Cheffie3

While at the store Sunday, I bought 15 fresh large clams (Quahogs). I decided to make clam chowder. I put them in the fridge covered with wet paper towels. When I took them out this evening, all except one were still closed, so I tossed it. My problem is after I cooked the clams, when I tried to clean/mince them, all the bellies were disgusting. Some had green in the middle, others had what appeard to be worms, and the texture of the bellies were really soft and mushy. I ended up tossing them all. Is this normal? They didn't have a foul odor or anything. After I bought the clams, I came home and read through various cookbooks, in which all recommended small cherrystone clams (I should have read before I bought). Anyway, I'd like to know what to expect from fresh clams when steaming. How much of the clam is usually edible? Any advice on buying, storage, cooking and cleaning would be most appreciated. Thanks

My dad makes the best cornbread I've ever tasted. Its' cooked in a cast iron skillet and has double, no triple the amount of butter called for in the recipe. It's basically the recipe on the back of the Aunt Jemina buttermilk corn meal. Here's the recipe from the back of the package: 3 Tbs vegetable shortening/oil/or drippings 2 cups AJ Self Rising Buttermilk Corn Meal Mix 1-2 Tablespoons sugar (optional) 1 1/2 cups milk 1 egg beaten Heat oven to 425, heat oil in 10 inch skillet, combine dry ingredients, add milk and egg, mix until blended, add melted oil, mix well, pour into skillet and bake 20-25 minutes. My dad bascially follows the recipe except he uses about 6 or 8 Tbs of margarine instead of oil, and about 3 or 4 TBS of sugar, and he also uses Buttermilk, instead of regular milk to increase the "tanginess". I've tried all the fancy shmancy recipes out there...and this simple one is the best. It's has a nice brown crust with tiny holes and the cornbread texture is light and tangy with a bit of sweetness to it. The essentials for me is that it taste's like corn, be light, a bit moist, and not a mile high. You do have to be very careful of the brand of cornmeal used. Even AJ has brands that taste bad....but the Buttermilk flavored one is pretty good.

I live for leftovers!!! Working and going to school is tough, and I promised myself that I would not give in to fast food places. So I try to cook twice during the week and two meals on Sundays. Let me tell you, after a 15 hour day, it is absolutely heavenly to heat up a homemade meal in 2.2 minutes!!! However, bad food is bad food and I refuse to eat it. I bought a big bag of frozen shrimp on sale last week. They were pretty awful so I tossed them, and had no qualms doing so. But I admit I do hate it when I let perfectly good lettuce or celery go to waste. But I'm not going to attempt eating them.

Although, I am not a vegetarian, I highly recommend Debroah Madison's book, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. She has a lot of good ideas for mixing and matching vegetables and herbs, oils, etc. When I get bored with my own variations, I usually refer to her book. Something else to try is McCormick's Vegetable Delight seasoning. A little of this and a bit of butter, will make any vegetable taste good.

I'm not crazy about Trader Joe's at all. I've gone twice and wasn't even tempted to buy anything (which is SO not my character in a food store), three times the charm though, so I'll try again with the recommendations from this site. I think Whole Foods has the best seafood/meat selection than any store I've been to, but it is pricey. Maggiethecat...thanks for the info on Caputos, I don't live far from Hanover Park and will definitely go there this weekend.

This week I've made: white & wild rice with pecans and honey mustard chicken breasts. I've also made Shrimp with Ginger-Shiitake Cream Sauce over penne. My standard drink with dinner is a Cape Cod. Tonight it's tacos, -without a seasoning packet- and home fried shells. This is my first time using my own seasonings for the meat and I'm using the recipe from Cooks Illustrated. We'll see....

I have one, but don't use it that often. I don't recommend cooking overnight or while at work. Even though I use the lowest setting, things seem to get "overcooked". I think six hours is about the max for most dishes. I have used it on weekends to make beans, and it's great for parties (reheating)!!! I plan to get more use out of it this winter.

Thanks, I'm going to have to search for Black Bear too....I hope they have them in Illinois

I was in a pinch last week and bought Classico Tomato & Basil. I bought it because it had the least amount of ingredients then the other sauce labels I read. Tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, basil and spice, the taste is pretty decent, not homemade of course.

Malawry, I've finally finshed reading all of your entries and enjoyed them immensely. I am a new fan. I've taken cooking class series from a catering company nearby, and it seems that the kitchen set up and routine is the same. I plan to go to culinary school in about 3 years, after I get my degree. Keep up the good work....and don't be so hard on yourself...you're doing great!!! My favorite entry so far was this one After reading that I said "You go girl!!!" outloud to my computer. I can't wait for the next entry.Also, are you a bit afraid that Chef Peter may find the entries with him yelling at you a bit disagreeable? Just curious.

I live in the Chicagoland area and agree that Fluky's and Wolfy's have good hot dogs. Another great place is Portillos, we didn't have one in the neighborhood I grew up in, and after the first taste I was hooked. I ate them practically everyday until I almost od'd ...but their hot dogs are still darn tasty. They're boiled and served on a steamed bun. (Portillos used to serve a lemon cake that was out of this world, but they stopped a couple of years ago) However, in my search for the best store bought hot dog, I think Nathan's are the best. They don't have a Nathan's here and I'd heard alot about the hot dogs, so when I saw them at my local market, I had to try them...they're great with the skin that "pops" when you bite into em'...yum!!!! As a side note, I just hate the new imitation green relish that most restaurants have now...what's up with that? It just looks weird...and it doesn't taste good either.

Hi, I'm new to this site...I learned about it on Cooks Illustrated, and I love it already!! The most amazing meal I had was wild boar that my friend had actually shot herself, while hunting with her dad. The meat was fork tender and tasted great.