Jaymes

When I was young, and that's been a while, farm folk throughout the US (not just the south) had their big meal, i.e., "dinner," at midday. The men had gotten up early, eaten breakfast, and worked in the fields all morning. At noontime, they were really hungry and they wanted a big, substantial, filling meal. After which, they took a very short rest, and then headed back out to the tractor, or barn, or cow pasture. Supper was the lighter meal they ate before bedtime. Nothing posh about that lifestyle. That's changed as fewer folks put in that kind of heavy, manual labor. Nobody has the time or mood or stomach for a huge meal before going back to work in the cubicle. But remnants of that nomenclature cling, most notably when people refer to holiday meals: Thanksgiving Dinner, Easter Dinner, etc. Large meals generally served in the middle of the day. ______________________

I'm with Dave. Consider the pressure cooker. _____________________

Interesting, isn't it, all these responses. I always find regional differences fascinating. Something that is practically automatic in one part of a country can be unheard of in another. But I'm with you. In the US southwest, you never, well okay rarely, get served a grilled steak without a side of some sort of ranch-style cowboy pinto beans. Potato, too, usually, but the ranch-style beans are a given. In fact, the few times I served steaks without them, my guests invariably asked, "where are the beans?" And yet, no one but you has mentioned them. Should have said "ranch-style cowboy pinto/chili beans" - not just pintos - red beans, kidney beans, etc.

And whether or not mushrooms full of water matter also depends upon what you're doing with them. I've got a friend that always drops her button mushrooms into a big bowl of water and then takes them out one by one to wash. This probably would not matter much at all if she were then putting them into a pan to saute or into a soup or sauce to cook. But instead, she marinates them and puts them into a salad or serves them with toothpicks as an appetizer. No big surprise that water doesn't add any flavor whatsoever, and those 'marinated' mushrooms are watery and flavorless. And you can definitely tell the difference between them and marinated mushrooms that have not been presoaked in water. I've tried to explain to her that if she's marinating the mushrooms, she shouldn't allow them to soak in water beforehand, but habits die hard, you know.

Interesting, isn't it, all these responses. I always find regional differences fascinating. Something that is practically automatic in one part of a country can be unheard of in another. But I'm with you. In the US southwest, you never, well okay rarely, get served a grilled steak without a side of some sort of ranch-style cowboy pinto beans. Potato, too, usually, but the ranch-style beans are a given. In fact, the few times I served steaks without them, my guests invariably asked, "where are the beans?" And yet, no one but you has mentioned them. _____________________

When you first get there, buy a large slice-and-serve ham. You can have it to snack on with cheese and crackers, fry slices for breakfast, make ham sandwiches anytime to either eat there or take with, or serve as a main course for dinner. When folks get hungry and want "a little something," it's always a treat to open up the fridge and see a ham sitting there.

That would probably be my suggestion. A southern route there, and a more northerly route home, perhaps along old Route 66 (through Tulsa) for part of the way.

Well, now that I check out your map, you're going through Amarillo in the north of the state, and then to Oklahoma. Frankly, I am Road Trip Girl, and I've lived in most of the southwestern states you're passing through, and have driven through them all, many times. I'm not aware of any really great Texas-style barbecue along your route through Texas. I don't mean to disparage Oklahoma - it's a beautiful state and I drive through it often - but if I were planning a sightseeing/eating trip, I'd probably suggest that after Albuquerque, you drop south through New Mexico - truly the land of enchantment with spectacular sightseeing and terrific food - to El Paso, and then to Dallas, then south to Austin/San Antonio, and across to Houston and then, during daylight, on that remarkable I10 bridge across the swamps to New Orleans. __________________

