Flocko

Hathor: I'm really looking forward to this blog!!

Hi Kerry: Great blog. What terrific scenery..............kinda different from my neck of the woods . Blog on, Bill

This afternoon I was invited to a popluck picnic at our "other" City Park, which is located about 5 miles south of Moab. I made shrimp remoulade as my contribution: There was a lot of good food: The park was lovely: And a good time was had by all: Well, gang. It has been fabulous doing this blog..........absolutely wonderful!! I had so much fun, blogging should be illegal . I appreciate all of the great comments and questions. I hope I was able to address all questions; if not, please feel free to PM me anytime . Thank you all for the opportunity to have this experience. Thanks to Susan, Ronnie, and Chris for offers and help on technical matters. IT HAS REALLY BEEN A BLAST So I am off Tuesday for my "city fix" in San Francisco.............and more food adventures of my own. If any e-Gullet members ever come out this way, give me a shout, please! I leave you with: Bill

Hi Susan: Yeah, Lambs is still there and still very good. It is THE old venerable restaurant in Utah. Kinda like Tadich's or Sam's in San Francisco; or Gallitoires in New Orleans.............not as old as them (circa 1920), but with the booths, coat and hat hooks, mirrors, etc. I go in for breakfast quite often...............liver and onions, finnan haddie, trout and eggs. It's still a breakfast power broker kind of joint..................all the old time lawyers and pols hang out there. Many of the Mormon pols go there and drink coffee with impunity. Lunchs are very good as well. It's not much of a dinner place though they do serve it. It's right in the business district so not much dinner traffic. Good lamb , good rainbow trout. It is owned by a Greek family who I know. The patriarch recently died, so there was speculation if it would continue, but so far it's going strong. A good friend of mine is married to the patriarch's daughter.

As I understand it from Melissa, they are chocolate, peanut butter, other nuts, crushed fruits, all sort of emusified. They are less firm than a cookie or candy.............more like pemmican......................very rich, very high energy source, very good, very special ...............I think I'll eat this one now

Bill, What are your some of your favorite Salt Lake City restaurants? Kay ← Hi Kay: My very favorite SLC restaurant is a sushi bar called Takashi. It honestly is on a par with any I have eaten at anywhere, London, San Francisco, New York, D.C. etc. For a steak house I like Spencer's in the Hilton downtown. The New Yorker is excellent. As are other restaurants owned by the same people: Market Street Grill, Market Street Broiler, The Oyster Bar. Martines is a great tapas place downtown. Metropolitan is very pricy and can be excellent, but not always "on". Very trendy. For Thai, I love Monsoon on Foothill. Pretty upscale for Thai. Great wine list. Keith Chan, the owner is a treasure. Cafe Trang on Main St. at 9th S. is THE place for Vietnamese. Lamb's downtown is great for breakfast: liver and onions, finnan haddie........in addition to regular breakfast fare. Also Market Street Grill has great breakfasts, as does Finn's on 11th E, about 9th S. Bambara at the Monaco Hotel is a great Nouvell California type place. Great Bar there as well I hope these help, Bill

Bavila, Hi: Yeah, you're absolutely right. When it starts to get real lumpy/grainy and brown, I reduce my time intervals to 40 seconds then to 30 and 20 and whisk each time hard. I like this method, cause I never had the guts or skill to do my cast iron roux at high heat like Prudhomme or others more skillful than I. I was always afraid of burning......Therefore 2-3 hours of slooooow browning...........my back would give out before the roux got dark as delta gumbo mud I still use a skillet for lighter roux when I need that color, or need a roux that'll thicken better. Bill

Last night while I was prepping the courtbouillon, I took a ride down the river again.............this time on the west side of the river about 10 miles downriver from Moab. I found a few petoglyphs along the way: And here is a shot of our fair town from about 300 feet up one of the cliffs above town, looking down into the valley and town and the cliff opposite.

← Edsel: The other reason is that is my newfangled nickel plated cast iron skillet. When I was outfitting the new digs, I saw this in a cooks catalogue and had to try it. It is certainly easier to clean and keep clean and rust free than the old kind.......but I still have several sizes of the old Lodge ones Bill

Thanks to Susan I have an extra day to blog This morning we went to the Eclectica Cafe for breakfast again. The lovely Chelsea served our coffee: This morning I had the lox and bagels. My companion had a breakfast burrito. Before I left the house this morning, Fred came over for a visit. I was informed yesterday by Mary, Fred (Pesto)'s true owner that he had apparently gotten into a fight and had an ear infections caused therefrom. He looked no worse for wear this morning however as he cheks out my other two pets, Shadrak and Mishak.............er, they're not real dogs

I thoiught you'd never ask It's really not a secret...............It's a variation of a techniqueI got from a spiral bound cookbook I picked up on my annual jaunt to New Orleans about 25 years ago. The book is called "Tout Suite a la Microwave". After making roux the conventional way for years, and watching my mother and cook slave laboriously over it............all with mixed results, I decided to give it a try. Take a 4 cup pyrex measuring cup. Put 2/3 cup of flour and 2/3 cup of oil/butter/fat. Stir with whisk, Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Whisk, Microwave for 2 minutes. Whisk, Once more. Then go to one minute intervals whisking in between till the color roux you want is achieved. In about 20 minutes you have a great roux without burning.................and much quicker than the 2 hours it used to take me. For this courtbouillon I made two batches. For a big gumbo to cook in my big stockpot, I will make 4 batchs. Give it a try. It's never failed...................and like I did here, you can fool your "foodie friends" by making it ahead and putting it in a skillet before they arrive so they can see you slaving over the finishing stages of your roux

For my courtbouillon, to the roux, trinity, and fish stock I added fresh heirloom tomatoes I had picked up at the Farmer's Market: I also added some allspice, bay leaves, thyme, worstershire, sherry, tomato paste, salt, tobasco. After a coupe of hours of simmering I ended up with: Then I added some assorted fish fillets I found and some scallops: I cooked the courtbouillon for an additional 20 minutes and made some rice and ended up with this: It was really good.............one of the best I've made

For my courtbouillon, to the roux, trinity, and fish stock I added fresh heirloom tomatoes I had picked up at the Farmer's Market: I also added some allspice, bay leaves, thyme, worstershire, sherry, tomato paste, salt, tobasco. After a coupe of hours of simmering I ended up with: Then I added some assorted fish fillets I found and some scallops: I cooked the courtbouillon for an additional 20 minutes and made some rice and ended up with this: It was really good.............one of the best I've made

Chocklit roux ← Thanks I thought it turned out great. I have a secret way of making it.

For this roux, since it is going to be soley fish, I used olive and salad oil. I usually use part bacon fat for most of my gumbos. I was "bred and buttered" in Louisiana..........till about age 11...........still visit regularly. I'm 6th generation Louisiana/Mississippi stock Yeah, the Farmer's Market takes place at our "well manicured", lush, City Park . It sure makes a great surface to lie on when I listen to the bluegrass and folk music However, knowing the powers that be in Moab City Government, I would be willing to bet it is "organic"...........or at least naturally fetilized and pest controlled. We have had a lot of controversy over such matters, especially in the field of mosquito control. The "Greens" won!!