caroled

Do you snap off the leafy part of the lettuce stem and use only that, peel the stem end or use it as is??? Looks interesting. Do you traditionally serve it raw or cooked. Look forward to seeing what it becomes.

If I was fortunate enough to have 3-4 qts of this heavenly nectar I'd be drinking it from a jar!! Seriously, If it was going to be a while til I cooked collards again, I'd freeze any extra, and use it as the beginning liquid for the next pot.

I looked for this big fat asparagus since Easter, all we had at Marsh was the really thin pencil skinny ones. Finally last night we had the big thick purple tipped ones. Will be roasted for Mother's Day brunch.

Last night after my post, that very thought dawned on my so I looked them up, and it is reasonably priced... then I looked up the store locator and saw that they are available at Ft. Ben Harrison. Next time my mom goes to the commisary I'll tag along. A pack or 2 at a time beats having to order by the dozen and having to freeze the majority. I have not yet made it to Claus' and will even plead my ignorance of their existence until I saw some coarse Braunschwieger you had posted. I love following your posts, not only for the amazing dishes you prepare, but as a source of so many good things around Indy.

Before I moved to Indy, I lived in small town in AL app. 50 miles northeast of Pensacola. What's more I was only 30 miles south of Evergreen AL, home of the Conecuh sausage plant. We had product sampling of their sausage in the store where I worked in EVERY weekend. Love it. Best sausage ever! Man I miss that stuff!

andiesenji, That looks fabulous and I have everything in house at the moment but the mixed peel. How much different would it taste if it were omitted, or could you recommend a substitute to balance the flavors?? I do have some fresh limes and lemons, but no candied rinds. ( Do have candied ginger) Could any of these be subbed??

Shel, All of my family seems to enjoy the crusty edges . The best method I have found so far is to me the simplest. I make sure that the pan is well buttered and when I spread the batter in the pan I make sure to keep the center of the pan thicker and leave the batter in a thinner layer all the way around the edges of the pan. As the batter bakes and spreads naturally in the heat, this distibution allows the edges to thicken slightly more than I originally started with. This ensures that it is not so thin that it burns, but not so much that I lose the crispy edge I desire. Took me a few times to find the right starting thickness to get the desired results. Hope this helps.

Having grown up in the South, I didn't find the racoon to be what I would consider exotic or adventurous...Had it many times along with squirrels and even possum on one occasion. But I can honestly say at this point in my life I can't forsee ever eating any of the other options at this dinner. I guess I am not that sophisticated or adventurous. More power to them!

May I ask., where did you get the Braunschweiger? I love it and but have never found a coarse one.Would be interested in trying this.

I gave the bundt pans a try, and they didn't turn out too bad. No sticking to the ridges of the pans, but the batter was a little thick, so I got a few small voids where nothing was in contact with the sides. The regular cylindrical cakes are gluten free ones I didn't want to take a chance with. I'll be working on my light fruitcakes tomorrow night. Gorgeous!!!! I am so jealous of the lucky people in your life who will receive one of these. One question... what is the diameter/volume on the bundt type pans??? are they a miniature or full size?? I now see where you said smaller, but for how many serving, single or multi?

I tried this recently.... I thought it was so pretty ,so it must taste equally good...meh..not a favorite with me at all, especially @ 27 .99 lb. Today I bought 1 1/2 lbs Pont l'veque and the same amount of St. Andre triple cream Brie ( a steal @ $9.99 lb) Now I feel better about the money I wasted on the Humboldt.

Ginger Ale works well too. Especially good with a fresh ham.

Does The Gem Saloon from Deadwood count??? Al Swearengen conducted all manner of business from there.

Not Jewish, but we always did this same package with the addition of matches, so that there would always be warmth/ a fire in the hearth.

Yea,.... I'd say those look pretty damned perfect!

Straight up is the way to go for me. Scrub the skins well, and dry. Prick the skin in a couple of places and microwave just til hot to get them going and then toss in a hot oven til creamy tender and the skins crackle. Serve with a sprinkling of salt. That is all.

Are you going to cook that delicata squash this week??? I love them , but tend to do the same thing over and over with all my winter squashes.I need some new ideas!

Tonight, We gave out 8lbs of the cheap, Palmer brand chocolates (so roughly 400 small pieces), 86 ActII popcorn balls and 140 full sized candy bars ( 36 Hershey, 24 Resses cups, 20 Hershey Cookies n cream, 12 Almond joy, 12 kit Kats, 12 Hersheys w/ Almonds, 12 Special Dark, and 12 Thingamagigs, ( used to be called Whatchamacallits, had been retired I guess, these said limited edition) We gave the kids a choice of 1 or the other of the large items and a piece or 2 of the small. We always just set up a table or two in the yard and set up camp... set out the pumpkins, scarecows and other decorations, sometimes dressing up ourselves and just wait for the kids to come. It's too much of a hassle to stand at the door, or sit in the living room and wait on them to knock. When they are coming in droves, literally 10 -12 at a time sometimes , this is just an easier solution. I had to go in more than an hour early tonight as I ran out of stuff, and the little tykes were still thick up and down the block

Sounds like a good idea to heat the oil so as to infuse more of the herb flavor into the oil. Perhaps you could do this and then pour the flavored oil over the fresh herbs( after it has cooled of course) that you have already packed into the bottles thus giving the additional boost of flavor, while still maintaining the beauty of the fresh herbs.

