fifi

Another vote for the CI recipe here. It also calls for... BACON! as in draped over it. The sauce they used was really good too, one of those simple but surprising things. I think it was a half cup of the Heinze chili sauce, a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar and a couple of tablespoons (I think) of cider vinegar (add and taste as you go). I usually don't like this kind of sweet thing but this was just right. I have used it for other recipes and dipping sauce since.

Corn meal tutorial for FG... Corn meal is made from either processed or unprocessed corn. Processed has been soaked in an alkaline solution (lime from heated shells, wood ashes in the olden days). Somehow the ancient tribes in Mexico figured this out. What happens is the niacin that is normally bound up in other molecules is released and available nutritionally. The use of unprocessed corn for grits or polenta (in the southern US and Italy respectively) experienced an epidemic of pellagra. Pellagra is a disease of niacin deficiency. What we call grits now is usually "hominy grits", hominy being the term for alkali process corn... also known as posole in Mexico. The other distinction for corn meal is whether or not it is degerminated. Degerminated corn has that little pip at the bottom of the kernel removed. That is where most of the oil is so the resultant meal will keep longer since there is no oil to go rancid. This is the typical insipid crap you get in the grocery store from the major brands. Now you get to color... Yellow, white, and newly fashionable blue. I, for one, can't taste much difference. Next comes grind anywhere from coarse sand to flour-like consistency. Grits - Processed, white or yellow, coarse grind. I think polenta is the same thing in that they learned that you have to process the corn to get the nutritional benefit. (Pellagra was once a big problem in Italy where the poor ate the stuff as a staple of the diet.) Cornmeal (like for corn bread) - Typically not processed, typically degerminated, any grind, any color. Stone ground cornmeal - "Stone ground" usually infers that the germ is left in. Theoretically, stone mills don't generate as much heat so the germ can be left in. This is the stuff you actually want for cornbread. Masa Harina - Processed, fine grind, usually a pale yellow. Used for tortillas, tamales and other goodies. All of the above is made from a variety of corn, sometimes called "dent" or "field" corn. Not the sweet corn that we usually eat. Actually, having had dent corn on the cob from street vendors in Mexico, doused with lime juice and chile powder, I have to say it is really makes our sweet corn taste insipid. I mean that stuff tastes like CORN. It has a nice chew also.

Let us not forget saffron and vanilla.

Taqueria Arandas seems to be exploding here. They just opened one in League City here (on the Gulf Freeway, next to a new Spec's, handy) and I intend to try it. Yes, they used to have great tortas. I will try that for lunch soon and report back. Something fuzzy in my head says that that chain has an amazing story. It is too fuzzy to report here. They do have (or did have, been a long time) killer breakfast. My favorite thing in the world is a great Mexican breakfast buffet... love the chilequiles. Maybe we should have a thread on Mexican breakfasts (if that hasn't already been done). Jaymes???

quajalote... Really cool graphs. (BTW... How did you do that?) Anyway, my attorney nephew has a set of mint julep cups that he inherited and he is a foodie so I sent him the link. I KNOW that he is going to ask his Auntie how this effect occurs and I will fire up the old laptop and use your graphs. I suspect that I am further removed from thermo than you are. I can speak in concepts but the equations have long since petrified in my brain. (Management petrifies a lot in the brain.) Mint is growing, the soft moist breezes are coming in off of the gulf and I see a great mint julep in my future. Hollywood... OK what the f is a Negroni?

Jim... Please report back on what else you try. I once had an African Blue basil bush that was 12 feet across and about 5 feet high. (Yes, I said a basil bush. And I said feet.) What you said about having enough reminds me about that bush. I am in an apartment temporarily but my sister just planted several. There were enough blossoms to take care of the quantity problem and when they first emerged they were tender enough to sear. It also occurs to me that seared herb flowers could be used as a seasoning almost or "amusingly draped over the lamb chop" so you wouldn't have to have a lot of it. I think I will sneak into my sister's back yard and add some fertilizer.

