Jaymes

Is there a dish you love but will not make...because if you do you will eat it all? A dear friend has just announced that, for health reasons, she will no longer be making the confections she loves. Others have suggested to her that she continue to make these wonderful treats, but eat only a few, and sell, or give as gifts, the majority. Alas, she says, she cannot do that. She's tried. And so, that's the end of that era. It got me to thinking. And I realized that I, too, have a few dishes that I intentionally do not make because I love them so much, I cannot resist them. And I will eat and eat until the pan or bowl or big glass baking dish is empty. For me, it's lasagna, meatloaf, pralines. How about you? Anything you avoid making just because you can't avoid eating?

Having lived for several years in the Philippines, I certainly developed a fondness for many of their dishes. Lumpia, of course. Pancit. Adobo. And many others. I've bought several Filipino cookbooks, but they didn't really "do it" for me, for some reason. So I've ordered "The Adobo Road," with heightened expectations. And, just in case, "The Filipino-American Kitchen," too. I do have a Filipino market & restaurant pretty close to my house, but I'm hopeful that "The Filipino-American Kitchen" will give me substitutes for some ingredients that I've had a difficult time sourcing. Amazon link Filipino-American Kitchen

Last weekend, we made the Browned Butter Ice Cream from Christine Ha's book. Fans of Masterchef might recall her as a winner. I bought her cookbook because I loved the way her food sounded like it tastes. Thus far, have not been disappointed. Whole family loved this ice cream and we'll definitely make it again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6lCclJH6TY

I have to say that those carrots sound terrific. I think I'll take a much closer look at the book just because of the carrots. But, since we were talking about cooking with colas, and now about carrots, my usual "quickie" carrot method calls for caramelizing them in ginger ale. Don't have the book to look at so I can't help but wonder... Does the "bourbon ginger" carrots recipe call for ginger ale, or for real ginger?

Not as fancy as some of these, but, I'll bet, equally tasty is this Mexican squash recipe. I'm going to give you the quicky, short-cut version. I could sling this together after coming home hungry and tired to face a big family that wanted something on the table. Naturally, they wanted to just go hit a fast-food joint, but I was determined to get some veggies in them. So I took a longer and more complicated recipe and came up with a shortcut version, that my whole family loved. Obviously, if you want to make everything from scratch, you can. And you don't need me to tell you how to roast corn and remove the kernels, or how to roast and peel green chiles, or how to roast tomatoes. So I won't. Mexican Squash & Corn 2 lbs summer squash (just fine with yellow, or zucchini, or pattypan, or a mixture), cut into large bite-sized pieces 1 T butter 1 small yellow onion, or 1/2 large, very coarsely chopped 3 tomatoes (can use canned), chopped 1 cup corn kernels (can use canned), cooked and drained 1 4-oz can green chiles, drained, very coarsely chopped 1 C Cheddar or Longhorn cheese, grated S & P to taste Boil squash until just barely tender. Be very careful not to overcook. Pour into colander and allow to drain thoroughly. Meanwhile, into saucepan put butter, onion, tomatoes. Sauté til onions are clear and mixture is “mushy.” Return squash to pan. Add cooked corn and chiles and simmer briefly to combine flavors. Add cheese and allow to melt. Serve immediately when cheese is melted.

Golly, we're not as much alike as I thought... I buy whatever bacon is on sale, and plenty of it, and then go home and throw it into the freezer. Bacon is something we never want to be without. Especially now, with the late-summer tomatoes being so plentiful. Would hate to have the tomatoes, but no bacon, for BLTs. Or, to make bacon-avocado sandwiches. Or, to flavor green beans. Or, to flavor pinto beans. Or, to lay across the top of my meatloaf. Or, to make wilted spinach salad. Or, to fry up for breakfast. Or, to make potato-bacon chowder. Or, to fry up in my cast-iron skillet so that I can get some hot bacon grease to make my southern-style cornbread. Or, to make German Potato Salad. .

I remember in the (admittedly brutal) winters in Germany, our cook, Maria, would take slices of heavy bread, soak them in warm speck until they were completely saturated with the fat, and then fry them in more speck. Then eat it piping hot. We were aghast. But my dad pointed out that the winters there required plenty of body heat, and eating what was basically fat fried in more fat, was a good way to fuel one's personal oven. And Maria was not a plump woman. To the contrary, she was small and wiry and very strong. My favorite Polish restaurant here in Houston serves two little white dishes along with your basket of bread. One contains butter. The other, pure sausage speck.

