fifi

I really enjoyed the show when it was on here. Their mama (one of 'em's mama anyway) is a hoot - you look at her and are expecting the Italian accent, etc., and she comes out with this broad Texas Hill Country drawl. Unfortunately, I don't think any of what they do translates through to the franchised version of Carrabba's - I was expecting it to be decent-to-good fern bar stuff, on the level of Maggiano's, but was disappointed. (Maggiano's would be a good chain candidate if they fit the 50-location thing, but I think they're only up to about 28.) never seen the cooking show, also haven't been in maggiano's. i do think carraba's is pretty good, though. you think maggiano's does stuff better? hmm. I found out earlier on this thread that Carrabba's was sold to the Outback people. The guys you see on PBS don't own it anymore. The first Carrabba's here (Houston, their home town) was great. Then, as they started to expand, the results were spotty. What happened after they were sold, I haven't a clue.

Let's see... I am rereading Steingarten's books just because I enjoy the way he puts words together. I did read McGee all the way through. I considered it a real page turner. But then, I am a geek. Still working my way through Nero Wolfe mysteries.

I was in this fix once, having planted sweeping rows of it in my regular garden. (I mix veggies in with ornamentals.) I had this Italian type with wide white ribs and a red variety called Vulcan. We just couldn't eat anymore so I consoled myself with just watching it from the porch as the setting sun backlit it in the evening. It was just gorgeous.

FINALLY! Someone that fully understands REAL corn! Many thanks for the seed sources. I ran across a couple of them in my latest google search but I didn't have time to look at everything. This gives me a head start.

So... How many square feet in one Varmint? New kitchen is approximately 20x15 but that includes a walk-in pantry in one corner.

Stone, Just out of curiosity... Did you actually smoke that chicken with a bikini on or did you photoshop that picture? If you actually smoked it, what did you use for the bikini? I would love to do that just for the hell of it.

At least it has the word "chicken" in it.

That is good info, Nick. The fact that the jar lids held a vacuum probably had something to do with it. The common cause of fat going bad is oxidation. That gives you that nasty rancid smell and taste.

If you can find a copy, get Ray Miller's Galveston. Amazon lists it as out of print but still available. Ray is a long time news man and historian and his book has a lot of intereting tales.

Nope. City main.

I was at her house one morning. She went outside to the patio and filled the coffee maker carafe from an outside faucet. I asked what that was all about. "Oh, I always use the outside water. It is cheaper." Back on topic.

You are not kidding. I have an aquaintance that takes the prize for clueless. (Bless her heart!) She will call sometimes for tips when she is cooking something. So... She calls and is regaling me with this wonderful idea to sit a chicken on a beer can. I tell her that I have heard of it and ask her if she put anything into the beer. "How would you put anything into a beer can?" "Through the opening or make some more with a church key." "Oh... You are supposed to open it?" "I'll be right over." I got there in time for the action. It wasn't pretty. There was a whump from inside of the Weber. The chicken was propelled up against the lid. Beer sprewed everywhere. Ashes and steam filled the inside of the Weber. She took it out, washed it off with the garden hose, added some more charcoal and continued on as if this was a normal occurrence. Like I said... Clueless. (Bless her heart.)

This isn't really all that bad but my "worst meal" was actually inflicted on us by my own mother. It was Thanksgiving and we drove to Houston from New Orleans for the event. My mother was an excellent and inventive cook so we were looking forward to the experience. "I can't wait for the cornbread dressing." "I hope she does her usual potato salad." etc. We arrived only to find that mother and dad had embraced Weight Watcher's culinary hell. This was about the same time frame as the recipe cards linked above so you can imagine what happened to our beloved recipes. Luckily, it was that dinner that was the final straw. They never mentioned Weight Watcher's again.

Update on the corn question... Caroline on the Mexico forum reminded me that they grow "flour corn" locally in Mexico for eating and for masa. The kernels have a high ratio of soft starch. I am now on the hunt for flour corn. I think that sparrowgrass is probably correct. What I have had here is field corn, probably dent corn.

So Nick... Did you check out the lard in the woodshed? I am really curious as to how it kept. However, I doubt that I would get the same results here on the Gulf Coast.

OK.. Can't wait to see how corn wrapped with bacon works. I have wrapped asparagus with bacon, but never corn. I am fascinated. Details please.

One of the hardest things that I have had to learn is to allow the browning to occur so that it releases from the pan. I have to really work hard at leaving it alone for long enough. I still have trouble with that but I am getting better. (One of the many things I have learned here.)

Thick sliced bacon on a rack in a sheet pan. 325F with no convection. (I don't have convection... yet. )

[dumbass flag flying] I have never seen them with actual or fake crab either. The version here is just a little lump of cream cheese. [dumbass flag furled]

Many thanks for this tip. I will be in Den Hague in September and will look this one up... if for no other reason than that I have no idea what Surinamese cuisine is about. Any enlightenment here?

Sorry to be so late getting back to this thread. Many thanks for your help. I will try these out. I do have to say that I have been dissappointed in the "famous" rijstafel restaurants in Amsterdam. They are ok, but I have had better Indonesian in Texas for chrisakes. I will be there for a week in September. If I discover any "finds" I will post them. On my last trip, we ate at what I think was an Italian themed restaurant in Scheveningen. It was pretty ok. At dinner, I was telling my companions that I would like to find a cookbook on Dutch cuisine to bring back to my sister. They all broke up laughing... "You have to be kidding. There is no Dutch cuisisne." I find that hard to believe. The breakfast buffet at the hotel has some very nice and distinct cured meats.

Just about every buffet here in Houston has these things. I have never heard of them referred to as "Rangoons" but maybe it is just that I am not paying attention. I have often thought that the cream cheese won-ton thing was weird. Like you, I wonder... What's up with that? Cream cheese??? I like them with hot mustard and soy.

I travel a lot on business. When I go for dinner, often alone, there is a real problem with getting crappy tables. There seems to be an assumption that a woman dining alone is a bad bet for tips or repeat business. I put on my haughtiest corporate tone and say... "Oh... This will not do at all!" That usually works. And if it does, I tip very well. A long time ago, I was in Hawaii on business. (Absolutely true.) On the island of Kauai I was staying at one of the resorts. I went down to dinner and this real bitch of a hostess/maitre de sat me at this really dinky table next to a big (and loud) party. Then my server came up and had on one of those "HI! I'M IN TRAINING" buttons. uh oh. I asked the bitch about getting a better table. No dice. IN TRAINING was all flustered at my displeasure. I reassured her and said... "Just watch. I always win." Toward the end of my meal, I saw the bitch headed my way. I took a little notebook and pen out of my purse. She asked, in a not too friendly manner, how I was doing. "Well, my dear, I really do not think that you personify the spirit of hospitality that our corporation aspires to. (all the while I am writing in the notebook, recalling to her the lack of attention to a woman dining alone, etc.) What is your name, my dear?" IN TRAINING was about to bust a gut. I tipped her 30%. The next morning at breakfast, I was immediately shown to the most primo beachside table in the house.

OMG! I had forgotten all about that. I remember covering my books with the brown paper the evening I would get home from the first day back at school. It was sort of a ritual. That was in the 50s, elementary school. I don't remember doing that when I got to high school. Another use for the paper bags was the Thanksgiving turkey. For years, my mother's favorite way to bake a turkey was in an oiled paper bag.

Jin... You gotta get a new circle of frends!