Marlene

I'm about to make a pie crust. The recipe calls for 1/2 lb shortening, which I guess is Crisco. I only have Tenderflake lard on hand, can I use that instead?

I haven't been able to find one if there is, and I can't tell you how many cookbooks I own Spicy peanut dipping sauce?

Thanks Dean! Does that book also have a recipe for a soy-ginger type of dipping sauce?

Baked brie in puff pastry!

A quick question here. A tour of the local grocery stores did not produce a single bit of chinese fermented black beans or paste. I did however find a fairly thick black bean sauce - one with and one without garlic. I assume these will do? And Dean, when you posted the actual recipe there's no mirin or chili paste correct? I got a mess of wings, I'm ready.

Many thanks! These look great! Now a nice dipping sauce for the cold roast pork?

I can wait. The only thing I don't have is chili paste, and the beans, but I can get those things, (although I may have to make a chili paste never have seen such a thing in a store. They sound awesome!

Mmmmm, I like the sound of the Asian bbq'd riblets or wings. Recipe, please! Also, since we're going to have mulled wine, I figured I wouldn't need a soup. But it's something to think about.

Ha. No gumbo. At least not for this.

So I have one more main event to cook for. New Year's Eve. We'll be having an open house on NYE, so I'm starting to prep for that. Some things I'll order and some I'll make. Ordered things: Shrimp Tray Cheese tray Roasted meats tray (turkey, beef, pork) I'll make: Honey garlic meatballs Blue Cheese popovers Cookies mini butter tarts (now that I know how to make pastry, ) Brie in puff pastry Assorted shortbreads, rum balls, and truffles. A sweet hot mustard sauce and a horseradish sauce I have a pecan pie, so I could warm that slightly and slice Mulled wine I need one more hot dish. I have two chafing dishes. Make ahead stuff is good. I also need a dipping sauce to accompany the pork. I'm thinking a soy-ginger type sauce. The floor is open for recommendations on a hot dish, and a sauce. And of course, I haven't started cooking yet, so menu changes are possible if someone suggests something particularly yummy!

Added to that Jon, I read that the force of the quake has caused the earth itself to shift somewhat. What long term effects will that have on seasons, weather, the ability to grow crops who are so weather dependent? I fear this is just the beginning of long term effects. I don't think there's been any analysis done yet. that will come in the next few days as people get over the shock and the scientists begin to study this.

Not when it's garlicy keilbassa!

Racks are a matter of application I think. My 15 pound turkey did well using a V rack, but a ham doesn't always fit properly on a V rack, so I have a flat rack for that. I also use a flat rack when roasting or baking spareribs, and a V rack quite often for a Prime Rib. Having said that, I like the way All Clad has contructed thier racks. They are kind of V shaped but with a flat bottom. It makes it a little more versitile

I second the rock cornish hens idea. How about somthing like this: Tomato Bisque or Tomato Blue Cheese, Onion Salad Cornish Game Hens with Almond Rice stuffing parslied carrots Chocolate baby cakes or Strawberries in Grand Marnier Cream Champagne Alternatively, I use fondues as a romantic meal for two quite often.

We'd rather Ryan didn't fill his pockets with these. He'd forget to take them out, and I'd find them while doing laundry I had a marvelous time. More importantly, I learned a lot. Thank you.

I appreciate the absolution I'm expecting a care package from all the Southerners now

Sorry, the alligators are all frozen here. Crawfish etoufee? Let's not get carried away here.

Yes, I supposed that's true Richard. If Sur le Table is offering a tri clad stainless steel roaster comparable to the All Clad that I have, run don't walk, to pick one of these babies up. It is an amazing roaster. I am not a fan of non stick surfaces for roasting. I had one, I hated it. Both my stainless steel roasters get a lot of work and they are easy to clean, are dishwasher safe, and still look great. They are fabulous for reductions and gravies too.

Hey, I followed Dave's quantities! I suppose he knew . Anyway, it has been a great week. I've really enjoyed this folks. There's a few things I'm going to go back and try again, like biscuts, but overall, everything was more or less a success with a few stumbles along the way. I know that things like skillet fried chicken and pizza are going to be making a more regular appearance on my menu. Dave, Brooks, Dean, Judith. My southern family. Thank you. Rachel, your advice was timely and spot on. Everyone else, thanks again for the recipes, the tips and for playing along. I do have more cooking to do this week to get ready for our New Yearl's open house, but I'll see y'all over in the entertaining thread for that. Am I a southern Mama yet?

Very likely Brooks. I didn't know I was supposed to put the lid on! And I think I had way more roux than I should have. Still it was good. I'll be back in a little while to wrap this up folks. I have to say, it's been a lot of fun!

Okra? We don't get no okra here.

Well ok. I'm not sure if I did this right, but boy was it good! First we have the stock making process. For some reason, not all of my pictures turned out, but here's what I've got: As I said, I don't currently own a stock pot. When I first put this on, the water didn't quite cover it: It didn't take long though for the bones to break down, and I simmered this for about 8 hours in total. Strained it Chilled it then defatted it. It yielded about 2 quarts of stock. Fortunately, that's what I needed for Dave's gumbo. Starting the gumbo. I got everything ready beforehand, since I didn't know what I was doing, and wanted to be able to just grab stuff as I needed it I used Keilbasa for the sausage as that's what I had on hand: Then I started to make the roux. This is it at about a medium colour: The at a butterscotch or peanut butter colour. Someone might have told me my arm was going to fall off stirring this to get it to the right colour! I added the onions etc and simmered them for 5 minutes or so, then added the chicken stock and let the whole thing simmer for about 30 minutes, at which point I added the turkey and the sausage. This is the point where my camera let me down. I took pictures of this I swear, but they don't seem to be on the camera! In the meantime I made rice, using the last bit of the turkey stock, and my little breadmaker picked this time to malfunction so we ended up using the last of the crusty rolls from yesterday, since my bread didn't rise. Here's my feeble attempt at making my plate look something like Brooks: The one thing I noticed is that Brooks used more veggies than I did, which would account for the difference in the amount of sauce I had compared to his. Regardless of whether this is what Gumbo is supposed to look like, it tasted awesome! It was very rich, and a little went a long way - not to mention we've been eating very well for the last several days, so it's not like we were starving or anything!

Ok guys, the gumbo is simmering. This is the before adding the sausage and turkey part. But I have a question. It smells and tastes wonderful so far, but it kinda looks and tastes like gravy. Is it supposed to? In Brooks' pictures when he's plated it, it looks kinda clear to me. Mine doesn't. Help!

If you learned half as much as I did, I've accomplished my objective. I wanted to let people know that even though almost all of us cook, there are some things we've never done, don't know how to do and need help with. I knew y'all would come to my rescue and you did. I wanted people to participate in the process and you did. And you didn't even laugh at me - at least to my face

They are coming. I thought I'd post them as part of the whole gumbo making process.