HungryC

My favorite Popeyes parade memory: I actually caught fried chicken in a parade, when my drunken friends threw all their beads early in the parade route and had nothing left to toss to me except their snacks & beers. Best catch at a parade ever! 3-pc spicy & a six pack. Nice.

Thanks, Katie. I don't have prosecco handy, but I do have a couple bottles of Spanish cava (Cristallino, or some other value-priced thing I rec'd as a party favor). The bubbly & 'cello will be perfect the pre-parade festivities, but I'm gonna need something premixed & easily dispensable for the actual parade itself. I'll be up on a float, wearing a gown, large feathered mask/headdress, while slinging beads, moon pies, doubloons, cups, spears, footballs, & stuffed animals....and I can't drink the sticky, sugary sweet daiquiris from the takeout daquiri shop that my cohort is certain to bring along. I think I've decided on mojitos; just bought the limes and picked the mint out of the yard. I'll stir 'em up tomorrow AM.....

Okay, I'm not seeing much challenge in this one. Maybe it's a difference in rural shopping patterns vs. urban/peri-urban ones? Sure, I shop weekly out of habit for a few things rather than out of necessity. But I could probably go a couple of weeks without shopping and not succumb to vitamin deficiency or lack of variety. Thinking again, maybe it's hurricane preparedness that has my larder filled to brimming. The memories of waiting in line at the supermarket for hours (or driving 50 miles to find an open store) are still fairly fresh in my mind from '05, and a week without power during 9/08 reinforced the wisdom of stocking up on nonperishables. Stashed in the freezer are various veggies, frozen portioned meat/poultry, soups, stews, beans, andouille, tasso, bread crumbs, pizza dough blobs, peeled shrimp, redfish & red snapper, a whole batch of homemade pho, rolls from weekly baking past--that's the stuff I can remember; an archaeological survey would probably reveal some things I forgot, too. In a week, I'll run out of eggs, milk, & Fage yogurt: but I have powdered eggs (and powdered whites) on hand and evap canned milk & dry milk. Am I really shopping each week for yogurt? (Uh, now that I think about it, I do put yogurt on the list each week. Damn, I need to start making my own yogurt.) Fresh herbs (dill, chives, cilantro, parsley, sage, bay, thyme, tumeric) are out in the yard, along with (right now) fennel, broccoli, and scallions.

Calling all mixologists: I need a punch or pitcher-sized cocktail featuring limoncello....I have a huge batch of homemade limoncello ready for drinking, and I need a tasty way to use it. I'm aiming for something I can make in large volume (probably stored in gallon jugs in an ice chest) to serve to my fellow float-riders during my Mardi Gras krewe's parade tomorrow night. So fussy & fancy are out...and fresh tastes are key. TIA!

I set out the chilled biga/poolish at least an hour before using. Enough time to take the chill off; it can be helpful to cut/spoon/scoop it into pieces so it warms a little faster & mixes easier. I am a huge fan of extremely wet doughs, and I wouldn't for a minute try to hand-knead them. If you're after a holey, open crumb, wetter is better (think ciabatta--it is practically a batter). I knead in a KA pro mixer with the pigtail dough hook; works like a charm, saves my back & arms, and results in well-kneaded doughs. Don't be afraid to *really* knead wet doughs...knead 'til you get strong windowpaning, regardless of the time instructions in the recipe. I know that many folks love hand-kneading, but it's just not possible for high-hydration doughs like pizza bianca. Also, keeping the dough cool (using ice water to mix dough) and going for a cold, overnight ferment may improve your french bread. Aforementioned Reinhart has good instructions in his books (I believe he calls it pain l'ancienne?, don't have the book at my fingertips)

How about grits & grillades? Easy to prepare in advance, holds well on a buffet, inexpensive enough to feed lots of people. You can even cook the grits in a slow cooker for maximum ease of prep. I like Leon Soniat's recipe from his La Bouche Creole cookbook. Or celebrate Mardi Gras like a REAL New Orleanian....with Popeyes spicy chicken, cheap vodka, and some plastic beads.

