KNorthrup

Could someone please post a recipe for this? Marshmallows optional. Sorry I have nothing to contribute to the thread in exchange. I know some great cakes but they're not very old.

I didn't realize there was only one authentic meat. We always ordered our vindaloo with lamb in honour of Lister. 'Of course...lager...the only thing that can kill a vindaloo.'

The gin (which I love) reminds me -- absolutely can't stand cognac. Which is very sad because I love the idea. I console myself with the fact that I save money this way. In terms of sucking crawfish heads, eating whole crab/lobster, etc, I was at a business dinner (Bone's in Atlanta) where they ordered a round of soft-shelled crabs as the appetizer. I really really didn't want to eat them, but they were delicious. On the other hand, I made a point of ordering the classic sweet and sour (vinegar, raisins) sardines when I was in Venice and they were whole and I just couldn't do it.

Not really because the biggest texture problem is that it pretty much dissolves. I did try some sort of high-protein alternative pasta once. I guess it must have been soy but that doesn't sound right. It was probably spirals and pretty much puce (brownish greyish purple). It was just gross. I wish I could describe it better than that. Not bitter, like the corn. Not metallic. Kinda rancid and pungent. Like bad lamb. And really dry and heavy, in that 100% whole wheat sort of way.

The best part of being an adult isn't being able to drink, it's being able to NOT eat brussels sprouts. Have never tried any sort of organs/offal/brains/eyes/etc so can't really give an opinion there. Yes, wimpy. Something I just remembered was rabbit. I've tried it more than once, but all I can think is bunny. Probably because I had one as a kid. Lamb and veal go down easily. Didn't try eggplant until college because my mother hated it. Have been voraciously making up for lost time ever since.

I used to marinate chopped peaches in jack daniels and then stir them into muffin batter. I think it was a variation on a Ken Haedrich recipe. The oatmeal dessert/breakfast angle is one of the best. One of my favourite trifle recipes has scotch and coffee in the custard. Raspberries and bananas for the fruit.

Oh I hope they don't because then I risk rationalizing it too. Ditto Xanthippe, I'd reckon.

Trader Joe's bearnaise in a jar may be a travesty with steak, but it's fabulous instead of mayo on a cold roast beef sandwich.

1. I ended up with a free bottle of Sea Wynde. How does it rate and how is it best (alone, with coke, etc)? 2. Which brands are best with ginger ale and lime? 3. I now also have a bottle of Kelly's Jamaica Ginger Beer Syrup. Any recipes? Thanks!

Can you buy Strongbow in bottles in the midwest? It's a good one, but I only see it on tap here (Portland OR). In general, cider has always been my alcohol of choice. White Oak is a well-done very dry type. Some people I've served it to assumed it was beer. I tried the Granny Smith Woodchuck once and hated it. That was several years back. It was metallic, that's all I remember. There are a lot of local producers making it now but they tend to be in champagne type bottles rather than beer so it's much more of a commitment to try them. Most of the non-apple types are too sweet for me but I miss the apple-cranberry. Think it was Hard Core but it may have been Cider Jack. Interesting to see that Bulmer's owns so many US varieties. I was in Ireland for two weeks last May (inadvertently during the World Cup. yikes.) and that's what the pubs usually carried. Joler - what did you end up making? I tried to think of a vegetarian suggestion but pork kept creeping in.

Oysters -- excellent example. Many worship them. Many avoid them. I've tried them twice -- once raw, once deep fried -- and neither stayed down so I refuse to risk further humiliation.

I have friends who are underwhelmed at best by truffles. However, I'm in the camp of another friend, to whom I introduced them. I think it was just the oil the first time. Budget and all. Her eyes got really big and she said 'it tastes like sex.' I thought that hit it on the head. About caviar, I'm not nearly so enthusiastic.

Wow, you brought back some horrible food memories. As a kid, I was violently allergic to wheat. There were very few gluten-free options in the 70s, but I do vividly remember the corn spaghetti. The main problem is that it gets very soggy and very sticky as soon as it's done. Stirring in cooking water or sauce or even butter does you no good. Of course I like to think they've improved the formula since then. The elbow macaroni version held its shape better, but it tasted just as bad. Well I guess not bad but certainly not tasty. Like undercooked cornbread. There was always that slightly raw almost metallic aftertaste. Which isn't compatible with the usual things you'd do with traditional semolina type pasta.

