MarkinHouston

I can heartily second substituing Flying Saucer pies for cakes anytime!

I just checked, and they appear to be the same size as a 28-oz can of tomatoes, so I can make sme spaghetti and be in the muffin business.

One of my wife's coworkers came up with what I consider an odd request. She sent my wife home with half of a bag of Wolfferman's English muffins and said she wanted me to make some. A quick perusal of the ingredients told me that I didn't have nearly that many chemicals on hand. Since I am not of the baking persuasion anyway (the old either a cook or a baker, but not both syndrome), I was not sure whether this could or even should be attempted...it's not as though you had to go to England to get them, which would be a pretty sad reason to travel, and after what might be an enormous amount of work, who's to say the home produced version is any better than a commercial product? I am considering repackaging the store-bought muffins and proudly proclaiming the results as my own, but I fear she may not realize the chicanery, and the last thing I want is an impromptu muffin-making class arranged without my knowledge or consent! I would be happy to provide handcrafted bacon or breakfast sausage (with a nod to the charcuterie topic in the cooking forum, but English muffins? Has anyone successfully made them, and was it worth the effort? Thanks for your input, either encouragement or warnings!

April, you did exactly what nearly every VFW, American Legion post, and numerous other fraternal organization would do, which is bread them and deep fry them. Over here it would be the boyfriend eating them among his hunting buddies and not offering them to the girlfriends.

Tarbais beans--wow, what a wonderful discovery. Last weekend I made cassoulet based on Paula Wolfert's Cassoulet de Toulouse (I made Toulouse sausage from her recipe and confit of turkey thighs and wings from the egullet thread). I had recently found Tarbais beans and saved them specifically for this recipe. The texture and taste were outstanding. I thought cannellini beans were a significant upgrade from navy or Great Northerns, but the Tarbais are going to become a staple in my bean stash. Definitely worth seeking out!

It's probably at least as far to Dayton as to Houston from The Woodlands so it may not be practical for someone just visiting. But I can definitely use it for the future; thanks!. Our HEB here sells the organic free range (Mary's) birds. I'm not sure how importatnt it is to have "vegetarian-fed" birds--who cares whether the breeders is a tofu nut?! 'Just kidding--I think the wording seems strange!

In The Woodlands Market, you can choose among "Mary's organic", "natural", and "fresh". None of these are heirloom per se. If it makes a difference, Mary's rings up at 2.49/lb, natural at 1.69, and fresh at 1.59. If heirloom is the major consideration, Whole Food, Central Market, and Rice Epicurean should be your destination. My experience is that brining any of the three mentioned first will give you moist white meat and tender dark meat. Good luck!

Ex, I live in The Woodlands, so I'll check the HEB Market which thinks of itself as a hybrid Central Market, albeit a pretty pale imitation. If the don't have one, it's probable that the only choices are Whole Foods (Kirby at Alabama) or the real Central Market (Westheimer at Weslayan). For the record, I have not seen them up here in the past. Stay tuned for further developments.

We are having a smaller Thanksgiving this year, and the request is for a turley breast. SInce I ususally purchase a whole turkey, I am considering making confit with the thighs and/or legs. My normal routine is Paula Wolfert's crockpot confit for duck legs. Any reason why this wouldn't work with turley? I have duck fat on hand for this concept but do I want any other embellishments? Thanks in advance for advice.

Thanks to all of you who have added insight into this crazed idea of mine. It's not that I really have a burning desire to become an importer, but more a case of angst when I read about all of the great little discoveries which don't seem to be available even in Spec's, which I consider a pretty darn good liquor store/deli/wine shop, and one of the largest anywhere. I think there are some strangely weird laws for Texas, but there are entire groups of wine that seem very under-represented. On the flip side, it makes traveling back to France and Italy that much more rewarding when I fill an extra rolling duffle bag with wine bottles!

Thank you so much, Sophie. Your response is a veritable fountain of knowledge for what to expect during our stay. I am specially pleased to see the variety of seafood, and the website of our cottage mentions a neighboring producer of pineau. It appears that our location is midway betwen Cognac and Niort, so we shall be wellsituated for many day trips. Thanks again.

