PopsicleToze

Yes, you can eat tomatoes. You can even have them in the induction phase of Atkins -- just a few slices. No, I do not eat yogurt, because I've never seen it on the list. Dairies are limited to cream, butter and sour cream.

My favorite at that type of brunch is a fresh fruit salad. It does take more time than you think to cut all of the fruit before church, but you wouldn't have to worry about it getting cold!

I guess this problem doesn't happen much in a small office. I cook for us at least once a month, and it's always appreciated. On someone's birthday, they get to request a dish and we all eat in the boardroom together. However, we all know each other's tastes and eating habits. I guess in a large office, that opportunity is not there. Cooking here is gratifying. Everyone is appreciative. One person started working here right after college. I kid you not -- she would bring spaghettios in the can and even spam. Her taste buds have developed nicely. Now, her favorite dish is osso buco and while she STILL occasionally eats spaghettios she now has them with parmigiano - reggiano For potlucks and holidays, I just make sure I'm in charge of the menu. Sides and desserts are delegated, but we decide as a group effort what they will be in advance. That doesn't mean it's all good, I've eaten more than a few of frozen meatballs cooked in BBQ sauce & cr of mushroom soup warmed in a crockpot. It's okay -- they tried and it's edible, kindof

Thank you for some validation... I don't like them either. And everyone and their brother sends me these for Christmas. In all fairness to Godiva, I'm not a sweets person. That being said, when strawberry season is in full swing, I'm the first one in line for chocolate-dipped strawberries at Godiva!

Karen, I just have to say "You've come a long way, baby!" (In case you're not old enough to know that statement, that was from an old TV ad. I'm not sure, but I think it was for cigarettes . Nevertheless, the woman had come a looong way!)

It passes the fairness test in my book. You made an agreement. Just like hotels -- most here have a "cancel by 6:00 or we'll charge you a night's stay." (Some have a 24- or even 48-hour cancellation notice.) It doesn't matter if they fill the room or not. That's their policy, and when they tell you the policy in advance, you either accept it or not. You can't call after the deadline and after you have made an agreement to unilaterally change the rules so that you're charged only if they don't fill the slot or not. Edited to Add: How much did they charge you not to eat there

Hey, I like that

Lobels is fantastic, and I have you guys to *thank* for it. I used the $50 coupon about a year or so ago, and then I've just had to order from then again. Most recently was the $200 I spent on the osso buco. That was just for the meat. Blew another C note on the fixins. They were good. However, I save Lobels for the most special occasions, and I could have had almost as good for a much better price. However, for killer steaks, this is the source.

Mom wasn't so bad of a cook, although she did only have just a few recipes that we either had every week or every other week. Vegetables were usually canned because fresh were "so expensive." However, Dad wins the worst cook award. If he had to cook dinner, we just cringed. A specialty was leftover rice, sausage and eggs just cooked together and flopped on a plate. To show how bad his cooking was, shen he made this we were pleased. However, his favorite was egg gravy. It was God-awful. He made a roux (high heat so the flour would burn quickly) then added water to make a little gravy. Salt and pepper it then add a few beaten eggs. He would serve his "scrambled eggs in burnt flour gravy" over rice or biscuits. Us kids would just choose to starve until Mom came home -- with Dad angry with us because we couldn't eat the crap.

I'm economizing more lately and love it. A New Year's resolution was to eliminate food waste. I do not scimp on ingredients and want only the best of them, but spending as much as I do on meals only to find them fuzzy in the refrigerator and throwing them out just got to be more than I can handle. It just makes good sense to be more frugal as you get older. I can remember when I first set up housekeeping at 21. I would invite people over and spend over $100/$150 -- whatever it took for that meal. Then I wouldn't even have anything to eat in the house until I went grocery shopping again. That is NOT the way to live. A fun thing to do is to look at your pantry and fridge and create something from whatever is on hand. Of course, fun when I was 21 was skipping dinner and going to the clubs

Don't ever go to a crawfish boil. Thier screams of anguish as they are dunked into that hot spicy water would make your cry Aw, Mayhaw. Don't scare the people. The crawfish are alive, but I haven't heard one scream yet. Lobsters make noises, and I'm guessing the crawfish are screaming when they're about to be boiled alive, but their little voices are just inaudible. Weirdest for me? Chicken feet in Chicago's China Town. Means I'm a lightfoot -- bigtime -- in this thread. So far my vote is for the monkey brains! But there are some close runner-ups... [can't find the smilie on the left who is throwing up, but that's the one I'd like to use]

I agree with MBox that the best boudin is at The Best Stop in Scott, LA. Also agree with other poster that no good boudin is to be found in New Orleans I love Jacobs in LaPlace and make a monthly trek to get their andouille, tasso, and such. However, IMHO, their boudin leaves much to be desired.

