Jaymes

Won't be long now....... Break a chicken leg, Kiddo.

Have often wondered why even just regular restaurant butter in Europe tastes so much bettah than buttah in the States........ even, it seems to me, "gourmet" and European brands that I have purchased here. Someone who purports to know told me that it is because in Europe the butter is made from unpasturized cream, so that even European brands sold here are not as good because they are pasturized for the U.S. market. Does anyone know if that is true?

Congratulations on your obvious fondness for and pride in what you do and in where you do it. Kudos.

Suvir - Everytime I have had curry in a typical American home, the condiments include: shredded coconut, chopped peanuts, green peppers, onions or scallions, mango chutney, raisins, etc. Are any of those condiments that traditional Indian cooks would offer? Do you? Do you find any of them appealing?

I have read many references to Jaffrey's tomato chutney on eGullet. I hate to sound stupid but am wondering, is this a product that you purchase or prepare from Jaffrey's recipe? If it is the latter, can you tell me where I can find the recipe?

I serve chopped cucumbers in yoghurt, and apple chunks tossed with lemon and mint. And to drink, I have never found a wine that (to my taste) marries as well with fiery curries so well as cold beer. And plenty of it.

To quart of eggnog, add 1 cup bourbon, 1/2 cup rum, 1/4 cup brandy. All three are nice - rum for flavor, brandy for kick, but only the bourbon is absolutely indispensable.

Now, about those curry condiments......

Here's a true "travel" story. I used to handle travel for large groups. This particular group was an association of 2500 attorneys in the state of Texas. They were having their annual convention at the Marriott Casa Magna in Cancun. The president of the association (a big name Texas lawyer who you might have even heard of) insisted that we call the bar at the Marriott and ask them if they had Weller's bourbon. If not, he said, we had better figure out a way to get it down there. The bartender at the Marriott said that they didn't have Weller's but added that they did have a "very fine selection," naming off at least fifteen other brands. The president wouldn't budge. And not only did he want enough for himself, he liked treating his friends to his favorite brand of bourbon. It's not all that easy transporting cases of spirits between countries, however, so we wound up smuggling a case of Weller's bourbon into Mexico just for this guy. And here's a bourbon recipe from my family. It's my grandmother's "Bourbon Punch." (Granny never DID like a lot of fruit in her punch....just plenty of punch in her punch. ) Bourbon Punch 1 fifth good-quality bourbon 2 6-oz cans frozen lemonade (in the way-old days, she made up a lemon syrup for this part, but as soon as frozen lemonade became available, she ditched the syrup for the convenience of the frozen product) 2 quarts club soda Night before, put bourbon in freezer and club soda in fridge. At serving time, combine all ingredients and mix well. Serve with garnishes (cherries, lemon or orange slices, mint leaves) and bucket of ice alongside. Here's another easy one: Bourbon Cup In brandy snifter, highball glass, or other dessert dish, put scoop of vanilla ice cream. Splash with bourbon. Sprinkle some dry instant coffee on top. Oh, and always put a little bourbon in the sweet potatoes.

Or explain that you're from New York. Alaskans always get a kick out of that.

Hell Steebles...welcome! Thanks for that info. We'll be looking forward to more! Maybe the Austin folks can congrate for migas y mas one of these days. Those chic New Yorkers get together all the time, as do the Brits, and we can't let them show us up, verdad? They drink a lot of beer and call it a "piss-up." We should show them that no one can piss up like us Texans!

Actually, I just "PM'd" Rachel about that very thing earlier today. She said that they are working on it. I'm hopeful an Alaska board will pop up, as if by magic, sometime soon

Want to elaborate a little on the "best food in Alaska." Pretty-much everyone in Alaska, certainly everyone in the know, would tell you without hesitation that the best food in the state is reputed to be had in the small town of Gustavus, on the Salmon River, near to the mouth of Glacier Bay, at the legendary (and I do mean legendary) Gustavus Inn.... Where one can also rent kayaks and paddle through ice floes to one's heart's content. Anyone interested in knowing more about the best place to stay, and the best food, in Alaska can check out their website... www.gustavusinn.com uuummmm.... Alaskan breakfasts with sourdough pancakes and freshly-picked blueberries...... Salmon and halibut just pulled from the streams.... Now, if I could just win the lottery and get my butt back up there........ PS - Wish I could have posted this information in an "Alaska" thread. Not only isn't there one (that I could find), didn't seem to be any place to put it, either.

If you go at the right time, it's highly unlikely you wouldn't catch anything. As to what happens if you don't.... Well, if you are asking if you can run up and grab someone else's fish off of their line and take a bite out of it.... I'd advise against it. Alaskans can be pretty persnickity about their fish. And they are also a rather "no nonsense" bunch of folk. You'd probably get banged upside the head with an oar. Even if you had a napkin on your head. Especially if you had a napkin on your head.

How old are you?

I was a travel agent for over fifteen years, owned my own agency for eight, and lived in Alaska for three, where I worked at (no kidding) Santa's Travel World in North Pole, Alaska. Should add that the agency was (and, I believe, still is) located on Santa Claus Lane.