If you don't care about resale or other aesthetics, most Kinkos-type places can convert any volume, hardcover or paperback, into a spiral binding. That's especially handy for books too thick for your average holder.

Smaller portions?

When I first read the 'should we have posted this article?' part of the post, my reaction was 'sure, why not?' But that was without being aware of the policy that TDG articles are held to a higher-than-board standard. (Which is not to say I don't consider the articles higher quality than the board posts.) Nevertheless, it's still a worthwhile article. It's one the first things I've read that counteracts the Super Soy The Wonder Food trend. Does some of it seem over the top and activist? Sure. But that's how all countermovements get started -- by the more extreme elements. Fast Food Nation guy, I can't believe I'm blanking on his name, is an obvious example. Railing against Evil Capitalism does turn some people off, and it is overly simplistic, but he still made a lot of valid points and in the long run will probably have quite an impact. It can be as useful to just make people stop and think once in a while as it is to change their minds.

I've done ESL tutoring on and off. During college, I worked with a Chinese woman. We spent as much time on culture as we did on language. (And you learn a lot about your own culture when you try to explain it to someone else. You have to think for the first time about why we do things. It can really get interesting.) I would always stay for dinner, which was usually as close to traditional Chinese as they could get in Fairbanks AK. It was her, her husband (a grad student), and a very indulged six year old boy. One evening, inspired by a dinner party they'd been to, she made lasagne. With ketchup instead of tomato sauce. The most noteworthy part is that, to them, it tasted just the same.

You'd think, but I'm finding the opposite to be true. Every time someone mentions a book, there's a risk of my buying it. Plus all those lists of people with 500, 1000, etc volumes helps my rationalize expanding my own collection. Indian food wise, I don't have anything original to add. I have the Time-Life Flavors of the World (the whole set as of last week, yay, that took two years), Julie Sahni, Madhur Jaffrey, and Curries & Bugles. I bought Sahni's Classic Indian Cooking during Christmas shopping season so I really didn't have the money to spare but I'd recently become hooked on chicken makhani and the only Indian cookbook I had at the time -- Jaffrey's Flavors of India -- didn't have it. So I saw the Sahni, checked the index, and plunked down the plastic. It wasn't until I got home that I found out it's about a 48 hour process. That was about eight years ago and I still haven't tried it.

I do that, but that soft herby garlic cheese (boursin?) instead. Have also been known to dunk squares of dark dove bar into the peanut butter.

My mother swears by cold pizza for breakfast but I can't get into it. My favourite straight out of the fridge is yet more leftover Chinese -- specifically salt and pepper fish.

Missing the reading because Ottawa managed to force a seventh, but the dinner... The trouble is I'm always willing to try new things (and most of that list is new) but if I don't like it, I'm not so willing to send a mostly full plate back to the kitchen. For several reasons. How are they publicizing it on such short notice and what kind of turnout do they expect?

On the Southern front -- has anyone bought The Gift of Southern Cooking (Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock)? It looks interesting. You know, I have several disappointing cookbooks but it never occured to me to just return them. Except a Mark Bittman. I did send that back. A recent disappointment was Edna Lewis's Pursuit of Flavor. But I did just read somewhere that it's not as good as her others. Almost all ghost-written and by long distance so there's no personality. So I've been tempted to try the Peacock collaboration anyway.

Is this the one called Bombay Aloo? It's called Bombay Potatoes on the box, but yes. It's better with leftover tamarind chutney from any recent takeout.

This is probably not the sort of answer you had in mind, but I always have a bunch of those pouches -- Tasty Bite? -- for when I don't feel like cooking. Instead of take-out or a sandwich. Best thing is to mix the one that's curried potatoes and garbonzo beans with a bag of frozen mediteranean blend veggies and then top it with a fried egg with a very runny yolk. The one thing I always buy from the restaurant down the street rather than make is chicken makhani (sp?). The leftover tandoori chicken in butter sauce. It's so good and takes so long to prepare that it's worth just paying for it when the craving strikes. We used to get Indian take-out whenever Red Dwarf was on, although my wimpy palate could never handle the vindaloo.

oatmeal raisin