PopsicleToze

What are callets? I'm assuming they're little bits of chocolate, and I tried to look it up before asking and this is what I got: Main Entry: cal·let Pronunciation: \ˈka-lət\ Function: noun Etymology: perhaps from Middle French caillette frivolous person, from Caillette fl1500 French court fool Date: 15th century chiefly Scottish : prostitute

I'm still waiting for the pics!! ← As I type, I'm baking six rounds. I promise that I will send you finished results when I am all done. ← I was just flipping through Nov-08's Southern Living for a few last minute Thanksgiving Ideas, and lo and behold, there was Brooks and his famous cake in all of its glory!! Wish I could post the picture for everyone, but it is gorgeous. Even though I don't like coconut I'm going to make this for Thanksgiving since all of the normal people in the family love coconut cake. Congrats, Brooks!! Rhonda edited for typo

a simple great grilled cheese sandwich -- grilled and on good bread egg salad sandwich made from just boiled eggs still warm -- just mayo, s&p

HungryC -- haven't tried it, but I did a quick google search and the general consensus is that if you double (triple/etc) the recipe you have to adjust the time accordingly. So, if you're cooking grits for 5 -- that turns into 15 minutes in the microwave. Not much use in microwaving then since you can do them on the stove-top in 20 minutes. But when you need to cook something when you're alone -- microwaving them is a great option. I did it the other day and used that instead of rice for leftover steak and gravy.

Angel food cake is a good use for leftover egg whites. Macaroons are also a typical way to use them up. I can't think of anything savory except egg-white omelette. Maybe just poach the egg whites and use as a salad topping or something like that.

In New Orleans they have the French Fry Poboy. It's regular french fries (typically the thicker ones -- nothing thin like shoe-string) covered with gravy in a po-boy loaf. Not a big fan of it. It's not bad, though, but oyster po-boys are much better and they're on the same menu.

Can you expand on why it works better to refrigerate than freeze? Is it just more convenient, or do the vegetables deteriorate? ← IMO the taste is off when the vegetables are frozen. They tend to break down more and are a little "watery" for my lack of a better term. They last great in the refrigerator and I don't see a need to freeze them. I do a huge dutch oven full -- they cook waaay down, and all of that fits in 1 qt-size jar. Spoon out whatever little or big amount you need. Rhonda

Just last week this happened. I wanted grits but didn't want to cook the long way, so I read the directions to see if there was an answer (who knew directions were a good thing, lol). Turns out you can microwave standard grits in a matter of minutes. Just from memory, it was 3/4 cup water and 3 tablespoons grits. Add salt and butter -- then zap 2 or 3 minutes. They hit the spot. Rhonda p.s. that was for 1 serving Edited to Add: Just read over your post and see that you cook your grits 45 minutes. You might be using a coarser grind. I used plain Quaker grits but they only take about 20 minutes cooking the long way.

I chop vegetable seasonings in advance, too. It's a great time saver. The ones I tend to use most are onions and celery, so I sweat those down in butter over the weekend and keep them in the refrigerator (IMO works better than freezing them) in a mason jar during the week to spoon out what is needed for dishes. It's an unbelievable time saver. I keep a roux in a mason jar in the fridge, too, which keeps for a long time. With that , frozen stock and a protein -- you can work miracles. A few easy from-the-pantry dishes to always be ready for provides a great comfort zone, also. Mine is linguini in white herbed clam sauce (more often than not that herb tends to be just parsley) but no complaints yet. Another one that's good is white bean and tuna salad. Canned beans are also a great friend to have on hand.

Bingo. I try to avoid adding a lot of flavors to my stocks: no need to have a complex, multidimensional stock as a base when you are going to go adding more stuff to it later in the process anyway. I try to keep mine as basic as possible so they are more flexible. It's not like I drink them straight or something. ← I've quit adding celery and carrots, but onions IMO are a must.

The only one that I remember with all of the tats was the female member of the rainbow club. But there could have been more -- she just stands out in my memory for the tats.

Sounds like great fun. Only 5 ingredients??? That's takes a better chef than me.

Hello, Tim I'm not sure what you mean with shrimp stock making a great shrimp cocktail. The shrimp cocktail around here is boiled shrimp with a ketchup/hot sauce/horseradish/lemon/worcestershire dipping sauce. Where would the shrimp stock fit? Rhonda

I enjoy the show but it does go a bit fast. I wish it would slow just a bit in order to get more specific on the dishes, but all in all, it's very enjoyable.

You could also do crabmeat au gratin in individual ramekins. It freezes nicely and is a great dinner when paired with a salad (and a glass of wine).

And dessert was leftover brownies from my pumpkin party: Made them in a springform pan then glazed them. Used gel to make the web and a plastic spider for the center.

I made paella for dinner.

Do you mean steep them right in the alcohol or in something (water?) first, then into the booze? ← Precisely. I thought the hot alcohol would soften them up a bit. I just hate to throw them away.

Anyone know?

I just made Jaymes caramel popcorn this weekend (and it was delicious, thank you Mr. Jaymes!) and I had the same question, but I was making peanut brittle, too, and that had to be cooked until the hardball stage @ 254 deg F, so that's what I did and it worked great. The popcorn wasn't covered completely by the syrup mixture, but I think I used a bit too much popcorn. It didn't matter because the popcorn was sooooooooooo veeeeeery good. It was a big hit at my pumpkin carving party!

I just made the brisket yesterday but we won't be eating it until tonight. But of course I sampled, and it was delicious. I used the CI onion-brased method in The New Best Recipe cookbook. Lots of onions. Three pounds of sliced onions to three pounds of brisket, but I upped the brisket. The one I bought was about 9#, and I cut off a third of that to save to make a beef stew later. So, the meat was the only thing doubled, and there was still plenty of gravy. The onions cook down in the gravy and it's probably even better than the brisket. The only thing I don't do by the recipe is add the little bit of vinegar at the end. I don't mind it, but the family thinks it has a funny taste. That's one thing I always do with brisket -- save some of it for a beef stew. So, while the brisket was cooking (it only cooks 3 hours at 300 deg F), I browned the meat for the beef stew and cooked the base for the stew. This went in the freezer, and when we want stew, all I have to do is add the vegetables and we're done.

Lucky you! Oyster-Artichoke Bisque is a favorite in New Orleans (originally created by Chef Warren LeRuth). Here's Chef John Folse's recipe: http://www.jfolse.com/recipes/soups/seafood16.htm Also, oysters are a great addition to Spinach Madeline, another one of Folse's: http://www.jfolse.com/recipes/vegetables/sidedish45.htm

This is my go-to braised Brisket recipe: it is really phenomenal. It's hard to go wrong with brisket, but this one in particular is excellent. Good call -- I'll have to pick up a brisket and make it this weekend. ← This is our go-to recipe, also, and I'm not even a big recipe person. But this one is worth it. I was already planning to cook it Saturday for Sunday's dinner.

Black Box Chardonnay is good for boxed wine.