PopsicleToze

From a master sauce maker -- a whole case of little homemade reduced stocks, demi-glace and homemade Lemoncello. All were in pretty decorative jars and labelled. It was one of the best gifts ever -- non-food related, too. Rhonda

Question. Is there a reason to discard the onion? I usually mince the onion and saute in the butter before adding the tomatoes. Is the sauce better with the onion whole and discarded? Thanks Rhonda

That looks great. I can't wait to try it. Just saved to my "must make" list.

I have an island with a base made out of brick secured by a bricked column. It's pretty, but what a waste of space. It does provide much needed counter space, but nothing at all is in the large base -- not even storage. One day I'm going to knock out that base and have a proper one built. I don't know what the builders were thinking

Grits would be a nice surprise.

Celeste definitely knows a thing or two about po-boys, and check out this site for a fantastic write-up with photos. http://www.nolacuisine.com/2008/05/17/domilises-po-boy-bar/ About the bread, it's essential and I think there's a thread lurking somewhere on this site about baking New Orleans french bread. Also essential is great shrimp with just a light dusting before frying. A thick batter like crust isn't any good. And if you're making the shrimp po-boy anyway, you might want to consider its cousin the fried oyster po-boy, which is my personal favorite. And along the same route, the soft-shell crab po-boy seems to be a big seller this year at JazzFest per Brett Anderson's article at the Times Picayune today: http://blog.nola.com/brettanderson/2009/04...mespicayun.html Good luck!

I meant South Louisiana's version of pralines made with pecans. I've tried several family members recipes with inconsistent results, but then I found this recipe on the web. I've made hundreds of them, and they get rave reviews everytime. They won 1st price for our company's Christmas cook-off. It's a simple recipe, but it works everytime. http://www.recipezaar.com/Pecan-Pralines-S...ern-Style-45753

It's been a long time since we had chickens and I have forgotten just about everything except how nasty they can be (hopefully, yours will be nicer than the ones we had). However, I think the rooster is necessary if you want to have eggs. Isn't it??

Mike, it might be worth considering keeping a jar on hand just for back-up because there might come a day when something happens (God forbid -- but the kids might fall and need first aid or something like that) and you burn the roux in the final few minutes -- it could happen. Then, instead of contemplating another hour with the roux stirrer, you could use your emergency jar of roux and continue on with dinner. I've lived in La all of my life and if you look way back deep in the pantry of most cooks around here, there is that emergency jar of roux.

Pralines are a real big seller. They don't like to be made when it's humid, but after they're made (make them on a low-humidity day) they sit around perfectly fine.

Shelby, those frog legs look amazing. Did you sauce them?

There's a way. It could be a price mistake. Or maybe the gods are at work. At one store I went to a few years ago, they had Parmigiano-Reggiano rinds beside the cheese supply with the price sticker of "N/C". That's right -- they were giving them away. It took every ounce of will power for me not to take more than a package because I really wanted to take them all As for the use, a creamy parmesan sauce with bow-tie pasta, the Prosciutto & some fresh peas would be great.

I've never had fresh sardines either and have pined away for them after a lifetime of hearing how great they were. After reading your story, maybe I haven't missed much. However, something must have happened because generations of people can't all have missed the boat. I'm curious to see what some of the answers will be.

Sometimes a person's taste buds react differently when they've had a bit too much alcohol. I can't say this sounds too appealing -- but it's hilarious under the circumstances. If I ever go to McDonald's (Wendy's or Popeye's usually fix my junk cravings) -- I'll definitely remember the McDonald's Gang Bang.

That is beautiful. I've lately been garnishing with whole chickpeas and olive oil -- but never like that. Perfection. Thanks for the link!

Google "cooking for a crowd" No really You'll find some tips/quantities Your menu sounds delightful

We usually do a lot of grilling and salads and such. One thing I would bring is a stash of seasonings and spices. Those things add up when you're shopping out of town, but you can put them in little baggies and bring enough from home without taking up much room in your luggage.

uh oh -- looks original query posted 2007

It was the restaurant's fault, and the customer absolutely had the right to have the coat cleaned at the dry cleaners of their choice. When that failed, the customer did agree to have the restaurant's cleaner attempt to clean the coat, which again failed to totally remove the stain. Therefore, the customer should have some sort of recompense. But the customer is hardly ever entitled to the full value of the item of clothing -- even if the article was destroyed -- they only have to be recompensed the depreciated value of the garmet, i.e., what they could sell the item for at the time of the accident. This is where The People's Court would do a little rough justice. The stain is on the inside of the coat so no one would see it. I would award the customer $25. They should have accepted the restaurant's more than generous offer of $100.

She knows. I imagine the blood in the sink was a dead give-away.

Please tell us you took pictures... It sounds wonderful. Sadly, I've abuot given up on confit, and I haven't seen mature duck around here. However, the last time I was at Hong Kong Market I found a package of duck tongues. Rhonda

I was asked to contribute Mexican cornbread for Sunday's family dinner -- it's a very moist recipe with creamed corn, onions, sour cream, jalepenos and cheese. I thought I had sour cream. Nope. The little sour cream container contained some reduced chicken stock from about January. After throwing that out -- I used my immersion blender to whip some half/half with some cream cheese as a sub for sour cream. Nice enough substitude. Then, no creamed corn. Used the immersion blender and creamed some whole kernal corn. I did, however, have cornmeal, jalepenos and cheddar cheese. It turned out great without making a last minute dash to the grocery store. I was proud of myself and very happy not to have to get out in the rain! Thanks for the inspiration.

Ditto! That looks fantastic!! Love how the chocolate color contrasts with the lemon yellow. Will follow suit on my next one -- and that's for Easter. Thanks!! Will try to photo before eating.

I was in Lafayette last night for an unexpected visit. After driving up and down the strip seeing what looked interesting, we came across a little place called iMonelli’s. It was an Italian restaurant with an intimate atmosphere with Cajun Italian cuisine. I had the pecan-smoked pork chop and my date had (cliché, but good) blackened redfish. Both dishes were excellent. I cane THISCLOSE to ordering the grouper in some sort of wine and tomato sauce, and that’s what I’ll have next time. The prices were very reasonable, and they even served sorbet between courses. The chef came out and chatted briefly after dinner checking with the tables and he seemed like a very pleasant person. Does anyone else have any experience with this place? Is it generally good or did we just luck out? Thanks Rhonda

Use as you would Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce I love it in pho