Katie Meadow

Saw that piece in the paper this morning. I have a great fondness for Frank Bruni.

Same here. My first purchase of a cookbook in many months. Hasn't been delivered yet but I can't wait! It appears that now I am a cake person and I prefer it as a snack rather than a dessert after a filling meal.

This is a most peculiar discussion. I have never found the combo of seafood and mushrooms to be appealing, and I have always stayed away from it, but I thought that was just me. Where did the idea come from that they don't belong together? Meanwhile, despite any accolades for the pairing I probably will stick with my aversion. In my old age I have to admit that I am less inclined to experiment as well as being more picky about what's appetizing. No judgements here. Well, there is one combo having nothing to do with seafood and mushrooms that I do think is insane: that's peanut butter and bananas. I know, off topic.

We never used self-rising flour until my husband started baking biscuits. For reasons unknown it makes better biscuits, or at least it does so for his biscuits. I haven't found any reason to use see-rising flour for anything else. It's a little salty tasting, which is fine for biscuits, but for most recipes that use AP flour I think it is safer to use the baking powder and salt as specified.

We buy organic free range eggs. These days we are paying upwards of $8 for a dozen. And we are eating and using more eggs than we used to. That's due to changes in diet and increased interest in "snacking cakes."

I don't see me making one either, not in the rest of this life time, and I like beans! Actually I did make cassoulet once, a zillion years ago. The duck confit alone was exhausting.

If my mother thought anything was French she was in favor of it. She was very fond of tongue. That would be beef.

When I clicked on this topic I misread it as Butter CANDIES. And I thought whoa!, disrespectful? But now I agree; especially disrespectful of the cow who gave up the goods. I burn through a pound of butter, and it's not an insignificant chunk of money. So a candle seems unbelievably stupid, which goes without saying. I like my butter evenly spread over my toast, and not dripping on my open book. Oh well, reading by candle light? That ship has sailed. Knowing nothing about TikTok I assume that in addition to being made of butter they are scented: "Burnt Butter," "Peanut Butter," "Salted Caramel," "Nightlight," "Butter Me Up, Buttercup" and "Oreo." And currently under development, "Street Lamp" and "Footprint." Go Gen Alpha!

Moe is a man of very catholic taste.

I was surprised when I moved to CA to see that many people routinlely slathered mayo, ketchup and mustard on their burgers in what appeared to equal and generous amounts. Growing up in NY I think we only used Heinz ketchup on a burger. You would think by now Heinz and others desperate for a new marketing scam, would make a condiment that features all three. Yech.

So even Saveur believes that the use of Durkees makes these eggs southern. Perhaps this is not just my misconception. Or is it the relish? Further down this rabbit hole I discover that the "nuclear green" sweet pickle relish is also often associated with the south. This too may be incorrect. That radioactive relish is ubiquitous across the country as far as I know. But again, what DO I know? Coming up for air I discover I have a hankering for deviled eggs. Mine have neither Durkees or sweet relish. New Years Day seems like a good day for deviled eggs; a beginning with endless possibilities. Happy new Year to all!

Right in my wheelhouse, pork buns for breakfast. If I was out and about early, shopping in Oakland Chinatown, that would often be my morning meal. For breakfast New Year's Day morning we plan to use up the various partial loaves of bread that have accumulated over the last week and make French toast. Haven't made it in years.

Unification apread! Something southerners and northerners and westerners could agree on.

https://www.salon.com/2021/04/11/the-history-of-durkee-famous-sauce-a-forgotten-vintage-luxury-with-modern-condiment-shelf-appeal/ Here's some history about Durkee Sauce. It originated on the east coast. It was popularized, nationwide apparently, by having a booth at the Chicago world's fair. When you flew first class on Pan Am they gave you champaign and Durkees. Okay, not really, but the article mentions that elite flyers had it served to them back in the day. There is nothing about the zealots in Montana, at least some of whom are on eG.. It is a blend of mayo, mustard and vinegar plus 12 secret herbs and spices. Maybe these aren't so secret anymore. Maybe they are on the label now. I hat to say it, but now I'm curious to try it again; it's been a million years. All I remember is that I ended up throwing the bottle away, not empty. I guess you can become addicted to anything that involves mayo, mustard and vinegar, the start of a potato salad.

