BarbaraY

Ah! Green Death! My sister-in-laws specialty, Lime Jell-o, pineapple, and cottage cheese. Oddly enough, I do like a bit of the ribbon salad.

I believe my grandmother once made the mock apple pie. I can't remember if I liked it or not. Too long ago but when I was a kid I would eat anything sweet. I have made the oatmeal cookies on the box of Quaker Oats and the Toll House Cookies, too. And yes, I have to confess, I've made a few of those Impossible Pies even though the crust isn't very crusty.

I agree. A thinly sliced piece of fruitcake is truly lovely. I didn't make any this year and I miss it. I think too many people first experienced the dry, crumbly ones from the grocery stores and think that's what fruitcake is all about. Or they have been brainwashed by all the jokes and articles about fruitcake.

I use 3M Scotch Brite scrubbers for pots and pans, dish cloths for washing plates, and wiping down counters. Change them every day. They are really cheap by the dozen at Wal Mart. When I get low on them I give them a soak in bleach and then wash in hot water and dry on hot. If I have a really tough scrubbing job, I have some of the Mesh pads mentioned by helenjp. No sponges in my kitchen.

I think a braise is in order. Thinking Bouef Bourguigonne or some other rich hearty beef dish. A pot roast can have vegetables and potato cooked in the same pot.

I haven't yet made Chufi's Almond cookies but I've got everything together to make them. I love almond pasty things.

The butcher in a Mexican Market might be a good source. I doubt that a "butcher" in a modern supermarket would ever have the right answer unless he had learned his trade in a real meat market.

Best pictorial I've ever seen on disecting a crab. Thank You.

I have some books, like Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art, that I have literally worn out. Having around 300, there are some that are used frequently and some never, like Charlie Trotter's. There are some that I keep because they have one or two recipes that I use and others only for the reading value. I often do as many above have said and study several books to compare recipes.

I use the double boiling method for Shanghai braised chicken. The sauce ends up being very shiny and clear because there isn't any scum to cloud it. This is a very interesting recipe but I don't have all the necessary ingredients so will have to wait to try it. Kabocha is a lovely vegetable and I much prefer it to most squashes or pumpkins. The only other I like as well is Butternut which might make a possible substitute if Kabocha isn't available.

I worked for many years at a family owned family restaurant. When the owner retired, he sold it. One of the new owners would bone the Sunday lamb and roast the bones along with the meat and then toss them. When I saw him do this I insisted he give me the bones for my "dog". Dog my foot! I gnawed all those lovely bits of garlicky roasted meat off them before she got any.:biggrin

My preferred supermarket has doors right and left. I usually try for the right door because it's nearest my parking area but use the left door if I have a prescription waiting. That throws every thing out of balance because if I'm getting ice cream I have to return to that area of the store later. Ours was recently remodeled and I'm still having a problem remembering where everything is. The carts have a list on them that tells which aisle has what. That's helpful. All the freezers and refrigerators except one have been moved to the outside wall. The one that is in the center of the store has the beer and cheeses next to the liquor display. If you want a drink and a snack, just grab and run. This store has a senior discaount day so DH and I used to shop then. The music that was played was very annoying so he complained and we were told that it wasn't up to the store blah, blah, etc. but we could use one of the cards that are at every register. We filled it out and sent it and the very next trip there was a definite change for the better. They do listen. Small chain trying to hold out against the big guys.

Pineapple doesn't bother my mouth but if I eat it on an empty stomach I get sharp stabbing stomach pains.

Pretty well states my reason for dropping it. Too much picky, picky for some things that a should be simple.

What I did with part of the leftover pork loin was similar to what petite tête de chou suggested but by dinner time I didn't feel like making crust so I served it with rice. My daughter said it looked like it came out of a can bacause it was all diced so uniformly. It was really very tasty and she liked it too..

I recall, as a child my grandmother loved to get venison for her mincemeat. I think she used the venison suetin it, too. I have a number of recipes that call for chopped suet in the pastry. Not melted. The best Cornish pasties!

Mmmm! I have been wanting something to do with Saturday's pork loin. This looks like a workable solution. The pot pie, not the (ugh! gag!) pork martini.

One year, when we had the whole family over, I did a crown roast of pork that I had brined. It got rave revues. This year it will probably be my daughter and myself so I'm thinking of roasting a small beef tenderloin. Shrimp remoulade for appetizer. I haven't really thought about the rest of the meal yet. I usually make a special cake from The Art of Fine Baking by Paula Peck. I doubt that I'll make it this year because once it's cut I can't leave it alone.

Thank you for a great blog. I was laughing so hard my daughter thought I was losing it. You have made me realize I really, really need to take a trip northward.

In my kitchen there is a small cabinet between refrigerator and freezer but no cabinets above them so I have room for lots of "stuff". Fridge has a dead TV, small pothos, and a garlic roasting dish. Freezer has 2 kerosene lamps in case of power outage, soup tureen, jar of tri-color rotini, bamboo steamer. my grandmother's churn, and a bag of birdseed.

Does anyone still refer to the small side dishes as "Monkey Dishes"?

Then you're eating in a really crappy place if they aren't ready to open when they open. Staff needs retraining or replacing.

OK, I'm not Chinese but developed a taste for Chinese food at a young age. I first started cooking it from a magazine article in Life Magazine in the early 50's and from the recipe for Chow Mein on the package of mixed vegetables (mostly bean sprouts). I feel that I've come a long way since then so I would never make something like that weird recipe. On the other hand I had a friend who had been a career man in the Navy and had been all over the world. I made a negative comment on his favorite "Chinese" restaurant. He became indignant and said that it was better than anything he had eaten in Hong Kong. Obviously he wasn't interested in authenticity. He wanted the usual westernized version. I guess what I'm trying to say is many people don't really want authenticity and would probably try this and think it was "Chinese".

That does look delicious but I'm unable to get shrimp with heads here. All I can get is frozen headless China Whites or Thai Black. Now they have even started deveining them with deep slits in the back. I prefer to devein them myself because I can do it without cutting half way through them. How do you think it would be made with headless shrimp?

Another vote for dining early. I wake early so my day is done early. I do not want to eat and fall asleep in my plate.