shellfishfiend

Brussels Sprouts-- roasted or steamed (just discovered these last year) Beets-- roasted or pickle Broccoli--raw or steamed Asparagus-- steamed Cauliflower-- raw is my favorite way to eat this Cabbage--boiled or pickled (kimchee or kraut) Radishes-- pickled or raw if daikon Mushrooms-- raw, roasted or boiled in seafood seasoning Okra--I love okra! Boil it. Roast it. Pickle it. Cook it up with tomatoes. Anytime I see a new fruit or vegetable, I will buy it and try it. Sadly, where I live, there are not often alot of new things to try.

Hzrt8w, I love your feelings about Coke. I hate it when I order a Coke and they ask if Pepsi is okay. No, it is not. I find it hard to believe there are people who can't tell the differnce between Coke and Pepsi. I think Coke is the perfect drink to pair with the food at Chinese buffets. Somehow, I think the carbonation cuts through the spicy foods. Maybe it is the ginger flavor you mentioned. I only get a craving for a Chinese buffet about 3 thimes a year, but when I do, it requires many glasses of Coke to wash it all down. I will try your Coca-Cola chicken recipe soon.

"Another (easy) movie food clue = Abe Froman, the Sausage King of Chicago" A classic-Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Uncle Buck? It is one of my favorites.

1. Black pepper 2. Coriander seed 3. Thyme

I like an index by recipe as well as main ingredient. I like the ingredient list to be in large, easy to read print (nothing cutesy). I like it when it has a sidebar describing what specific tools/dishes will be required for the recipe. Yes, you can usually make substitutions, but I like to know what's recommended. I also appreicate it when it states an oven temp in nice bold numbers if it is not noted seperately. it makes it easier to find at a glance. I really appreciate knowing whether or not the dish will freeze.

It does not seem to matter if I shop hungry or not. I almost always buy only exactly what is on my list. If a see soemthing that is not on my list but looks great or is being sold at a great price, I might buy it. Otherwise, I stick to the list.

Around here, hot dish means a casserole or finger foods that are recently cooked and served hot.

Like several other posters, I mainly use my cookbooks for reference or ideas. Most of my cookbooks are in great condition. The exceptions: any cookbook my mother owned previously (and I love every stain) and any cookbook with a cookie, cake or pie recipe I have used. I am not much of a baker and try to follow those recipes exactly. So, they tend to get a little butter and flour on them. I don't mind. Stains=memories.

Thank you for bringing this up again. I had never seen the original thread. I use dried beans often and normally just set then in a bowl of water on the counter overnight. I thought I had to. I will try this next time.

The Commander's Kitchen cookbook has a chicken salad recipe where the chicken is wrapped in plastic wrap before it is boiled. They say it keeps the meat moist.

I think purging is a must. I have had crawfish that weren't purged adn crawfsih where the purging and rinsing was rushed. There is a grittiness and strong muddy taste to crawfish that aren't purged (imo). The grittiness is the most off-putting thing to me. Now, mind you, I never devein shrimp—but I do purge my crawfish. After a few years of trial and error, we came up with a pretty good system. We bought several galvanized wash tubs, drilled lots of holes in the bottoms of half of them. Now, it is easy to pick up the tub with holes and drain it of the salt water to put in another tub to rinse.

John, Welcome. Terrific looking meat. I can't offer any advice as to photo size, as I have not yet attempted to deal with image Gullet. Please give a few details as to what you did with the chicken thighs. We buy alot of thighs and those look great.

Dirty Dancing

Tomato aspic is an old Southern classic. It could be done in a sheet pan, cut into cubes and topped with a shrimp. It would need to be kept chilled.

1950-2000 1.Coca-Cola 2.Pre-sweetened breakfast cereal 3.Hamburgers 4.Fried chicken 5.Sandwichs Afraid to hazard a guess to the future.

As a child, I was never a huge fan of peanut butter and jelly sandwichs.The one way my mother could be sure that I ate my PB&J was to give me some nacho Dorito chips on the side. After putting the chips in the sandwich, it became delicious.

