divalasvegas

There's a really lovely pasta salad put together by Emeril Lagasse. It's made with grilled chicken breasts and uses penne pasta. These are mixed with yellow and red grape tomatoes, feta, olives and tossed with an arugula/walnut pesto. I really don't see why you couldn't substitute grilled shrimp (maybe some grilled sea scallops too) for the chicken and make it a real showstopper. Here's a link to the recipe: Emeril's Arugula Pesto Pasta Salad Good luck.

Sloppy joes. I'd been craving them forever, but didn't want to use the manwich sauce. And the recipe I used came from none other than RACHEL RAY! Yes, I know that many of you despise her in a way bordering on pathological but these were, as she would say very loudly, DEELISH! RR's Sloppy Joes I made the addition of a little louisiana hot sauce, and bumped up the vinegar and worcestershire sauce. Yum-oh.

You are a very brave soul indeed Doc-G. But I have to ask: why the tomato sauce and why no bacon? Afterall, it's supposed to be a Krispy Kreme Bacon Cheeseburger. Should this really be considered an "official" entry?

Spicy Mixed Nuts Spicy Pork Rinds Jalapeno Poppers Salsa Cajun Power Company's Red Pepper, Jalapeno, and Chipotle Pepper Jellies on crackers with cream cheese Sardines packed with chilies Pepperjack Cheese Red Hots Candies My own buffalo wings: Sauce: Hot Sauce (like Franks, Louisiana or Texas Pete's) + Tabasco Sauce + Cayenne Pepper + Butter + (sometimes) smashed clove of garlic. My lips actually get tingly and numb when I eat these, and that's a good thing.

Your question reminded me that during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney the food concessions all used biodegradable products--sugar derived I believe--not only for their utensils, but for cups and food containers. Here's a link to a website that lists several companies that produce biodegradable products from different natural sources, including those used in food service. I've never purchased any products from these companies so I can't personally vouch for them. Biodegradable Products Companies Good luck.

Just wanted to squeeze in my heartfelt thanks and kudos for this fantastic blog mizducky. Like you and many here, weight/dieting has been an issue in my life for quite some time. A few random thoughts/questions on your blog: 1) First of all, the diet industry gurus would be quaking in their shoes if your approach to a healthy lifestyle made it to the masses. The approach you've chosen completely trashes what they've been repackaging and selling to us for decades in various combinations: there are good foods and bad foods, guilt, deprivation, fat is evil, carbs are evil, meat is evil, you can never, ever eat (fill in the blank) again, programs where you have to purchase their mutant snacks, treats, and entrees, and the bottomless pit of nutritionally bankrupt "diet" foods (Snackwells anyone?). Thankfully your approach--I love your nine point outline--provides an antidote to all of that nonsense with delicious food and common sense. 2) About Ba Ren restaurant, I was curious to know about ordering from the more interesting menu written in Chinese and not being relegated to those dumbed down Americanized dishes. How did you navigate the Chinese menu? Would one have to speak/read Chinese or do they have staff on hand to assist? Also, the cold appetizer bar looked delicious, however I've heard on more than one occasion that the Chinese do not eat salads so my question is, are these consider salads and are they considered part of traditional Szechuan cooking? 3) Incorporating goat meat into your diet: fantastic. As I said before, I love goat meat but never knew about making it Asian style. Perhaps you've single-handedly moved folks to considering this delicious alternative to lamb and beef. And you're abosolutely right, it has its own unique taste. Maybe someone can start a thread (or revive one?) on different preparations for goat meat. 4) Finally, I think you've shown that one of the answers to eating more healthily is to eat dishes from cuisines that pack a lot of flavor and variety, like the various Asian cuisines you rely heavily on, but also, at least for me, dishes from the Mediterranean, Middle East, North Africa, etc. I would say good luck mizducky but I'm confident that with the well thought out path you've chosen, you're current and continued success will not have to rely on random chance. Cheers.

Loved the Korea episode, especially Nari's presence and input. She brought a love, enthusiasm, nostalgia and poignancy to the show that I enjoyed immensely. Her interaction with her grandfather and the obvious love they have for each other put a smile on my face and brought tears to my eyes. As for the food, it looked delectable, but I would have liked bit more information about what they were eating in particular all the various condiments/side dishes since my knowledge of Korean food is pretty skimpy. My main complaint/compliment about No Reservations is that it always leaves me wanting to know more. In my world Tony and crew would have multiple episodes devoted to each country to more fully explore all of the culinary gifts each has to offer. Imagine, five episodes devoted to China or India alone. Now that would be absolutely must see tv.

