KitchenQueen

5 pounds of cashews to bring home and make cashew butter. And they were bordering on rancid when I got them home. Not at all edible. Wish I'd smelled that before I purchased them. All went down the disposal. Considering my cost, and the drive back to complain, it's a total loss. I won't bother, I just won't ever go back. These people are slipping. Do or die, they can now do it without my patronage.

What a special person Daniel is. His caring is what makes him special. Too few hosts would go to this extreme for a pregnant mother. I doubt she'll ever forget his caring and attention. And when she has a beautiful healthy baby?? Thank you Daniel. When I was pregnant, the one thing that made me violently ill was the stench of Cajun style boiled shrimp. It was only one of my most favorite meals pre-pregnancy. My mother in law? It was the smell of brewing coffee,something she could not live without.. She spent 7 months in a no-caffeine fog, and I'm told she developed the personality of a pit viper due to caffeine deprivation. Daniel has no idea how even the smells of certain foods can cause violent reactions in pregnant women. I'll retrtract that. I think Daniel does understand. In either case, Daniel is a prize. A wonderful ,caring ,and extremely intelligent host. I'll bet he's a good cook too! My 2 cents? Ask the lady what churns her stomach... It's the right thing to do. The menu you have offered sounds wonderful. Your research resulted in what sounds like a wonderful meal, a mom-to-be who can enjoy your meal, and a happy time had by all.

Looks nice. I'll check out all replies. Do some mandolines have features others don't? Am I correct in thinking the quality of the blades is the most important feature?

My shells usually come off in 173 pieces. Living alone, I don't HAVE old eggs. If I'm asked to bring stuffed eggs, there's usually little notice. And the yolks always end up at the thin end, so the whites are especially fragile and frequently crack and split when the yolks are removed, or while they're being peeled. Damn. I have great tasting mangled ugly eggs. About 20% usually look like a cat has been at the whites. The only way I've found is to cook an extra dozen, and toss the whites. Make so much stuffing you hide all your errors with an overload of filling. Any better ideas?

Okay, I think I've made my decision on a gift for a special person. What is the best mandoline made, what is the approximate price, and who has the best price on it? I live in the US. This is for a serious knowledgeable cook. Please help, I do not want to purchase anything less than the best, I don't own one and know nothing about what constitutes real quality. I'm still puttering along with my chef's knife.. Your comments are WAY more than appreciated. Thanks

The egg transport idea is great. I never thought of filling them later. But the thing I find extremely time consuming is peeling the hardboiled eggs. When making a lot, I always end up with thumbs hacked from sharp eggshells. Is there a secret that no one ever told me?

I used to spend a fortune on food, and much was wasted. I live alone, but like to eat well. Number one, I bought a Foodsaver. It has paid for itself at least every six months. And it's at least 6 years old. I buy family size packages of meat on sale. I buy whole hams. I buy 10 pound packages of chicken,or whole chickens. I now usually buy only when they're on sale. I keep a magnetic clip on my fridge. Several months ago I also did the same for my pantry. Each clip has a pen, and 5-6 sheets of plain paper. When I put away groceries, I scribble the entry onto the page. When I take something out, I cross that item out. I found it was much less time consuming than the time I wasted in supermarkets wondering what I already had. Sounds simple, but I know what's in there. I can never remember, when I'm shopping, what I already have. I love to bake bread, and once found myself with over 4- 5lb. packages of King Arthur flour. And that was just the bread flour. We won't discuss the whole-wheat,etc. That was nuts. I've found myself with 4 large jars of Hellman's mayo, 2 dozen unused and past sell-by-date eggs, enough brown sugar to sink a ship, 6 pounds of butter in the freezer, but couldn't remember while I was shopping if I had these things. Planning to do some heavy baking that weekend and didn't want to find out I was out of something. So I bought more. Total waste. And I don't know what it is with dairy products. Heavy cream,sour cream.butter,cheese.. .. I must purchase more every time I'm in a grocery. I have a scanner for my PC. I try to make it a rule now to pre-plan major shopping,and I scan the pantry and fridge pages and stuff them in my purse. It's saved me a LOT of money. If you have no scanner, grab the real pages. And cooking. One beer-can chicken cooked in the oven is good. Takes no more electric to do 3. Vacuum package them as is, or debone, package and freeze.. A myriad of things to do and the main ingredient is already done. One large ham , cooked then packaged partly in slices, part in chunks for soups and stews, and some in small dice for ham salads,the bone for wonderful beans or soups. Steak on sale? Partially freeze it, then slice as for stir fry. Vacuum pack it. Fast dinner, and you got it on sale. Good to make stir fry, sauteed with onion and cheese for sandwiches, top a salad with it, or whip up the noodles and favorite sauce. Fresh fruit, peaches, corn in season. I've had some really yummy fruits and veggies in the middle of winter when prices were downright silly. Nothing like a nice peach compote on those pancakes. Just things that worked for me.

