fifi

What Jason said. I actually consider spaghetti squash a convenient vehicle for butter, garlic, and parm. And I can then self righteously proclaim that I am eating my vegetables.

That is why I started nuking it a little before I even try to cut it. I do the same with any winter squash now. If you don't like the nuking idea, you could just put it in the oven for a while. Just don't do that without poking some holes with an ice pick. Having had a number of rather scary near misses, I concluded that it just wasn't worth it to try to hack into one of the things. I do finish in the oven with whatever technique if I am looking for caramelization or some other effect. It is a safety thing with me.

Interesting thought that hadn't occurred to me. I read a lot of food history and what you say is true. I wonder if the focus on "digestion" wasn't a reasonable reaction to wide spread food problems at the time. We whine a lot here about the quality and safety of our food supply. If you go back just 150 years or so, even in the "industrialized" countries, you will see what REAL problems are.

At a deer lease that my nephew frequents, the owner begs the hunters to shoot any pigs that they see. Geese are pretty much unlimited again, I think. They aren't really worth much, but we did get about 5 pounds of livers last year. We made the damndest pate. We poached them in sherry, whizzed them in the food processor with some cognac and cream and added a bit of green peppercorn. Incredible stuff. Made even better when we saw a similar preparation at Spec's for about $100 a pound!

Or the slime out of okra? The grit out of the shellfish liquor makes a lot of sense. If you have the glass frit type, be warned that cleaning the frit is a bitch.

Here are some pictures of Buchner funnels. They are fitted into a receiving vessel, usually a flask, that has an outlet fitting at the top so you can hook it up to a vacuum pump and pull a vacuum on the receiver. (I couldnt find a picture of the whole set-up.) Note that there are two types. The ceramic ones have little holes in a flat plate in the base. The base is normally covered with a disc of filter material. The filtering characteristics of the filter disc determines the final results. There are filter discs capable of filtering out viruses. The fritted glass version at the bottom is not often used with a filter disc but the fineness of the frit determines what you filter out. Then there are the Millipore type where you do use a filter disc. That type is normally used in microbiology labs. OK... End of Labware 101. Now I am really curious what one would do with this in the kitchen? (And I am a labware freak.) edit to add: Here is a Millipore set-up.

I don't have a Costco anywhere near me. But Sam's on a Saturday isn't too shabby.

I think they were going to try to get some bow hunters after them. My nephew got a small one a few weeks ago. I didn't get any of it that he BBQed but I did have some posole made from the leftovers. Good stuff.

The Houston Press - Dining And Then There Was One Who knew that Tony was a sell-out to the evil Fertitta empire. BWAHAHAHAHA! Sino-Tex Leave it to Robb to find the bizarre in our fair town. (Actually, I am kinda curious.) The Houston Chronicle - Dining Guide No glitz, just comfort Alison does another steak house, O'Rourke's. If this keeps up, the poor lady will be mooin' and chewin'. Taco Bell leaps on health train with 'fresco-style' food Our own Drive-thru Gourmet (Ken Hoffman) has been reporting on "healthy" fast food lately. You can check out his other forays by clicking on the links in the left column. Ken is a pretty funny guy but I'll bet he can't precipitate a gazillion page discussion thread.

A few years ago we had this big catered fish fry for a project group, about 100 of us. This guy had this really big trailer that was his cooking rig. The fry pot held about 20 gallons. I think he used a Crisco like substance. The fish was divine. He had the filets soaking in what he claimed was half milk and half Tabasco then tossed with what looked like cornmeal. I suspect it was that Zatarain's fish fry mix. I don't know what is in that stuff but it seems to be popular. Don't let the Tabasco fool you. The fish really wasn't spicy, just good.

We have a real infestation here in SE suburban Houston. They tear up the yards and esplanades rooting for grubs and such. I turned onto Bay Area Blvd the other day near a nature preserve and there was momma pig and piglets. That sucker had to weigh 1000 lbs. She was HUGE! They all looked pretty tasty to me.

Ah ha. I didn't know that about the nuggets. That makes sense. From now on I will stick with the fillets. That freezing technique is totally new to me Mabelline. I will be doing that.

