fifi

Here is vote three. I have had the marble and when it broke, I bought the granite one pictured. I like the texture of the insides. It seems that it "grips" what you are pounding better than the marble. For lab type stuff many years ago, we used to have heavy porcelain, unglazed on the inside. I haven't seen those in years.

I have stayed in B&Bs where they printed up pamphlets or recipe cards for some of the specialities they served. They are some of my favorite "souveniers". I especially like the ones that include some story regarding the origin of the recipe that reflects the personality of the host. Cookbooks are nice, but these are so much more personal. BTW... I know that those have been responsible for several referral guests because I share them with friends that are planning to travel to the region. That might be something to think about. These days, it is easy enough to include pictures of the dish, the view, the "inn" or something to evoke fond memories.

The all time family favorite here is "Muck". That lovely name was bestowed by my kids when they were little. It is basically SOS that evolved out of a dried beef dip that my sister made. The kids had to have it one day so I thinned it down a bit. Basically, a little wilted chopped onion in butter, a jar of shredded dried beef, a block of cream cheese, a drained jar of Green Giant mushrooms. Thin it with milk. Here is the kicker... It is served over the canned fried "Chinese" noodles. (I have no idea where that came from. It must have been what I had the day they demanded it.) They are now adults and adventurous and pretty sophisticated eaters. But when we get together, even now, I know that I had better have the ingredients around.

Even more fun is the mental image of someone beating up a live octopus. Especially a 10 pounder. I have searched my usual food science suspects and can't find anything to add. Yep... tannins would toughen protein. Besides, there couldn't be enough of anything in a couple of corks in a big pot that should make a difference. Someone mentioned enzymes. Nope. Cork is dead. It is mainly the dead cell walls (cellulose) and the tannins and lignins left from when it was alive. Besides, cooking temperatures would inactivate enzymes. And I will swear that I saw or read about a side by side comparison some years ago and I can't remember where, or (most annoyingly) what the outcome was.

Thanks for that. You have clarified for me some of the differences in fudgedom that I hadn't thought about before. I am definitely "challenged" when it comes to candy making. (I only make two, this fudge and the Mexican burnt sugar candy.) It is probably a combination of the polysaccarhides in the marshmallow and the fact that you don't really "cook" the sugar that makes for the smooth texture in the microwave fudge recipes. This one escapes me as well. I have always wondered about it. I can't imagine something as salty as Velveeta in fudge. I may have to try it.

Hmmm... Now that I think about it, the fat content of the milk may not matter. I am thinking that it is the toasted milk solids that are the goal here. Sladeums beat me to it on the Kennedy reference. I had just found it.

It was Alton's kitchen with the drawers of goodies that opened my eyes to the use of drawers instead of the traditional base cabinets that you have to get down on your hands and knees to grovel into the back. The new kitchen will have all drawers. That was an AH HA! moment. Emeril's kitchen on his "other show" is really classy. My all time favorite is Martha Stewart's new studio kitchen. She did a show (shows?) on it that I found very informative. I got a lot of ideas for my kitchen from that. (However, I am still not going to spring for the soapstone. ) The kitchen on the old show "How to Boil Water" was pretty pathetic. (So was the show, actually.) In the early days of FTV, it seems that they were really limited by not being able to have gas burners in the sets because of some zoning problem or something. Does anyone know how their studios are equipped now?

Very cool, Marlena! I can hardly wait. My latest fave is Butterkase (sp?) on sourdough. Last time I made it I had odd thoughts about sprinkling on some caraway seeds before closing it up. I have no idea where that idea came from. It just sounded good at the time. Grilled pimento cheese is making me hungry. However, the accompanying beverage has to be a cherry coke... with crunchy ice.

This one may have the texture you are after. The texture is what everyone loves.

The only thing I can think of that milk would add is a toasted milk flavor component. I am not at all sure what that would add. (Maybe something good.) Thinking about fat content of milk in something like carnitas seems irrelevant. Carnitas are all about ultimate frying in the pork fat. If you are concerned about fat, you shouldn't even be contemplating carnitas.

