Kris

I'm inclined to agree with you. I haven't found a decent black and white cookie in NYC in years. There used to be a Jewish bakery in my neighborhood called Wiesen's that made the best b&w cookies. I've always been partial to the "black" side of the cookie and they would even make an "all-black" cookie for me if I called in the morning (for after-work pick-up). But once they closed down, I haven't had one as good since. I've tried Zaro's bakery, a neighborhood bakery called Leon's, the plastic wrapped "Joey's" brand b&w cookies and countless others. They've all ranged from dry and crumbly to artificial tasting (the Joey's brand). I would love to be able to recreate the ones I used to get at Wiesens.

I use 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum in my scratch butter cake. It makes it more moist and longer lasting. This amount is perfect for a recipe calling for 3 cups of all-purpose wheat flour. I use 1/4 tsp. in my scratch German Chocolate cake. Again, it makes the cake more moist (since I've found many scratch GC cakes to be dry) and longer lasting. You can't overdo it with xanthan gum though. When I was experimenting with it, I originally added 2 tsp. of it to my butter cake recipe and it turned out to be a gummy mess.

I think a pasta salad would be nice too. It's something that is easily made in advance. I like a bowtie pasta with pesto and sundried tomatoes. You can even add sliced, grilled chicken breast to this salad. Quiche is also a good option for this type of event. They can be baked a few weeks ahead, frozen and thawed the night before the party. You can heat them if you'd lke, or even serve at room temperature sliced into thin wedges.

For storing and serving deviled eggs for a crowd, you definitely need to get these from Tupperware: http://order.tupperware.com/pls/htprod_www...er=P10054498000 I have three of them and they each hold 2 dozen deviled eggs. They keep them fresh and are stackable, which is perfect for storing in the fridge.

Oops double post.

Wow! The internet has expanded my horizons in a way that I doubt I could have ever achieved otherwise. I've learned so much from people all over the world when it comes to food and cooking. How else would I have obtained this knowledge otherwise?

Wow! I agree with your post 100%. You've basically captured my feelings on the subject. To me, soul food isn't just about the food - it's about the memories, tradition and legacy that has been passed down through the generations. Truth to be told, I'm not overweight with borderline blood pressure due to soul food. Throughout the years I've been a fast food junkie, have a sweet tooth, hate to exercise and haven't quite mastered the concept of proper portion sizes of whatever food I was eating. I think these things are more responsible for the obesity rates, diabetes, heart disease and hypertension rates in the black community more so than just eating soul food. As a youngster, soul food wasn't what my mom cooked on a day-to-day basis. And in my own household now, it's the same thing. It was holiday and special occasion food (that's probably why I have such fond memories of it). I cook fresh collards with hamhocks exactly ONCE a year - and that's for Thanksgiving. I usually make a lot so I freeze 1/2 of the batch for Christmas. Mac & Cheese, I make once every quarter or so, if that frequently; candied yams even less. Sweet potato pie, pecan pie and peach cobbler I make once a year as well. I make fried chicken & "homestyle" potato salad more frequently (probably about once or twice a month), but that's still not every day. I think in most aspects of life, moderation is the key. Plus I think that saving these traditional recipes (made in their full fat, full flavored versions) for holidays and special occasions make them even that more special and worth savoring. Soul food is all about family, traditions and nourishment of the soul as well as the belly. If I had to eat a sweet potato pie with splenda, skim milk and margarine - I would rather gouge my eyes out with a fork. I'm exaggerating of course, but not by much.

It seems that in the state of Delaware, they have really taken "The Best of" to an extreme... http://bestofde.com/AllWinners.htm

To be honest, I wasn't anticipating much when I heard that this show was going to air. I'd seen Duff Goldman in three Food Network competitions and he came across as an inept clown in those episodes. None of his cakes worked within the specific show/cake theme format and they ended up as disasters (either tipping over or collapsing in some fashion). But I actually liked the 2 episodes of Ace of Cakes that I saw. The Preakness cake was great! He and his sous chef really nailed that one. When it was cut, it actually looked like a homemade (meaning scratch) cake that I'd enjoy eating. He and his staff really turn out some excellent looking cakes overall. I wish pricing was mentioned so the general public could be educated that cakes of this caliber don't come cheap. Just because they see these types of designer cakes in bridal magazines, doesn't mean that they're going to cost $2.00 a slice. If I recall correctly, his cakes start at $175 for an occasion cake serving 10-12 people (I guess that's about an 7" or 8" size). So I can only imagine what one of those tiered or sculpted creations would cost.

I was supposed to post this recipe here over a year ago. But it's better late than never. Bean Pie 2 unbaked pie shells 1/2 cup butter 2 1/2 cups sugar 2 tbsp. all purpose flour 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 5 large eggs 3 cups cooked navy beans (drained well and pureed smooth - no lumps) 2 cups evaporated milk 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 1/2 tsp. pure lemon extract In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Beat until creamed. Stir in flour and cinnamon until blended. One at a time, beat in eggs until well combined. Gradually stir in beans, milk and extracts. Spoon bean filling into pie shells. Bake 5 minutes in a pre-heated 425 degree oven. Lower heat to 325 degrees and bake an additional 45 minutes.

This trend to make healthier versions of traditional AA soul food dishes has been around at least a decade. Jonelle Nash who is the food editor of Essence magazine has been offering "lighter" soul food recipes in the mag for years. She also has two cookbooks, both of which feature these types of recipes. Personally I'm not a fan of this trend. The food just doesn't taste as good. Since my dad doesn't eat pork, my mom has been making collards with smoked turkey for decades. But they just don't measure up to those made with pork. Truth to be told, I could probably benefit from the healthy soul food trend since I'm in the demographic that's at risk for developing the aforementioned illnesses. However I don't cook or eat soul food on a regular basis. So when I do eat it for special occasions/holidays, I prefer the regular thing. So give me my collards with hamhocks, my mac & cheese with regular full-fat cheese & milk and my peach cobbler with plenty of butter & sugar.

