fifi

No mea culpas required, Goeff. Maybe someone on this forum will see your post, get a great idea, and... voila... a new idea for our market is born. That corn with black salt sounds pretty tasty. Ummm... What is black salt?

Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide. It, in itself, is not toxic but if the cooler is full of CO2 there isn't any oxygen. You were lucky, McDuff.

I am cooking for one most of the time and I stop in the typical Kroger or Randall's about every other day and just see what appeals at the moment. There really isn't a great store anywhere near me so most of it is pretty boring and because I have to. I do have a pretty good HEB fairly close by but it is a bit of a pain to get to so I really only go there if I am after produce. they are much better than the others. The lack of really cool groceries in this area (Clear Lake/NASA) is really surprising. While this is mostly middle to upper middle class suburbia, it is very diverse. I think that is due to the high proportion of engineers, NASA types as well as petrochemical industry, and they come from all over the world. All of the really great stores that are so much fun are a VERY long drive away. I at least have a huge Hong Kong Market sort of on the way back from my office. There is a smaller one about 10 miles away that I will use when I haven't planned too well. And there is a terrific Fiesta just down the road from the office. I am like a kid in a candy store in that one. It is a big new Fiesta (some of the older and smaller ones are kind of ratty) and when you go in and the bright halogen lights are shining down on that gorgeous produce it is like a fairy land. I will plan ahead to go to those for a weekend cooking session. The only Costco here is about 50 miles away in NW Houston. I have never been there. I do have a pretty good Sam's. All of the other fun stores (Whole Foods, Central Market, all of the really interesting smaller ethnic markets) are "inside the loop" so those are excursion trips as well. Don't get me started on Houston's lack of farmer's markets. That is another rant for another day.

Jaymes... I made Huevos' recipe last weekend and used Ro-Tel tomatoes. I also played with the recipe a bit in that HEB had these beautiful poblanos and fat jalapenos. I added 1 poblano and 3 jalapenos, diced, with the onion. I also didn't have any Mexican chocolate so I used a couple of teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder. (He does say that the chili is a "work in progress". ) Uuuh... that is a kick-ass recipe. It is my new all time favorite. I think I will have another bowl for lunch.

If that is a typo, it has to be Freudian! I guess that makes my entries valid. Yes, I can hear the voice of Jeff Foxworthy.

A big Texas welcome bobdavis. Why is it that Mark Chapman's name is familiar to me? I am not exactly on the leading edge of knowing about the latest chef venues but that name does ring a bell. Any background? Is La Mansion del Rio the old convent? If so, I have stayed there. Lovely place with more history than most Texas places. Aren't they supposed to have a ghost or two?

That is funny. It makes me wonder about being a chili judge. But not that much. I would love to do it. Does anyone know how you get that job? I only participated in a chili cook-off once. It was part of a project "team building" exercise. I toned down the hot pepper content thinking that the largely "Nawthen" audience wouldn't appreciate the heat. The criticism of my chili was that it wasn't spicy enough. Goes to show that you never know.

So, what about the constant heat? Like foodie52, I can't imagine having one in Texas.

OMG! Back in the late 60s we traveled from New Orleans to Houston for Thanksgiving at my parents. Now, my mother was a great cook. However, that year she had jumped on the Weight Watcher's band wagon... for Thanksgiving dinner. She NEVER did that again and we laughed about it for years. There was someone on Food TV a few years ago that used to saute things in WATER! Who was that?

foodie52, Did you find it at Central Market? I can't wait to try this stuff.

The ancient and venerable hot dog source in Houston is James's Coney Island. Tookies is a similar institution for hamburgers in Seabrook. They have a bean burger that I am addicted to... refried beans, cheese, salsa, onion and Fritos... Yes... Fritos. Then we have our places to pick up tamales, more thoroughly discussed here, and here. Houston has lots of pho shops. I haven't gotten into those yet but intend to. Perhaps one of our members will fill in those blanks.