Well, that won't stop me from commenting. That is exceedingly cool. That is certainly a lovely photo and where you have hung it is right on. You have me thinking about how to display some of my photos in the new house. I don't have a lot of walls but it would be kind of fun to print off some food photos and have a kind of changing display. I am thinking of those clip and glass frames that you can get at Pier One and Ikea. Whatcha think?

Bux, Bux, Bux... We have been here before. The fractional degrees of difference in boiling temperature will make no practical difference in cooking times. You get more variation with differences in altitude. The point is, to get salt into the "body" of the pasta (or rice) for flavor. Rice or pasta without salt is, to me, just yuk.

How could I forget the ultimate mystery? After noticing those naturally hybridized "improved" versions of maize... How the hell did the native Americans figure out that treating corn kernals with lime vastly improved the nutrition availability? I mean, how do you get to: "Gee. I think I will go burn some sea shells and make this really vile stuff and go soak my corn in it. Yeah, that has to be a good idea." That one makes the alien intervention thingy more probable to me.

I am not sure you can treat the ground corn with lime and expect to get the same thing as treating whole corn. With whole corn, the kernal is only exposed to the lime from the outside with chemical action on the, hull mainly. With ground corn, you have all of the starchy "innards" exposed. I am not sure what that would do and I am also not sure how you would ever "rinse" out the lime.

[HOUSTON] My sister reports that Spec's on Smith Street has fresh squeezed lime juice for $6.49 a liter. Supposedly it has no preservatives, no pasteurization, no whatever. We haven't tried it yet. It is in the refrigerator case.

I would swear that I have seen a "map of moles" somewhere. (Or did I dream that up.)

The anthropologist I spoke with was of the opinion that the native Americans, particularly in what is now southern Mexico, already had a tradition of grinding chiles, chocolate and other herbs and such together. When the Spanish arrived, it was a natural transition to the moles that we know today.

Actually, I have read the first reasonable explanation of maize in History of Food. It seems that somewhere around Peru and Bolivia, several thousand years ago, maize naturally hybridized itself with a grass like plant called teosinte. How this got figured out takes a few pages in the book but there you are. Near a Thousand Tables is another favorite of mine.

Once you get the hang of the Minion Method (found here) of lighting the thing, get your bottom vents adjusted, the thing just goes on its merry way. That web site is awesome. The apartment where I am temporarily living is masonry and has a sprinkler system so we can have grills and smokers. As far as smoke coming out... well... I don't know what to say about that. I mean... you are smoking for chrissakes. Most of my neighbors go yum.

Wowser. That is some article. However, I have been under the impression that moles originated long before Columbus. Yes, they changed post-Columbian. But am I wrong on this? Some of my anthropological sources seem to think that they existed long before Christopher.

Given your reply, I think you will find the book that I cited very interesting.

I gotta say that I was contemplating a post about this when Pan weighed in. Quite frankly, I think some of these nefarious activities border on theft. I guess that I am a moral realist in that things are either wrong or not. Cheating would weigh on my soul too much. I am one of those folks that would correct the cashier if they mistook radichio for red cabbage. For the few cents that I would gain, it isn't worth it for my peace of mind.

I tend to think that most of these questions will ever be answered definitively. However, I am currently "dipping back into" a fascinating book. That book is History of Food by Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat (translated by Anthea Bell). The book is very thick and has an extensive bibliography. It comes as close as I have found at getting to the origin of things as much as possible. Since it was originally a French book, it is from that point of view. However, it does not neglect the influence of other countries/regions. It is also quite witty. I highly recommend it.

I have had the side firebox style and the WSM. I am now a solid fan of the WSM because I am basically lazy. Electric, I don't know about. This is totally irrational but electric smokers just somehow seem... um... WRONG. But then, I am a Texan.

Yet another pair of specimens that prove that evolution is not without its problems. These guys have the IQ of a rutabaga. Really folks... All Houstonians aren't like this.