How funny that Mexican food is mentioned immediately. For me it was NEW Mexican food. In the late sixties I moved to New Mexico, essentially after growing up in NY. I remember like it was yesterday the first time I tasted a burrito from a little dive my friend frequented. Very hot! Pork, beans, fresh green chile. So good. Then a bowl of green. Then a bowl of red.....We had our favorite places for a bowl of chile or a breakfast or chile rellenos. Speaking of which, @Darienne, poblanos would be one of the best choices for chile rellenos because they have structure. Stuffing a Hatch chile is no mean feat; most of the thin long green chiles are too fragile. The problem is that even here, in northern CA, most poblanos are pretty mild and haven't as much taste as the routinely medium-hot ones we used o get in NM. Besides, if you made rellenos with real Hatch chiles your head would explode.

Okay I stand corrected. I had no idea Durkees was available widely across the US; I thought it was a southern thing, like Duke's mayo. But I can't say as I've ever seen it on shelves where we shop in the Bay Area. Of course maybe it's found in the ketchup and sweet relish aisle, somewhere I don't often go.

Geez Louise, it's the thread police! I don't know who changed, but that was a long time ago. I'm not going to look at what I said, either!

Google would have you believe that most people consider remoulade sauce as some kind of Louisiana staple. In fact, remoulade sauce is French in origin and hails from the seventeenth century. Therefore a classic remoulade, as used, for instance, in Celery Root Remoulade does not include Durkees or ketchup of any stripe. Whatever creole adjustments have been made to produce a southern remoulade sauce are a reinvention. Southern recipes sub creole seasoning, pickle relish and creole mustard (whatever that is) for the original mayo, dijon, horseradish, cornichons and capers. I've tasted Durkees once and it ain't exactly classic.

In my experience (and that's only with the one recipe I make) creamed spinach loses little if anything heated up as leftovers the next day, so if I were taking it to another venue for a meal I wouldn't hesitate to make it ahead, especially if we're talking only a few hours. But I'm glad you liked your kale. I'm just one of those grouches who don't see any advantage to kale over other cooked greens.

If anyone thinks wild pigeons are not tasty, they need only look to the sad demise of the Passenger Pigeon in North America. We literally ate them out of existence. They were free. They were easy to net or shoot because their numbers were so great. They have been extinct for 100 years.

Just an alternative for flour tortillas if you have a Trader Joe's near by. Theirs are far superior to Mission brand, at least I think so.

Do they really? That would solve so many of my problems.

I wondered how they had time to cook beans. Here's what I found: "Out on the trail, the chuck wagon cook soaked beans in a pot during the day. He’d set up camp and cook up a batch, but the beans would have to be eaten right away. Cooked beans spoil or sour quickly, so cowhands didn’t eat them on the trail unless they were traveling with the chuck wagon." "The cookie went hell-for-leather to prepare for the evening camp, collecting firewood or buffalo chips along the way for the campfire. The evening meal usually consisted of beans, salt pork, dried apples and an occasional beefsteak. A creative cookie was worth his weight in gold. He might find a prairie hen’s nest and cook up a special dessert.' So it's summer. The cattle drive stops for the night at dusk. The beans need two hours to simmer. No wonder they needed so much coffee, just to stay awake for dinner. I also learned they ate....wait for it..... soda crackers aka SALTINES. But then a treat for dessert: cowboy espresso (the mud at the bottom of the pot) and flan. Not too shabby.

Indeed, the first time my mother roasted a chicken shortly after she married my dad she cooked the whole thing, including the bag of giblets of which she was unaware. Also the chicken needed additional plucking.

Find my husband. He might be willing to try a bite. As for appropriate crackers, see the saltine thread. How could you go wrong?