Then you absolutely have to come through Central Texas. You can find plenty of Texas-style brisket and smoked sausage all over the state, but it's definitely not representative of the best that Texans can do. In fact, it's often not even in the same league. You probably should plan your route through Austin anyway, as there's much fun available there, and a lot to see and do. It's really one of the great towns in the entire country. And San Antonio, too. Multi-cultured, multi-layered. And in the environs lie the small towns of Taylor, Lockhart and Luling. Best-case scenario would be to spend the night before in Dallas. Get on the road south to Austin fairly early. Be in Taylor for an early lunch at Louie Mueller's (about 10:30 or 11), and then arrive into Austin around noon or so - early in the day. See the sights of Austin, eat some terrific TexMex or something else indicative of Austin, then rise early the next morning, have a breakfast taco, hit the road south to Lockhart for Smitty's, Black's, Kreuz. Then on south to Luling for City Market. Luling is on I10, which you're probably trying to get to anyway. You do backtrack west somewhat for San Antonio, but it's only a half-hour or so, and I'd suggest you don't miss San Antonio. You should make it there early afternoon, time to see a few of the best things. Next morning, get up early and do a little more sightseeing. In the afternoon, back onto I10 for Houston and NASA, etc., only 3 hours or so down the highway, where you stop for your last night in Texas.

Do you have your exact route - highways - mapped out? I'd love to give you some suggestions, but, for example, 'Texas' is a pretty big state. Which parts are you planning on traveling through?

Well then, in that case, if I use anything but a mild-to-medium sharp cheddar - a colby or something - but good quality so that it melts well, traditionally sold in the longhorn cut, sometimes called 'rat cheese' in the old days, my family gets pretty upset. And a thin smear of refried beans. Topped with the slices of jalapenos en escabeche, of course. And a dish of salsa or pico alongside. Nothing else. Some things, in our family anyway, don't call for experimentation. Personally, I've long thought that perhaps one of the saltier Mexican cheeses might be good for an occasional change of pace. However, that would have to be for somebody else's family, I fear. _____________________

I guess the first question I'd ask is what kind of nachos are you making? Are you going for the traditional, hot, sublime, perfection itself, single-chip nachos, as they were originally invented by Ignacio Anaya several decades back, and depicted in this photo: Homesick Texan nachos Or are you going for the "pile of goo," cold-chips-right-from-the-bag-with-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-dumped-over variety? _______________

Hot Apple Pie Mug of hot mulled apple cider Generous shot of Tuaca Whipped cream on top Sprinkle of nutmeg This drink is perfect.

Down here in Texas, we find that Pink Lady is readily available and pretty consistently good. It's what we look for.

I do occasionally bring wine as a gift. I always say, "This is for your wine rack." But frankly, I'd rather show up with something a little more imaginative anyway, like some nice cocktail napkins or other interesting hostess gift (which I always keep an eye out for and have a nice selection of stashed in my closet). Many years ago, I was strongly warned off flowers by somebody - Miss Manners, maybe, or Dear Abby - can't remember who, but somebody. Whomever it was said that flowers are not the best thing to walk into the front door with. You immediately give the host/hostess a chore - find something to do with the flowers. And, just like the issue with the wines, most likely the host/hostess has already designed a centerpiece, so won't want to put them on the table. And many folks have allergies to various plants, so you might well set the hostess into a sneezing fit just as her guests begin arriving. _________________________

Not that long ago, I was in a small Mexican seaside town, chatting with a local. He was very proud of his new cinder-block house. We had gotten onto chatting about tourism and he said something to the effect that, "Tourists don't like our cinder-block houses. They say our fishing village has been spoiled. If they want to come down here and live in a picturesque shack with a grass roof, they're welcome to do it. As for me, I like living in a nice modern house, especially when the hurricanes come. We don't want to be 'Mexicoland' for rich American tourists to visit and then go home to their nice modern houses."

Right. It looks like most of the recipes on that wonderful link of GGs are for hot-smoked salmon - ie, with alderwood. They're not always interchangeable in recipes, you know. The hot-smoked salmon has more of a canned tuna texture and feel. As opposed to lox. Sounds to me like the OP has lox, because of the bagels and cream cheese reference, although you certainly can eat the hot-smoked salmon with bagels and cream cheese as well.

You have to try to eat them first. Actually, I've never eaten lunchables, either, but nothing I've ever eaten in similar packaging would inspire much confidence. I guess they're mainly intended for kids, though. But it is really so hard to throw together a sandwich? I don't find 'Lunchables' awful in and of themselves insofar as product quality of the food goes, but the very few times I bought them for my school-aged kids, I did feel pretty wasteful, even irresponsible. I can see, though, how a sandwich might not be the substitute that the kids want, and the crackers/coldcuts/cheese/juice option could be a nice change of pace. The main reason I almost never bought Lunchables was because I thought that they were quite expensive considering what you got, and all that excessive packaging troubled me. So I just bought a box of crackers, some cold cuts, sliced cheese and juice boxes and made up my own.

