fifi

Yeah... It was fun. The hedonists among us went to great lengths to demonstrate the joy of animal fat and potatoes. The more constricted of the Baptists among us went to pray for our gluttonous souls. Oh well... At least we learned who was who in the family.

I prefer to be given the option of asking the server's name. I have done this when I felt that the service was exceptional. Then, for my next visit to the restaurant, I can request a table that "xxx" will be serving. I am hoping that the management notices that I value the server enough to ask for that table.

There were certain family members that are fat adverse. Some of us enjoyed the whole thing... including the dribbles down our shiny chins.

OK... Christmas Goose Disaster to follow. I got a recipe for goose and/or duck from a Cajun friend. It called for potatoes, onions, and bacon. You season the goose with a typical Cajun seasoning mix. You stuff the cavity with some potato and onion chunks. In the bottom of the roasting pan, layer thickly sliced potato. The goose is wrapped in bacon strips. I did the bacon wrapping in an artful manner. The end product was lovely to look at, but... Good Lord... I have never seen so much fat. I am definitely not adverse to good animal fat, but this was ridiculous. It then occurred to me that my friend was probably referring to wild geese or ducks that would not have as much fat, therefore the bacon. (Actually, those potatoes on the bottom of the roasting pan were wonderful, in a guilty way.) edit to add: We decided that this recipe was fine as long as you discard the goose and just eat the potatoes.

We have a burger tradition down here in Seabrook, Texas called Tookies. They were doing "weird" burgers 25 years ago and are still doing it. The patties are of the thin, grilled until the edges are nicely brown, variety. My all time favorite is the Beany Burger. Said patty has melted cheddar on top. The bun is thickly spread with refried beans... add Fritos (yes... Fritos, kinda stuck into the beans) and hot salsa and you have heaven. Those big ole fried onion rings on the side don't hurt, either.

All of the usual culprits... (I love Jif) but the kicker has to be the chartreuse Kitchen Aid mixer.

Hi Katie... I am playing catch-up. That hospital section made me all misty eyed. You should definitely save it for the little tyke's posterity. That Chef's Table episode is bizarre. Too bad that the "hospitality" industry doesn't have some kind of escape clause that allows you to throw out jerks.

Last year, I was in Hawaii. On The Big Island, we stopped in the little town of Pahoa (I think) and spotted a BBQ place. I didn't hold out much hope. Boy was I surprised. I watched the guy slice off the meat from a brisket flat. That sucker was smoke ring red all the way through! The juice was glistening as he sliced. I had never seen anything like that so I started asking nosy questions. He said it went for about 18 hours (for the flat only) using kiawe (pronounced ki-AH-vay) wood at 180-200. I think kiawe is the same thing as mesquite. I would have thought that the smoke would be too strong but it wasn't. That was some of the best brisket I have EVER eaten.

I will make a stab at the "smoke ring" thing. Chef, you are on the right track. Some of our smoking gurus can probably expand on the following. When brisket is smoked slowly, often more than 12 hours, the "smoke" penetrates from the outside. The myoglobin in the meat turns red from the chemicals in the smoke. I suspect it is the same reaction that occurs in chemical cures (like your pastrami) but I don't know the entire chemical composition of the smoke. In some competitive cooking, one of the judging points for brisket is the depth of the red ring. Your pastrami was not smoked long enough or aggressively enough to produce that (as well it shouldn't) and, at any rate, the cure would have probably obscured it.

I am always interested in the historical aspects of a cuisine. Would you please expound on the history and development of any of your favorite dishes? Thank you for this Q&A session.

That sounds like a whole new lesson. Great idea, actually. I do pepper escabeche and pickles. But I have not tried jellies. I would love to figure out how to do pepper jelly that is not sweet. I know... I need to brush up on pectin chemistry. I have also tried in vain to candy peppers. Everytime I see those beautiful red jalepenos I want to do that. I saw some strips of candied pepper in a magazine served as a granish on some kind of dessert. They were gorgeous. Mine always shrivel up whatever method I use. I want them to come out with a texture like those candied cherries you put in fruitcake. And smoking! Yes, smoking!

OMG that sounds good. AND another use for the crock pot! Sounds like your mother succeeded in the juggling department. Please... please... please... put this in the eGRA.

