fifi

Oooo... I forgot about the bar towels that I get at the kitchen supply. I have A BUNCH and if one gets a little damp or soiled I just get another one. I have been known to do a whole washer load after a big cooking orgy. They make great gifts. How many people get gifted with a stack of 25 (or more) towels. I also forgot about the deli containers I get at the kitchen supply. They come in stacks of 50 in different sizes. What a way to send guests home with leftovers at about 10 cents a container. I also use them to store portions of soups and stews in the freezer.

I have the Krups Open Master electric "safety" can opener. It does the same thing as the Rosle one but it does it with a motor. (I am lazy.) I got it several years ago and I love it. I can't stand the kind that cut into the can contents anymore. YUK! That Rosle sure looks cool, though.

I got my heavy aluminum half sheet pans at the kitchen supply for about $6. Beatcha! Cheapest wooden spoons etc. possible. I got my last batch at the outlet mall in San Marcos about 3 years ago. I even put them in the dishwasher. If they split, throw them out. But none of them have split yet. Even my wooden spatula type thingy is still alive even though I use it to make roux. It is getting a little toasty on its edge but is still working. Basic white porcelain dinner ware from Crate & Barrel. No kidding. They also have some of the best looking wine glasses for the price. Ikea is the place for stainless steel big spoons, ladles, spatulas, whisks, etc. They look really nifty (think Rosle or whatever that expensive brand is) and I haven't found anything more than $8, though it has been a couple of years since I bought their stuff. Cheap stainless bowls from the now departed Auchan. They had a special a few years ago... $3 each for the big ones. Chefmate stockpots. Lodge Cast iron, of course. Amazon specials on Calphalon... clickety on the eGullet Amazon icon, of course. My New Braunfels smoker. 7 years old and still good, though looking a bit abused. I am in a lather for a mandoline. I may rethink the pricey one.

I am not sure about "room temperature" but there is, IMHO, a good case for not serving soups too hot. I really hate it when it is so hot I have to sit there stirring it around like a dork before I can eat it. Also, The delicate flavors and the cream in a bisque can be destroyed by too much heat. I have some bisque recipes that call for adding cream AFTER you take it off the heat. My personal taste is to have soups warm, not hot, but that is a personal thing.

My sister, ever the browser, found this citrus tree in a powerline right of way that we haven't been able to identify. It has little orange fruits, round and a little bigger than key limes, orange flesh, thin skin and lots of seeds, very tart. We think we saw something like it in Hawaii and they called them "limes" but I have never seen anything but a green lime. Anyway, she made marmalade with them and it was incredible. She says the tree is loaded again so we are off on a foraging trip. Infusing vodka with them was a treat, also. I love marmalades. I would like to figure out how to make pepper jelly that isn't too sweet. Any ideas?

What fun!!! Way to go, guys. Can't wait until the next installment. I am currently reading my way through the series. I just finished "Too Many Women". The most notable food discussions in this one were around Archie taking various "dames" to Rusterman's (sp?), the restaurant that Wolfe has some connection with. Fritz was mostly cooking breakfast it seems. Has anyone ever really tried those 40 minute scrambled eggs?

This is a daunting task, MatthewB. Let me suggest something I did when designing my kitchen. My architect is great but can't boil water so it was up to me. First, I did a thorough look-back at what and how I cook. I even kind of kept a diary for about 2 months. (Piddling cooking for periods of time, I live alone, with intermittent cooking orgies with friends and family. Cooking is a form of entertainment for me/us so that justified in my mind going high end on my appliances. I don't play golf, after all.) Second, I did a real lookback on what I had in my kitchen that I had, what I liked, what I didn't. (Even though this was a "high end" patio home, the gas burners sucked, I regretted not getting the second oven, I really wanted a griddle, indoor grills need not apply, no island for others to help and kibitz, but the walk-in pantry was a wonder.) Third, once I had the basics I got into details and I found several surprising things. (I hate upper cabinets because I am short. Out with the upper cabinets. I hate groveling in lower cabinets, drawers are in.) I even got into cooking patterns to see what should go where. (Which way the fridge door opened became a big deal. After a few days' analysis the opening direction favored toward the "getting snacks, drinks, etc." direction rather than the cooking area. I am organized in my cooking and get all stuff together mise en place style, so I am not in and out of the fridge when cooking but guests are.) Only then was I ready to start picking appliances. (I chose GE Monogram, by the way. The smaller oven that can proof bread, make yogurt, etc. caught my eye, but service was a big issue.) That was my process and in my imagination, I am pleased with the outcome. (It is not built yet, but my friends and I continue to mentally walk around in it and we haven't changed anything in the last couple of months.) I am suggesting that that analytical process might work for you. A kitchen is a very personal thing and I don't think anyone would come out with the same answers I did. You might want to guide them through the process and then lead them to THEIR choices. Then if they end up not liking something, they can't blame YOU! GOOD LUCK.

Cooking buddies and all seem to think that the "independent" growers that we know about sell all of their stuff to the restaurants. But then, there isn't an alternative market. And it is not zoning... Houston has none!!! We think we have a plan. Or at least, some insane ideas. I'll keep ya'll posted if anything interesting happens.

I don't really want to start one. I have a full time job now and plan to RETIRE in a couple of years. Somehow, starting one started sounds like work. I have been to the USDA site but I had not thought of contacting some of the organizers in some of the neighboring cities. Now, that is an idea. I will see if I can get some of my cooking buddies to help promote the idea. It is kind of odd that we don't have one. I grew up here in Houston and there was a great tradition of "truck farmers". A lot of Italian families farmed and brought their produce to the various "markets". I remember going with my grandmother and mother on the market days. My mother had grown up with one of the Italian families that truck farmed. Now we have a lot of Asian families growing produce but I am thinking that most of that goes to the gazillion restaurants here though some winds up at Fiesta or Hong Kong Market. All of that means that I think there are the resources here, just no market.

