kayb

I've had good luck beating the eggs wtih lemon and a little hot sauce, putting them in a measuring cup, and the measuring cup in a pan of hot water on a bare simmer, then using my hand-held blender while I slowly stream the melted butter. Then you can take it off the heat, leave it in the water, cover it, and it'll generally stay plenty warm for service.

I'd think about corning and then steaming it very slowly so it would be nice and tender.

I find it interesting that Brennan's Restaurant, a New Orleans standard for 70 years, uses sous vide on some dishes. Notably, they sous vide the egg yolks for their egg yolk carpaccio, which is beyond wonderful.

@Shelby -- I suspect you and I would be dangerous if we traveled together.

It's an old church potluck special, but turkey meatballs with finely minced pineapple, in a sweet-and-sour sauce with lots of soy sauce and some sesame oil. Over rice. What kind of dogs?

What a great report on that stage of your trip! The photo of horseback riding on the beach would have been worth the drive in the rain with the traffic. Glad your electrical issues are resolved.

Lowe's sells a roll of fencing called "rabbit guard," a woven-wire fence with smaller openings near the bottom and larger ones further up. I can get it in 3-foot or 4-foot heights. No deer and no woodchucks, so I'm thinking the three-foot and use garden staples to anchor it to the ground between posts. In the box were a dozen or more herbs, some asparagus, lettuce, radishes, cucumbers, cabbage, five different kinds of tomatoes (yellow and red cherry tomatoes, Romas, Big Beef hybrid, and Mortgage Lifter heirlooms), sweet peppers, hot peppers, yellow and zucchini squash, green peas, lima beans, Kentucky Wonder pole beans (these are the BEST green beans in the world for cooking low-and-slow, with some bacon grease, Southern style!), okra...I think that's all. Have never grown asparagus before. I figure I'll start it inside and transplant; my front flower bed is going to become an asparagus bed, with herbs interspersed in their three-gallon pots. I need to start those, the tomatoes and the herbs next week. I will be planting outdoors likely by early April; it has been an exceptionally warm winter and early spring here. Temp yesterday was 70, though it's a little cooler today. I do wish I could grow some cooler weather crops, but all in all, I'll take living in the South. ETA: Carrots. I forgot carrots. And I will likely get some purple hulled peas and plant after the early crops (lettuce, cabbage, radishes) are through. Doubt I'll plant corn; it's easy enough to buy a bushel to cut off and freeze.

Arkansas is full of these. Of course, to be "rural" in Arkansas, you have to be REALLY rural, as the entire state has a population of less than 3 million. Here are a few: The Tamale Factory, Gregory, Arkansas (north central Arkansas Delta, on the White River), Gregory isn't even incorporated; it's a community of less than 100. The Tamale Factory boasts outstanding steaks (they dry-age on site, from local farm-raised beef); White River catfish, and of course, the ubiquitous tamales. Jones' BarBQ Diner, Marianna, Arkansas. Winner of a James Beard American Classic award. Pulled pork barbecue sandwiches on white loaf bread; your only choice is slaw or no slaw (get the slaw!) on the sandwich. You get your chips from a rack, your soft drink from a cooler. Oark General Store, in Oark, which I have always thought probably was originally supposed to be named Ozark, north central Arkansas in the mountains of the same name. Farm-to-table destination cuisine. And one in Tennessee, for good measure: Hagy's Catfish Hotel in Counce, on the banks of the Tennessee River just north of Shiloh National Military Park. The absolute best catfish I have ever eaten, anywhere, and some pretty excellent lemon icebox pie. They make a cole slaw with a homemade French dressing that you mix up at the table. Sounds awful, but good. Oh, and Big Band music on the jukebox.

Personally, I find the highest and best use of the avocado to be sliced, with salt, on a BLT. Doesn't matter if you have any L or not.

I did cook mine "too long" for most folks; as much as I love a rare steak, I can't do pork with pink in it. And I used steam bake in the hopes of avoiding exactly what happened -- drying out the meat.