Thanks for sharing your "conversion" jasie! On behalf of MW lovers everywhere I want to congratulate you on your adventurous, unbiased and openminded investigation. Kudos for boldly and unashamedly declaring your conversion for all to see. As you are only at the beginning of your journey in MW-land, please check throughout this thread for other delicious ways to enjoy it. Also, since not everyone in your life may understand why you have chosen this path, remember we'll always be here for moral support (and recipes). But, more importantly, you are a pioneer as you now occupy the honorary position of being our FIRST CONVERT TO THE CAUSE!!! I therefore call upon all MW lovers to welcome jasie to the fold. The first but undoubtedly not the last.

Congrats on a great blog mizducky. I commend your sensible and delicious approach to leading a healthy lifestyle. I have so much more to say about your endeavor, but the hour is late (early?) and I have to turn in soon. Re: your goat meat: I love goat and have enjoyed it prepared in many different ways. I notice that you already have many of the ingredients for three dishes I have in mind. How about jerk goat or goat curry? I didn't see curry powder or paste listed, but I'll bet you've got those hanging out in your pantry somewhere. And how about a riff on osso buco? Call it mizducky's goat-o bucco!!!

After checking out some info, including the ingredient list, I think Heinz Salad Cream is a condiment--like Miracle Whip--which appeals to those of us who like that sweet/tangy taste on selected items. It seems to have a similar flavor profile as the boiled dressing recipe featured ludja's boiled dressing thread. I know I've never purchased this product and I never saw it in my home growing up. I'd definitely be willing to give it a try. BTW joiei and scordelia I found a source for Heinz Salad Cream: Heinz Salad Cream via Vermont Country Store It seems a bit pricey, but hey when ya gotta have it, ya gotta have it! I'll try looking for it first at local grocery stores.

Share I will...it's a very simple recipe (actually, just a short paragraph that I've reworded) from the 1953 edition of Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. It turns out that this is one of the recipes that got cut from later editions of the cookbook which is why I had to find this specific edition on eBay in order to get the recipe back. "Chinese Mustard Sauce" Put 2 tablespoons of dry mustard in a small bowl that can handle hot temperatures. Add 6 tablespoons of boiling water and stir until blended. Add 2 teaspoons of a mild vegetable oil (as opposed to olive oil or something with flavor) and also add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Blend it all together. That's it. It's not a thick sauce. Like I mentioned earlier, we always make it when we have ham for dinner. Dip a bite of ham in the sauce before eating it. Fair warning, as Andie also pointed out, depending on the dry mustard you use, this can have a kick to it and can turn out very spicy hot. Which is why my brothers and I always loved it. To go back on topic, I mentioned this discussion to my mom who said she is looking forward to making a tomato sanwich from the first tomatoes of the season from her garden. It was something she ate as a kid in Kansas. Her tradition is to slice them up on white bread and top them with MW. Sometimes simple is better. ← Thanks for the recipe Toliver. I actually have a ham parked in the fridge and will have to give this a try. I love spicy, sinus clearing condiments! Kudos to your mom as she has described one of my favorite sandwiches of all time and definitely one of my favorite ways to enjoy MW. Agreed: simple and delicious.

Hi ludja. Thanks for all of the detective work on boiled dressing. I agree that this dressing would be fantastic for potato salad, deviled eggs, etc. But the more I look at the ingredients and recipe, I think this would make a fantastic dressing for ham salad. It's also got me craving something I haven't had for a while: a chef's salad, homemade with really good meats and cheeses. I think this dressing would match perfectly.