Everything on your list is available in post-Katrina greater New Orleans, through a combination of ethnic groceries, mainstream supermarkets, and specialty shops.

What ratio of flour:water:yeast did you use in the poolish? I routinely keep my poolish or biga overnight in the fridge; it should be fine for 8-18 hours under refrigeration, based on info from Peter Reinhart's baking books.

Different kinds of baked goods have different ratios: get Corriher's Cookwise to begin or her subsequent Bakewise if you really want to learn about the topic. Depending on the leavening (chemical, yeast) and the fats (oil, butter, shortening), and even the kind of sugar (corn syrup, granulated sugar, honey), the results will be different. You can generalize about pound cakes, butter/genoise, sponge cakes, angel food--in other words, within certain cake/baked good types. Many recipes work as written, but may contain excess leavening, or sugar, or water, etc. When the recipe is halved or doubled, a small excess or insufficiency is magnified. It takes quite a bit of baking chemistry knowledge to eyeball a recipe and figure out whether it is efficiently written--you have to know all sorts of stuff about acidity (pH), temperature of ingredients, temp of baking, kind of leavening, kind of flour, how the fat is incorporated into the flour, and so on and so forth.

K-Jean's on Carrollton Ave in NOLA has 'em for $3.99 a pound right now, too. But take into account the Mardi Gras markup; the price will drop some in a few weeks.

So what's the difference between my Felts ham and the country hams that are eaten raw?

Or take a page from vietnamese cooking: slice thinly and fry until crispy; use as a crunchy, fragrant garnish.

The ham fairy visited me over the weekend, and I'm the proud owner of a whole, dry-cured, pepper-coated country ham. It's a "southHampton" country cure, packed by RM Felts of Ivor, VA. Now I have a few questions: --besides slicing paper thin & eating like prosciutto or slightly thicker & on biscuits, what are YOUR favorite ways to eat country ham? --how do I care for my ham? It is presently still wrapped in original packaging.

Toffee, kidneys, & squid ink cornbread, oranges/orange juice, sardines

FYI, Cochon is very much open, it is just closed on SUNDAYS (that includes the newly opened Butcher part of the business). ← Not true! At least, it's no longer true. Just moments ago, I got an email announcing that Cochon Butcher is now open 7 days a week. It's very low-key, although the seating might be hard for small kids. Mainly tall, bar-type tables. But boy is the food good. They're also doing a breakfast on Sunday: ← Oh, hell yeah. Go to Cochon for breakfast on Sunday. Then have gelato for pre-lunch.

Yeah, my pots & knives are all easily replaced, and most of the cast iron might actually improve if it went thru a house fire. I'd save the hand-carved sassafras wood bread bowl. Sorry for not playing by the rules!

I'm no fan of Mulate's as it exists in New Orleans. FYI, Cochon is very much open, it is just closed on SUNDAYS (that includes the newly opened Butcher part of the business). I'll make some suggestions that aren't stereotypical New Orleans flavors, but rather represent high-quality stuff offered by independent producers. If I were headed into town with two little ones in tow, I'd probably have lunch at La Divina Gelateria; simple, tasty paninis, soups, and killer gelato. A few doors from La Divina is Sucre, a high-end patisserie, in case you need some sweet treats for the road. In a similar, low-key vein is St. James Cheese Company, with a delicious selection of cheese-centric sandwiches & salads, offered inside a retail cheese shop. For the kiddos, Creole Creameryis just down Prytania Street from St. James.

Since you're driving, make a pit stop at Chad's deli & bakery, on Key Largo (bayside). Two-fisted deli sandwiches on homemade bread, nice baked goods, and friendly people.

Depends on the item in question. For a thin batter or dough (like pound cake or sugar cookies), I fold in nuts, etc. by hand. For stiff dough or a double/triple batch (like choc chip cookies w/nuts), I switch to the metal beater. It's a simple switch, and I put both beaters in the dishwasher anyway. The beater blade is dishwasher safe. Technically, KA instructions say to handwash the cast alumnium beater, but I can't see how dishwashing it causes any harm...the fininsh isn't shiny anymore, but who cares about that? I guess after 10,000 dishwashings, the metal MIGHT degrade, but I figure I'll wear out long before cast aluminium will. Here's a closeup pic of the blade in action: you can see the clean places on the bowl in the background, where the beater blade has most efficiently scraped it clean.