Yesterday, I treated myself to brunch at Brennan's; it's the only place I know that brunch is well worth 50 bucks. Started with a mimosa: Then one of the best brunch dishes I've had in New Orleans: Egg yolk carpaccio. The waiter gave me details: egg yolks cooked SV with seasonings; broken into a shallow plate, topped with grilled shrimp that are in turn topped with diced Canadian bacon and a tangle of sweet potato strings. (Not certain what the green strings were; there were a few there for contrast, I guess, but they had no definable taste. Truth be told, the sweet potato didn't have a lot of taste, either, until I sopped it through egg yolk. Finished off the yolk with a piece of Leidenheimer bread. I loved the plate, too. And the main dish: Eggs Hussarde, a Brennan's original specialty. These things are marvelous. Bacon over English muffin halves, topped with a red wine sauce, then a poached egg, then the most luscious Hollandaise I've ever had, and chives. Had I not had the carpaccio, I would have managed to down both halves; as it was, I got through a little of the muffin and all the topping on the second half. A three-mile walk around the Garden District ensued, after which I had worked off enough of that meal that I could work on these: Could only eat one, but I couldn't come to NOLA and not have them. This morning's flight out was at 7 a.m., so no goodies today, save the pralines purchased at the airport.

Dinner last night was a steak at La Boca Argentine Steak House in the Warehouse District. I had a blade steak that was marvelous. No photos; I forgot. Off to Antoine's in a few for eggs Benedict.

Chargrilled oysters at Drago's. About to grab a quick nap before dinner.

Ohhhhhh, yeah. Gardening will begin apace with the starting of seeds, next week after I recover from New Orleans. Both the Farmers' Almanac and the Accuweather long-range forecast do not call for any more frosts this spring, though some nights will be in the upper 30s. Nevertheless, I'll wait until about the third week of March to get early stuff in the ground. Which will give me time to get a bunny-proof (one hopes) fence in place.

Oh, hell, no. I want details. Details!

Me too. Fifth grade. Most books we'd ever had in the house at one time. I started with Vol. A in the World Book, and read it through. I read enough that when Amazon was handing out refunds due to the class action lawsuit on price fixing a year or so ago, mine was $300-plus. That's what bought my CSO.

Much like migas, which always look like something the cat threw up. The huevos al abanil sound good, albeit hotter'n hell.

Tongs for pulling pasta out of the water, maybe? Or the weirdest salad tongs I ever saw in my life.

FWIW, I cooked a tenderloin SV t'other day; marinated a couple of hours in char siu sauce, SV in sauce for 3 hours at 135 F, cooled, then steam-baked at 400F for 10-15 minutes to crisp it up on the exterior. Drier'n a bone.

Once you can get past the horror of boiling a flank steak, it's marvelous. Made quiche on Friday because daughter was en route to visit for the weekend. We finally got around to it this morning. Ham, fontina, and chives, no crust because daughter has celiac disease. Ham was part of a package from the freezer. I should have pressed some moisture out of it with paper towels. It had a bit too much water in it. Still good quiche, and we'll enjoy it the next couple of days.

Oh, my, that looks lovely. I haven't made beef and broccoli lately. I should. That looks pretty lovely too. There would not have been too much had I been there.

I dearly love ripe plantains; tostones, not so much. When I was in Miami for a conference, I found a little Cuban place about a block from the hotel and ate there three times a day. They knew me after the first day, and knew to bring me maduros, plus whatever else they wanted me to try. It's where I learned to love vaca frita.

Last night's red beans and rice (photo on dinner thread) took a package of frozen ham left over from Easter 2015 (thank you, FoodSaver!), a package of frozen dark meat chicken left over from a week ago, and a package of frozen andouille sausage out of the freezer. It returned three one-meal baggies of rice, and a quart and a pint of red beans. At least the quart of red beans will be going home with my child when she leaves Monday. The rest of the ham went into a quiche, along with a bunch of grated fontina, which is presently residing in the refrigerator. It'll serve for dinner tonight, and most likely breakfast tomorrow.

I have had pork shank, and this appears to be a crossways cut of shank or the lower end of the shoulder or ham. The shank I had at a restaurant in Atlanta was braised in apple cider with warm spices, then glazed with either reduced sauce or with honey and finished in a hot oven to give it a tasty, crisp crust. It may have been the best portion of pig I ever ate.

Hello Dolly bar cookies, also known as "Sin In A Sheet Pan." I added salted caramel chips to the top, expecting them to melt in the oven; they didn't. Will put them underneath, with the chocolate ones, next time.