My wife "won" a silent auction for week's stay in a cottage near Cognac in 2007. I think we are going there in mid-May. It appears to be near the coast and at a mid-point between the Loire and Bordeaux. I am seeking knowledge regarding local products --influences from the Dordogne such as ducks, cheeses from the Loire, seafood from Brittainy, etc. For once we will stay where I can cook, so I hope to learn as much as I can to take advantage of nature's bounty. Is this too far north of Bordeaux for their excellents wines, or should I hope to see more Loire varietals? Thanks for all input.

I don't know about the sous vide, but I've worn out 2 food savers, and wouldn't be without one. I vacuum pack not only what I freeze (including soup, stock, sauces) but also cold cuts, bacon, cheese ... it seals jars (NOT, as they say, a substitute for heat packing) and their vacuum containers are pretty nice. It also cuts the time it takes to marinate things if you have the shallow, square container .. I'd say go for it! Make sure it has a separate 'instant seal' button, and a port for the jar sealer thingies .. that is, go for a medium to high end model. ← Hawthorne, good old Santa is planning to bring me a food saver this year. What model do you have? Thanks!

Thanks for the information, Craig. I think there are alot of things to consider nefore venturing down this road, but it might be fun just to explore thepossibilities.

I have been reading Craig Camp's excellent article Kissing the Frog in which he describes a wide range of quality French wines available for good price points versus some of the New World competition. But when I look through the online database for Spec's, which is a very large retailer in Houston, there is a noticable absence of these wines. Is the market for French wines locally controlled by a few mighty distributors (Glazers comes to mind)? Have the Dubyacans put a huge kibosh on French products? I may be going to France, so what could stop me from ponying up for some sort of import license and finding my own little niche market. Even with oil down to $58/barrel, , the Houston economy is farily robust and surely could support a carefully selected list of quaffable wines. Or should I just accept what is there and not push the envelope? Thanks for any input or advice regarding this late night rambling.

With the possible exception of Le Grande Epicerie in Paris. Or Harrod's. although that is a singularly disconcerting experience for more reasons than the Dodie and Diana shrine.

Buy some ripe comice pears, toast some walnuts, open a vintage port, and go to town!

I was down in Seabrook yesterday; it is just north of Galveston and is home to several fresh seafood stores, most of which have their own shrimp boats. I bought three pounds of headless 16-20s for $6.35/pound, but I didn't take advantage of the 50cents/pound price nreak for over 6 pounds. Their quality is top notch. They have medium headless shrimp for $3.50/pound--perfect for gumbo or shrimp creole. Lump crabmeat is $8.55/pound; this is heaven if you like fresh seafood. I gew up in western Kansas and thought shrimp only came in 5-pound frozen blocks, and tuna or salmon only came in cans.

Our Houston Whole Food (KIrby at Alabama) has only La Quercia in stock, and since it was on sale for $16.99 (versus $21.99 for San Daniele at Central Market) I purchaed some for the weekend. Very good quality indeed!

Once you branch out from the canned black olives and the bottled green olives, it's difficult to go back down that road. We have both Whole Foods and Central Market in Houston, and even the grocery stores have samll olive bars now, but what really expanded my olive horizon was a Middle Eastern grocer/specialty store. They have about twenty different olives to choose from--my current favorite is an oil-cured black Moroccan olive with walnuts. Good tips there from gariotin!

"we always travel with one of those small cooler bags about the size of a loaf of bread and with a couple of freezer packs inside." I think those freezer packs would get confiscated rather quickly given the latest security rules for British Airways carry-on luggage. I am gald to see that Neal's Yard packages them well for travel. If I buy elsewhere perhaps I can mimic their methods. Thanks!

I hope to purchase some Stilton and perhaps some farmhouse cheeses while we are in the U.K. next month. Can anyone tell me the proper way to wrap cheese for a 12-hour flight/customs odyssey? Marie Cantin in Paris vauum-sealed all of our fresh cheese purchases the morning of our flight--does Neal's Yard Dairy do the same? I would have luggage space for cheesecloth, foil, large Ziplocs, etc. if they would help artisanal cheeses survive the trip. Thanks in advance.

Seashell: good but not great, I think. ← Can you suggest an alternative? We are scheduled to leave for London in ten days. Thanks.

http://www.seashellrestaurant.co.uk/ This place has some good reviews; take a peek at their website.