Chef Mz. Jeannie

Thanks to all who gave me some ideas. I totally zoned on doing kabobs! And your other ideas are all great. I may do a Moroccan inspired recipe that uses lamb for the kabobs normally, and adapt it to my beef fillet "scraps"...if there can be such a thing. I appreciated the suggestion of doing a Thai inspired dish, but alas... I have not been a fan of Thai. I had a baaaadddd experience the very first time I had Thai. But I may try this idea as well! So many folks love this cuisine that I need to explore it more. Thank you again to all!!

Hey Y'all! Every Friday night is "Steak Night" at my casa. (Most of the time, we do beef fillet steaks over mesquite, and often will buy the whole fillet because you can save a few bucks per pound. When we buy the whole fillet, we trim it ourselves, (usually over a bottle of red...), and wind up with some very small "leftovers", which we ziploc and put into the freezer to save for another use. These leftovers are what would be too small to toss on the grill as a steak. In the fall and winter, I make a fabulous Beef Stroganoff, but its coming into summer, and I am looking for some new ideas for more "seasonal" recipes in which we would use our "fillet leftovers" that would make yummy use of this leaner and tender cut. I have thought of doing fajitas... but I am thinking the meat would loose a lot in texture...(marinate maybe???) I could pound it out and make some Texas Chicken Fried Steak... (which I have done before and is slammin'!!)... but I really would like to hear some new and inspiring suggestions from everyone. Of course, I could grind it up using the Kitchenaid grinder, and do burgers or a meatloaf, but I am looking for new territory to cover. Any ideas??

Hey THANK Y'ALL for ALL of your experiences and insights on my SCONE gig! After reading everyone's contributions... I want to tell everyone that being a Souther'nah, I use White Lily for all my pie pastry, cakes, biscuits, and any "soft" baking. (I do not use it for my bread baking... not enough gluten, etc.) I also pay close attention to overworking the dough/batter concept, and feel reasonably sure I did not cross too many lines on that part of it. My oven was fully preheated at 425 degrees. (I felt that was a pretty extreme temp to use, but trusted the recipe I was using... I think it is interesting to note that the recipe called for to bake the scones at the 425 preheated temp for 15 minutes, then without opening the oven door, just cut the temp off in the oven, and let the scones sit for another 10 minutes! Instinctively, I decide to go ahead and humor the recipe, but SIT THERE at the oven window to see what would happen. The bottom cookie sheet totally burned up within 3 minutes!!! The scones on that sheet were tossed out. The upper middle sheet looked great, but I pulled them at 5 minutes. They looked fabulous. When I tasted one of them, I again was disappointed that they were more like American Shortcake, then a soft moist texture. After reading all of your comments, I realize now that I really did NOT understand the true characteristics of scones at all! (I suggested that this might be the case...) Like I said... the FLAVOR of the scones was wonderful. I had issues with the crumb issues! This being said and now realize this and will base my further "study" on this premise. I appreciate the comments that told of the importance of adding jam, double cream, butter, etc on TOP of the scone. Personally, I have never done this. And after considering the concept, I am thinking that this is the same thing we do when we make toast --although not exactly the same texture at all. The scones I made for the tea party I did, were made in advance of the event, (an hour...or so). So, this being said, they were cooled down totally. I did not gently heat them up, thinking DISASTER if I did. All the folks at the tea party commented on them, and said they were delicious... but I think it is more ME that is skeptical. After all of your help and comments, I have decided to continue my study down the "Scone Road". I thank everyone for all of the suggestions, and techniques! P.S. This is the 2nd POST I have done since joining Egullet. I am struggling with navagating the system, and when I finally found my post... I was AMAZED with the number of responses... and from all over the world it seems!! I went upstairs to tell my daughter about all the people that took the to help me out, and she laughed at me! She could not believe that I did not realize that the Net is the NET!!! and it is everywhere. I do know this, but I guess have just recently started jumping into wonderful conversations with so many different people! I think it is cool!! And, if you are chuckling at me... it is OK!! I am just a South'ran Gal... living amongst cotton and tobacco fields.... But I can COOK LIKE HELL!!! Thanks to everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks SG.... I am now happy that I KNOW that wonderful scones DO EXIST! Is there anyway you could nab the recipe from mum? There has got to be a secret that is eluding me. Thank you soooo much for your reply! Chef Jeannie

Hello Everyone! I need some help and education here! Here's my gig: Scones have never been an item on my "Hit Parade"... but as a personal chef... I do Tea Parties on occasion, and somewhere there exists a RULE that you have to serve SCONES. Sooooo, not being a 'fan'... it has been a struggle for me to find a recipe for a MOIST one. Not being fond of them doesn't make for an interesting study topic, recipe-wise, but being the die-hard researcher that I am... I am on-the-hunt!!! I am thinking that it might be a simple case that in my experience, I have never had a GOOD SCONE. (This same arguement has been applied to eating fried Liver...) Though they may be jam packed (--no pun intended...) with currants, dried apricots, dates, blueberries, etc..., and boasting of a heavy cream or cream cheese base, not to mention the butter in the dough... I still feel you could sand blast the side of a house with the crumb texture! The ones I made for a tea party I did yesterday were beautiful looking, sparkled with sugar, and smelled of the perfume of mediterranean dried apricots and Fiori d' Scilia... And you could TASTE all that, but they were DRY! I even made them small, --not those gargantuan ones you get at the Coffee Shops of the world --the size of Arizona... and as DRY too. I think I have made my point. I don't care if you are sitting in a "parlor", all dressed up and sipping some delightful Darjeeling, or Earl Grey... if it is me, and I score a plate of food with a scone on it, chances are that it looks REALLY PRETTY, but looks are deceiving! Upon my first bite, I either feel like I am going to choke trying to wash it down with the tea, OR the thing simply disintegrates as soon as I lift it with my dainty little fingers. In which case, I will skillfully wrap it in a napkin and ditch the thing in the nearest "dustbin". (Hey! Maybe that why TEA was invented!!... to WASH DOWN SCONES!... but I digress...) Can anyone out in Egullet Land educate me about these little mysteries? I am a "baker" and not shy about doughs, batters, etc. It may be that I just have not cultivated the correct appreciation for them. Maybe it is a matter of an acquired taste... Maybe I will have a deep-fried Twinkie instead.

I am from Texas, but moved to North Carolina several years ago...which is almost the "California" of the South... You plant it, and IT GROWS. The heat and sun exposure in TX is a factor to reckon with. While it is necessary to place most of your herb plants in full sun, I would not expose them to full sun all the time. It would prove too much. Try to place your raised garden where the plants enjoy sun most of the day, but have a rest as the sun sets. I have never had a sprinkler system, always prefering to water "by hand" in the early evening, close to the roots and always with a glass of wine as I walk around. Herb plants have a sort of "language" and I like to think we are discussing upcoming "projects"... But then, I am getting too deep! Anyway... Always feed them regularly, and keep the new growth harvested, lest you wind up with these leggy, bitter things. I used to hate to pinch the plants back, thinking I was committing some SIN, but have learned that this needs to happen to promote the best plants with the best flavor--which is our goal, right? If you don't have time to harvest and either use them or dry them, then do keep the plants lush and not "leggy". I am NOT an expert, but just sharing some experiences. Oh! Also watch for caterpillers! I lost my entire planting of italian parsley in ONE NIGHT because I failed to notice their presence in the garden. I went to bed with handfuls of parsley and woke up to stems. Best of Luck to you!!!