Interesting. When I am gardening I also often get into the lazy mode and end up with flower spikes where judicious picking could keep the herbaceous thing going a little longer. I am going to have to try this. Now I am wondering about other flower stalks: cabbage family, mustards, herbs such as basil and other mint family members. Sounds delicious.

Thanks for the cheese tip, Haggis! I intend to try it because I have also been disappointed with "loosing the cheese" when wanting to add jalapenos and chees to cornbread. Makes sense. I intend to try it. Another excellent testimonial for hanging out at eGullet.

I have wondered the same thing. I have often added it "cuz you're sposed to" and wondered why or, couldn't see that it added anything, or could see that it added inappropriate black specs but didn't do anything for flavor. A lot of Cajun cooking doesn't ue black pepper but substitutes cayenne. Boy am I glad someone has guts enough to question the status quo.

As I think about it and consult my cooking buddies this morning, the shrimp didn't cook more than three minutes. I was looking for the pink turn, not looking at my watch. I have a real problem judging time. I agree with Jaymes. I have NEVER been able to undercook a shrimp. Also, after consulting a particularly opinionated Cajun engineer (Is that redundant?), he insists that the molt time plus too fresh off the boat, maybe never frozen, are the problems. He arrives at this opinion because he collects smaller quantities of shrimp in his freezer from sport shrimping forays until he has 40 or 50 pounds before he has a boil. He has noticed that if they put some in a pot to eat on the boat, they are hell to peel unless they have nice thick shells. I asked for controlled data. He got offended. Oh well...

In Texas, the traditional, I won't say majority of the, corn bread is yellow, stone ground. I don't think you start seeing white corn meal until you get well east as I have pretty much only seen the yellow in south Louisiana. The basic bread is maybe a tablespoon of sugar at the most to 2 cups of meal, NO FLOUR, leavening, buttermilk, 2 eggs. That is what you usually see in the local recipe collections, BBQs, etc. The same Iron skillet/hot fat method prevails. My cornbread LOOKS just like mamster's picture. (And a pretty picture it is, too. My son would say..."Another perfect corn pone.") That tradition might just be changing and even fading away. I can remember my grandmother bitching about that 30 years ago... "All these folks usin' those mixes. Why, they make a better yellow cake than your Aunt Minnie. Purt soon nobody will know what good cornbread is anymore! Goddam shame!" While the traditional is easy to make it does take some technique to get a truly perfect cornbread. Outside of the interested cooks like those that hang out here, who bothers anymore? I think the convenience of the mixes took over, most of them were sweet and cakey things, they were easy, kids weren't raised on anything else, etc. etc. until the tradition suffers. And, remember, my grandmother's rant (and I remember it was longer and bluer than I put it here) was 30 years or more ago so there has been time for the tradition to be eroded even further. The reason that the meal doesn't keep very long is that it is not degerminated. The germ contains the oil which will oxidize and get all yucky. However, mamster, I find that the cooked bread travels very well.

From the posts so far, I am beginning the think it is the shrimp and that particular time of year, early May. Sometimes they are fine. I think the REALLY fresh thing is also a contributor. For this event, we try to get them as fresh as possible, like where we know they are right off the boat. In a REALLY big pot, rolling boil, you dump the shrimp in, about 5 minutes (may be less, haven't timed it, go by look) and they are just pink and come to the top. That is when you yank them out. Therefore, overcooking doesn't seem to be it. pjs... Zatarains is the traditional Louisiana product that everyone uses here. If I tried to use Old Bay, the crowd would be after me with torches and dogs. I have used Old Bay on steamed crabs. Very good but, to me, it lacks kick. I think of it as a whole 'nother thing. Thanks to all. I think I am getting closer.