Last evening I took the bus over to Katz' after work because I had a hunkering for pastrami. Following the advice in this thread I did the following: 1. When it was my turned to be served by the counterman/cutter, I smiled broadly. 2. While smiling, I dropped two dollar bills in the tip jar (one by one so he could see that it was two bills). He thanked me. 3. While dropping the bills into the tip jar, I then asked him for a "juicy pastrami." With a pleasant tone of voice he replied that he would "get one" for me. So he went to the bin, dug around amongst the pastramis and pulled one out that presumably measured up to my request. Then he began cutting. He put my "sample" slices on a plate and I approved. I was expecting the pastrami to be a lot saltier (which I'm glad it wasn't). And it was quite juicy - not too fatty or lean either. In fact it was delicious. I bought two pastrami sandwiches (one for me, one for hubby), which were piled quite high. But later on that evening, hubby ended up with only a 1/2 sandwich, even after I finished mine. Don't ask me how that happened and how I had the room. But somehow I managed. Let's just say that I was quite pleased with the pastrami yesterday.

I don't like them. They're too modernistic for my taste and remind me of Global knives (which I dislike for the same reason).

Surprisingly, the show (well at least the 4 episodes I've seen) doesn't come across as meanspirited at all. Bobby Flay seems humble when he loses and doesn't gloat overly when he's won. And everyone seems to have a good time. Yes, the "little guy" may be taken aback when Bobby and his team initially shows up. But from what I've seen so far, everyone warms up and by show's end everyone seems genuinely cool with things.

Point well made. But couldn't they have at least used steak?

I watched it last night and to be perfectly honest, Steingarten came across as bitchy and meanspirited. Enough said about that. I also saw the hamburger episode a few months back and commented to my husband that I thought it was a rather "low brow" ingredient to be featured on the show. With the original Iron Chef, there were some very esoteric ingredients that most Americans would not be familiar with/interested in seeing (e.g. swallow's nest and sea urchin come to mind). But I always found them interesting, particularly because they WERE so exotic to my American palate. And those ingredients seemed more challenging and complex to work with. But hamburger? I just didn't see the challenge posed by ground round. Paricularly when Chef Simon made a dish called "the ultimate hamburger" (if I remember correctly).

Well I see that the "Kitchen Diva's" jerk chicken beat out Bobby's. I was trying to look out for your moments of trash talking along with your boss and Bobby Flay but I think it was edited out of the show. I didn't realize that the jerk chicken queen that Bobby Flay was throwing down against is Angela Shelf Maderis. I have three of her cookbooks.

Since my husband likes chicken drumsticks, I tried frying them for the first time in my life. They came out great! I even had a taste and it was yummy. I guess I'm ready to move on to frying other parts of the chicken besides the wing.

I caught part of tonight's episode of Feasting on Asphalt and was thrilled when Alton said that the fried pig brains sandwich that he bought at a little spot in Evansville, Indiana didn't taste very good. I've always remarked to my husband that every single chef/cook on the Food Network seems to enjoy every single meal that they've prepared, tasted or created. Particularly Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels or $40 a day shows...everything she eats is delicious. I just can't buy that. So for Alton to admit that the brain sandwich blew, just made my evening.

I grew up in a Hellmann's household! One time when I was a kid, my mom ran out of mayo and needed some for her potato salad. She sent my dad to the store and I tagged along. Well the store brand was on sale and dad picked up a jar. I admonished him that mom only used Hellmann's. He ignored my warnings and brought it home anyway. Mom was annoyed but used it for her potato salad anyway. The salad had the consistency of glue. I use Hellmann's too. But I confess that upon tasting a delicious macaroni salad made by a late co-worker of mine I use Miracle Whip in very limited quantities. It's too sweet to use by itself, but for macaroni salad, chicken salad and deviled eggs, I use a half Miracle Whip, half Hellmann's combo. For all other applications, it's Hellmann's only.

*sigh* Last year, my then 34 year old husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer (total shock out of left field) and had surgery and radiation to combat the tumor. He began suffering from nausea almost immediately. So I prepared dinner meals that were bland like soup, roast chicken, white rice, mashed potatoes and cooked soft veggies like spinach. No raw foods were allowed and greasy foods were a no-no as well. The one time he got a craving for a steak dinner, he suffered from diarrhea all night. That was the last heavy/greasy meal he had while in treatment. He didn't lose his appetite though and he liked eating a hearty breakfast of eggs, toast and coffee every morning after his treatments (which were early in the A.M.). And he went to work almost every day during the treatments. He wanted to keep his mind focused elsewhere and I think that working helped in his recovery. For the last year, his tests have been coming back negative. So I have a lot to be thankful for. Everyone who is suffering from this disease or who has a loved one suffering from it - I wish you all the best.

I've been looking at igourmet but I was wondering how they ship their cheeses - overnight? I typically get my cheeses from http://www.murrayscheese.com in NYC. I've also gotten cheeses from Whole Foods - I know, I know they sell most of their cheese pre-wrapped. But they sell a nice goat cheese called Tomme Fleur Vert which they cut on the spot for you.

Hmmm....I wonder what accounts for the difference? Is British flour so drastically different from American flour?

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the funniest thing I've read/heard all day.

This is exactly what I use and it's a godsend in slicing fresh pineapples. I highly recommend it.