I think all fruit flies originate in my kitchen. No flames please, I'm working on it.

Damn, you're good. I had forgotten. I (after hurricane Betsy) spent about 6 days sleeping in a normal bed. I say 6 days, it may have been closer to 10. It was that terrible. I can't remember. Being in the early stages of pregnancy, I was given one of the beds, to share with other females, me and elderly first. I was the only expectant mother there at the time,as I recall.. . Our husbands slept on the floor,as did the children. There were about (guessing here) 20 people in one house in New Orleans. House belonged the parents of our best friend. Downstairs was under water. Upstairs had 3 bedrooms. That was it. It was one of the few homes for blocks with a second floor. I remember insisting that hubby and I could sleep on the floor, but the men were having none of it. They took over like Marine DI's. There was 4-5 feet of water outside.They could not take chances on me having a miscarriage, or an elderly woman suffering a medical problem,since medical help simply was not available. Conversation was closed, and I was advised to shut up and obey. I did. Owners of this house were Italian, bigtime. Somehow, our men hit all our freezers and and refrigerators (by boat) and cleaned them out. Brought back their haul. House had a gas range. Our lovable Italian hosts made meals I still remember, and fed us all in amazing style till the food started running out. But back to the mattress. The heat was unbearable. 3-4 ladies and we let the men have it on rotation. It really got awful after a few days. Everyone was drenched in sweat, constantly. That damned mattress stank after a few days. I see your point on the air mattress. I will buy one shortly. You have again brought up a need I had forgotten.

"At many hardware/department stores, you can still find the old fashioned percolators that work right on the stove. If coffee is important to you, that may be worth having on hand." Actually, FistFullaRoux (your name tells me the precise area you're from, I grew up there), I started collecting coffeemakers a few years back. Why? Damned if I know. I hit a resale shop, found a few really old suckers, and bought them cause they brought back childhood memories. I've got lots of them now. When I die, the sorter-outer is going to be really annoyed. Is coffee important to me? Let me put it this way. If I can't have coffee, just kill me now. But back to your point. I went through Betsy , Camillle, Katrina and Rita. My stove is electric. Coffee I can make, even if I have to torch the house to get the water boiling. But your ideas on buying things you already know you like? Never crossed my mind. Hence, the Savory Sides debacle. What foods can be bought canned ,dried or whatever and be combined to make something decent? Canned meats would seem to be the starter. Canned ham and craisins? Vienna sausages and grape jelly? Nevermind. I think I made myself sick.

"It's important to choose foods that you will actually eat and enjoy" Boy, did I goof on that one last time. I gave 15 cans of assorted "Savory Sides" to my local food bank after Katrina/Rita. I realized after tasting one potato-cheese sauce thing they should have been sent to the SPCA. Those things are VILE. AC inverter? Never even heard of it. Exactly the kind of ideas I'm looking for. When this post has run for a few days, I may send it to the 300-plus locals in my email list. I have a feeling many more ideas are coming up. For me, I found a little sterno rack for a few bucks at WalMart, and keep 8 large sterno cans on hand. I have a 2 piece ceramic Melitta drip coffe maker. It never occurred to me to find out if sterno is okay to use indoors. I assume it is? See what I mean?

I just spent 45 seconds going NUTS trying to figure out what kind of hanging/broiler contraption you had. Never seen anything like it !!! Then I tilted my empty little head to the right. I'm still laughing out loud.

I am so envious. And the original description was a thing of beauty. In Houston I haven't bought an apple in ages that wasn't cornmeal mush consistency with the flavor of dampened newspaper. At least most of them have the decency not to start rotting till they've been in my house for at least 12 hours. Peaches seem to be the same. You'd at least think we could get a decent Georgia peach. I'm beginning to think everything sold here comes from Chile or Hell in wagons pulled by snails. 6 months from picking, VIOLA! They're on our supermarket shelves. Perhaps central Market might have decent apples and peaches, but it's just way to far for someone on the far northwest area to get to on a regular basis. Anyway, enjoy every bite ! I envy you.

Some of us live in hurricane/storm prone areas. If an emergency hits, and we lose all power, decent food can become a prized commodity, especially if your range was also electric. Other than the canned beans, tuna, cracker route what do you or would you have on hand? I am lucky enough to have a wood burning fireplace, but nothing resembling a cooking rack. I also have a propane barbeque grill with a burner. But many have neither, especially apartment dwellers. Any recipes and ideas to make edible and varied (or at least decent) meals for maybe as long a as week without electricity or gas? Most outages are no more than a day or two, but I went through 2 hurricanes that were 7-11 days if I recall.. Other than lots of bottled water, what staples and what equipment should be in our emergency pantry? Canned beans or plain canned tuna can do terrible things to one starting about day 3. I know. Your ideas?