Hello All, A few random, MW drenched thoughts: 1) Well my experiment is still in the fridge. I haven't decided whether to try to rescue it using my mini food processor. As for the observation made by Sandy/MarketStEl about the use of garlic salt, I did reduce the amount of regular salt called for in the original recipe and my addition of cayenne was just sheer desperation actually. Also, I tasted it again today; flavor is a little more pronounced but the oily/flat component is still present. There's no way at this point that I would waste the cheapest white bread or bologna on this stuff as it exists now. If I do decide to try this again, I will definitely try not to forget to pickup some garlic power as well as Coleman's dry mustard, as mentioned by andiesenji. What I'm considering is giving this stuff a whirl in my mini processor with the addition of water, maybe adding the water a little at time. As ludja has pointed out, MW contains a great deal of water. The recipe I used OTOH contained none. 2) Badiane thanks for the tip about MW being a cooked salad dressing. You're absolutely right. I think that I really wanted to avoid all of those recipes that included cornstarch and required some cooking; might not be able to. 3) Along the same lines, thanks so much ludja for that recipe for boiled dressing. I hadn't thought about that dressing for years. Though I never made it, I'm sure I must have had it growing up. I think it has to be the precourser to MW where commercial producers sought to duplicate the flavors of this dressing in a mass produced/infinite shelf-life version. Probably why so many liked it then and throughout the years because it echoed a familiar flavor. However, you mention making it as a substitution it for MW. I see it as a completely different beast not as a substitute. I think it sounds delicious on its own and could be a great base for other uses as you say with the addition of other ingredients. 4) Funny where a discussion of such a benign product can lead you. When I read Toliver's description of mustard dip--a recipe I hope you'll share with us--it kind of sounded like a close cousin to Chinese mustard (at least what passes for it here in the US). Or like Kim Shook and I being double Southern, native Washingtonians and how it was the "condiment du jour" in both our households. Or that, thanks to jsolomon, I now know that I'm not alone in the universe in matching liverwurst/braunschweiger with MW, onions and rye. (To be precise: rye, mustard, then onions, then liverwurst/braunschweiger, then slice of rye with MW) Yum. 5) Sandy about your latest attempt at creating a homemade MW, are you still using the same recipe as a guideline and how did you arrive at the modifications, i.e., 2 egg yolks, the amount of oil, mustard, etc.? When you say that the consistency was right, meaning as in regular MW? Did you use a whisk, immersion blender or food processor? Inquiring minds must know! All of you are so fantastic and, like me, strange. Carry on.

Well Daniel while I tremble in anticipation at the thought of another convert to the dark side, er, Miracle Whip I'd like to give you a few tips to maximize your virgin MW experience. First of all I would NOT suggest adding it to any type of sandwich since most people, IMHO, who like it on sandwiches grew up eating them that way. Although there's no question that I love MW, I only use it on certain types of sandwiches and would NEVER dream of using it on others such as pastrami, roast beef, corned beef, burgers, etc. (oddly enough when it comes to liverwurst, I'll use mayo or mustard or MW, depending on my mood). So instead of "straight up" how about getting a good potato salad recipe that includes it (mine uses half mayo, half MW) and start off that way. Actually, speaking of being part PDutch, don't they have a lot of foods/recipes that have the elements of sweet/tangy or sweet/sour like beets and pickles? Please report back your results. But if you do decide that MW is worse than polyps, please, please be kind.

Brilliant. You might also want to keep in mind that fruits and vegetables are 75-90% water. ← yes, and they are crunchy and can be served with out being whipped. ← But I like being whipped when I'm being served! Uh-oh, oops sorry, TMI. Carry on.

I think I speak for Miracle Whip lovers everywhere when I say that our failure to convert you to Miracle Whip is a truly crushing defeat for us, and has us questioning our very sanity. ← I dunno Patrick S as today is 6-6-06 and given the sentiments of some that MW lovers are indeed in league with Satan, anything is possible!

Hey joiei and Jaymes turns out that our two "peoples" are not so far apart after all. The ingredient list for Hellmanns: Soybean oil, whole eggs, vinegar, water, egg yolks, salt, sugar, lemon juice, natural flavors, calcium disodium EDTA (used to protect quality). Can't we at least strive to embrace each other in peace on the common grounds/ingredients of oil, water, and sugar? I mean, can't we just all get along? Peace.

Wow ludja I really think you're on to something; there's just no way in Hell that my tired old arm and a whisk can duplicate THE MIRACLE WHIP! *** still shaking head that such a thing really exists *** Also, even though I had also read the ingredients for the real deal I had completely overlooked that the product does contain a significant amount of water and that all the homemade versions contained none. I have to say two things here: 1) my experiment has nothing to do with abandoning the original MW, just morbid curiousity and 2) I now have new found respect for water, preservatives, and modified food starch. And, as hjshorter has asserted, this homemade stuff did indeed suck ass.