Actually, that's not typical. Although it's not a long way from Vancouver to Ketchikan (so, technically speaking, one could cruise to "Alaska" in two days), it takes seven days to get from Vancouver up to Seward on the Kenai Penninsula. Assuming you want to get up farther than, say, Juneau, it would take you two weeks of cruising to do the roundtrip, if you go "all the way." Also, of course for the most part, you'd go right by the same stuff you already saw, although most of those longer roundtrip itineraries go by Juneau and the inside passage on one way, and Sitka and the outside route the other. Older people who have plenty of money and time on their hands will, indeed, opt for the longer cruises, as will those who are afraid to fly. On the other hand, people with much more limited finances will take a shorter "round-trip" to Juneau or sometimes Skagway, because it is often much cheaper since you don't have to pay for the air. In addition, those cruises are not as popular (because you don't see and do as much) and don't fill up as fast so you frequently can find them deeply discounted. But by far the most "typical" is to cruise the seven days one way, either up there or back to Vancouver, and fly the other way with, often, a 4-6 day "land tour" of interior Alaska. Another very popular option with the "small ships" is to fly to Ketchikan or Juneau and get on one of the "Explorer" or "Expedition" ships....sail around a bit up there (eliminating the long haul from Vancouver into Alaskan waters) and then fly home. The best food in Alaska BY FAR is generally considered to be at Gustavus, at the legendary Gustavus Inn, which is included in some of the smaller ships' itineraries.

ALL of the cruiselines plying those waters offer shore excursions, including fishing for salmon, and there is nothing to stop you from dragging one into your boat and sinking your teeth into it immediately, if that's what you want to do. Also, ALL of the upscale lines (and probably even Carnival as well...sorry Carnival) have an option whereby if you notify the chef ahead of time, he will cook that day's catch of whatever you catch however you wish it prepared... ie, poached, baked, etc., including offering you suggestions as to his favorite way of preparing it. If you don't wish to eat it in the boat immediately after you catch it, or that evening, or if you just catch too much to do so, they will also prepare it for you for shipping....or freeze it, or do whatever you wish with it. Most of the Alaskan fishing towns (Ketchikan, Homer, Seward, etc.) also have companies that will trade with you your catch for already processed fish....smoked, canned, whatever. They are well prepared for you. You will find that you are far from the first tourist to travel north and catch a big mess o' fish, so they know what to do to make it easy for you. The type of salmon you catch on the shore excursions depends on what is running when and where you are fishing. If you have some really big preference among chum (the Alaskans call it "dog salmon" because that's what they feed their dogs) or reds or silvers or kings, or whatever, you should contact the Alaska Fish & Game Department and ask what is running when and where and time your excursion accordingly. All the cruiselines offer considerable salmon dishes on their regular menus on that itinerary, and the types vary. But it seems to me that every Alaska cruise I've ever been on has had some type of salmon available every single day as one of the choices. Like the rest of life, the level of service you receive depends in large measure on how upscale the cruise line is, but most of them are very happy to honor special requests and you will, most likely, get to know your waiter and maitre d' pretty well and can inquire into special methods of preparation. Furthermore, it is very interesting to arrange for a galley tour, especially if it includes the storage areas down below the main galley. You can walk through the freezers and see just how complicated a process it is. Also, I am sure that if you wish to chat up the head chef, that can be arranged as well. In addition to all of this, I know you didn't ask, and may well have already booked your trip, but you said you were interested in cruises that depart Vancouver for Alaska. That leads me to believe that you are planning on cruising up and flying home. Unless you live in the western portion of the U.S. or Canada, I'd STRONGLY urge you to book it the other way around. Fly up, tour if you wish, and then cruise home. And believe me, I know what I'm talking about.

Do I have this straight? Your grandmother's recipe was just beet juice from a can, yoghurt and lemon juice? If so, You Go Granny! A girl after my own heart. Something fabulous without spending so much time in a hot summer kitchen that by the time you're finished fixing it, you're sick of the entire thing. And just want to take to bed with your limoncello.

When I had three kids at home and was always trying to shove into them something good for them, but still quick and easy to prepare, I often put tuna in my Spaghetti Carbonara. Broccoli in the mac & cheese. Etc. Sometimes moms gottabe sneaky.

But you'll have to do what I do....hide the Fritos bag when you are cooking for company

One of my very favorite summer "starters" is cold cherry soup served in cantaloupe "bowls" with a dob of sour cream on top, and a mint leaf stuck in the sour cream.

Haven't, but absolutely will. Am off to the grocery tomorrow and will look for it. Thanks for the tip!

Actually, always have both in the fridge. When I have time, which is very rare these days, make my own mayo. And I grew up that way as well. In our fridge were always one jar of store-bought mayo and one of Miracle Whip and several of homemade varieties that my dad had just prepared over that weekend. We selected among these several varieties according to what we were using it for, which is what I still do today. Miracle Whip has more "tang" than mayo, unless it's homemade mayo to which you've added extra lemon or something. I guess that, just as you so succinctly pointed out, I am indeed very, very lucky to have grown up with so many options, not just limiting my horizons (nor prepared spreads) to only one or two that are considered "correct."

Hope Rachel has the plate writing logo of eGullet (complete with dancing mouse-in-tummy guy) down pat. You'll probably be wanting to do that exact design for all upcoming festive dinners in Jason's honor, right?