Dana

I usually advise non-wine drinkers who might need a little for a sauce to get those little four-packs of Sutter Home, or whatever brand their local market carries. They aren't the greatest for table wine, but they are just about right for deglazing, etc. By using these, you can always have some on hand without feeling like you have to use up a whole bottle before it gets oxidized.

Susan in FL - your meals and photos are awesome. I look forward to your posts. We'e getting ready to go on vacation, so to clean out the fridge, we're having chicken soup and garlic toasts.

I always use peanut oil for deep frying. It has a higher smoke point than veg oil so it doesn't break down as quickly. Here's what I do for bloomin' onions: Peel a large onion and cut into petals, leaving the root end intact (I put a wooden spoon on each side of the onion, so that my knife will not go all the way to the bottom.) Depending on how large your onion is and how narrow you like your petals, this could be 8 or more cuts. Place the onion cut side down in boiling water for 1 min, then plunge in ice water for 5 min. Let drain well, loosening the petals if necessary. Place a couple of tablespoons of well-seasoned flour in a zip loc bag and put in the onion. Shake well till the petals are coated. Place a well-beaten egg in a bowl and coat the onion with the egg. This gets messy. I use a spoon to pour the egg on to the onion. Put finely crushed cracker crumbs - about a cup- into the zip loc (use the same one, just dump out any remaining flour) and coat the onion with the crumbs. Put the onion into the fridge for at least an hour - I have made them in the morning for frying in the evening without problem. Fry till golden. As for a dipping sauce, I use a combo of mayo, ketchup, and horseradish or I also like honey mustard.

We recently took a party of 8 to a nice Kansas City Restaurant. The menu clearly stated that a gratuity of 18% would be added for parties of 8 or more. We ordered a total of 5 bottles of wine along with our dinner, a couple of salads and a couple of desserts. No one was picky or demanding, and the bill came to roughly $450. The tip was NOT added onto the check. I tipped more than 18%, just because the server was very good at her job, and I felt she deserved it after devoting most of her evening to our table. Anybody else have the gratuity stated, then not be charged?

Grilled Alaskan Salman with honey mustard from Bobby Flay "Boy Gets Grill" - very good Sauted new potatoes with onion and garlic Creamed Petit Peas Bogle Merlot

I think I'd offer them nuts instead of the olives, if you're thinking of ones with the pits. These people sound like barbarians (who could have a 7 year old grandson and only see him 2-3 times?) and if they broke a tooth on an olive pit, there'd be hell to pay. Just my 2 cents. The cold cuts and a cheese plate, along with lasagne, salad and bread with pie for dessert sounds great to me!!!

My Shrimp Creole starts with a dark 1/4c. flour and 1/4c. veg. oil roux. Add onions, celery, green bell peppers, green onions and garlic and saute till soft. Add 1 6oz can tomato paste and "fry" in the roux till mixed in well. Add 1 16 oz can tomatoes with juice, and a can of tomato sauce and a tomato sauce can of water. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Throw in a couple of bay leaves, and a little (1t) sugar if it's too acidic. (If you fried the tomato paste well, it probably won't need the sugar) I also like to add some thyme and maybe some worstershire sauce. Simmer that for an hour. Add 3 or 4 lbs of shrimp and a handful of of parlsey, cook another 5 - 10 minutes and serve over rice.

I haven't seen a light roux in a jar here, either. (Beaumont) However, Savoie's makes a great dirty rice base - found in the freezer section. Follow the directions, adding green onions. It's really good. My shrimp creole does start with a roux, but is a completely different animal than a gumbo or an etouffee. Susan, your gumbo looks great!!! Aren't you proud?

That's exactly my point. I don't have that many serving dishes due to limited space, and most are sentimental. If I take one somewhere, I might not get it back for several weeks (and hopefully it would come back.) and that could be very inconvienent. -wow, that sounds shallow. Oh well. If I was really on the ball, I pick up a couple dishes at a garage sale and keep them in the garage for just that purpose. Maybe next time.....

No matter what I'm taking, I always take it in a dish that does not have to be returned. Those new 'disposable' containers are just great. I usually bring snack-type stuff - chips and boudin dip, homemade salsa, and usually some sandwiches. People can eat that stuff on the run, or the family can pack it in their lunch boxes if their working.

Took dinner to work last night for a group of mailhandlers who have been doing an exceptionally good job the last several months. Smoked chicken leg quarters smoked sausage links green beans potato salad jambalya bread banana pudding.

My lone cuke plank is going crazy!! I usually just make a quick pickle with vinegar, sugar, water, celery seed, s&p. and float the slices with onion - reminds me of my grandma. I also like to throw one in the mini-chopper with green onion, mayo and seasoning to make a salad dressing. Not very up-town, but very good.