First, the salad was an improvised creation using what was handy, and there was (and never is) any bacon in the house. The only time I'll use bacon is for a specific dish, and then I'll buy just what is needed - two, three, four strips - of high quality, thick, hand sliced bacon of a type specific to the dish being prepared.Should bacon be "required," I'll use it, but making a vegetarian version of the salad is fine for us. That said, I read that typical American bacon is not used in German Kartoffelsalat, and that Speck, or something similar, is commonly used. Is that correct? As I recall, speck is pork or sausage grease, sometimes with, sometimes without, small bits of meat. Not American-style bacon, to be sure, but grease from a pork product. Like I said, our cook typically made potato salad to go with pork chops, and she made it in the same pan, using the pork fat. Or, often, she saved the grease from the morning's sausage, and she used that to make the potato salad. She did have bacon, but it was not "American-style," in that it wasn't smoked. I'm in Houston, which is a very ethnically diverse city. There actually are German and Polish delis here where I can buy speck. Or, I can fry up a pan of sausage and use that. But, we always have bacon, and we like that flavor, and it's easy, so that's what we use. If I don't want the smoked flavor of American-style bacon, I simply parboil it a bit, which removes it. However, I'm sure that there are many vegetarian options that you might find more pleasing. It does seem to me that, in your original post, you said you were "open for suggestions, pointers, and any ideas." This was my humble effort in that regard. As always, you are certainly free to ignore it if you wish.

Notice the OP didn't mention bacon. Having lived in Germany as a child, that warm potato salad remains a real favorite of mine. In fact, not just the potato salad, but everything with that sweet/sour flavor profile. And it seems to me that every German I've known starts with frying bacon, or some other pork product, and the resulting grease provides the oil/fat base for the dressing. Our cook used to make potato salad in the same skillet after frying pork chops, or sausage. Perhaps looking for a vegetarian version? Because if not, then I'd definitely suggest you fry up some bacon or other pork product and make your dressing, and salad, in that skillet.

If you mean the one where you add the beaten egg at the last minute, now that you've tried it a couple of times, I'd bet you will never again be able to look at a pan of cooked squash without thinking to yourself "now, where's that egg?" However, upon rereading the recipe, I noticed that I left out one important piece of instruction - after the egg is fully incorporated and cooked and you add the sour cream or grated cheese and replace the lid, be sure to turn off the heat. You don't want it to cook any more.

Although it doesn't go all the way to "pickles," I often slice raw summer squash and some onions and put them into the bottom of the salad bowl long before dinnertime. Then pour over some of whatever salad dressing I'm going to be using. I let that sit for a couple of hours before adding the rest of the ingredients and tossing.

Well, first, you don't cook it until it reaches that consistency. I monitor it pretty closely and when it's tender, but still has texture, it's ready. However, there's a wonderful and very old and time-honored southern dish called "Creamed Squash," where the idea is to cook it, along with a Vidalia onion, to a "mushy, water squash puree." But then you put it into a skillet with some butter and you continue cooking and stirring until the water has evaporated and you continue cooking and mashing and stirring until it's quite dry, whereupon you add some heavy cream and sugar. You wind up with a delicious dish that is about the consistency of loose mashed potatoes. In the olden days, this was a very popular dish and showed up at every potluck and holiday table. It was also one of the first solid-food dishes that got fed to baby.

I am not an expert on these matters, having only recently started fermenting veggies. But yes, green bean kimchi sounds doable. The recipe posted, however, does not seem like a true kimchi recipe in the sense that it does not call for fermentation. As I understand it, there are several types of kimchi, including "spring kimchi," which is not usually fermented, but is eaten fairly quickly after having been made. Spring kimchi is my personal favorite. I particularly love spring kimchi made with green onions/scallions, and other spring kimchi, like the one illustrated with green bean and radish.

Does Lemon Gin count here? Perhaps it's time for a spinoff thread? "Unfortunate Booze Memories"?

I hope you like it, Shelby, although frankly it's hard to imagine you won't! I mean, what's not to like? I'll be checking back to see how it turned out. One thing to remember, because you're cooking it very slowly, it takes a little bit longer. So start it about 10 minutes earlier than you would if you were just boiling the squash in water. Oh, and don't forget that pinch of sugar!

Oh my goodness...I forgot. Always add a pinch of sugar. That's so ubiquitous that it's just a habit. Not something we really think about. So I keep forgetting to mention it. As I said elsewhere, a pinch of sugar helps mitigate whatever bitterness there might be. And sometimes squash is definitely bitter. So don't forget that pinch of sugar.