I don't know a lot about wine (I spend my time drinking it) but I saw this in the Sunday paper and I am curious. The source was Reuters, I looked on the Reuters site but couldn't find it so I will quote... "Grapes dried in the scorching heat of inland California could be pressed into raisin wine if the federal government approves a proposed wine labeling plan, raisin industry officials said." What does the federal government have to do with it? Can't they just go ahead and make raisin wine if they want to?

OK... I hate all of you. I am intensly jealous. I fail to believe that a place as big as Houston doesn't have a Farmer' Market. There is a poor excuse on Airline but it isn't a real one. The Dept of Ag site doesn't have one listed, either. (If this is a repeat rant, I apologize. I was just reading to get an idea of the variety you lucky ducks have and I got carried away.)

I forget... Do food history and references count? If so, I have fallen off the wagon... again. 3 on food history 1 reference (Oxford Companion to Food)

Ditto what Rachel said... I used to catch your shows without fail, except for one that really intrigued me and I kept just getting it at the end. It was the one where you were trying to recreast some phenomenal baked chicken you ate somewhere, France I think. It drove me nuts trying to find goose fat and I was about to get a goose and make my own when I finally found it. (I may do a goose anyway!) If it is not too long, could you relate the story of that chicken? Have you changed the recipe any?

Thanks. I am going to stick with the nice guy at the local shop and just wait, drink beer and eat shrimp. At least he was nice enough to offer to order one. All the other places I got a "DUUH... We're out of those." followed by "No, I don't know when we will get any in." Screw 'em.

GRRRRR!!! I think I have been foiled by another eGullet phenomenon. Following up on my previous posts, I had made the decision to get the Weber water smoker for my apartment balconey. (I can adopt it out later or keep it.) I have been to every place in a 10 mile radius that carries Weber: Academy, WalMart, Home Depot, Lowes, Target, and a local shop that carries bbq and grill and fireplace stuff. THERE ARE NO WEBER SMOKERS IN CAPTIVITY! The nice guy at the local shop said he had sold his last one yesterday but he would order me one. I called him and asked him to do that. He was so nice and I like to support local shops so I don't care what it costs at this point. (He will be a big help with the fireplace for the house, too.) Have all of these threads caused a run on the darn things? The plan WAS to have some friends in this evening to watch the fireworks then get up in the morning and put something on to cook while we bonk around. So much for that idea. I guess we will just have to go down to my favorite bayside joint and eat boiled shrimp and drink beer all day.

Does tea count? Lady Astor to Winston Churchill: "Winston, if I were your wife, I would put poison in your tea." Winston Churchill: "Madame, if you were my wife, I would drink it."

That sounds like a plan to me. Gotta get to Central Market. It is inside the loop here and not in my usual travel plans. Yeah... I like Progresso. A few of us would go down to a friend's ranch a few years ago for a dove hunt. She had a driver and vans to take us to Progresso for lunch (read... tequila, therefore the driver) and shopping.

Damn you Jaymes!!! Real goat's milk cajeta. Be still my heart! I haven't been able to find it. I suspect that the empty space on the shelf at Fiesta is where it belongs but it just sells out before I get there.

Jaymes is right about the sweetened condensed milk... I have done this for years. You barely simmer it for about 3 hours. Now you have dulce de leche. The difference is that there is no air in the can to expand and explode, unlike the can of bread. I usually do several cans at a time in a big pot with a dish towel in the bottom so I don't have to listen to the "bump, bump". Be sure to scrub the label adhesive off or you will have a nasty residue in your pot that is a bitch to clean.

Well... THAT was helpful. Actually the thread was right up my alley. I am not into grilling that much. I usually cook low and slow. Come to think of it, my kids say that fits me perfectly. (I am short.) edit to add: For less than $200 what would you do? If settled on that figure 'cause if I use it 20 times in the next few months, that is $10 per. Seems reasonable to me for food that you can't buy at any price. (How many smoked corned beef briskets have you seen in the local grocery lately.)

There are Old Smokeys and grills of all description on most balconeys so I don't see any issues. maybe I shouldn't be so cheap and go for the Weber. It sure won't break me and I hate to compromise results. Life is too short to badly smoke good meat! hotle... If I laughed at ignorance, especially my own, I would never get anything done! You bring up some good points. Whatever I decide you have brought me back to the basics, temperature monitoring and control.

Ok... reading these smoking threads is KILLING ME! My smoker thingy (a New Braunfels number with a side firebox) is still in prison (storage) while I am in an apartment. I have noted that we can grill etc. on our balconeys since they are masonery. I am seriously thinking of heading down to the local Home Depot and getting something relatively cheap to smoke some stuff even if I have to scale back on what I smoke. I see several "Old Smokeys" sitting around but I am dubious. They look so cheap and small. That Weber looks great but may be a bit pricey for short term use. But then, it will be a few more months before I get into my house so how short term is that and maybe I could just get the Weber and then keep it for smaller scale smoking later. But then, how many smokers does a person really need and I am already drooling over those Kamodo things. But how can I go for several more months without smoking something? Do you sense a bit of indecision here???? What would you do? HELP!

I should explain that with a dark roux, this style of gumbo is not that thick. It is sort of like a cream soup in thickness. The darker the roux, the less thickening power. It is (of course) served over rice and the "gravy" sinks down through the rice. It is thickened to taste at the table with file.

Good point... Here is the ratio I use for a dark chicken and sausage gumbo: For one pound each chicken and sausage with 6 cups chicken stock I use one cup flour and one cup oil.

Butter is fine for a light roux. In fact, I prefer it for that. But for the dark stuff you need an oil with a high smoke point.