Jaymes

I'm not arguing against your dislike or trying to convince you otherwise. I'm just genuinely curious as to what the connection could be when there are things under the heading "curry" that have no resemblance to each other whatsoever. Completely different ingredients, spices, flavor profiles, textures, etc. from different parts of the world but just happen to be called curry in the place they come from. I'm not trying to make anyone defensive and not trying to convince anybody they're wrong. I find it interesting and would really like to know what it could be that ties everything under the name together into a collective dislike. There has to be some common thread with more than one person naming curry in general as a dislike. I'm not of Middle/Far Eastern extraction so could have this wrong, but I've been told that "curry" in those countries just means, basically, a sort of "mixture," including the typical wet sauce, but also a dry seasoning version - almost like, if you were commenting on US cuisine, and you referred to a "stew" - it could be comprised of many things. Actually, in Mexican cuisine, that's what "mole" means, too. A mixture of seasonings, etc., that form a blend, a sauce. Regarding mole, most folks in the US immediately think of the famous dark mole that includes chocolate, but many of the moles have no chocolate at all and wouldn't be recognizable to people that only think of the dark one. And I think that's the same thing for the word "curry." Most of us immediately associate that term with the strongly-flavored curries of India. Although, again, they can be made many ways, and contain many different ingredients, turmeric is pretty typical. It seems to me that the distinctive, strong aroma and flavor of that brightly-colored orangish-yellow turmeric is the main thing that is off-putting for so many Americans. Although, did you know, it's supposed to be great for psoriasis?

Want to thank you for this "heads up." I did indeed go to Amazon and get on the list to receive one when it becomes available.

Are the potatoes in this raw, or did I miss something here? I was wondering this, too. And, Lindag, happy you found, and like, Durkee's. Also really good in cole slaw, deviled eggs, etc. By the way, just want to point out that I posted that recipe for my mom's instant potato salad as an example of her cooking that nobody should emulate. I loved her dearly, of course, but she was not the "cook" in our family. My father's mother was a legendary southern cook, and even owned a home-style restaurant. That's where my father learned to love the kitchen. My mother saw it as one more job that a home-maker and mother had to do: "Just get something on the table" was her motto. Don't want anyone to think that I posted it as a great idea for somebody to copy. It's pretty ghastly.

I always add an herb to my pot of simmering green beans - either basil or oregano, depending upon what else I'm serving. A favorite is Rancho Gordo Oregano Indio. http://www.ranchogordo.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RG&Product_Code=4ORI&Category_Code=HASI#.UfvTHaxm4rw Don't add too much of either the basil or oregano. You don't want to overpower the green bean flavor. When I make one of our family favorite dinners - German Sour Beef - I always serve green beans cooked with oregano. Don't know why I think that's German except that, when I was a kid, I lived in Germany and our cook made green beans that way. I'd be willing to bet that if y'all try adding a quick sprinkle of basil or oregano to your pot, you'll make it a habit from here on out. Best recipe at our house: Cut up some bacon. Coarsely chop an onion. In bean pot, saute onion and bacon. Sprinkle in some oregano or basil. When bacon has rendered fat and onions are limp, add a smashed garlic clove. Put in your snapped beans. Add water to cover. Instead of salt, add Knorr Caldo de Pollo to taste. (http://www.mexgrocer.com/2640.html) Cook until beans are your desired degree of tenderness. Double-check your seasonings and if you need more salt, add more "Caldo" and allow that to be incorporated. Remove from heat. Throw in a handful of cherry tomatoes, toss quickly, drain, turn into serving dish and serve immediately. If you wait too long, the cherry tomatoes will burst. That's not exactly bad, but it is nice to bite into a whole cherry tomato. Oh, forgot to add... Although I've lived all over the world, my heritage is basically US Southern, and most of us Southern Cooks always add a tiny pinch of sugar to our vegetables. My grandmother, a legendary Southern cook, and restaurant owner, told me that a pinch of sugar mitigates whatever bitterness there might be, and enhances the natural sweetness of the vegetable. You definitely don't want to add too much. You're not trying to make a sweet dish. In fact, my grandmother said, if anybody that eats your vegetables can tell that you added sugar, you added too much.

I'd first ask which island/s you're going to visit.