The number one way my family (Dad, who was the cook in our family; and his mother, who owned a Southern home-cooking restaurant) prepared summer squash: In a saucepan with a tightly-fitting lid, put about a tablespoon of butter, and one yellow onion, sliced, or very coarsely chopped. Saute the onion briefly, until it's limp, being very careful not to let the onion or butter brown. Add 1 smashed & minced garlic clove. Add a couple of cups of summer squash, large dice. Sprinkle with a little salt. Add just a pinch of sugar. Give the whole thing a stir. Add no water. Put on the lid and put the fire on low. (Note: With yellow squash, peel it before chopping it into large dice. That takes care of the "tough skin" thing. With zucchini, I don't bother. We often make this with a mix of summer squashes.) Keep checking your squash and stirring to be sure it's cooking evenly. There is enough water in squash that a liquid will begin to form. In a cup or small bowl, beat one or two eggs (depending upon how much squash you have). You don't have to work really hard at it, just kind of stir them up. When the squash is almost, but not quite, tender, take the lid off so that some of the liquid can evaporate. Then turn the fire up a bit and pour in your beaten eggs. Stir rapidly so that the egg coats the squash. You're not going for a "scrambled eggs with squash" effect; you're going for great squash that tastes terrific and nobody can really even detect the eggs. When the eggs are cooked and the squash is tender, add a generous dollop of sour cream, or some grated cheese (I love to add Laughing Cow), and put the lid back on and let it sit. After a few minutes, give it another stir and serve immediately. This is how my grandmother fixed the squash she served at her restaurant for many, many years.

It's probably different things for different people. But where I am - Southwest - there is a lot of Mexican food around, and it almost all has cumin. Folks lap it up. But bring out an Indian curry with that strong turmeric aroma and they scrunch up their noses and head for the door.

Well, as I always say, rather than cultivating a garden, I'd much rather cultivate a gardener.

Fishsticks. I had a horrible incident where a stray bone caught in my throat and I had to go to hospital. It left me with a deep-seated distrust of Captain Highliner and his ilk. And I was certainly not a child but, rather, had just become the legal drinking age of 21 when a handsome young Air Force officer invited me to dinner at the Officer's Club, with drinks first with his flying buddies at the O-Club Bar. I was not accustomed to drinking much and that first Tom Collins tasted so harmless and delicious, that I imbibed way way way too many of them. And then we were led into dinner where I started my meal with a wedge salad - topped with plenty of Thousand Island dressing. About fifteen minutes later, there was an extremely unpleasant incident involving me and a ladies room bathroom stall that I won't go into here. But suffice it to say that I couldn't stand even the smell of Thousand Island Dressing for several decades afterwards.

We eat a lot of summer squash in our house, prepared a variety of ways. Probably most often, we grill them outdoors. We do a lot of outdoor grilling in the summer and almost always grill an assortment of vegetables, onion halves, bell peppers, mushrooms, squashes, etc., along with the meat. For zucchini and yellow squash, we cut them in half lengthwise, brush with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, or maybe a sprinkle of oregano or basil or "Italian Seasoning," or a seasoned salt, like Tex-Joy, Cavender's Greek Seasoning, Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, or something similar, and then grill them on the barbie. Best when they're removed from the grill while still a bit firm. So seriously delicious that even the little kids eagerly eat them and pout when the serving dish goes empty.

Actually, that sounds a whole lot like Green Bean Kimchi - a dish that my Korean neighbor used to prepare often. http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/green-bean-kimchi

I do happen to like that "typical" curry flavor profile, with turmeric, the strong flavor profile that I think is so unpleasant to so many, the one that "cheap motel lobbies" smell like, and the "undercurrent" that someone "can't put her finger on," etc.; but, that said, I do think the Thai curries are my very favorites. Coconut milk, chiles, spices, shrimp or duck or chicken, lemon grass, wild lime leaves... OMG, and sometimes I think god must live somewhere in Thailand. All that food is just so damn good. In fact, come to think of it, I have some of that Thai cucumber & onion salad that always comes with satay in the fridge right now. As the kids say, BRB.

Seems to me that if you don't like it, there's no reason why you should force yourself. God knows I wish I liked fewer dishes. I like basically everything. A lot. Sadly. Although I suppose I would ask gfweb if he's ever had "Mexican food" in Mexico. I'm thinking right now specifically of shrimp grilled over an open fire on a Mexican beach. Served with fresh limes or sour oranges to squeeze over. Not what I think most "norteamericanos" think of as "Mexican." But, of course, really very Mexican. And kinda hard to imagine anyone not liking it. Unless, of course, you don't like shrimp. In which case.... Oh, nevermind. .

Don't like Korean food? What? Bulgogi? You don't like bulgogi? How is it possible for anyone to not like bulgogi?