I'll have to raise my hand as well and admit to watching these challenge shows. I do enjoy the ones that feature the world pastry competitions and I do like to watch the cake decorators have a go at it. But it seems that lately they are grasping for concepts to draw us in . Just last week the challenge was Ice cream, and in some of the individual challenges ( I think there were 3 per this episode) the contestants could use premade ice cream. I'm guessing that the contestants had to make it ahead of time (as opposed to a bought, premade) On this particular challenge was a former Top Chef contestant, Marisa Churchill. This weeks Big Bash Catering challenge had another TP also ran, Suyai Steinhauer. Is any one else sensing a theme???

I am obviously not Shelby, but would like to share a tip if I may - ensure that you have an extremely fresh egg (straight from a farm are best). Also make sure that the water is very gently boiling and has a tbsp of white vinegar in it. If you want a good round shape, swirl the water with a wooden spoon like a tornado just before cracking the egg in the middle of the vortex. I am liking the soft scrambled and spicy-ish combination, I too enjoy a spicy component along with a nice creamy scrambled egg. I highly suggest the combination of leftover mapo dofu along with the eggs. A truly soul satisfying combination, especially on a cold winter's day.

(racheld---didn't sign on correctly---still haven't caught up to the electronic age) Plain, roundish, with little flat margins sometimes from touching on the cookie sheet. Sugar on top. Pink sugar, shaken with a drop of McCormick red food color and left to dry, then beaten in a baggie to separate the hard little clumps---if you're making for company or a shower tea. Much like a sweet, flattened-before-rising biscuit; Mammaw's big old red-handled rolling pin rolled them out thinner, and they were cut with a both-ends-cut-out tuna can, but you still had to look twice to tell what was on that big yellow plate. It coulda been left-from-breakfast biscuits, cooled and floppy and destined for bread pudding or a quick supper dessert, made while you were getting the ice into the tea glasses---biscuits split and smashed flat into the skillet with butter and brown sugar, sizzled crisp into our own primitive palmiers. But when you peeked in, inhaled the familiar fragrance of that old cabinet, with its decades of good pastries and pies and cornbread, and the the exotic aura of the ever-present pineapple layer cake---seeing the stacked pale rounds brought a bright little bubble of maybe, and when you spied the glint of sugar on top--- And I think her recipe was interchangeable, with a handful of sugar, a little vanilla and a glug of extra milk being the only difference between teacake and biscuit. No jam or butter on ours---you're supposed to taste only the sweet and the thought of a tang of buttermilk, with the perfume of good Watkins vanilla. And teacakes are always served cold; a paper doily beneath is de rigueur for teas and grand lady doin's, but two grabbed together and carried up a tree on a hot afternoon, a Tarzan paperback tucked in the waistband of your shorts---ain't no topping that. ETA---I now see I'm signed in as Caro---she would well remember the teacakes at Mammaw's house, but she missed out on knowing that old Hoosier cabinet---it was traded to a local upholstery lady for doing covers for the living room couch and chair---what a sad waste of such a wonderfully iconic family treasure. I still miss it.

I was just in Whole Foods this past Mon. and I can tell you, they did not get a lot for their $10. I had what was a reasonably small amount a stuff, and none of it was higher end items,(maybe $12-$18 lb cheese, but I only had little 3-4ounce portions of each) and my bill was over $60 when I left. BTW, did anyone notice that as Dale was buying his chicken brats,the camera panned down to the sale tag that said Italian -chicken sausages-$4.99lb. Not a bad price mind you, especially if they are fresh made . But, he could not have possibly gotten the 10 of them that were being placed on the scale as anything less than2-1/2 to 3 lbs worth. We sell a similar product at the store where I work and they usually weigh out to about 3 per lb. roughly 5oz. portions . I'm just sayin'.

I did not catch this episode, but I am usually off on Sun nights. And as such Have been known to fall asleep with the tv on. Both of the last 2 Sun nights I did this I woke up to the late night episode of URS and just had to see what it was all about. The first episode was chicken. In each of the 3 segments they had to do a different type. Fried chicken; soup or stew; and whole roast chicken. 2nd episode was burgers. Traditional ( ground beef); poultry; and seafood. These do make a little more sence when judging one category against another.Comfort foods are very broad and subjective.

Have no fear and put away those smelling salts! I went to" Tuesday morning" when I made my purchase specifically for the Le Creuset that was advertised on sale. To set your mind at ease ( and make a few others jealous) I was able to get both the 7.5 qt ($139 )and the large stockpot($39.99) for the unbelievably low price of just under $180!!!! I thought it was an absolute steal And you would be worth it at 10 times the price!!!!LOVE