Oh dear... I'm afraid that you have entered a grocery store wasteland. At least from what I know from when my kids lived there a few years ago and myself more years ago and friends that live there now, you will not find quite the diversity that you are accustomed to. (I know a bit about the Seattle market.) As much of a food town as New Orleans is, there is not a lot of diversity. I have not lived there for several years, but that is a continual complaint of friends that have moved there from the Houston area (oil biz types). Houston is remarkably diverse so perhaps our comparisons are not quite fair. Also, Houston has one of the most competitive grocery markets in the country. I think you are really going to have to work at it if you want to find good "ethnic" finds. Hopefully, others in this forum have more immediate knowledge, but I am always appalled at the grocery market in NOLA.

Hmmm... Spencer, I don't know where you are but possibly, just possibly, the only boiled shrimp you have encountered may have been long frozen before you got them boiled. If you ever ran across hard to peel shrimp, I am sure you would complain. This is a clue. I am beginning to wonder if the "fresh off the boat" shrimp (which we usually buy) might not BE the problem.

Yesterday at a big get together, one of the events was a big fish fry. Big pan, big propane burner, several cans of Crisco... You get the picture. The thermometer was on the fritz so the oil got too hot and was smoking. I looked on the Crisco can to see if they had the soke temperature on the label and found that they didn't! I had to dig into my faulty memory to come up with a smoke temerature to make a guess at where we were. Shouldn't labels include that info? I had never thought about it before. P.S... We cooled the oil down, fried the fish, no one died. If we worried about everything supposed to be carcinogenic, we would starve to death. Have you ever read Steingarten's take on raw veggies? Vegetarians and raw food nuts should be littering the sidewalks. BBQ and grilled meat???!!! The bodies are piling up!!! Give me a break.

I need some help here. I have been doing shrimp boils for more years than I can remember. I STILL don't know how the heck you boil a shrimp and PREDICTABLY end up with shrimp that are easy to peel. Easy-to-peel means, to me, that you can pinch the tail and pretty much slide the whole thing out of the shell. The other end of the spectrum is that you have to painfully remove each segment, pick off the legs one by one, you get the picture. I have researched all of my cook books for recommended techniques, McGee, all of the usual suspects. Nothing definitive. In my vast experience I have come out with everything from the ultimate easy-to-peel to "it's almost not worth the trouble". I want to get to the science of the issue. Background... Yesterday, we had a yearly get together that takes place on the first Saturday in May at one of the members bay house. There are usually about 80 people. I am in charge of the shrimp boil to provide munchies. We boil about 15 pounds of tails (heads off to save room in the pot, provide heads to dump in the water and attract crabs for the kids to catch, and to accommodate the Yankees in the crowd) along with the usual accessories. AGAIN the shrimp were devilishly hard to peel. Here is the technique... Huge pot with basket on a big propane burner. Put in the Zatarains, lemons, garlic, onion, cayenne, salt (a little more salty than sea water) and boil hard for a few minutes until the lemon becomes looking cooked. Put in the potatoes, sausage, corn in order that it all comes out cooked just right. Add shrimp last. Cook until the shrimp just turns pink and is firm (about 5 to 10 minutes). Drain and dump on the traditional table covered with newspaper. Maybe repeat, adding more cayenne for those who like it hotter. Nothing surprising there. Now for the theories and folklore: Buy really fresh shrimp. DUH!!! Since we live in the sight of the shrimp boats, this is not an issue for our crowd. BTW... Most shrimp from the Gulf are flash frozen on the boats and thawed before selling so the definition of "fresh" gets a little complicated when you include the "previously frozen" issue. We will assume that they actually smell good. I have done shrimp from sport shrimping friends, off the boat and into the pot, never seen anything colder than ice and still have seen a big variation in the peeling thing. Cooking technique doesn't control it. It depends upon when the shrimp molted last. I can actually understand the science in this one. And it may make some sense for the "May Event" problem. We usually buy about the same size shrimp, obviously at the same time of year. So... How would you tell in advance without bringing a little boiling pot to the shrimp shack? We always look for the firmest critters with good strong shells. No luck. (I had a biology professor many years ago in Louisiana, a shrimp expert, that said this was the answer. He was NO HELP in buying shrimp. He was of the bring-boiling-pot-to-the-shrimp-shack school.) Cook quickly and get out of the water fast. OK... Always do that. It is just a basic rule for shrimp and the most practical approach for doing big, multiple boils for a crowd. Put in the boiling water, turn off heat, cool in the water. I have actually seen this in some cook books. It MIGHT work if you have a half pound in a little bitty pot. Well, not really. I have done small batches of maybe two pounds for pickled shrimp. I tried that once. The shrimp were hard to peel, over done and rubbery. Most shrimp boils I do are in a really big pot. Obviously not a practical approach. Less salt... More salt... If you don't start a little saltier than sea water, it isn't enough for shrimp. They just don't take up seasoning like crawfish or crabs. Too much saltier than that and the potatoes etc. suffer. I am not sure how you could play the salt game. I'm not even sure if it makes a difference. I base this on my impressions from those occasional small batches for other purposes, not controlled trials. Brining. I have never tried this and have never heard of anyone doing it. I just thought about it last evening while puzzling over this issue. I have seen Alton Brown do this for shrimp cocktail. I wonder if you put the shrimp in a brine for an hour or so, rinse, then boil, if it would make a difference. I wonder if the osmotics might help separate the shrimp from the shell. I don't remember enough about the tissue structure of shrimp (yes... I used to know) to judge if this idea has any merit or if it is just crackpot. I am sure that this distinguished forum may be able to shed some light on this subject. Given the price of shrimp these days, a big boil is an investment. Hard to peel shrimp may taste good but they are a pain. Besides, the ratio of beer consumption and food consumption gets out of whack and mayhem ensues. HELP!

