fifi

Yeah, this is definitely one of CI's greatest tips ever. I do this everytime now too-- so much cleaner and easier. ← Now you guys tell me. Next time, oven it is.

The son is on the hunt in Chicago. I am going to man the phones for my local TJMs tomorrow. We will probably be trying to corner the market on these things.

I don't think you will be disappointed with tile. I lived in my sister's house for a while and she had tile counter tops. (The scene of the elderberry explosion.) There were these "bullnose" tiles along the front surface. This kept any spills from going down the lower cabinets and on to the floor. I really liked those counters.

I haven't been there in a while but there is a restaurant in the Marriot hotel in Houston's Bush Intercontinental. I was often there attending a quarterly industry meeting and we did the lunch buffet. Sometimes, some of us would stay over for dinner. It is one of those revolving restaurants. The food was quite good and you could take the tunnel train there from any terminal. A few years ago, I was taking the kids to England. The flight was delayed and, as we were flying Business First on Continental, they gave us unlimited food vouchers for that restaurant. We did ourselves proud on steak and lobster. It was all good. I wouldn't say that it was the greatest but it certainly did not suck. I have passed through the new terminal E but have not dined there. I do have to say that it looks more promising than in the past.

Over the years, I have had probably just about every type of floor imagineable . . . Tile, sheet vinyl, wood, and Commercial Vinyl Tile (CVT). My hands down favorite is CVT. It is resilient, available in a gazillion colors and patterns, and just about drop dead easy to keep. When it comes to counter tops, I am a cheapskate. My all time favorite is still laminate. I have friends that have granite and I really just don't like it . . . too cold and hard . . . or, something. I consider that a very personal opinion. Besides, in the new house, I could buy a pretty good luxury car for what granite or other stone counter tops would cost. (I do have to admit to being intrigued with soapstone. But I am very unlikely to shell out the bucks.) Also, I always cut on a cutting board and have never put a hot pan on a counter. I just don't do that so the laminate works out just fine. I also like tile and that may still get a look for the new house. I don't find grout a problem. Clorox fixes everything, even elderberry jelly making.

I hate to tell you but I have gone on intense searches for the same and come up empty handed. Granted, I did not go to a high end butcher shop like Pete's on Richmond. If I were going to pursue this again, that is where I would start. I can tell you not to waste your time on the usual groceries. It ain't happening. That Costco in NW Houston is so far away from me that it makes no sense to join just to buy a corned beef. I have never seen a whole one and, actually, the tip end is pretty hard to find as well. Most folks want the flat. I just bought a small flat at HEB for $2.99 a pound. (I intend to braise it coated in Zatarain's crab boil like I do.) A friend of mine is also on the hunt and the cheapest she has seen it is $2.49 a pound. I also recall that Klink found a supplier whose corned beef wasn't overly salty. I can say that I did smoke some last year around St. Patrick's day. I have a Weber Smoky Mountain. Even though I soaked it in changes of cold water overnight, it was still pretty salty. Made a heck of a sandwich, though. If you have more success than I have, please post about it.

You really know how to make cornbread . . . that's for sure. That is pretty much exactly my recipe. No, I don't grind my own corn but I suppose I would if I had a neat mill like that. Can you adjust the fineness of the grind?

I will be trying the parchment with a recipe that I do often. And I do think Paula's method makes more sense so I will do it that way. I don't have two pots the same size to do a real side by side. I could possibly borrow the 2 1/2 quart oval that I gave my sister for Christmas but she won't let it out of her sight. Anyway, this particular recipe is so predictable that I think I will notice a difference.

Yeee HAAAAA!!! I will be calling my son. Methinks he has to take a trip downtown. Thanks for the tip. I will also call the T. J Maxx here.

You need go no further than here. If you cherry pick nothing else from this thread, the crust for Mayhaw Man's recipe is a real winner. Even I can make it.

Um . . . I reheated it a couple of times. I can't really say that it improved overnight. (How do you improve on perfection?) I would say make it at any time that is convenient for you. It certainly doesn't suffer from reheating.

You are in good shape, my dear, for braising just about anything. Try out both the slow cooker as well as the LC. I think you will find that the results in both will be very satisfying. It is just a matter of timing. I tend to default to the slow cooker when I just want to turn it on and go shopping.