That "juice" could likely be the reason.. Fresh juice, just like in cocktails, makes all the difference in the world. And ditto the simple syrup idea. Trying to dissolve anything but superfine sugar in a cold liquid is an exercise in futility. It would be much easier to sweeten your tea while its still hot, or add a dose of simple after it has the ice in it.. Some folks drink sweetened iced tea simply for the sugar, and it matters almost not at all what type of tea it is, whether it was brewed properly, whether it was brewed and sweetened in a vessel that only rarely gets cleaned (and since sweet tea breeds vast amounts of bacteria, this can be not only common, but pretty nasty), or whether lemon comes in a wedge or a packet. I can say from personal experience that more than half of the population who drink sweet tea, in the Southeast, where sweet tea is popular and unique, the sugar is literally all that matters. I do like tea, but I usually prefer it hot, so no need for instant there. When I do drink iced tea I don't take lemon and I sweeten with Splenda, if I feel like it. I like tea, but I'm not a fan of hot drinks. I usually drink it iced, though never with lemon, and NEVER with sugar. I'm just amazed that people pay $2-$4 outside for something that (depending on how much you spend on the tea in the first place) can be as much as 80% cheaper at home. Or, heaven forbid, buy pre-made bottles of tea at the store. I've looked at the labels, and 90% of them have sugar, and they all have an ungodly amount of sodium. I thought tea was supposed to be good for you. Definitely crazy to not make your own tea at home, iced or otherwise. One huge reason why I prefer homemade iced tea and, for that matter, lemonade is because I personally don't care for sweet beverages with my meals. I know many people that would go "eeeewww" if you suggest that they have a nice sweet wine with a good meal, explaining how sugar ruins the taste of food and that one should always have a dry wine with meals, but then think nothing of guzzling down some sort of sweet soda pop or iced tea so sweet that it makes your teeth hurt.

You do make it sound pretty ghastly.

New Year's Eve parties in the American south often include some sort of black-eyed peas to be passed around at midnight. You can either do a traditional ham and black-eyed peas dish, or a Texas caviar, but there's often something. And if there are a lot of Latinos present, there will always be grapes. The idea is that at midnight you eat twelve grapes - one with each clang of the clock. Not so easy as it sounds. ____________________

But wouldn't that make hot tea, not iced? Oh, you're right! It does make it a LOT more trouble to pour that strong hot tea over ice. Now I get it. ahhh --- not a southern, i presume! Actually, I am a "southern." And come from a long line of southerners. None of whom ever bought premade or instant iced tea. Some of them have a large contraption called an "iced tea maker," which I also find to be a pretty good example of tomfoolery (although it's handy if you've got a crowd coming, and certainly better than paying for some kind of premade or instant iced tea). And many of us southerners make sun tea, which I prefer when I have time. But rest assured that if it's gettin' on toward lunchtime, and we want some "tea" (nobody ever adds the "iced" - it's just assumed) we boil some water (in the microwave these days) and pour it over the tea bags. We also make some really really sweet syrup to add to make "sweet tea" for those that prefer it, as just adding sugar to your glass doesn't really get it sweet enough. Often we grab some mint from the back yard and some lemon slices to go with it. Some of us stir in some homemade lemonade from the pitcher in the fridge. But nobody, in my family anyway, would think to go to the pantry and get out a great big tin of instant iced tea.

But wouldn't that make hot tea, not iced? Oh, you're right! It does make it a LOT more trouble to pour that strong hot tea over ice. Now I get it.

Boy, I'm sure with you on any kind of commercial iced tea. My neighbor buys big tins of instant iced tea. I think it's ghastly. And expensive. And does taste of chemicals. How hard is it to pour boiling water over some teabags?

The "secret ingredient" in the tomato-based salsas of many oldtimers is a dash of vinegar. Just a little acid to give it a tang.