So where did we get the idea you were looking at gas ovens? I am confused. But, at least you are back in the world of the rational. *going back to smoking the legal stuff*

My usual approach is to nuke the thing (after poking some holes so it doesn't explode) to soften it enough to chop in half without maiming myself. Then I have been known to cut it in half and put it in the oven. However, I have also nuked it to a stage of doneness that I was ready to deal with. Then, after I have teased out the "spaghetti" I continue on with saucing, buttering, or whatever. Actually, my favorite way to serve it is with lots of butter, s&p. I don't think that the baking ever added anythng significant so I have been nuking it ever since. Sauteing after that point is a whole 'nother thing and has a lot of possibilities.

Does the brining mitigate the muddy taste? Ever so often the stores around here have some fantastic sales on catfish "nuggets". We have bought these and used them for fish fries for a crowd. They were OK but not great. Still that hint of a muddy taste. And I am sure that because of the price they were farm raised. I brine a lot of things but have never tried it on catfish because we usually buy it and fry it up right away.

I had lunch today at Denis on Westheimer. They were touting that they only serve wild caught catfish from the Atchafalya basin in Louisiana. I bit. I ordered the fried filets. To my surprise they were absolutely fantastic. This was the best catfish that I have had since my last pilgrimage to Middendorf's in Pass Manchac LA. There was absolutely none of the muddy flavor that I am beginning to think comes from farm raised catfish. My companion had the blackened catfish and declared it excellent. I didn't get a taste because I think he would have cut off my arm if I tried to snag a morsel. Has anyone else been there?

OK... I gotta ask this question. Why the quest for a gas self cleaning oven? The reason for the "duel fuel" ranges (gas burners, electric ovens) is a recognized superiority of gas for burners and electric for ovens. I have had both in the oven world. I would much prefer an electric oven. Where I am, gas heating of anything is cheaper but I am not willing to give up a few pennies of savings for the superiority of electric ovens for temperature control and self cleaning.

They were processed somewhere in our jurisdiction so we had to monitor whether or not they contained any pathogens. We had an episode one time with Salmonella in yeast, so any kind of freeze dried product was suspect for a while. (Turned out to be birds in the big processing buildings. ) I think most of this stuff was destined for industrial food processors and prisons.

Tell me please about your built in griddle. I am getting the GE Monogram with a griddle and am hoping for the best but I haven't found a friend with one to get any first hand experience. I so want a good griddle... pancakes, quesadillas, french toast, fried cheese, grillled cheese, fish in mojo de ajo... You get the picture.

Great overview, Brooks. I am fascinated by the different styles of gumbo. That has started to blur in the last few years. But when I was learning the gospel of gumbo from my gumbo saint in Reserve about 35 years ago, there were definite geographical differences. Robb Walsh has a great essay on the different meanings of Creole in his book Are You Really Going To Eat That. He introduced me to some nuances of that history that I hadn't thought about before. For instance, as you move to the NW (I think) you get into African/Spanish heritage, also called "Creole", and you will find gumbos with tomato.

Many years ago when I worked for FDA, we got in these big institutional packages of dehydrated sweet potatoes but I don't think it was a powder. Sorry. We never did figure out what to do with it. The only thing we ever made with it that was remotely ok was sweet potato pie. The batter idea sounds intriguing.

Moopheus... I share your frustration with actually cooking the pancakes. I gave it up because with a cast iron pan on the stove I just can't control the temperature successfully. I also can't cook enough at one time. The only time I would attempt it is if I had enough folks for breakfast to make it worth the trouble. That thermostatically controlled griddle that my dad had was great. I often helped him with the pancakes and I never had a problem. You could pour out and cook eight perfect pancakes in no time. I am just hoping that the griddle on my new range works sort of like that.

They are just trying to make you feel better about eating boiled, yukky food.

What torakris said. I remember her. The show was really dumb. So was she. She made a lot of boiled food. Sorry. You can't saute in water.

Now that you mention it but I am not quite sure how old Coke is. But it is certainly older than me. I think you are pretty close on the history. Now I am curious as to when it was first applied to ham. I know my mother and grandmother did it during the war, probably because of the sugar rationing thing. My sister remembers them doing that before I was born. I think they would also get some of the syrup from Mr. Balfanz at the drugstore with the typical soda fountain to "kick it up". At least, that is what my sister remembers.