PopsicleToze

Can't offer any advice as it's my first "baking year", too. Just wanted to say that it looks like you did a great job. Merry Christmas!

As late as a year or two ago they showed Julia and Galloping Gourmet at about 3:00/3:30am CST. I wish they would show them again. At least Julia.

I've been on a yogurt kick. Just put about 1/2 cup or so Greek yogurt in a bowl. Add nuts (pine nuts, walnuts--whatever) Add a sweetner (honey or brown sugar) Add a cereal (granola, wheat bran, Grape Nuts, etc.) Add some berries. Mix. Voila. It may sound a bit strange, but it tastes great. I've even variations of it for dessert instead of ice cream.

Under the circumstances, writing them a letter couldn't hurt. Good luck to you and to the Mrs. on the job hunt.

Flowers sound great, but so does a fruit basket. They're bound to eat fruit; everyone eats fruit.

Well, I live in New Orleans, and the food is incredible. I think it's the layering of flavors that makes it so wonderful, or just the great variety of ingredients, but if I couldn't live here, I would live in Savannah, GA over every other city in the U.S. I think they know what good food is about, and they have the history to back up their claim. A low-country boil is about equal to our shrimp boil, but ours is better.

Casey (at my office) is 25. She and her husband went for the first time Friday night. I asked her about it after reading this thread. They arrived at 5:40 (which is good -- this place doesn't take reservations for parties of less than 5.). She had the stuffed catfish and describes it as "delicious, but the crabmeat dressing didn't need the rich sauce." The mashed potatoes, "delicious." The corn maque choux = "delicious (yeah, I might give her a thesaurus for Christmas), but the bell peppers made it taste off." (Don't listen to her -- corn maque choux needs bell peppers.) Her husband had the carpet-baggers steak, which had a sauce on it they didn't like. I asked her, "Would you go again?" Answer: "In a heartbeat, but not anytime soon, and I'd order half of the food."

FWIW, the reviews of the restaurant in New Orleans is mixed. Some people love it, but I'm not in that camp. The lines are ling; the food is less than what one would expect and it's loud. However, I'm 40. Perhaps at 21 I would have thought the place wonderful. But I know more about good food now. OK; OK; "are mixed." Edit #2 (so maybe I should take a typing course): "The lines are lOng." Geez

I so don't want to risk the wrath of the moderator, but I read all of the above posts, and one word stuck out -- survival. Sometimes we eat the food of our ancestors to remember our culture and history, and I'm absolutely certain whale was what was available, and they very much respected the whale, as much as the American Natives respected the buffalo. (Don’t you remember from history class how the men went out in kayaks to hunt the whale? It was very dangerous, and, IF successful, there would be a feast and celebration HONORING the while and showing respect for its place in the people’s survival.) No matter what the food source, at some point in time, it was eat what you could to survive. Therefore, today there are times when you eat what your ancestors did to remember who you are and how their sacrifices made your life possible. It shouldn’t be an ethics question, unless you’re on the cannibalism thread – now, that’s just plain wrong!

Your turtle experiment sounds like lots of fun. Please post whatever you decide to do with the results. I love turtle soup, but the only time I made it, it wasn't as good as what I've had in restaurants. However, I recently stumbled onto this recipe, and I'll be making a batch soon. The recipe is from Chef Rick's GumboPages site. I don't know who the guy is, but he has some incredible and authentic recipes on the site. Good luck! Commander's Palace Turtle Soup au Sherry

Cooks Illustrated Saveur Fine Cooking

32 oz Diet Coke & a diet pill

Fish eyes. Okay. I eat about anything else. But how does one eat fish eyes? How do you prepare them? I am totally clueless and not mockng you. I eat crawfish and all kind of scavangers of the sea, so eyes shouldn't bother me, but they do. Give me an eaay prep method so I can try them, and I will. But still, don't talk to me about snakes, because at this point in my life I just can't go there.

If the allegations would have been anything but hurting children, I think he could have been saved. However, those allegations (and, personally, I find truth in them) foreshadowed everything the man had ever done. In my own personal opinion, we all have a good v. bad complex going on in our soul, and it's sad that a very good man went down because of it. If it would have anything other than him hurting children, he very possibly would have been forgiven. I hope the man does find forgiveness and peace.

