Doodad

I hit upon and idea the other night while planning a Chinese dinner. We did not really want rice and my wife is looking to cut way back on carbs as summer approaches. I looked over and I had a spaghetti squash. Perfect. I cut the squash in half, seasoned with homemade curry powder and soy. I laid that cut side down on a baking sheet and rough chopped some vege, oiled them and onto the sheet as well. 375 for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, I threw seasoned pork loin chops on the grill. Put them all together and it was really good. The taste was right and the combo of roasted vegetable and grilled meat was terrific. I am going to use a larger squash next time though to get longer "noodles."

I was just about to type that our last "use it all up" dish was indeed curry.

We always make fried rice, jambalaya or low mein. Fast and easy.

And oddly enough, Aunt Sandy is back! I saw the promo for some cost conscious consumer show she is hosting. Cut rate cocktails on aisle four.

We have our 20th anniversary coming up and wanted to do one of those couples cooking classes with a stay on property somewhere. I know about Chateau Elan, but what other choices are there in a six hour or so radius of Atlanta? The cuisine is not so important. Having fun together and learning something are.

Richard, put it in Alpha/Roswell area. Serious.

I doubt they are still in the store as there were few available. I scrubbed them with a mushroom brush as it was the liquid that molded not really the truffles. They look and smell fine. Trying to decide if I should submerge them in oil or brandy to keep them (that was what I saw looking online). Thanks

Snagged a great deal on Italian truffles at a local store. These were in a jar with a little salt and water according to the label. No instruction on storage. I went to smell them today and the liquid in the jar was moldy. I freaked out, scrubbed the truffles clean and the jar. Now. How to store them so they are around for as long as I can stand not eating them all?

I had a VN immigrant working on the HVAC at our business yesterday and he said this was his favorite for Bahn Mi. For Pho, he recommended Pho Bac in the same general area.

I have never seen this before so I turn to all of you here for an answer. Making garlic confit today, I cut the tops of four heads. All were tight, in good condition and purchased at the same time. On one head, half the cloves were a yellow color and waxy in texture. They also had no kernel on these cloves. Smelled fine, but I do not know what to make of it. Ever seen this and what is the cause and possible effects of ingestion?

Blais is "running" a burger joint called FLIP here in Atlanta. I was there Saturday and it was great. Not MG though even if the milkshakes are cooled with liquid N2.

Flip was good fun. Nice enough to sit outside and enjoy the weather. I pulled in and saw a spot right up front. 20 minute wait to be seated. This was at 3:30 this afternoon. Tables do turn fast. The burgers are great. Hard to split though other than half. Just too small really to cut any more than that though we tried. No harm to the flavor though. We had the lamburger, po boyger, ban mi and butcher cut burgers. Sides of sweet potato tots and the vodka rings. The dip for the rings was a mayo/mustard and was great. Finished with the krispy kreme and the nutella/marshmallow milkshakes. So good... We all decided that the po boyger was the best of the lot, followed close by the butcher cut. Service was good despite how busy it was. She looked just like Rachel Ray to us. Good job Richard. We will be back.

Since the county cleared an easement for me, I have sun and room to grow this spring/summer. I could not have done it before with all the trees in the yard. We were talking the other day about what we wanted.

You need to see the No Reservations New York then, where Tony goes to Prune with Eric.

It is my daughter's and wife's birthday this next week and we are going for late lunch/early dinner. I hope we won't be too long as we have a show, but I will try to plan accordingly. Kind of bummed that Blais will be in CA for a Winefest, but good for him. We can hopefully meet him another time.

Think giraffe from Madagascar. She drives me insane.

We do field and stream. Pan fried trout and hanger steak.

Sorry to hear about the job loss. My wife lost hers at Christmas a few years back very unexpectedly with aftereffects still felt today. We play "how low can you go" when shopping and I think we are better for it. That beef heel may sound unappetizing, but some hours in the crockpot with a few seasonings renders as good a bourginon as any other cut. We watch sales especially when they have the ten for $10 frozen veggies at the supermarket. Not fresh, but the nutrition is there and in a stew who cares. That and plan. Make basics from basics that go with other things. We routinely buy chicken quarters on sale and can get everything from stock to tacos for very little money. A standard tomato sauce likewise can make spaghetti or pizza or chili. There is a perfectly serviceable old vine wine from France called Carignan that is our staple now. $5 a bottle. Good luck to you and yours.

Curry shrimp app Brussels poached in lemon and hot peppers orange glazed carrots Cauliflower done as fried rice orange marinated grilled salmon with ponzu sauce apple tart tatin

Sushi roll? Fritter?

Agreed on Sweatman's. Check their schedule versus yours though. IIRC, they have a traditional BBQ joint week where they are closed a good bit.

Sure you can do it no problem. I find that if you do not wrap the roast you get the cuttable texture you are going for. Wrapped, you get pulled pork. Take a look at Bourdain's pallete du porc recipe. It comes out tender and sliceable. Should give you an idea on temps and times.

You got that right.

I get asked to do GBC at the holidays since I made an upscale version a few years ago. I make a cream of mushroom soup the day before with the best mix of mushrooms I can find. Then I blanch the beans, lay in the casserole and pour in the soup to just the top of the beans. While that is baking down, I carmelize onions. When the onions are browned, I coat them in panko and parm. Onions on top for the last ten minutes and good to go.

I have done similar with a fried cheese grits round topped with one shrimp on a thin disk of sausage. Hide the toothpick in a green onion brush and it is sort of a shrimp and grits amuse.