They look terrific. And that's a pretty wonderful neighbor. But something tells me that she gets better than she gives. If you know what I mean....

Now I'd just like to know what Furzzy decided to serve.

Hey, "stirring the pot" is what it's all about here. Many different thoughts, opinions, suggestions. No apologies needed. As Annabelle points out, there are several assorted options to making a steak salad. I happen to like cold sliced beef, if it's good and tender beef. There are a great many cold beef dishes that are popular classics around the world - Beef Carpaccio comes immediately to mind. It's basically a cold-beef salad. Also, you can toss warm beef onto a traditional green salad base, and if you eat it promptly, many of the veggies still stay crunchy. Not to mention that there are a great many salads that don't contain any lettuce to start with. For example, Asian-influenced salads, and the cold German marinated meat salads - a particular favorite of mine. But if none of those options appeal to you, there's nothing whatsoever wrong with expressing that. In fact, that's just exactly what you should do, although yep, you'll get opposing opinions expressed right back. That's just part of what makes eG so fun and informative. So thanks for your input. Keep it up! FeChef: Here's an excellent example of an absolutely delicious cold beef salad - Thai Beef Salad - a dish that is always a big hit in our house: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Thai-Beef-Salad/ ETA - And in one of those frequent eG coincidences, was just reading the "Manitoulin" thread when up popped a mention of a Thai Beef Salad, complete with exquisite photo: Scroll down just a bit: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/145272-making-memories-in-manitoulin-at-it-again/page-9

Sign me up with the "top rack of the dishwasher" crowd. It all fits just fine. Full cycle. I've been doing it for decades. No problems. And, like Melissa, I think if I had to "wash the darn thing by hand," I'd dread that enough that I just wouldn't use it so often.

After cooking the potatoes, I use a ricer, rather than an electric blender. This gives me the texture I usually am looking for. If I want it smoother, I strain it.

Hey, "stirring the pot" is what it's all about here. Many different thoughts, opinions, suggestions. No apologies needed. As Annabelle points out, there are several assorted options to making a steak salad. I happen to like cold sliced beef, if it's good and tender beef. There are a great many cold beef dishes that are popular classics around the world - Beef Carpaccio comes immediately to mind. It's basically a cold-beef salad. Also, you can toss warm beef onto a traditional green salad base, and if you eat it promptly, many of the veggies still stay crunchy. Not to mention that there are a great many salads that don't contain any lettuce to start with. For example, Asian-influenced salads, and the cold German marinated meat salads - a particular favorite of mine. But if none of those options appeal to you, there's nothing whatsoever wrong with expressing that. In fact, that's just exactly what you should do, although yep, you'll get opposing opinions expressed right back. That's just part of what makes eG so fun and informative. So thanks for your input. Keep it up!

Steak pie. That's a great suggestion. Too much work (for me anyway) just for myself or my family out of leftovers. We'd either have the salad, or steak sandwiches, or fajita-tacos. But the OP mentioned she's got dinner guests. A steak (and kidney?) pie would be fancy enough for guests to know that you went to some trouble to please them. As opposed to just heating up some leftovers.

I find it particularly amusing that, just like Annabelle said in that other thread, if people were lining up for this same cuisine at some trendy NY "soul food restaurant" owned/managed/staffed by folks that the NYT deemed worthy of support for politically correct reasons, they wouldn't be trashing the so-called "unhealthy" dishes. And now that it seems just such a person that the politically correct intelligentsia deems worthy of support really created those dishes, and not their preferred "overweight rural southern WalMart-shoppin'" target, why, it turns out that those dishes are not so bad after all.

Oh noooo... why would you want to make a salad with anything less than stellar meat? True, a salad can be easily designed to hide the shortcomings of one of the ingredients, but a simple, perfect salad made with top-notch ingredients and minimal dressing (e.g. a little of a really excellent balsamic vinegar, which plays off beautifully against both beef and intense, delicate greens such as baby rucola or baby mustard) is one of the pleasures of summer. I'm totally with you on this one. Totally. To the point that I often intentionally order or cook a larger ribeye than I think I'm going to eat. It's a fine fine luxury to have such a tender piece of beef in a salad. I've had various cold beef salads with cheap, tough, gristly beef so often in the past that I don't even order it any more, even though meat salads are one of my very favorite things. Hate trying to chew my way through cheap beef in a salad. Not enjoyable at all. And I guess other folks must agree with FeChef to only put cheap meat in salads, because it sure seems that's the norm.

