NeroW

I think it is Top 30 . . . I thought it sounded weird at first too and it takes some tweaking, but oh! that sauce.

Hmm. Over here (at least, when I first encountered it in Montana, haven't had it since) Snakebite is whiskey and fresh lime juice. Meant to be shot. Or shooted.

No pregnancy for me yet. But when my ex-roommate was pregnant, she used to make me go to the store in the middle of the night (no man, just me) and get her 1 box donut holes, 1 box donuts with the thick pink glaze on them, 1 bag baby carrot sticks, and 1 squeeze bottle of Ranch dressing. Repeatedly, for weeks. I got sick just watching her eat it. Shudder. Ranch dressing. She also, late one night, went into the yard and ate dirt. Just a little bit. Nothing would have stopped her from doing it, and no one wanted to try. The wet kind of dirt, just a little . . . clay-ey. I've heard of this happening to other women. Why? It just seems so bizarre. Also, the scene in Rosemary's Baby, where she is pregnant with Satan, and sears a little piece of something . . . lamb? steak? organ meat? for about 2 seconds. My roommate did that too. Usually, we joined her on that one.

Bon Appetit. Suitably tweaked for my, uh, budget.

Aw come on! Red Bull and Stoli! Tastes like Children's Tylenol! They are thinking of outlawing Red Bull in the bar. Supposedly, it makes you feel "less drunk" than you really are. Red Bull is a great way to kick a hangover in the ass. Maybe I will name it. Maybe I will name it the "Cobbywoggles." I am starting to agree. Sometimes I lean toward the Jack and Coke, but I'm starting to, thankfully, learn.

For friends & sister: 4 beauteous yellowfin tuna steaks (if it had been up to my sister and I, we'd probably just have eaten them bad boys raw), peppered a bit, pan seared. Sauce of sliced shiitakes, ginger, garlic, scallions, cream, butter, a spash of soy, lime juice, a bit of cilantro. Served over linguine (sp?) and with a few slices of baguette to sop up that sauce, which I could drink like soup. A take-off on a BA recipe from a few years ago. Also, we drank the only bottle of "real" champagne that I've had yet in my young, class-of-97 life: Moet & Chandon. Jinmyo, delicious. I have to tell you: I marvel over your postings to this thread. If I could eat half as well, I'd die and go to heaven.

Job #1: dark blue standard-sized "Standard Federal Bank" mug. I like its subtle, navy blue feeling of authority, especially when compared with my boss's rather swishy mug with cigars painted on it. Job #2: frantic guzzlings of burned coffee in bitten styrofoam cup while running all over car lot and hoping to God that the next test drive I go on with a customer, the wheel doesn't fall off the car again. Home: slightly larger than usual heavy purple mug from Target. Or, if that is dirty, a Christmas mug with a little Santa on the handle, his head worn down from years of nervous, caffeine-induced thumb-rubbing. On that note, time for another cup. In the Standard Fed mug. EDIT: "i" before "e" except after "c"

Bravo! This is great. I am eager to see more!

You're right I was disgusted. And you're right you did it anyway. Your friend's note on the counter back to us read: "You'd better learn respect for the Tequila Rose. It is a strawberry-tequila flavored dream." Another nasty one: Tequiza.

Probably not, but you may be the only one who admits it.

Not me, but friends of mine: Red wine with ice cubes. Jack Daniels and OJ. Old Grandad. Kiwi-flavored MD 2020 & Schmirnoff (takes top honors for horrible). Southern Comfort and diet Pepsi. Gin and Mountain Dew. What most often gets shouts of disgust from folks when I drink it, is Corona with Tabasco sauce, salt and lime. To me, this is the only way Corona is palatable. Or perhaps it's just my compulsion to make everything as like to Bloody Marys as possible. Luckily, the people who are shouting with disgust at me are the same people who drink gin with Mountain Dew, so I am easily able to belittle them.

I may be an oddity in that this has never bothered me. I don't mind the smell of it on my hands. I had one BF who was absolutely attracted to the smells of garlic and onions on my hands. However, garlic seeping out of the pores is another story. I also use my mini-chop for large quantities of garlic, i.e., anything much over 1 head. It's a cheapo Black & Decker and it has paid for itself just in this one application--which is good, because it's useless for everything else but breadcrumbs.

Naw, y'all. That premixed kind. In the bumpy bottle. If I have to mix my own, fruit punch. For shizzy.

Gin and Juice.

Although I rarely eat in restaurants worth noting of any kind, occasionally I will have something I want to remember. I either note-take in a small spiral notebook or on one of the many pieces of paper in my bag. Usually the waitstaff knows I'm not a pro of any kind (yet), but a few times they've asked if they can provide more information, once, a waitress asked if I wanted a bigger piece of paper. I've had more issues with my friends/dining companions feeling strange that I want to write things down. When they bring it up, I remind them that when I cook for them in my own home, I always note-take, and they don't find THAT odd.