I have seen it done. You just can't do the whole thing in the crock pot. You have to do the roux in a cast iron skillet or other heavy skillet, dump the vegetables into the roux and then transfer it to the crock pot for the slow simmer. I don't do that because I just like to dirty my one big heavy pot.

The check out line at Hong Kong Market is deadly. There are all of these enticing candies, spices, and other odd-ball things that I have no idea what to do with. My curiosity gets the better of me.

I just got back from a business trip to southern France. (Yes, it was wet. My travel story is in the Texas forum. NB: That post, A Texan in France was moved to this forum.) There really isn't any coping. You go where you gotta go and do what you gotta do. Food was still pretty reasonable. But, you can bet that I didn't do any Christmas shopping. I also had a trip to Ireland in October that was a must. My son was running in the marathon. I didn't do any shopping there, either. For elective travel... That will be postponed.

And this from Jason Webley: Gonna carve a jack-o-lantern, hang the garlic high, This crop's been coming for a long, long time. Flaming red peppers will rain down from the sky, And your tap water'll turn into okra slime.

Not all that important. Having venison to start with makes up for a lot.

So that is my problem. That is a great link, torakris. Are there similar pages about the other kinds of dried mushrooms? Do the others have the same kinds of grades?

Uh... What is a salt bagel? (I am a Texan. I have to ask. ) Now that we have Jennifer on board... What is the difference in preparation between a traditional bagel and the softer kind?

Welcome to eGullet, Jennifer. Your first post and it is easy to see I will be looking forward to more. You have already contributed some very interesting information. I never thought about "local preferrence" before when it comes to a singular food like a bagel. Do your traditional density bagels sell less? Are your customers getting exposed to them and learning to like them? I seem to remember that the bagels from Three Brothers here in Houston are more traditional but I haven't been there in a long time so that may have changed. They are also located in what was at one time a part of town that had a large Jewish population but I think that has changed, too. I wonder if their bagels changed? The Bagel Works sounds really interesting. Jaymes is a good bloodhound.

Nick, You mean they didn't believe you when you told them that you left the apples for the bunny rabbits? Hmmm... I can't think of any way to make a gumbo out of deer meat and brussel sprouts. I can, however, highly recommend this Chili Recipe from Huevos del Toro. I made it last night and it is now my new favorite. I tampered with it a bit and had to use unsweetened cocoa instead of Mexican chocolate but it sure is good.

hmmmph! Yes... adding the leeks before they "went over" is exactly the thing to do. That is what gumbo is for. Let nothing go to waste. Put it in the gumbo. That sounds exceedingly delicious. Then you had to go and put okra in the cornbread. Nick... Did you use the brussel sprouts as a lure for the deer you are eating? There seemed to be a karmic connection there.

Thank goodness it isn't just me. I get a craving now and then for creamed carrots in a rich bechamel sauce like my mother used to make. The last couple of times I got the kerosene taste. (Thank you for giving it a descriptive name.) I didn't buy the carrots in the bag, either. I bought the ones with the tops still on and the tops were very fresh looking. I guess I can't expect to recreate a dish where the main ingredient was just plucked from a lovingly tended garden.

Sounds like a thick balsamic. Sort of. Where did you find this wonder?

Welcome to eGullet, breathexercise. This is a great topic. When I found the wonderful world of Asian markets a few years ago, the first thing I went ape over was the price and selection of the dried mushrooms. I still don't know if I am using them as I should. In stir fry I sometimes find them a bit chewy and wonder if I should be letting them soak longer or should the reconstituting process be different. That doesn't seem to be a problem when I use them in long simmered stews and such. That makes me think that I should be doing something different for stir fry. Any dried mushroom gurus out there? An eGCI class on chinese ingredients is a great idea.

I usually have to try something once. I did that with the coconut milk. I could tell the difference. The Chaudoc brand cans were better! My sister, the pie maker, also gave up on pumpkin-from-scratch. I did tamales once. I even rendered my own lard. I'll go buy those from the van man or Dona Tere. I made worchestershire sauce once from Emeril's recipe. It tasted just like Lea & Perrins. Notice the number of times I have used the word "once"?