joiei

here is the link Clay County Fair . Sounds great, but I am already commited to a Oaxacan cooking class in Fort Worth, bummer. If your going, make plans soon, it is at the end of March.

would Cajun Crawtaters work? This is hard, there is just too much that is interrelated for me to pick out just ONE thing. Maybe hot sauce?

I think your going to be very happy with your location. You are pretty much in the middle of everything without it staring you in the face. Your a block from the St Charles street car. Your 2 blocks from restaurant August and Emeril's is not that far, neither is Cuvee or Herbsaint, were talking less than 3 blocks. You can walk to the convention center, but most big conventions have shuttles that run to all thehotels meaning you do not have to cab it. Your not that far from the best free ride in the city, the Canal Street ferry is free for pedestrians, a great view of the city from there. The INternational house and its restaurant is right around the corner from where you are. And you do not have to put up with the noise in the quarter that Bourbon street hotels suffer with. Great location. have a great trip.

anything at Denver? I have connetings there both coming and going when I go to Oregon in May. And the first connection is in the morning, and the 2nd connection is in the mid evening. Or should I plan on packing my own on board? As to SLC, I have hated that airport since the 80s. used to be, you could only get a beer (Coors only) in the cafeteria and you HAD to buy chips with it, no choice. The last time I was in DFW on my way to Belize, I had some decent BBQ at a Dickey's in one of the American terminals, it was mid loop. And the terminal in Belize city, forget it. As a general rule, i hate Atlanta. I have even scheduled trips to avoid it and that is hard when you were coming and going from northwest Florida. Don't think I ever looked for food at Moissant in New Orleans. I have never found anything good about Houston Bush foodwise. Maybe it is the Continental black hole thingy. Miami international, crazy. Poor to passable food, if you stick to the local restaurants. Leon Mexico, i found nothing of interest, so I bought a banana.

And to go with that delicious Peach Cobbler that your serving, some hand cranked vanilla ice cream. Now that is heaven

Avocado, sprouts, tomato, sonoma jack cheese and 9 grain bread with garlic aioli.

have you tried Doughmonkey in Synder Plaza yet? Worth it and the chef/owner, Rhonda is the best.

The best fries I have ever had are at The Grapevine in Brookside in Tulsa. They cook them in olive oil, then top them with blue cheese and chopped applewood bacon and toss them in the salamander until the cheese starts to melt. YUMM.

don't know if it is the official jazzfest recipe, but try this. Spinach Artichoke Dip 2 pks frozen, chopped spinach/thawed and drain 1 stick butter 1 small chopped onion 1 8 oz. cream cheese 1 can mushroom soup 1 1/2 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained, cut in half (use the other 1/2 in salad) 1-1 1/2 cup parmesan or romano cheese Saute onion in butter until soft, add spinach and toss, add cream cheese and mushroom soup, heat on low until cream cheese melts, add artichoke hearts. Place in 9x13x3" baking pan, top with romano or parmesan cheese, heat in 350 oven until cheese melts.Serve warm with tortilla chips. And go ahead and get those tickets, jazzfest is the best show around, by far. Any excuse for crawfish bread.

something to consider. One of the favorite things in the kitchen where I work, a private home, they had a pot filling faucet installed over the stove, a Garland range, love it. The convience of having this simple thing is incredible. If I need to fill a pot, i set it on the burner empty and fill it. If I need to add a little water to a simmering pot, it happens easily. The contractor plumbed the water line when the house was being built and I am forever grateful. The faucet is not a flexible hose but a faucet with a pivot point in it. It can reach all the burners. It has two shut off valves, one at the point where it comes out of the wall and the other at the mouth of the faucet. Consider this when your laying out your plans. I just wish I had one in my own home.

you might want to consider going to Ciudad for Sunday brunch. I found it to be pleasant and a bit different from traditional offerings.