OMG, I love this thread. Thanks for bumping it up. It will be time very soon to begin aging our holiday beauties, won't it? The very first harbinger in our house of the cool weather and fun festivities to come. I do have some crocks. I wouldn't use plastic. I have used large glass jars that I set into dark closets.

Right. And they just added those few minutes to the Nellie & Joe's label not so long ago, because of the "raw egg" concern. If I recall correctly, and I'm pretty sure I do, originally that recipe called for no cooking time at all. I do about 11-15 minutes, too. To top it, sometimes I make a meringue, but we really love heavy cream whipped with some brown sugar and a little bit of dark rum. Just out of curiosity (and to double-check my aging memory), did a quick search. I thought that I recalled that the first several decades of my Key Lime Pie making involved no cooking/baking time whatsoever. And it was only when the "raw eggs" panic came along and put a stop to so many things - the original Orange Julius recipes, Caesar Salads, etc. - that we had to stick the pie into the oven for a bit. And in this case, anyway, my memory fails me not: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keylime_pie Interesting history.

Or do you perhaps not put the rack up high enough? My broiler, like gfweb's, is plenty hot.

I'll take the compliment! However, I think I suggested Zatarain's Shrimp & Crab Boil - which is Old Bay's Cajun cousin: http://www.amazon.com/Zatarains-Concentrated-Liquid-Shrimp-Ounce/dp/B00B040YHY/ref=pd_sim_sbs_indust_3

Thanks for the update! I've been thinking about you since your post above and hoped you had "fiddled" a little more with your dressing to come up with something more pleasing. So very glad to hear that's exactly what you did.

Fried polenta, or "mush" (as the sort of folk that live in the rural south and shop at WalMart, like me, call it), has been a staple at US Southern tables for generations. It's my daddy's personal very favorite breakfast. Here's a good recipe/method to follow: http://www.grouprecipes.com/85787/fried-mush-or-polenta.html

Gosh, Kerry, I sure hope this works out for you. Lingonberries, or whatever they're called wherever it is one is, are wonderful. Lingonberry jams and syrups are the best. And then there's that Northern Comfort I mentioned... If you don't have a lot of "Partridgeberries" where you are, perhaps you could plant some. They seem to grow wild in most northern locales.

I've also heard them called "cowberries." Interesting.

Rødgrød Med Fløde http://thepracticalpantry.com/2012/06/24/a-delicate-danish-tongue-twister-rodgrod-med-flode/ But I haven't got any black currents! How about Lowbush Cranberries - also called Lingonberries? Do you have them? They were all over Alaska and are easy to grow. So...speaking of drinking, when I lived in Alaska, we did quite a bit of that as well. And one of our favorite libations was something we called "Northern Comfort" - Cranberry Liqueur. You take about a quart of lowbush cranberries, and soak them in about a quart of high-proof vodka or Everclear for two months. Then you pour the liquid off into a bottle and mix the berries with sugar to taste - but use plenty because those berries are tart. Let the berries and sugar sit for about a week, then add that to the vodka in the bottle and let that sit another 3-4 weeks, and it's ready for drinking. If you'd like and it needs it, you can strain the final product. Funny, but that's one of the things I miss most about Alaska. I tried to make it with regular cranberries, but it wasn't as good. Keep thinking I'm going to source some lingonberries and try again. But haven't.

Having spent a little time in Spain, I can tell you that the Spaniards believe that using the proper rice is essential to an "authentic paella." I don't know where you are or what access you have to assorted foodstuffs or just how "authentic" you wish your "authentic paella" to be or how much trouble you want to go to, but here's a little more info about what rice to use: http://www.tienda.com/reference/paellarice.html

Right. And they just added those few minutes to the Nellie & Joe's label not so long ago, because of the "raw egg" concern. If I recall correctly, and I'm pretty sure I do, originally that recipe called for no cooking time at all. I do about 11-15 minutes, too. To top it, sometimes I make a meringue, but we really love heavy cream whipped with some brown sugar and a little bit of dark rum.