Ate alone: Jasmine rice with onion, garlic, fresh grated ginger, saffron, chicken stock, currydust, and cilantro. Roasted side of salmon skin-on in oven proof skillet with a pinch of cayenne pepper and kosher salt. Nasty Riojo my sister's friend brought over, only wine in the house. Contemplating dessert. Need something. Wine unsatisfying. Must go out in car on quest.

Word.

At the very least, I would plan the entire menu and purchase all the ingredients for the shower, and personally oversee her in the kitchen as she prepares for it. In the guise of "helping" or "wanting to be a part." Although, if I were going that far, I might as well cook all the food myself. I'm a control freak.

Good (you may live): BBQ chips, bacon, fried chicken, plain old steak. Bad (you must die): eggs--usually love them, but now, aargh, turns my stomach.

This is very enlightening. I wonder why this thread didn't come up when I searched on "turducken?" I've been sitting here at work thinking, "payables . . . turkey duck chicken . . . phone ringing . . . turkey duck chicken . . . coffee burning . . . tuckey duck chicken . . . " I recognize that as a sure sign of impending turducken. It intrigues me.

Excitement of the kind I don't like after several Cape Coddas. Burning stove + vodka + shrieking ear-shattering friend + barking dogs = unhappy NeroW. I received a great bottle of Sereni Rosso for Christmas which now sadly has about a Tbsp. left inside Guess it's back to the ol' brown-sugar + supermarket brand trick . . . can't really justify spending a hundred bucks + on vinegar, not even balsamico. I got a decent crust on the steaks last night. I usually do what you do though, with the butter, oil, & oven. Steve Martin, those are beautiful pictures! EDIT joler, if you haven't already, check out the "Collective Food Diary" thread. I'd post a link, but I don't know how to do it.

It's me who eats Fritz's eggs. They are sublime. Potatoes would be gilding the lily. Since I'm all about gilding the lily, I will be picking up a couple bags of potatoes at the supermarket after work today. Actually, maggie, compared to Fritz, the eGullet NeroW IS an old fatso. Methinks it's the eggs . . .

If there's anyone who can enlighten me as to Turducken, I know it's you folks. This is exactly the kind of thing that appeals to a Midwesterner like myself: it's a little bit wacky, it's a little bit funky, and I KNOW no one else on the block is eating it at their St. Pat's dinner party. Can I hear from folks who have actually done this, and how, and when, and where, and (most of all) why? I think I know a woman who will attempt this with me, but I'm going to have to present a purty compelling case for her to consider it (i.e., for her to buy the turkey, duck, and chicken). Has anyone prepared this amazing creature at home? Extremely detailed instructions and stories-from-the-front would be appreciated. It's not in any of my food dictionaries, and I have found precious little turducken stories on the Internet (except the v. enlightening recipe for it here, on eGullet: but I'm greedy, and I want to know more!) I want to eat this for St. Pat's instead of corned beef and cabbage! Help me out, please?

awbrig, that looks beautiful! Tonight made dinner for my best girlfriend Kate and her live-in boyfriend Steve. Neither cooks, so I was stuck with their . . . how may I be most diplomatic here . . . shitty cookware. Also, neither of them really eats: he won't eat spicy, she won't eat much of anything. Slapped 3 good thick ribeyes in a marinade of my best EVOO, almost-the-last of my best special balsamico, minced garlic, minced fresh rosemary, and pepper (had to truck my grinder to their house . . . all they ever have is the grey powdered pre-ground pepper! ). Let em sit an hour and a half while we drank Cape Coddas, roasted red bell peppers, and caught up. Made a polenta with whole milk, fresh mozz, fresh rosemary, and the last of my best Parmigiano. Problem was that there was some unidentified gunk underneath my steak pan's burner, and it caught on fire . . . resulting in Steve having to carry the pan of steaks outside into the snow whilst he doused the burning stove with baking soda. He kindly finished the steaks on the charcoal grill. Here in Michigan, it's about 20 above zero, which is warm grillin' weather. Once the fire was out, bubbled some green beans, splashed em with lemon juice and butter, deglazed the not-so-burnt steak pan with the last of the balsamico, more garlic, and my roasted peppers. Kate made Pillsbury "french loaf bread." More Cape Coddas. Aaaah. College. EDIT: to say that we did not DRINK roasted red bell peppers. I roasted them whilst we drank.

Hmm . . . that's funny. Here in the Midwest they are pink! Like Jaymes, I enjoy the flavor combination of sweet & sour almost more than any other. And like maggiethecat, I love sweet & sour chicken and pork dishes, although I suppose I've never had a properly prepared one. All of the Chinese restaurants I've eaten at in my town buy their dishes off the back of the same truck, I think (save one lone exception). But that sure doesn't stop me from making a pig of myself I would enjoy eating a "true" sweet & sour. I would enjoy even more preparing one at home for my friends. Any tips? Successful recipes?