A good article about this situation .. Outbreak Exposes Weakness in Food Chain The recent outbreak of E. coli in spinach from California exposed a weakness in the nation's food chain: A system that quickly delivers meat, fruits and vegetables to consumers just as easily can spread potentially deadly bacteria Full article here http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/10/09/D8KLCAT80.html

full article here.. http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/10/08/D8KKMSL82.html Less than a week after the Food and Drug Administration lifted its warning on fresh spinach grown in California's Salinas Valley, a popular brand of lettuce grown there has been recalled over concerns about E. coli contamination. The lettuce does not appear to have caused any illnesses, Salinas- based Nunes Co. Inc. said in a statement. The company initiated a voluntary recall Sunday of green leaf lettuce purchased last week under the Foxy brand name. Foxy is one of the nation's largest suppliers of lettuce, celery, broccoli, vegetable platters and stir-fry mixes.

I am not fond of the "trash" title. And I have not read or purchased the book. I grew up on this sort of food. My Grandmothers were not trash, nor my family members. I'm sure it was meant well??? Can't someone do a book on poor family Southern cooking without referring to those who did it as less than "socially acceptable"? A title of "Less Than Socially Acceptable" would be better than "White Trash". I started reading this thread being a bit annoyed, but glad that others would learn about some damned-fine meals. Now I'm absolutely mad and disgusted. The more I read it, the angrier I get. The title really frosts me. If you plan to give good southern home recipes, simple as they may be, stop denigrating those who made them, dammit !!! They are the ones who made your book possible. Off to sulk now. Maybe I'm being hyper-sensitve. I plan to sulk anyway.

Can anyone tell me if Caribou coffee is a Muslim owned company? I have an arguement to settle.

Thanks for the replies. I frequently cook a lot for the freezer or pot lucks, and the ability to dice pounds of onions at a pop is worth it. If it could actually dice ripe tomatoes, a big plus ! Worknights when I get home ,5 minutes saving in dinner prep is valuable to me,silly as it sounds . I can use a good knife, and I own them. But I likes me gadgets, and if it works, and it's something I'll use a lot, I'll buy it. My friend ,who is the reason for my original post, is a pro in the kitchen who grew up in the restaurant business, and owns the BEST knives. I sent him an email listing blanks 1 through 5, and asked him to fill them in with things he'd like and use for Christmas, otherwise he gets crap he won't use. Arthritis was mentioned in previous posts. . I'm betting that's the reason this was requested from this friend who's in his late 60's,early 70's.. I sure as hell won't be crude enough to ask. And at 10 years younger, I'm starting to get it in my thumbs too. It hurts. A lot.. No strength. Damn 15 quart Le Crueset pots!! If you have it, you understand. Now that's said. What's the VERY best one made? And I'm sure he'd never put the blades in a dishwasher..

I (a simple home baker) made the Pane Siciliano for the first time a few days ago. It was so good, I may never want to bake anything else again.

Nicer dicer, Alligator, whatever. I know you've all seen the commercials. But how great it would be if they work. I have a few friends who are wanting one and I'm thinking Christmas gifts, as well as wanting one myself. And a special friend who would only get the best one I could purchase,cost be damned. Do they work? What's the best one? No garbage that will probably break. Some show dicing ripe tomatoes. Yeah, right. Good, or another piece of useless crap to store?

I finally got a Butter Bell, liked it so much I bought another. 1/3 cup of very cold water every 2 days into the bottom. I just get it from the fridge ice water dispenser. Only time I've ever had a mold problme was when I forgot for 4-5 days. And the second it's empty, put it in the scorching hot diswasher cycle. How did I ever live without one?

I still say we need a reciprocal thingie going here. I pass a truck in Houston 4 days a week selling 25-35 count for $20.00 for 5 pounds. I've been buying from him for years. I have gotten to know the guy personally. These are wild, and hours off the Gulf boats. Heavenly shrimp. I'm not sure if my sizing is correct, they may be larger than 25-35 count. They look it. And I KNOW my shrimp. I grew up on the coast. If it ain't still moving, it's too old. It's cat food or fertilizer. For another $5.00-$10.00-you get 5 pounds of shrimp you'd need a crane to load, they're so large. And discounts on larger purchases, probably. I could sometimes drag my carcass to the airport with a styrofoam cooler of these on ice, if another poster was sendng me his/her local delicacy. Shipping is cheap. Trust me. My seafood shipments from Houston to Michigan relatives are frequent and reasonable. All I'm saying is that many of us spend way too much ordering online, with appropriate employee/handling charges. Ask a friend here first. Anyone game, or is it just me?

When you're just an average cook. You come home brain-fried from a trying day at work , too tired to make anything other than a simple BLT and a glass of milk. And as your stomach screams for food, you check in first to see if anyone here has a tastier way to make it.

Get thyself a Foodsaver vacuum packager, seal those nuts in a bag, and they'll last 1 1/2 years at least. That 's the date on a package I found buried in the freezer a few weeks ago. I tasted a handfull, expecting to really learn the definition of rancid. They tasted like the day I packaged them.