mulates (Cajun with Zydaco Music) Mother's, cafeteria style cajun.

That's my favorite salad.... but with Greek feta instead of the basil, and a few olives. My very favorite. Somehow, this doesn't seem quite right for a pre-Yom Kippur dinner. How about an Israeli-style chopped salad dressed simply with oil (I prefer peanut for this situation) and vinegar dressing? That's what I usually serve for Jewish holiday dinners. Goes very well with first courses like gefilte fish and chopped liver. Whoops. Guess from now on I should stick to advice as to what to take to a Southern Christian potluck.

That's my favorite salad.... but with Greek feta instead of the basil, and a few olives. My very favorite.

CathyL & Priscilla -- What kind of chutney do you prefer on your meatloaf??

My granny often put something like a whole carrot, or whole hard-boiled eggs down the middle of the meatloaf. It was just so fun to cut the thing open and marvel at the stuff in the middle. To this day, when I see a magician do the "cut the woman in half" trick, it reminds me somehow of slicing into my grandmother's meatloaf.

When my three children were very small, 6,3,1, we lived across the street from a woman with five kids. My oldest started school that year, and I would get up around 6:30 in the mornings to make him a nice lunch. I noticed that my neighbor was always up even earlier. One morning, I ran out of bread for sandwiches, and trotted across the street to borrow a couple pieces. This woman's kitchen looked like the line in a short-order diner. My eyebrows went up and my eyeballs got big. "What on earth are you doing?" "I'm making everyone's lunch. I wish I could get them to eat the same thing, but...." She went on to say that "this one didn't like this and that one didn't like that and this one HAS to have his this, and that one HAS to have her that." She was making five DIFFERENT lunches, lunches to order, for these kids. This poor woman was getting up at 5:30 every morning just to make breakfasts and lunches for these five kids. Now, understand that these were BIG kids, all of them in junior high or highschool. As with so many ordeals, this one had started off small, and then had insidiously expanded beyond reason. Shaken, I crossed the street back to my own home. I could see my future, and I resolved that would never happen to me. Where this story is going is this: my kids made their own lunches. I either bought or made whatever they wanted that they couldn't prepare themselves, but they packed it themselves. For example, one of them liked cold leftover tomato stuff. When I made lasagna, pizza, whatever, I made plenty extra. He'd take it in some sort of plastic container. I always had lots of cheese and fruit, and the rule was, you had to take one fruit. I made salads for sandwiches: tuna, chicken, egg. They could take them in a small thermos that kept them cold. They'd take two slices of bread and a pickle (and their required fruit) and make their own sandwich at school. In the winter, I made lots and lots and lots of beef stews, vegetable soups, chili, etc., always trying for leftovers for the kids to take in their thermos. A real favorite was baked beans. In the morning, in the microwave, they'd heat up the beans, and heat up a frankfurter. Then, they'd pour the beans into the thermos and stick the hot frankfurter down into it. Seal it up, pack up a bun and some potato salad. Lunchtime, retrieve the wiener, put it on the bun, and they'd have a nice warm hot-dog, with beans and potato salad. Another was soft tacos... The kids would take several pieces of leftover roast chicken, or beef, or pork canitas in a bag, and a small container of my salsa, and some tortillas. Soft tacos. I bought big bags of chips and the kids put them into smaller ziplock bags. They could take one bag of chips. I had a junk box. It held crap like Twinkies, Little Debbies, and other sweets. Each kid could take only ONE thing from the junk box for dessert. My daughter never liked sweets much, but she did take something from the junk box daily. One day I asked her why, and she said, "It's just good to have it. Sometimes I trade it for stuff. Sometimes I give it to a friend. I never eat it but it's kinda like money. You may not need it, but it's a good thing to have with you just in case." My children had taken another step down the path toward self-reliance; they had nutritious, imaginative lunches; and I could sleep in until nearly seven. At which point I'd appear in the kitchen to inspect the lunches and be sure they met with my nutritional approval, and give each child a hug and big kiss, and send them out the door. If they didn't like their lunches, it was their own fault. I HATE whining.