Susan - I've made Paul Prudhomme's crawfish etouffee and was pleased with the results, and another from Jude Theriot from Lake Charles, LA, that wasn't as good - Chef Paul's is roux based, and much deeper flavored than the other one that does not contain as dark a roux.(Theriot's is really blond - cooked for 2 min) We are lucky enough to have a Pappadeaux's Restaurant here in town, and they have awesome etouffee, which has a fairly dark roux. (when we get the etouffee urge, we usually just go there ) mark922's sounds very good, I might have to give it a try this weekend. The peanut-butter color sounds perfect.

Does this place have an address? A web site? Hours of Operation? Only open for breakfast?

Tomorrow I'll be making jambalya to take to work. Here's my method. Is any one elses' much different? Brown 2 lbs hamburger in large dutch oven (I use a LC) till brown bits stick to the bottom of the pan. - really nice and crispy. Remove meat, remove excess fat, but not all of it. Add 1 stick of butter, a couple of onions, 3-4 stalks of celery, 1 green bell pepper and a red one it I have it, 2-3 cloves of garlic and a bunch of green onion. Let that sweat, and add 1 lb of beef sausage links and cook till fat is rendered. Stir in about 2 cups of rice, and a total of 4 cups of beef stock/water, 2 T. cajun seasoning, 2T worstershire, and 2T soy sauce and some parsley. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Put the lid on tightly and let simmer 30 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Serves about 12.

Many thanks to Mayhaw Man for fixing my misspelling!!! I guess somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind,.......maybe my dark recesses are better left alone. Anyway, thanks a lot. I let everyone know how my boudin turns out. dave br---I think I'll buy some to try your sweet potato/boudin recipe. I live spicy and sweet as well. It sounds terrific!!!

All the gumbo talk on the cooking thread has inspired me to think about making my own boudain. Anyone have a recipe?

I have difficulty cooking with my husband. He is constantly adjusting the flame (that is, turning it up) or seasoning something I already seasoned. I want him to LEAVE IT ALONE. If I need his help, I'll ask.

For Father's Day, my hubby wanted: Boiled Shrimp Fried Shrimp Fried Fish (talipia) New potatoes sauteed in butter Strawberries and Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Then he had to go to work, poor baby. Seafood accompanied by cocktail and tarter sauces, both homemade.

I've never seen crawfish in Gumbo, and I really don't know why - maybe MM or fifi know??? They'd be too messy to eat if you put them whole - worse than crabs. I guess you could add a package in your Gumbo along with the oysters...? To me, crawfish are best left for boils, or in etouffee. There really is nothing better than crawfish etouffee. The crawfish fat adds so much flavor. I can't wait till MM posts his etouffee recipe!!!

fifi- I have to agree about the restaurant gumbo. I HATE is when the shrimp has cooked so much that it's mealy/mushy/falls apart in your mouth. If you bite on a shrimp, you should know it's a shrimp. Or if there's only 1 shrimp in the whole cup. Or if it tastes like they used Campbells' instead of roux. I could go on and on.... My local seafood market usually sells crabs whole, but cleaned (dead -guts and faces removed). If they don't have newly cleaned (dead) ones, they have them frozen - fresh crabs don't last long. I assume if they don't sell that day, they stick them in the freezer. I don't think I'd put them in live - guts and all - that doesn't sound like it would be good.

Gumbo is one of those things, like potato salad, that everybody makes differently, but (nearly) everybody's is good. Our favorite one is of the 'chicken of the sea' varity - chicken, sausage, shrimp and crab. Okra, too. I'm going to have to stir one up this week.

One of the keys to good roux is stir, stir, stir. You must have EVERYTHING ready to go in as soon as it's the color you're after. You CANNOT start your roux, and think you can cut up the onions, etc, while it's cooking and stir it every minute or so. You'll end up with burned bits for sure, and you'll have to start over. Burned bits of roux are NASTY and BITTER, and will swear you off making gumbo ever again. (They also stink up the kitchen). fifi's method and tips are very good. I think the roux is all about the flavor and very little about the thickening. My gumbo is really not thick at all, but chock full of all sorts of good stuff!!!

MM is right, especially ir you're looking to be authentic. I think most of us associate the flavor of poblano with southwestern food, and that does not belong in gumbo. The green pepper flavor does not stand out, but the combo of the three strikes a balance of taste.

The lasagna we had in Rome was indeed lighter than most Italian-American recipes. The sauce was more like a sause than a stiff meat mixture. The particular one I remember best seemed to have been assembled individually in small dishes, then baked to order, rather than baked in a large pan and cut into portions. It was really so much better than the lasagna I make, that I haven't made one since. One of these days I'm going to try it like that. I don't recall a heavy ricotta layer, either, like most recipes call for. Mostly bechemel, thin sauce and parm with heavenly, thin pasta squares.