OK . . . First disappointment. I did the "Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs with Rosemary and Porcini" by the book. Actually, the final result is no disappointment. The flavor is wonderful. The disappointment is in the method. After all of the fiddliness of the method, I don't find any difference from what I have done for years with beef short ribs . . . brown, dump in the pot with the wine and seasonings and braise. No parchment, no overnight in a pre-cooked marinade, and certainly not at 325 degrees F. I checked on the pot after 30 minutes and was so alarmed at what was going on at 325, I immediately reduced the temperature to my usual braising temperature of 250. I think that is what saved the final result. Compared to other beef short rib braises I have done in the same pot (LC oval oven), I really don't see what the parchment did for me. *ducking from thrown stones* I also find it interesting that cookbooks continue to have you marinade in a bowl or other container rather than in a zipper type of plastic bag with the air expelled so you don't have to worry about all of the meat being exposed to the marinade. This experience does not mean that I am abandoning the recipes in this book. They are still terrific. I am just going to be more judicious and thoughtful about the more "fiddly" techniques.

You are so right. There are three places that I solve really complex problems, the shower, on an airplane looking out the window, and in the kitchen doing some repetitive task. It is like all of the details of the problem get stored in some part of my brain and I "put it away." Then, maybe days later, during one of these sojourns, the solution kind of "pops out." In the kitchen, it is usually during chopping some lots of stuff.

Let me second the motion on the gift part. I have done this three times now. I gave my two grown kids little LCs previously. I gave them the book for Christmas. They are getting into cooking (my son, surprise, is more advanced) and love the book. I also gave it to a friend that just got her first LC and she is doing a happy dance.

The aroma of that roux will fix those microwave popcorn poppers! Kristin, That is just amazing gumbo. It is beautiful. I have lost track of all of the places around the world there has been a gumbo event because of this thread. It brings a tear to my eye.

Other than hanging around munching on them while saying, "Eh, What's up, Doc?" . . . My favorite thing for fresh sweet carrots is to steam or cook in minimal liquid and add a bechamel sauce for creamed carrots. I have been known to eat nothing else. The other fairly recent discovery is to make a gratin of them using cream sort of like a potatoes dauphinoise.

Oh, good grief. Only three? Well, I will try but you must understand that this is traumatic for a condiment queen. Hellman's mayo Soy sauce Sriracha Where to put?: Lea & Perrins Worchestershire Zatarain's Creole mustard Tabasco in its many guises

I am always envious of "the flip." I have that on my list of 2005 resolutions to perfect the technique. It would be so satisfying to be able to do that, even if no one is around to be amazed.

Anyone ever try Oreos® with beer? Don't knock it.

Ah, mais non, Tonyy13. Us Texans like our little luxuries. I would kill to have a Whole Foods like that within 40 miles of where I live. This whole thread is inviting gross envy.

Well, DeVeaux, the economy is doing well here. You could always come back. In the interview, when they ask, "And why are you moving back?" you could always answer, "Because Dona Tere doesn't do mail order."

If I am working on a new recipe, I get into total concentration. I may get out a dozen or more books and research ideas and techniques. Then I get into planning out the executuion. The next "zone" is chopping. I think about the geometry of the fruit or vegetable and figure out the best way to approach it. I remember being particularly thrilled when someone here showed how to use a quarter of an onion to do a traditional dice instead of trying to make those awkward horizontal cuts that chefs always show you. Way back before mangoes were everywhere, I figured out how to slice and dice them. I felt so accomplished. Then, when chefs on TV started showing "my" technique, I did a happy dance. Another zone is doing a long project. I actually told a friend once that I couldn't go to a movie with her because I had to reduce my beef stock. She offered to refer me to a good therapist. Things I hate: Making salad, oddly enough. I have no clue why. Emptying the dishwasher. That one is really dumb. It takes all of 5 minutes. I . . . just . . . can't . . . want . . . to . . . do . . . it. Loading is fine. That is another exercise in geometry. Cooking anything fast. Grilling and a fast saute are particularly unsatisfying to me. There is even a bit of stress involved. I eat steak at a good steak house.

Thanks for the heads up on the beef ribs since that is where I am headed. I went to my "big" HEB with hopes for short ribs. They had them but they didn't look that good. I was about to despair and head for the pork (the milk braised recipe) when I saw this strange package of meat. Turns out it was a 2 pound package of gorgeous flanken cut ribs. If I hadn't read about this cut in Molly's book, I wouldn't have known to pick it up for this dish. And with 2 pounds on the dot, it was kismet. (The only other time I have used that cut was to fill in on the poundage for some beef stock and never really thought about them before. It was just a package of beef and bones to me.) Stay tuned.

If I can find some nice short ribs, I might try the "Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs with Rosemary and Porcini." I am going to halve the recipe and try the parchment in my LC just like she says to.