I believe the woman would get along rather well with Martha Stewart. Cut from the same cloth. Just imagine the fingernails scratching each other's faces

I love your blog (been lurking and reading all of it). No, I don't think you're a cruel mom either, but you reminded me of something my sister did many years ago when my nieces were small. She had read that chicken pox was not serious for youngsters, but if they caught it as an adult (or worse yet, and expectant mother), there would be serious complications. Therefore, when she found out a friend's children had chicken pox, she took her daughters to visit SO THEY WOULD CATCH IT and get over it while they were young. I still don't know if that was a good or bad thing

Sibling rivalry at its best – Mom ALWAYS (had to) work, long before it was en vogue. I learned to cook so that she wouldn’t come in the door at 5:30 after a long day’s work and Daddy asking, “What’s for supper?” So, I decided right then – what can be so hard. I can do this. So, I started cooking. Decades later, and an untold fortune on cookbooks and magazines, I’m a pretty good cook. I go home on weekends when I can and cook Sunday dinner. My sister, who is a “home-maker” who doesn’t cook, clean, or whatever. She decided to cook gumbo. and told me not to worry about Sunday dinner. She put on the chicken and vegetables before we left for church (not a hen or anything, plain old chicken that doesn’t take long to cook). She boiled the damn thing 2 hours. After church, she took great relish to serve us. You should have seen the look on my Daddy’s face when he was served. (It did make a “plop” noise when it hit the plate.) We tried to eat it the catfood, and she thought it was delicious. She actually shared her secret to the recipe with me, “Just boil your chicken 2 or 3 hours” (which means until it is in stringy threads) to get a good rich broth." Daddy, not known for his diplomacy, said, “Do us a favor and don't cook this for us again,” as he made himself a sandwich.

I'm with your wife on the only reason you want Cafe du Monde is the powdered sugar -- not the olive salad, which you find at Central Grocery for their muffelettas. Definitely go to Central Grocery and buy a muffeletta. They have their big jars of olive salid for sale for about $10. The Napoleon House (not far) supposedly has the best "warmed" muffeletta in the city. This is up for debate. I'm still with Central Grocery on the one, but what the heck -- try both. Metairie's not so bad for a cab-ride. Maybe a $30 round trip. I haven't been to Casablanca, so I can't tell you if it's worth it or not, but if you want to go, it's worth it. It might be better to rent a car for a day. It will be easy to find Jacobs in LaPlace, and that's a great place for andouille, tasso, etc. They ship, too, so you can order: www.jacobsandouille.com If you get out of the city, that's where you need to shop for some groceries to take back home. Dorignac's and Langenstein's are the primary shops, but any grocery store has the basics: The beans you're referring to are Camellia brand red kidney beans; Community New Orleans Blend Coffee; Crystal brand hot sauce (all of the flavor ot Tabasco without all of the heat); Oak Grove jambalaya mix (just trust me -- they're in little plastic bags -- <$1 each, and they make EXCELLENT jambalaya; use chicken and sausage as the meats) Zapp's Potato Chips; Zatarain's Creole Mustard; I'm sure more people can help you continue the list.

ROTFLMAO!! Buy a big rug from Linens-N-Things and just cover it up until after the holidays. Come January, I foresee a trip to Home Depot

not if you eat them all soon after making them

Cook them in oven then cool them by placing them on an upside coffee cup for a cool "bowl" like vessel that you can put something in ------------ Ediced because "cool them" is not the same as "cook them"

Well, the man literally taught me how to cook. Before all the food cable stations (which keep going downhill) there was my PBS line-up on Saturday mornings. I watched TV from about 9:00 (after the garden shows) until 1:00 Yan Can Cook. The first FG series I caught was TFG on our Immigrant Ancestors, and I sought out and cooked tongue for the first time in a Basque tomato sauce (not bad actually), dried salted codfish soaked 2 days then used in scrambled eggs (my cookbook has "Yuck!" written on it), etc. At the end, he wasn't so much teaching cooking, but he was here, there & everywhere. Giving some history, showing us food he already prepared, etc. and not providing enough actually hands-on cooking facts. I have a very warm spot in my heart for the man.

The ship also made one convenient target

The logo contains an animal dressed in overalls and a smile on its face

No, I meant I was 39 and was put off a bit by her writing style at first, so I can only imagine what Julia Child might have thought at 91 and from a different era.

Maybe they just wanted a private place where they could be together, eat, drink and cut up without photographers everyplace ??

That was a great article. Thank you. I did keep up with Julie's log. At 39 yrs old, I found her language and nightly drinking put me off a bit. (Don't throw anything -- just being truthful.) As far as her expecting Julia to greet her as a kindred spirit, I can only imagine Julia's perception of Julie's language and attitude at 91 years old ?? I did keep reading the blog and began to like Julie, but I imagine Julia read a few of the first posts and just refused to read anymore. I can't say I blame the lady.