Another easy one: A red velvet Groom's cake in the shape of an armadillo ←

I have heard of sushi chefs doing this. I heard that after they remove the peel, they continue around the cucumber to use the sheets of cucumber as wrappings for rolls (instead of nori). I use a knife to peel cucumbers, but just take the peel off in long strips—like you would with a peeler. What method do you use?

To me, spring always means asparagus and crawfish. The crawfish season actually begins in January, but they don't become decent sized or priced until spring.

Had our first crawfish boil of the season last night. Just a small affair; the next-door neighbors came over to watch the Super Bowl. Sorry, no pictures. Just as I was getting ready to get the camera, the neighbors came over and I forgot all about it. We called around to five places on Saturday to check price and availability. Two places had stopped selling live because they were running low. We were quoted prices of $2.09/lb., $2.29/lb., and $2.49/lb. Up until this weekend, they were going for $1.99/lb. I guess the Super Bowl increased demand and thereby price. We ended up buying a 34 lb. sack for $2.29/lb. from a local fish market. They were a little small and some were crushed, but they cooked up really well. They peeled like a dream. Pinch the tail and the meat popped right out. We served them with corn, potatoes and mushrooms. Our next door neighbor is nine months pregnant and didn't think she would be able to eat much. However, she was a trooper and ate two trays. I hope I can do that if I am ever in the same situation. So, four people ate supper last night from a 34 lb. sack of crawfish and there were only about 2 lbs. left over that my husband finished off today. I was pleased. We will have another small boil of similar size in two weeks. Then in late March or early April, we will do a boil for 15-20 people. I hope the price drops more by then. I love crawfish season. Pictures next time.

You need a smoked meat: sausage or a ham hock. I always added a touch of either vinegar or lemon juice. A sprinkle of chipotle Tabasco right before serving is great. I stir in chopped green onion just prior to serving. You didn't ask, but pickled okra goes really well with red beans and rice.

Crust, crust , crust....oh, how I love it. The heels of loaves are my absolute favorite. Mind you, I love bread adn the entire loaf will disappear. But, the crustiest parts go first. I love the work-out good , crusty bread gives my jaws.

Mike, You will need a big pot full of boiling water. throw in potatoes, garlic, onions, corn, lemons and sausage if you like. I have never had crawfish done with Old Bay. It might be okay. But you really need something spicier. You can probably find or mail order Zatarain's Crab Boil. If so, use lots of it. There is a seasoning mix here called Swamp Fire that is really good too. Brooks seems to be the expert. He might have his own seasoning blend that he can give you the recipe for.

Story Looks like great news!! Now, I have a confession to make. I have never eaten a crawfish. One and only time I was in NO was a culinary train wreck, I spent most of the trip with my head wrapped around a Hurricane and can't remember much else after that. Brooks, TA, someone, educate me, please. As a first timer, how do I want to eat them? What are your top 3 ways? Do you think I can find them locally in GA or should I mail order? Could you recommend a mail order farm? Thanks! -Mike ← Mike, There are lots of great crawfish recipes. However, during the season (when you can get them live) the only way to have them is boiled. You also need to keep in mind that unlike shrimp, the yield from whole crawfish is tiny. We eat 5-7 lbs. per person and that is with corn and potatoes. The idea Brooks had about driving down is a good one. Crawfish will do fine on a road trip if the proper precautions are taken. When we lived in Little Rock, AR, we often had to travel several hours to get our crawfish for our annual boil. When you buy them, make sure you have someone explain how to purge the crawfish. This makes the differnce between great crawfish and crappy (literally) crawfish. We are planning a boil in a couple of weeks for my birthday/Mardi Gras. With limited tables available in my back yard, we don't always use the "newspaper on the table." Instead, we go to the liquor store and get the cardboard flats that six-packs of beer come on. Put a few sheets of newspaper in the bottom to catch the juices and you can sit in a lawn chair with your beer in hand and your "plate" in your lap. Abita Purple Haze is great with crawfish. Well, any Abita beer is great with crawfish. Be sure and let us know how it turns out if you try crawfish. And you should try them-they are fantastic!