When I worked at FDA years ago we used to put pans of the stuff in the autoclave and let it go for a couple of hours so I know the pan method works. I just think it is a lot of trouble and you dirty dishes. A big pot with lots of water can sit at barely simmering for 4 hours without any attention. Then you can just put the cans in the pantry.

The Chronicle. I seem to remember that she came from someplace pretty "sophisticated". There was some "whining" about her in Whining and Dining. The "provencials" kind of objected to her writing style. I think she does a good job, seems to be fair, but pulls no punches. She also does a good job of putting the restaurants she reviews in context. She isn't going to go to a taqueria expecting anything but a taqueria and will do the review in that context. Then, she can also go to the upscale restaurants and hit the right notes in expectation. I enjoy her writing style. I also appreciate that she includes noise level. The noise level in a lot of Houston restaurants is really objectionable. For instance, I haven't been to Ruggles Grill in a long time because the noise level is just too painful. They had a restaurant downtown for a while (don't know if it was a victim of the construction on Main Street) that I went to twice. The food was fantastic, but the loud music was just too much to endure so we quit going there. Maybe we should start a thread on noise and then send links to all of the offending restaurant owners.

About beans... I am a big fan of Goya brand. They seem to do it right. They have decent flavor and the texture is also good. They have figured out how to can beans without turning them to mush. They are my only option for my bean salsas and salads. I do have one problem in cooking for one that I am just resigned to. I don't like it, I am just resigned. That is the problem of having to eventually throw out some food. There are some recipes that don't scale down well, don't freeze well, whatever. But I just don't want to give them up. In that case, I just resign myself that after I get my fill, they will go in the back of the fridge (just in case), become a science experiment and have to be thrown out.

I have wondered about this myself. I have not seen described what the "original" tamale consisted of. (But then, I haven't looked all that hard.) I do wonder about a source for fat, though. The native americans did use game animals for fat. I have been told, and have read, that the true origin of fried turkey is really pre-conquest. When the natives would kill a bear, for example, they would render the fat and fry the wild turkeys, geese, ducks and other fowl. The story goes that the technique was "rediscovered". That makes me wonder what kind of fat sources may have been available. Water fowl? Geese and ducks can have prodigious amounts of fat. Fat can be rendered in pottery vessels by including water. In fact, that is one way to start rendering lard that is used today. The Aztecs, (well, the elite, anyway) were sophisticated enough that they had shrimp and other shell fish delivered to the interior by runners from the coast. That makes me think that they may have developed some source of fat for their tamales and only later substituted the lard. I would love to find a comprehensive study of pre-columbian cooking.

In Friday's Dining Guide, about the only thing of real interest was Alison Cook's review... Bijan Persian Grill She is a pretty tough reviewer so this place deserves a try. I am not in that part of town that often but I might go out of my way. If anyone tries the place out, please post. Ah Houston... Our diversity is one of our hidden jewels!

How horrible a corndog might be depends on what you think of wieners/hot dogs in general. If you like hot dogs, you will probably find a corndog amusing. Think of a wiener wrapped in cornbread. I don't particularly like hot dogs, that is why this craving was so bizarre.

Yep... sweetened condensed milk.

I did.

Thanks Rachel. I was thinking from the picture that that is what they are. (Us gals just KNOW these things. ) The only place that I plan to use the under upper cabinet light is at the beverage area. I hear what you say about positioning. I have it centered in the new house as that is a pass-thru. In my previous house, I had them move them up to the front of the upper cabinets. That was a big improvement.

Oil pressed from vegetables that have not been pollinated.

I am not a dessert eater just because I am not really big on sweets. I have to agree, though that when I have been hit with the portion size from appetizer to main course, there is just no room for dessert on the rare occasion I would want to indulge. I can see that price may have something to do with it at your typical chain. But I wonder what the numbers look like at higher end restaurants. I would think that "occasion" dining would be less price sensitive. I disagree with the statement that dessert has no nutritional value. What is in chocolate mousse, after all? Chocolate is one of the necessary food groups, even to the sweet tooth challenged.

I am still trying to picture this process but I keep getting the giggles. edit to add: The scary thing is, I am getting really curious as to whether or not it would actually work. I have this visual of my kids catching me doing this and yelling their usual... "Quick! Get mom's medication!"

Thanks for bringing that up. I should have mentioned that. Well... maybe put it in big letters. My bad. Especially since I am a safety freak. Don't open a hot can, you idiot! (The loud voice of experience has spoken.)