Oh, and I forgot to add that you can't use the beater blade to mix any hard ingredients (chopped nuts, chocolate chips, cold butter straight out of the fridge, etc). Since most hard ingredients are folded in at the very end, I haven't found this limitation inconvenient in the least.

Is confronting the customer a good business practice in any industry? I can't imagine any restaurant allowing the staff to chide, chastize, hound, or "educate" customers regarding tips. I, for one, don't really respond to the "how was the service" comment with anything approaching honesty--here I am, trying to enjoy myself: I certainly don't want to create anything approaching tension or conflict with a server by providing a critique of his/her job performance (especially at a place I visit regularly, or when out with friends or clients). My dinner out is about MY enjoyment; I don't want to be treated as a mini-focus group on customer service just after dessert. As a rule, I tip at least 15%, even when the service is laughable. 20% is for good service; random additional generosity is possible for exemplary performance. I agree with the previous poster who pointed out that if your clientele is primarily international tourists unfamiliar with US tipping customs, print a suggested tipping policy discreetly on your menu or guest checks.

On my spring trip to Key West, I enjoyed Cafe Marquesa quite a bit--a summer dining deal offered tremendous value for the quality of food & service. BO's fish wagon was tasty, too, and it was the perfect sort of chickens-pecking-open-air Key West joint. Hogfish Bar & Grillon Stock Island (just outside of town) had tasty conch ceviche and lobster bisque/chowder, as well as a cuban pork roast special that was damn good.

This struck me as a really odd question: why wouldn't I continue to dine in my accustomed fashion if I can still afford it? I live in an area heavily dependent on tourism dollars & service industry jobs. Post-Katrina, many residents feel a real economic obligation to spread their entertainment dollars around in the local market. If anything, I've eliminated the lower end of my dining-out budget (crappy lunches, overpriced on-campus food) in the interest of preserving the higher end meals. Then again, New Orleans isn't really a town that gives a damn about austerity or perceived fiscal piety, so perhaps I have a peculiarly regional perspective!

I have the beater blade, and it does an excellent job of cleaning the sides & bottom of the bowl. It does require precise adjustment of your bowl-lift, though. If the lift mechanism is a hair too high, the beater blade will squeak terribly as it firmly connects with the bowl. So try it out with water first, and have a flathead screwdriver handy to make any adjustments. The height adjustment on a KA bowl-lift is located on the lift mechanism (you have to remove the bowl to see it).

Coincidentally, I embarked on a cracklin' project a few weeks back. The cajun version, gratons, uses raw pork skin with a little bit of meat attached. Slice the skin into 1.5 to 2 inch wide strips around 3-4 inches long. Get a pot large enough to accomodate your skin pieces, then fill it about 1/4 full of water. Put the strips into the pot with the water, and heat over a low-low flame until the water begins to boil. Stir frequently--eventually the water will boil off & the fat will begin to render. Keep cooking over low, stirring often, until virtually all of the fat has rendered, but the strips are only the lightest golden brown. At this point, remove the strips from the (considerable) liquid lard. Spread out on brown paper or something absorbent & disposable. Allow to cool completely, then return your pot of lard to heating, this time over medium/high. When it hits 375, carefully return the strips to the pot--don't crowd the pot--and the cracklins will "pop" or puff up a bit. A gentle golden brown is your desired shade...if you cook too long, they'll be edible, but tough. I was attempting to cook 30 pounds at once in a 5-gallon cast iron pot. I learned that you MUST stir frequently; you need an incredibly sharp knife to cut the pork skin/fat, and it is arm-straining work to stir such a big pot of pork skins. It will be years before I can enter the local cracklin' cookoff with any hopes of a prize....