Here are the results of my MW experiment: 1) First of all, whisking SUCKS! A good immersion blender will be in my future. 2) I have to agree with the person in the attached link who said that the results were oily and bland. Homemade MW Recipe 3) To be fair, I have to say where I made substitutions/changes: - I didn't have any canola oil so I had to use vegetable oil - Ditto on both the dry mustard and garlic powder--used garlic salt/prepared mustard. Both of these ingredients were in very small amounts in the recipe, so I don't think that made a major difference - As for vinegar, I had everything BUT white vinegar, so I used apple cider - Lastly, after wisking my arm off and tasting as I went along I decided not put in the entire cup of oil. As I already said it was oily enough to my taste. 4) After I used the amounts called for except for using only 3/4 cup of the oil, it almost had the flavor elements of MW but flat. In reading the recipe before attempting this, it seemed like way too much oil and too little flavor so I added a bit more vinegar, sugar, mustard, garlic salt, salt, paprika, and even dash of cayenne. It's in the fridge now. I might give it a whirl in my mini food processor later. At least the ingredients were cheap. Comments?

Depends on whether the emergency was oral or not (seeing as how many people here like the taste of MW). ← Well, I'm back and will be busily detailing my adventures in homemade MW-land to be posted shortly.

Thanks for all of the lively discussion folks. I'm off to try my hand making the homemade MW using the recipe link provided by Kerry Beal. Back in a few........

Well MGLloyd like I already done said I be a God-fearing, church going woman so I wouldn't even know about such thangs--Hell we ain't even allowed to even think about stuff like that, but I reckon that durn BigboyDan sho'nuff wuld. Afterall, the man's nickname is Bigboy ain't it?

Why howdy thar BigboyDan. I jess wanna say that's vury nayborly of you to point out all of them thar fine uses for our beloved Miracle Whip. Being a Christian woman, I thought it only fair to return the favor. Behold: The "I Can't Believe all the Crazy Shit they use Mayo for" Link Y'all come back now, yah hear!!!

ACK.......enuf !! NONONONO..........blecch.......... ← I thank you dockhl for both your candor and the remarkable restraint you have shown in waiting this long to post your opinion. You are to be commended. However, as with all oppressed peoples who emerge from the shadows to drink that sweet nectar called freedom I'm afraid that there is no turning back now! Yes some may say that we are "different" and that our love of Miracle Whip is "unnatural" but if you cut us, do we not bleed? And no, we do not bleed Miracle Whip BTW. Our closeted love for this delicious condiment has been liberated and I'm afraid that you'll just have to get used to us taking our rightful place in the culinary world. WE'RE HERE, WE SCHMEAR, GET USED TO IT!!! ← Finally, an appropriate place for me to come out! I haven't bought it in a dog's age, but Miracle Whip makes a tangier potato salad than mayonnaise, tangy enough that I can even get away with omitting the pickle relish from it, though I usually don't. Ditto for deviled eggs. (Edited to add: And of course, a dollop of Miracle Whip on a fresh, ripe tomato slice is pure heaven.)....................... Now I'm gonna have to go out and get a jar, or try the homemade version. Before I do, though, I have a question for everyone here: In what part of the country were you born and raised? ← Thanks for your support Sandy! Our numbers are growing by the day, so once again I must reiterate "come out, come out wherever you are and be not afraid." I especially want urge those of you who've been attending those special group meetings promising to make you "normal" and banish your natural urge to use Miracle Whip to give up, they don't work, and you'll only end up being miserable pretending to enjoy mayo on whatever sandwiches, salads, etc. you choose this tasty treat. Back to Sandy's original question, although I was born in Washington, DC I consider myself double-Southern since my mother was born in South Carolina and my father was from Virginia. Also when I grew up in DC it was often called a sleepy Southern town since there were so many people from the South who transplanted there. Seriously, as I've already said I LIKE BOTH MAYO AND MW; it just depends on what I happen to be making or adorning. I wonder, does that make me bi-condimental?

ACK.......enuf !! NONONONO..........blecch.......... ← I thank you dockhl for both your candor and the remarkable restraint you have shown in waiting this long to post your opinion. You are to be commended. However, as with all oppressed peoples who emerge from the shadows to drink that sweet nectar called freedom I'm afraid that there is no turning back now! Yes some may say that we are "different" and that our love of Miracle Whip is "unnatural" but if you cut us, do we not bleed? And no, we do not bleed Miracle Whip BTW. Our closeted love for this delicious condiment has been liberated and I'm afraid that you'll just have to get used to us taking our rightful place in the culinary world. WE'RE HERE, WE SCHMEAR, GET USED TO IT!!!