He literally taught me to cook. What a shame. I always thought somehow, some way he'd make a way back. I know it's easy to demonize people, but he must have some good parts about him. I sincerely hope this thread doesn't destroy what character the man had left. edited to add: Peace be with you.

My parents just took for granted that if we grew up on a small farm (well, not a farm, but with a garden, milking cow, chickens and pigs to kill, etc. -- kindof a farm) that we would get worms. So, every year, when they wormed the animals, they wormed us. It was a thick mess of red-colored liquid the consistency of blood, and my sister and I would cry and beg not to take it before we had to swallow it and immediately had to vomit, to which my mother would think was 'on purpose' and feed us another dose. It was a helluva way to grow up, but we were never sick, besides the one case of chicken pox, we never even went to a 'regular' doctor Edited to Add: Actually, thinking back, maybe we were afraid to get sick.

So, you agree that taking things from the market and eating them without paying for them, the question here, is stealing. With that I agree. Stealing from your employer is another thread, no?

I've read before that most markets run on so small of profit margin that any stealing at all is very costly for them -- even the grape samplings, etc. Sometimes I open a small container of sushi when I'm shopping and eat it piece by piece (hey, it's that or a container of Pringles) if I haven't eaten dinner and don't want to overbuy just because I'm hungry, but I give the empty container to the checkout clerk, who usually has a good chuckle out of it. I do open containers of fresh seafood, if sealed, so I can smell them and check for freshness. If it's fresh, I buy it, and if it's not, I give it to the person behind the counter and tell them it smells fishy. They usually get perturbed by this but I think it's a service. They shouldn't want to sell people bad seafood, and I don't feel like going home depending on that seafood for dinner and THEN find out it's bad. But snitching 'free' fruit and candy is wrong, and it sets a horrible example for the children who are watching you do this.

I just want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who helped me with this inquiry. I wrote up a little synopsis from your posts and sent it to him, and here is his reply, Rhonda, That it! Now I know how to eat them. They eat them like we eat crawfish. (We live in Louisiana.) Here is the synopsis I sent him: ------------------------------------ The very small clams you had in Spain were most likely Tellines or Coquinas, as both terms refer to the same mollusk, Donax tranculus or wedge shell. The inside bit of Tellines is about the size of a kernel of corn, the shell is about 1 to 1.5 cm long. Their maximum size is somewhere between 3 & 5 cm. They are most often served in the Valencia region of Spain plain and unadorned – just steamed open. In fact, only in the Valencian dialact is the term Tellines because for all other Spaniards, it’s coquinas. To eat them, people use their hands mostly. If you can pick the clam out of the shell, you’d do that then put your hand to your mouth to eat it. If the clams are harder to grasp, just pick up the shell and slurp them out for the others. People claim that after awhile you get good at it. A few comments I thought you would enjoy: “They’re beautiful tiny shellfish and worth extricating from the shells. Maybe your friend should have more patience and eat them like the English eat (some) shellfish – with a cocktail stick.” “They can be very tiny, but they’re worth the trouble, as they’re incredibly sweet and tender. As we say, they repay the “mao de obra” (the labour cost).” The variance in what I find on the internet is the size of these clams. Here’s a picture of them showing the various sizes. Even though some of these are larger, it shows the smaller ones, too. Also, they vary in color. http://216.239.39.104/translate_c?hl=en&sl...3D%26ie%3DUTF-8 Here’s something else I found confirming the small size. Tellines Kind Tellina Return Tellines are small bivalves which live hidden in sand. Their valves can cover various colors more or less sharp, of brilliant aspect.Cut average: 3 cm. And here is a typical recipe: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=e...3D%26ie%3DUTF-8

When I told him it was probably Tellinas, he just took my word for it. I'm going to print out the thread so he can read it. When I told him he should have used his fingers to get to the things, he said, "You've got to be shittin' me???" He said he would have been there all night. So, I offered to help him the next go 'round A man of patience, he's not

Jacob's Andouille in LaPlace, Louisiana -- just outside New Orleans: Jacob's Andouille It has a deep smoky taste, and I think it's delicious. A lot of people down I-10 West swear by Poche's, but I don't know their site.

Good luck on the dinner. You seem like a very gracious person. They're lucky to be a guest at your table.

I look but I don't comment My favorite is when the check-out clerk actually comments on my purchases. "Chicken backs and necks. Ewwwww. I've never seen anyone buy those before. Whatcha gonna do with that?"