Hope this isn't too late for your trip. They had this article in the Houston Chronicle Dining Guide today. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/dining/1891058

We need a Buckner fan club. DAMN I'M THIRSTY! Funny thing is, I know where there is a spring and a field of mint like he described. ROAD TRIP! Thanks for posting that. That is so good, it should probably be moved to one of the general forums (fora?).

Texas Caviar from Pace Piquante Sauce. OK... It was a bottle, not a box. It was eventually put in the Pace cookbook that I don't think you can get anymore. Basically, it is drained canned black-eyed peas, canned hominy, chopped onion, garlic, cilantro, peppers maybe, etc. all immersed in Pace Picante Sauce. Since then I vary it quite a bit using other beans (especially garbanzos) adding the Mexican oregano, a dash of cider vinegar really helped it, whatever I am in the mood for. It has become a favorite and I am often threatened to have an invitation revoked if I don't bring a batch.

I love parsnips for all of the reasons already stated. My favorite is just roasted or steamed, butter, s&p. The one thing that I haven't seen mentioned is that they have a somewhat unique texture or what I call "tooth". I don't know how to explain it other than they are somewhat starchier than carrots. (Same reason I like the Mexican "field" corn sold on the streets in Mexico vs. the insipid sweet stuff we get. But that is another story.)

AH HA! I am not the only "spoon-in-the-jar" person! (I was beginning to feel inferior what with all of these folks wrapping pickles and frying them.)

I am firmly in the camp that the sauce needs to mean something to the dish. And there should be the right amount to enjoy with the main feature. I really get annoyed with the gratuitous "garnishes". There is an old joke or something about "don't eat the parsley" (my memory fails me but I remember the message) that seems to sum it up. I don't care how artfully you drizzle it, it should taste good, compliment the main event, and be an integral part of the experience.

Then you aren't drunk enough.

2 spoons. Dip one into the Jif crunchy peanut butter. Dip the other into the dulce de leche or fudge ice cream topping. Lick alternately.

Zatarain's Creole Jack Daniels Horseradish Grey Poupon Dijon Freshly made hot mustard - my sinuses salute you! That is the current list. But then, I am a fickle sort. The 10 or 12 in my fridge is witness to that. (BTW... Do you really have to refrigerate mustard?)