Richard Kilgore

I do my own vinegarette, but The Brianna brand dressings are pretty good, as is Ken's Vidalia Onion dressing.

Great story, fifi. Thanks.

Thanks for the links, Rachel. I missed it.

Elyse - I know you are swamped with keeping production going and selling, but I encourage you to pay very careful attention to what Steve is saying about protecting yourself. The nuns have a lawyer, so they're going to protect themselves. Theft? Contract? Insurance? If the choice is 75/25 vs. 60/40, why are you going low? Is there a reason --- other than it "feels like too much"? You need to be prepared when you go into the meeting.

Seth --- you can use bacon drippings or just rub a half strip of bacon all over the skillet and heat it in the oven at 300 - 350 degrees for several hours --- I usually leave it in for three hours. Let it cool and do it again, about three times total. Then fry fish or chicken in it a couple of times before trying a steak or anything too liquid. Cooking sausage or bacon in it from time to time is a good thing. I have not tried the pre-seasoned, but have too many oven hours in seasoning five dutch ovens and four skillets over a couple of winters. Lodge made a smart move with the pre-seasoned.

Thanks Larry, everyone needs a great pirana recipe. Lissome, thanks for the info on Dona Ana Maria. I plan on spending a day in Belem. Any other places or people I should see while there, other than the museum? The fish you mentioned are a few of the dozen or two species I will be interested in. The piraruca looks like something out of a bad dream doesn't it?

Based on grueldelux's idea, has anyone tried lining the bottom of a grill or smoker with the 30 cent tiles?

Rachel - Yes, those are the ones, and the pizza should go on the tiles or on the aluminum foil on the tiles, although I did bake it on the middle rack the first time. I washed mine first because the HD box said something about silica dust being a hazzard when you cut them. I did not need to cut mine, but thought rinsing off any dust from manufacturing would be a good idea. I soaked mine for about 15 minutes.

A simple meal of sliced zuchini sauteed in olive oil, with S&P at the end, served with pork tenderloin rubbed lightly in minced poblano and adobo sauce and baked in a clay baker. Followed by a salad of Boston lettuce, radish, and green onion with oil and vinegar. That's all folks.

My favorite for iced tea is Texas Passion Flower Tea, a blend found at Sequoyahs.com. This is a full leaf black tea flavored with apricot and mango. (The site is named after the Cherokee intellectual and is an on-line book and art coffee house that features western americana books and Native American art.) No financial interest here, but have been drinking this tea in the summer or years.

Tried my new 30 cent tiles on a pizza. Tiles on the bottom rack, pizza on the middle rack. Amazing! The oven is baking much more evenly. I think I will cover the tiles with aluminum foil for easier clean up as some writers suggest, unless someone knows a reason not to do it. Would it be better to put the pizza either on the bottom tiles or on a stone in the middle position vs on the bare mid-level rack with tiles on the bottom?

Among others in my current stack: Davidson's Wilder Shores of Gastronomy Wolke's What Einstein Told His Cook Alton Brown's I'm Just Here For The Food Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Pie and Pastry Bible Lewis & Peacock's The Gift of Southern Cooking Unrelated Harrison & Kooser's Braided Creek: A Conversation In Poetry Sherman Alexie's Ten Little Indians

I don't think dictionaries are going to resolve this issue. The OED says thick dough on bottom and fruit on top, and Webster's New Collegiate says fruit with dough on top. Clearly they are not going to touch the burning issue of biscuit dough vs anything else. Even Alan Davidson side-steps this controversy by calling the topping "cobbler dough".

So, does anyone use a stone/tiles on the bottom rack/floor AND one on the top or middle rack? Side note: I noticed that in The Pie and Pastry Bible, RLB covers her tiles on the floor with aluminum foil.

Thanks Torakris and skchai. This is all very helpful information for my background research. I will try to track down the Margarette De Andrade and Jessica Harris books, as well as the Ortiz book (which has been on my list for a few months), for a start in order to get oriented. If the two travel/food books are recent, I may be able to take a look at one of the chain stores here. I am going to Brazil to write a specific article, but may be able to generate a few others in the process. If anyone has any broader reading suggestions regarding the history, culture or politcs of Brazil, I would be interested.

Lodge cast iron skillets and dutch ovens (and now even better with pre-seaoning for a buck or two more), hard wood spoons and spatula (Wal-Mart), steel wok, and cheap peeler (kept sharp with Spyderco sharpener ceramic rod).

Thanks Suzanne. I will be interested in what she says about the crustaceans, too.

I should mention that I am particularly interested in freshwater and saltwater fish cooking in the area of the mouth and first couple hundred miles of the Amazon River.

I finally made it to Home Depot, where I found six inch square gray unglazed tile for 30 cents each. Six will fit on my bottom rack snugly. I am not sure if gray and red perform differently, but I'll post when I see how they work out. If you know there is a problem with gray, please speak up.

Thanks, Kristin. I'll check it out. This is in English?

I may be in Brazil later this year. Any ideas about books on Brazilian food and culture. I am particularly interested in those focused on the Amazon. Thanks, Richard Edit - to thank the mod for the fix.

I found the Terre Provence site. Apparently they will only sell in the EU. Very nice pieces based on early rustic French designs.

I have talked with the Emile Henry company in France. There are items on the French version of the emilehenry.com site that are not on the U.S. version of the site. You can order the French site items directly by sending a list of what you want with your name and address to nbyrgiel@emilehenry.com. Mrs Byrgiel, responsible for their shop in Marcigny will make you an offer.

Thanks, Rickster. Does keeping the stone on the bottom rack all the time have a positve effect on other roasting and baking, or is that just convenient?

I have read a few threads regarding baking stones or tiles. Some say to use tiles from a building supply house and place them on a cookie sheet; some say also put a skillet in the bottom of the oven and add water when baking; some say it's best to use two baking tiles. Can some of you experienced bakers clarify what kind you use and how you use them. Where do you get a baking stone? Where do you place one or more? Is some building tile not safe to put food on? Do you use water in the bottom of the oven? My interests focus on minimal breads or cakes, many sweet and savory tarts, and a few cookies incuding biscotti --- for home baking only, in a small conventional oven. But please feel free to discuss this in a broader way for more applications. Of course, I will be doing other roasting and baking in the oven, so an additional question is do I need to remove the stone(s) during these operations?