Fifi, yes, oil-less roux is not for anyone. Here's my recipe for gumbo: CHICKEN & ANDOUILLE GUMBO Actually, I prepare gumbo in 2 nights. The first night is shopping and making the roux and chicken stock. Many people have reduced the old-fashioned method for roux and can make a quick roux in about 10 or 15 minutes. It’s a fact – verified it with local cooking friends, but the traditional hour-long method works for me. Do it however you want. How dark depends on how dark you like it. A chocolate-brown roux IMHO is too dark and one that is peanut-butter colored (like an old copper penny) is preferred. Roux -----1 cup oil (typically use half bacon drippings and half peanut oil) -----1-1/2 cups flour Vegetable Seasonings (Don't chop them too small; large dice is fine.) ----- 2 large yellow onions, chopped ----- 1 bell pepper, chopped (green bell peppers are traditionally used) ----- 4 ribs celery ----- (If you want to add garlic, you can.) Other Ingredients ----- 3 quarts of rich chicken stock ??? (just add until it's your desired consistency) ----- 2 or 3 bay leaves ----- a few tablespoons kosher salt ----- red and lots of freshly ground black pepper to taste ----- dried thyme to taste ----- garlic powder and onion powder, or whatever other seasonings you want to add ----- hot sauce ----- Worcestershire sauce ----- meat from 1 cooked chicken (remove skin and bones) – add it at the end so it’s not stringy ----- 1/2 pound andouille sausage, cut into about 1/4" rounds and browned slowly in skillet on both sides ----- 1/2 cup of tasso, julienned, if desired ----- 1 bunch parsley leaves, chopped ----- 1 bunch green onion tops, chopped ----- file' Serve over white rice Bring a stool into the kitchen if you don’t want to be standing too long. Heat oil over medium heat and add flour slowly. Whisk mixture with a wire whisk (a flat-bottomed one works best) in a heavy skillet; cast iron is preferred. Keep whisking until bubbles subside, then switch to a flat-bottom wooden spatula. Reduce heat to low. It takes about an hour. Do not let the roux burn (if you quit stirring it will burn). If you burn it, just dispose of it and begin again. You CANNOT repair a burnt roux. Don’t answer the phone while you're cooking this and don’t leave the stove. Just stir. About the time you are ready to give up, it will start coloring. Just keep stirring constantly until the roux is the color desired, about the color of an old copper penny. Immediately add your vegetable seasonings. They will stop the browning process. Add bay leaves, too. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes or so. Transfer roux mixture to a stock pot (needs to hold about 2-gallons) and place back on medium heat. Slowly add warm stock, stirring in and incorporating each ladle as you go. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Season well to taste using all of the spices, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Now, just simmer away for about an hour or so for the roux to develop. (Note: Even though it’s against the rules, I also add just a teaspoon or so of file’ at this point, as well as letting the diner add just a bit to his individual bowl after the gumbo is served.) After gumbo has cooked about an hour (you could probably go 30 to 45 minutes if you want), add your sausage and simmer about another half-hour. Skim oil from top, then add your chicken, parsley and onion tops during the last 5 minutes of simmering the gumbo. Serve over white rice. Let the guest add file (about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon) to his bowl when served, if desired. Also put the hot sauce on the table in case individuals want a little more heat. Serve with French bread or garlic bread. The traditional drink is beer. ---------------------- P.S. Gumbo tastes better the next day, after the flavors have had a chance to come together. If you make it a day early, be sure to stir in the parsley and green onions just before serving. P.S.S. Lots of people add okra, and I like it added. However, if you’re cooking for a group of people and you don’t know preferences, I would just leave it out. If you do add it, add the frozen WHOLE okra (makes it easier for people to remove if they don’t like it) during the last 10 or 15 minutes of cooking. If you cook it too long, it starts to come apart, and a lot of people don’t like that. Bon Appetit!

I have to agree with you that the dark in the jar is ok, but not the same. How light is the light one? I haven't seen it in the groceries here in Houston but we do have a Cajun Market locally and I might be tempted to look for it. When you say light, do you mean peanut butter color? Savoie's Roux Options Yes, it's peanut-colored (the one on the far left). I haven't tasted their oil-less roux, which is really just browned flour (far right).