PopsicleToze

On his self-imposed leave of absence, he said that it was his personal post traumatic stress syndrome. Believe me -- almost everyone in New Orleans is now familiar with PTSS, and while not pretty, it's real. In the end, you do what you can do. It is nice to see him back. It takes our New Orleans world back a little bit closer to normal. (Okay, we never were really normal, a little crazy maybe, but we were happy and we dined extremely well.) I just finished his write-up of Mr. B's and it was a great (and accurate) review. Great job, Mr. Anderson, and I'm looking forward having the beans back! Rhonda

In Southern Louisiana we typically season field peas with sausage and okra. Good stuff.

They'll probably love the chicken-n-dumplings. But regarding the cashier's mistake, perhaps you should contact them and offer to send a check. 8 @ $1.99 vs what was rang up at 8 for $0.19 is only about $14 to you and you'll get reimbursed. An added bonus is that you won't have to feel guilty about it forever. I can guarantee you that if they overcharged you the same amount, you would have found a few minutes to turn around and make the situation right.

Egg drop soup would probably work. Use an old hen to get a real strong chicken taste when you are making the stock. Homemade soups are a good option -- and can be put in a blender to make them smoothe. I've seen several threads on congee(sp?) and while I'm not that familiar with it, it seems like that would be a good option. Creamy grits and butter.

It differs depending on what's on hand, but always with homemade dressings. In the winter, a lot of times it's a plain wedge salad with blue cheese dressing or vinaigrette with blue cheese crumbles. Another favorite is mesclun with some sort of fruit in it (winter it’s usually pears – to spring with some type of berries) with a vinaigrette and goat cheese crumbles.

OMG! I was scared right there with you.

You definitely know how to live. And Brennan's was worth it -- once. You're right on the money. I'll be there tomorrow nighat at Cochon's. Can't wait. But I'm having the fried rabbit's liver Oh, and, of course, some head cheese Rhonda

ditto ??

I thought the Savvy Gourmet had closed. Did they make it?

When I was in high school a looooooooooooong time ago, McDonalds had banana shakes for a limited time. Loved 'em

Last night was my first episode to watch this season. Someone earlier said something about one of the contestants being like a parody of all Food Network stars – and, oh, was she so easy to spot. When she said something about a Food Network host having to think about the big picture – it wasn’t just the food; it wasn’t just the cooking – it was about “the empire” and she was so serious in a SNL kindof way. I thought I was going to fall off the sofa laughing so much.

Have you tried blending it with butter? It would make a good spread and you can heat it a bit to spread it on the bread.

i'm with you on the buy Gail a new dress fund.... I could barely concentrate on the show I was so fasinated by that outfit...like watching a train wreck- don't want to look but can't stop. Padma, however rocked! Rooting for either Richard or Stephanie- both class acts. ← I think the cut of Gail's dress was fine - obviously, she is boobacious naturally or nursing or both - but the freakin' pattern. OY! I don't care if it was Diane Von Furstenberg. The color combo and pattern gave me hives. ← Tried and true? Seriously, I like her. And what she wears doesn't faze me one bit. Rhonda

Great experiment. I've always been disappointed in lobster, too. You're in Lafayette, though, and people would kill for those big, fat Louisiana crawfish. Use them next time and think, "It just doesn't get any better than this."

Donald Kink's COCHON restaurant is fabulous. http://www.cochonrestaurant.com/ It's been mentioned several times on this board and is really fabulous. Plus, since it's all about the pork -- it's right up your ally (I seem to recall wonderful dinner pics you posted before of an all pork feast).

Excellent meal!! You did score on those tenderloins... Do you have music in the background. A few upbeat oldies would probably liven things up a bit. My grandmother used to go to Council of Aging meetings every week. They were the highlight of her week. She always came home talking about somebody Rhonda

14 out of what I think was 20 That baby food spoon and pusher blew me away

While the criticism is noted and some of it somewhat justified, I was amused that when a poster on another thread asked for a sure-fire way to prepare eye of round, several of the members recommended a C.I. method of preparing it as the only good way they've found to prepare that cut of beef. Rhonda

When she mentioned splitting the prize, I believe Richard told her no, that he wanted her to have it. Rhonda

Looks like a great site. If you have a cookbook you're planning on putting together, I'd contact someone personally there for some sort of estimate. The price of $22 for 40 pages is probably 20 front/back pages -- and that's a pretty small cookbook.

I've never heard of soaking the bones overnight or trimming the fat off before making stock. It would seem that this would negatively affect the flavor of the finished stock. Rhonda

For a night like that it's Linquine in Herbed Clam Sauce and a salad. It's very good and uses items from the pantry and some simple herbs most people have on hand at all times. Canned clams and clam juice might not be the real deal, but it's a very good dish and I've never had any complaints.

Typically I used 3-4 leaves, depending on how well I was doing on each one. On some, I took an additional leaf and wrapped around the outside before tying them up. They weren't all uniformly shaped, but that just adds to their character. Thanks for the advice on the fresh shrimp. And I'll definitely try to find the conpoy next time. Yeah--no pictures. I wanted to take them but the charger is missing on my camera. Next time I will definitely take some pictures to remember the occasion. Thanks again. It was great fun.

Thanks for the great help. I was able to find the right mung beans and chestnuts. The only thing I didn't find was dried conpoy. I had never heard of it, and the ladies at the market didn't know what it was either, so I left it out. They were surprised I was making these, "Why you want to do this? It take soooo long." I buy the little packages premade at the store, but they were nothing like these. The ones they sell don't have all of the little goodies and are mostly rice. These were so much better. The experience was great. It was a pretty extensive process and I ended up with about 15 little packages. They were great, and it was with great satisfaction that I ended up with one for Saturday night's dinner and one for a midnight snack. I froze the rest. I wish I knew about conpoy and if they would have made a great difference. They look rather like dried scallops, or some kind of dried seafood, so I'm thinking they would have been great. The dried shrimp are intense in taste, but I'm just not used to them. I wanted to use fresh shrimp sauteed with onions -- but that's just the South Louisiana coming out in me. I stuck to the authentic version, and I'm glad I did. Again, thanks for all of the help. The joongzi were a lot of fun to make. My packages weren't as neat as the ones here, and some I had to use an extra leaf to wrap the outside, but I didn't have any seepage so they held up in the cooking process.

Thank you. Can't wait to try these. I've been buying already prepared ones from the market, but there are not enough goodies on the inside. Homemade will be a treat.