fifi

Now THAT is funny!

You are distinguishing yourself. I can't wait to see how you handle the travel. Don't forget the airplane yummies!

My sister did this to my nephew and me one Thanksgiving. He and I were planning to fry a couple or three turkeys. We ended up doing 12!!! We now threaten her with bodily harm well prior to Thanksgiving.

Easy not to like for me. I am with elyse on this one. I have eaten these things but I always come away with "What's the big deal?" or "I wish I had eaten something else." (Somehow, I knew when I typed that post that there would be a bunch of defenders of Japanese cuisine. ) BTW... I don't get jello "salads" either. But white sausage gravy over a biscuit is a poem in pork.

There are some things in Japanese cuisine that I do like. A few years ago, I perfected tempura and that was a favorite thing to do with friends as guests. I would do the tempura and they would eat. I do like tokatsu and soba. When I say that I don't get the cuisine, I mean in its totality. There are dishes that I genuinely enjoy. I know that strong fishy flavors are not favored in the cuisine but for some reason, those dishes that my companions find sublime, I find reminiscent of a bad fish market. Maybe I am just sensitive to that taste profile. Yeah... I sure don't get the corn on pizza.

OK... Now I am wondering. I posted on another thread about some truly awesome brisket flat that I had at a little BBQ joint in Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii. It was Big Jake's Island BBQ & Catering. As he sliced off of this flat for my sandwich, the red "ring" wasn't a ring at all but all the way through. I got nosy and asked how he did that. He said it went for about 18 hours at 180 to 200 or something like that over kiawe wood. (Kiawe is kin to mesquite.) It was a rather small and thin flat. So... Did he cheat with this Tender Quick stuff or is this really possible. BTW, it was impossibly juicy as well. Just about the best brisket I have ever had, and I mean EVER!

I have to admit that I don't get Japanese cuisine. Over the years, I have tried very hard to understand it. I have tried very hard to eat it. I think part of the problem is that I am not really all that fond of seafood in general. There are some things that I really like... fresh caught mahi-mahi (any mild fish), shrimp, crab, lobster is ok. That is just about it. I don't think it has anything to do with what I grew up with. We always had a place on the coast and caught abundant fish, shrimp, crabs, whatever. Strong fish flavors make me gag. I don't like caviar. Maybe I have an odd taster that magnifies any fishy flavor. Fish that dining companions find wonderful, I may barely be able to swallow. Any raw seafood is out of the question. I am not into delicate flavors. (I do love wasabi peas.) I just don't get it. The presentations are lovely, though.

I want to add a potential reader's vote for a book. Your stories are really from the heart to a heart. We really don't know enough about Indian culture and food in this country. That is a shame. Your book is NEEDED!

Finally... We snag one of "the guys"! Not to put any pressure on you but you DO know that you are setting the standard for all of your gender to follow, don't you?

That is EXACTLY what I do every Thanksgiving! For the last few years, I just skip the roasting altogether. You know that free turkey you get by collecting "turkey bucks"? That sucker is headed for the gumbo pot. I just put it in a big stock pot to cook the meat, remove the big chunks for the gumbo when they are cooked, then slow simmer for a rich broth. edit to add: For some reason the "quote" button doesn't work on this post???

That is an excellent question. I don't know that I have ever seen the issue addressed. I am not as well read on this subject as I would like to be so the fact that I haven't seen it may not mean much.

Yes... I really want to make this. But I have a LOT of questions... Equal amount of chicken bones to what? How big of a slice of ginger to how much chicken bones? And how miuch water? Are we talking a gallon here? Two gallons? On the fish sauce, sugar and salt... 1 oz. by weight, volume? And this to how much stock? This sounds wonderful but I don't know where to start.

Thanks for dredging this up, tsquare. I didn't know this thread existed. I read this book about 4 months ago. I stumbled upon it when that dastardly Amazon posted one of those dastardly "people who bought this book also bought..." suggestions. I remember posting on some other thread at the time that there was at least a multi-page eGullet thread in each chapter. Now I will have to go back and reread the book and see what was discussed here in more detail. It is a fascinating subject and I found the treatment very interesting. I don't necessarily agree with every conclusion but he is thought provoking.

What started my discussion with this great lady was that I had been to the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston just before this trip. They had a special exhibit of Olmec pottery. The most spectacular exhibit was all of these miniature figurines of people doing everyday things. The range of emotions in those little figures was amazing. Some of them were hilarious. With that kind of realism, I couldn't believe that the facial features were symbolic but must have represented the reality. I have read that there have been characteristic ancient Chinese stone boat anchors found off the west coast of Oregon, I think. If there was trans-Pacific contact, why didn't they take back something as distinctive as chiles? Or maybe they did and academia has ignored that since it doesn't "fit" the Eurocentric model. Sorry, but I am a skeptic when it comes to "assumed truth".

I don't often post on this thread but I do have to gloat about the Mahi-Mahi filets that are now poaching in butter. They were swimming less than 24 hours ago... courtesy of my fisherman boss.

That was at Kroger about 3 weeks ago. You just have to watch for the specials. HEB runs them pretty regularly. I wouldn't wait for that, though. $1.70 is still cheap eats.

Well, all of the flavor is in the stuffing, so you start there. I have had the Prudhomme recipe and some that came from specialty butcher shops in Louisiana. The Prudhomme recipe is far superior. The other thing I would do is to remove the skin from the "inside" birds. The skin just is flabby and nasty IMO.

I nabbed mine for 89 cents a pound... USDA Choice. (Must have been a loss leader.)

I dunno... I am floundering around with the CO2 concept. edit to add: I just read a little more closely... That is CO (carbon monoxide) not CO2 (carbon dioxide).

First... You go here then you revise the technique to fit your birds. FYI... I think it has been established by Steingarten that Prudhomme is the originator of the turducken so I would go with his technique. BTW... Size-wise, how does a pheasant compare to a chicken? I don't know from pheasants.

Now I am confused. My sister soaked her pot. I am sure that it dried out over the cooking time. I think the point is that the soaked pot gives up some steam and then when that is done, the radiation takes over. I will go searching for ABs method. Maggiethecat is right. Saucers don't have holes. That is why you sit the chicken on the saucer and upend the pot over the chicken. The pot has the hole and lets the steam out.

Thanks, Elie. I am off to Hillcroft next week to check out Droubi's. I wonder if they are the same Droubi's as my favorite lunch place downtown? I made the Baba Ghannouj. It took some looking but I actually found tahine in my Kroger's. I am not sure if it is the good stuff, though. It is krinos, "greek gourmet" brand and I finally found it next to the olives. I did use the parsely and I like it ok. I could also like it without it. The Baba Ghannouj came out great but if I had my smoker up and running I think it would have been spectacular with some smoke or grilling going on. My 2 cloves of garlic are sure in there! (OK... They were really big cloves.) I didn't process the ingredients in a food processor or blender. I had great fun with my big chef's knife going whack, whack, whack like Martin Yan. I like the coarser texture better. The pita bread is mushy crap, but that garlicy stuff makes anything edible.

Yep, FoodMan... They are the real deal. Whole, untrimmed briskets are common in "these parts". I did one a couple of weeks ago on my Weber Smoky Mountain. I usually separate the flat from the point so that I can pull the flat off before it gets overcooked. Clickety here to get a good visual of prepping a brisket. However, I am dubious of trimming the fat. What say you, col?

Equip yourself to cook a chicken Yes, you can spend $522.45 to cook a chicken!

Uh... Where do you get such a turkey? Other than fried or smoked, I have never met a turkey I liked. Well... There was that wild turkey that a friend shot.