Ah, meatloaf -- the paté of the plains. My dad did most of the good cooking in our house, and on weekends he often made meatloaf. Instead of bread or cracker crumbs, he always used rolled oats, and so do I. He cooked in it loaf pans, but his meatloaf, although moist and delicious, was a little too greasy for today's tastes. So, I make mine on a sheet pan. Our family never liked brown sauce with meatloaf. If we got it that way in a restaurant, we felt cheated, although it wasn't so bad if there was a big mound of mashed potatoes alongside that you could put the brown gravy over. If my Dad had time, he'd make a typical Creole Sauce to serve over the finished meatloaf: onions, celery, bell peppers sauteed in EVOO, then add about 2 C tomatoes, either fresh or canned, some Cajun Spice (I can't remember exactly what and neither can he, so I just use a prepared blend), S&P and some Louisiana hot sauce. He always put bacon over his loaves. So did his mother and so do I. If he didn't have time to make his Creole Sauce, he'd glaze the loaf with red sauce first and then put the bacon slices over. Meatloaf Glaze: 1/3 C catsup 1 tsp Worsty 1 T dark brown sugar 1 T yellow mustard 1 tsp (or more to taste) horseradish To each his own; I've found my own -- and it ain't brown sauce.

Great report, NYT. Thanks!

Didn't really intend to put that information in this thread. There have been several "restaurants in Houston" threads lately, and I intended to put that info into a different one of them.

I'd agree with the consensus for Goode's. Especially with your location. Other choices are Drexler's and William's Smoke House. But if I were you, with limited time and a taxi drive, I'd opt for Goode's.

Actually, when I think about it, I probably cut my pork into about 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 cubes. They wind up about 1x1. Gee Suzanne - I've ALWAYS liked you, too.

Tequila and lime - so traditionally Mexican - so wonderful. As I said in my instructions, I use them in my carnitas as well. Don't know him so obviously can't be positive, but "Cruz" is a fairly common Mexican name. Sometimes it's short for something with "cruz" in it. But by itself, Cruz means "cross." I'd be surprised if it were "Crus" with an "s." The fajita recipe you mentioned, marinated in tequila and lime (and usually some chiles as well) is the traditional, original one. I simply cannot tell you how disappointed I ALWAYS am when I order fajitas and get the same old grilled beef or chicken, green peppers, onions. Blah. Yes, they often fry their salsas in hot oil. Chopped tomatoes, chiles, onions, garlic, squeeze of lime. Or tomatillos, or whatever. You heard right. And boy does that smell good when they start frying it. I love that rice that they fix. In my "carnitas" instructions, I wanted to say that they often pile the carnitas on Spanish rice. But of course, what comes to mind is that goopy tomatoey stuff we think of here. And I couldn't figure out how else to describe it, so just said, "rice." But isn't that rice wonderful??? EDIT: Let me add that I think you are so lucky to have such an ebullient Mexican family next door. You are in for many enjoyable hours with them, I'm sure.

If you like them pulled, then when you've simmered your pork pieces down to no liquid left, just take a couple forks and pull them apart. When I do that, I kind of fry lumps, or patties, of the pulled pork.... sort of like frying hash browns. You don't simmer the whole shoulder? I guess that would take much longer. D - Don't know how much time you have, or if you're interested in "quickie cooking," but there was a time in my life when I had to do a lot of throwing things together in the morning, then leaving for work, then coming home to a hungry household. So, I did a "quickie" version of this. Into the crockpot went a pork shoulder, a couple cans whole green chiles (they break up), couple onions, two cloves garlic, and a jar of Herdez Salsa Casera. By the time I got home.... quickie carnitas. (By the way, it turned out that my ex-husband and I had completely different notions as to what constituted a "quickie." Many of mine included the crockpot, but none of his ever did.)

Don't know, Jin. I suspect that it might make a discernable difference on the "cubes" but not so much on the pulled kind. Will be interested to hear how it turns out.

If you like them pulled, then when you've simmered your pork pieces down to no liquid left, just take a couple forks and pull them apart. When I do that, I kind of fry lumps, or patties, of the pulled pork.... sort of like frying hash browns. You don't simmer the whole shoulder? I guess that would take much longer. Actually, I have done that.... also with beef for carne seca, and chile verde, and carne quisada. I used to do it pretty often in my (**other thread alert**) CROCK POT. But it does take longer. And it gives you a slightly different final texture than frying your pork squares in their own rendered fat.