Richard and Fifi, I would like to invite you up here to Tulsa to see what happens at our Cherry Street Farmers Market. It is all locally grown, the farms have to be inspected, and the vendors take great pride in the quality of what they are selling. We have reached a point where we have to encourage the crafts vendors to head on over to the flea market, and we are restricting the number of caters we are allowing. Everything for sale has to have some connection to being grown in Oklahoma and can not come from any of our neighbors like Arkansas, Kansas or Missouri. Our market operations starts up in April and runs till October. Things just do not grow year round up here. Tasting is done, even though the health department frowns on it. To do tastes, you have to set up a sneeze guard, which some vendors have done. So consider this your invitation to come on up to the north side of the Red.

here is Aurora. I had a dinner there two weeks ago and it was incredible. We were fortunate enough to be seated in the wine room. Our table did not do the tasting menus, but after everything was over, it was like 6 courses anyway. I would recommend coat and tie for men. NOt required but you might be more comfortable. And here is Lola's. I have not dined here but everyone says it should be on my list of places to dine.

I get my chili spices from Pendery's in downtown Ft Worth. To walk into that store and take a deep whiff is wonderful.

A couple of weekends ago, I had the opportunity to go to Doughmonkey in Snider Plaza in Dallas. An Outstanding new pastry shop. Rhonda Ruckman, the owner was making individual heart shaped linzer torts for Valentines. And the rest of her pastries were wonderful as well. If your in Dallas, try to drop by.

a place in Missouri called Lamberts??? ← I have been to the Lambert's in Foley, Al. It was not my kind of place. I think because I was fighting 3 tour busses to get some food. Never again for me.

I think because guacamole is more of a California thing than a Texas thing, possibly

Richard, Krebs is just outside of McAlister in northeast Oklahoma, actually more east central, but we claim it. It is about a 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive from Dallas. Take 75 north, the 4 lane will turn into 69. And try the Choc beer, the only beer brewed from indian recipes in Oklahoma. Along the way, before you get to Atoka, beware of speedtraps here , you will pass Cimmaron cellars. Stop off and try a wine tasting.

Could some of those bottles be private label? Made somewhere else according to the recipe provided by the seller? Happens all the time. And in places where they sell this way, it means the customer can enjoy a sauce they have found paletable to that person.. A lot of places to do not have the time or facilities to make and bottle massive quantities of products that they sell on the side. They are too busy cooking up the food for the patrons.

everyone i ever went to a parade with stopped at Popeye's first, usually the one on Carrollton.

Robyn, I heartly second your opinion. If you are having trouble finding something in your markets, have you asked the market manager if he can get it? And when your here, your sure not there. How many have tried the markets in south Dade county? Have you been to "Robert is here" in Homestead? Have you checked out the tropical fruits that are grown fresh here? Have you been to Fruit and Spice Park in South Dade county? Guys, this is Florida, not the delmarva peninsula or Napa Valley. If you want to have changes in your local farmers markets, get involved, get on the board of directors or find another market and talk to the vendors. Tell them what kinds of fresh produce you would like to see. Most vendors will be happy to try something new if they know there might be a demand for it. In terms of the local Cuban restaurants, do you only go to the tourists places, or do you search out little local family owned places? I used to go to a place on outer Flagler that was wonderful and I was one of the only non hispanics in the place. I dream about the flavors of the black beans. Where ever one lives, it is your community and is only as good as you let it be. If you want change, you have to be that change sometimes. God, was I getting preachy there or what. It is just that I love the uniqueness of the South of Florida and of All of Florida. There is such a diversity that you do not find in other states. Get out and explore. Talk to your chefs, challenge them to be more creative, not to reproduce what you were used to back home. There are too many cultural and ecological differences. Florida is a cool place, learn its history. And that did not start with Boca. In fact, in 1898, the 3 largest cities in the state were in this order, Key West-18,000, Jacksonville-17,000 and Pensacola-12,000. Until the 60's it was primarily an agricultural economy and environment. And in the 80's, two food revolutions started there. Floribbean and Neuvo Latino which have been exported all over the world. yes, there is some pretty bad food to be found in Florida, but from my travels, I have found that there is some pretty bad food to be found everywhere. And what some of the locals wax poetic over, i find pretty dull and yuck. Where ever you are, make the most of it instead of whining about it.

go here to the New Orleans Times-Picayune food recipe swap forums and ask. I am sure someone will be willing to share their personal recipe with you.

the nutrition breakdown of a cup of chantico is here I don't think I will be trying one soon.

I get American Paddlefish from Kelley's Katch. Their phone number is 1-888-681-8565. The product is quality, and I ususally get the 4 oz and it does not last.