slo_ted

I never wear an apron although I should. My shirts all have splatter scars. If they don't they are not my shirts.

What a great contributor; what a loss.

I never met a pepper I did not like unless it was hotter than a Habanero. I grew up with a regular rotation of stuffed green Bells--there were no other colors available in the stores in Austin and no lettuce other than ice berg in the 50's,

I just now stumbled onto this news. Thank you for the post. Rebecca was a very engaging person even when the conversation was about sardines or making mayonnaise. She was a friend and though I never met her I miss her.

Messermeister gets my vote, too.

Coming up on ten years for me. Rarely post but I do follow the conversation closely and the conversation has always been stimulating. I also love the instructive side of this site--the forums on stocks, sauces, braising, and Col Klink's masterful class on smoking meat. If anyone runs into =Mark, please thank him for posting his recipe for Carolina style BBQ sauce. I hope we are just warming up.

I, too am shocked by the news of Steven Shaw's death. He was much too young for this, if I may restate the obvious. Like others above, I rarely post here these days though I do look in on the site fairly frequently. I did enjoy reading the previous posts on this thread. There is a definite memory lane element to seeing responses from my favorite eGulleteers from the past. Thank you for returning and thanks for your stories.

I remember when horse meat was a brief fad here in the US back in the 1970's. I was living in Tucson at the time and there was a butcher shop dealing exclusively in horse meat which I think was located on Speedway. Horse meat was touted as healthier than beef--leaner, lower in cholesterol, etc. My wife and I tried several cuts and of course ground horse meat, which if i remember correctly, we thought was the best of show. IMHO it was not as good as beef. The horse meat shop lasted maybe six months and vanished.

I love fried rice. In our outfit it is almost always a way to use yesterday's rice and yesterday's protein, usually beef, chicken, or pork. Any added vegetables and of course peppers are fresh. I love this discussion. I'm gonna make some tonight. Thanks

I like 'em roasted, and I also like 'em raw right out of the bag. The batch I have now is pretty hot--approximately jalopeno hot. I love to eat one raw as a side to whatever else is on the menu.

So far, all I've found is the white corn and it's devoid of flavor. The best thing to do with it is avoid it and wait for something better. My dog, though, really likes it strait off the cob.

We had an Insinkerator hot water dispenser which we really enjoyed until it leaked into the kitchen counter damaging the counter and the wood floor. That occurred more than ten years ago, so maybe they are better now.

Great post, Ben, Congratulations on the weight loss combined with great eating. It is the most difficult high-wire act in the world IMHO. I've lost 60 lbs and kept it off for 17 years and consider it the greatest accomplishment of my life since cooking is my hobby and food is an obsession. Austin is my home town, I live 5 years in Houston and have relatives in Fort Worth (where the West begins) and have spent lots of time in Dallas (where the East peters out). Thanks for this blog. I'll be your constant companion. Long may you run.

Too loud is a deal killer for me, too. One of the most important functions of food is to bring people together. Some of us met yesterday at a local winery for wine and snacks on their beautiful terrace. There was live music which can be a great idea, but it was cranked up way to loud for that type of event. We retreated to the most distant table available, but could only converse during the breaks taken by the band. On a recent trip to the Bay area my wife and I learned to dine much earlier than our norm to avoid the crowds of hipsters who are not deterred by noise in the least. In fact it seems to attract them. Noise seems to signal a certain demographic the "this place is a happening scene." Maybe that is why some restauranteurs feel that noise is so friggin' important.

This morning I paid $1.49 a can for condensed milk. Not the sweetened stuff, but the regular kind. I thought it was high at 95 cents a can a month ago. The store was Smart & Final which has the best prices for canned milk in town.

My wife and I spent a few days in the Napa Valley recently. In Calistoga we loved JoLe which is located on the main street. I'd rate it as one of the best dinners I've had in a restaurant. Solbar is also very good. We enjoyed lunch there on a very sunny day after a string of rainy ones. It is located on the Silverado Trail but in Calistoga. It was a short, pleasant walk from Indian Springs resort where we were staying. We also loved Redd in Yountville, and ZuZu and Celadon in Napa. In Pacific Grove several years ago we had a great meal at a French restaurant called Fandango, which was located on the main street near Passionfish. You may have come across recommendations for a winery called Hess Collection near Napa. I second those recommendations. It is six miles west of Hwy 29 on Redwood Dr. or Rd. which crosses 29 by the Marriot hotel. You can go there for the wine, but the art collection on the second and third floors is worth the excursion. Enjoy your stay. It's pretty hard to go wrong in those places.

I'm happy to report that both Solbar and JoLe in Calistoga are top notch restaurants. JoLe is conveniently located on the main drag and SolBar is a short stroll to the Silverado Trail. I has now been two-three weeks since we were there so details of the food are fuzzy, but the scallops and the veal sweetbread at JoLe were excellent--my wife declared that meal the best she had ever had at a restaurant. We also loved Redd in Yountville, and ZuZu and Celadon in Napa. Thanks for the tips.

My wife and I are spending 2-3 days in Calistoga next month. We have not been there in six years. Is there any life in the culinary scene there? I know that there are many worthy restaurants in the area--Napa, Yountville, St. Helena--but is there anything in the actual town of Calistoga to recommend? Thanks for your guidance.

does Green Pastures still exist in Austin?

I, too, am really enjoying your culinary travels. I lived in Houston from 1968-1973 and have very fond memories of dining in various seafood restaurants in Galveston--my favorite was a funky place on the bay side of the island--or boiling shrimp on the beach. From Houston we moved to Tucson, and while living there we made numerous trips for various reasons to Southern New Mexico where we enjoyed some of the finest Mexican food I've ever tasted. Please keep on keeping on. It's been quite a trip.

JSOLOMAN is absolutely right. This is my 38th year in ER and UC medicine and I would like to emphasize that the most important step in treating burns is to stop the burning process as fast as possible. Usually the easiest way to do this in the kitchen is to immediately turn on the cold water tap and stick your hand (by far the most commonly burned body part) under the running water.

We do it for dinner, but we shoot for an earlier start than is usual for us--5:30 to 6ish. I love spending the afternoon in the process of making the dinner with all the other people involved. Thanksgiving is perhaps the only day of the year when I get to cook with so many other people.

I, too, go with the dish washer. We have a number of wooden utensils which are at least ten years old and I can't remember ever replacing any.

My nose runs freely when I eat hot peppers, and if they are hot enough, hiccups can happen.

I had a teacher in medical school who was quite the gourmand, and who was a strong advocate of dining at restaurants soon after their opening. There was an explosion of restaurants in Houston's Montrose area in those days--early 1970's-- and he would try one and urge us to go now before they go down hill "as they always do." Looking back over my experience with the restaurant world, I don't know if it is universally true, but it is a common phenomenon. I know lots of places that were red hot at first, but then cooled off and lost their luster with time.