The dangers of the high horse

[foodie52]

Shoot, Mayhaw Man....and here I was planning a trip to NO to eat with y'all because you sound like a kindred spirit..

But I'd be coming from Austin...and I was gonna bring ribs.

[GG Mora]

Some of the greatest chefs of all times showed (at least off record) their private love for simple ingredients and basic preparations.

I'm guessing there's a sort of corollary between culinary accomplishment and an appreciation for simplicity in the kitchen. Somewhere in a thread on eG, Bourdain confessed that, when cooking at home, it's apt to be a long-simmering one-dish affair...

I suspect one gets weary of the parlor tricks...sure I can make a 4-course howyadoin with foie gras, truffles, caviar, foamed 10-inch high sea urchin gelée with rarest whatever, but what I really want is a steaming pot of braised short ribs with some mashed potatoes.

[Mayhaw Man]

A joke. Once Again. It was a joke.

My whole family background up to the birth of me (1961) is Texas. Great grandfather served with Gen Hood/first medical doctor in Cass County/mama went to Baylor/grandfather in senate and house/yayayaya. 1848-now. Texas.

Just a joke.

Only a joke. Bring the ribs (brisket from Kreuz would be better than ribs, but you decide )

[Mudpuppie]

Yeah, now he claims his Texas heritage. It's obviously a ruse, since if he were a real Texan he'd know that once revoked or insulted, the Texas birthright is not easily reissued!

[Pan]

Now, now, folks. You aren't going to settle this with a duel at high noon, are you?

[Mayhaw Man]

Somewhere in a thread on eG, Bourdain confessed that, when cooking at home, it's apt to be a long-simmering one-dish affair...

I

I am ignoring all taunts and heading back for the topic, as I sidelined this otherwise interesting and useful discussion with a bit of poorly chosen (but nonetheless true ) humor. I suggest you do the same. You can slag me by email if you wish, but this subject was rolling merrily along til I messed it up

I apologize to all.

You have hit the nail on the head as far as chefs go. When they are not eating out (which is rarely because they don't have time) they (the ones I know anyway, mainly New Orleans guys) tend to eat pretty straightforward stuff. Not too many sauce reductions and lots of braised meats and ettoufee/sauce picant/stewed type dishes. The same stuff all of us ate growing up.

[AzRaeL]

So I'll never taste that case of '61 Bordeaux in the cellar. And I'll never again feel quite the same eating in a 4-star restaurant (where they look so disappointed when you tell them you won't be drinking wine).

yup, after a while i dropped the pretense. I'd order a freshly squeezed orange juice in a $100 a person type restaurant. Wine just makes me feel ill and unable to appreciate the food.

[AzRaeL]

i use a lot of ready made stock in my cooking *LOL*

Who has the time to boil bones just for stock?

and for tomato paste? I use a bottle of Ragu or Prego spaghetti sauce. WORKS even better than Tomato paste.

[Mabelline]

I've posted about my nondrinker status, but it is a real issue with me. My system will no longer tolerate appreciable amounts of alcohol thanks to extreme reactions to Coumadin. If I want to drink a little wine or scotch, I have to prepare for a week with my diet. Not only do folks not understand, they go out of their way to induce you to imbibe. They don't think about the fact you may be in ICU in the morning. It's hard, this backbone thing, but on the other hand, why are you always pushed?

[Mudpuppie]

It's more about them, Mabelline, than it is about you. Your not drinking probably causes some people to feel like maybe they should feel guilty about their drinking. So they try to get you to join in so they don't have to feel bad. People are that way sometimes, and it's hard to get it through their heads that it's not really about their needs.

[Mabelline]

Mudpuppie, I officially adopt you right now. It's a hard thing to say no, I'd like tea, when people have previously seen you drink something, and just figure you're a wuss. You do not want to get into meds. at a get-together, but I feel like at a restaurant there is no question, in this day and age-they should accept a non-imbiber, no crap on the side.

[mnebergall]

Now, now, folks. You aren't going to settle this with a duel at high noon, are you?

Just make sure the killin' takes place in Texas, where the classic defense of "he needed killin'" still is available.

[jhlurie]

Let me say that this site has ALWAYS as part of its base doctrine been "friendly" to regional cuisines, to the everyday cook in his or her kitchen, to discussions about nachos and candy bars and things in a can. The site is about food--ALL food. But we're not going to be reverse snobs either--that fancy food that the city slickers and damn frenchies eat is part of our mission too.

That said, I think there are many elements of "food snobbery" we can discuss outside and beyond what's said and done on this site. We can disparage the snooty guy in the gourmet store, we can talk about how much we love beans in a can. Whatever you like. The "horse" can kneel a bit if we need him to.

[Mabelline]

jhl- believe me right now-if I had disposable bucks, I'd be goin' for as good as it got...no question!!

[jhlurie]

I think our current Q&A, on the food in the space program, is a clue about how open we are (as far as food diversity goes, I mean). It's not, by any stretch of the imagination, great food, but it's interesting to this audience because some things about food are universal. Certainly its amusing to ask about chef's input into the space program... but what do you know? M&Ms are the things getting into orbit!

[Mabelline]

I wonder if they are the black and white ones?!

[FistFullaRoux]

OK, now that this has had time to simmer (no pun intended), I see that the responses to this issue showed what I felt to be true.

We didn't realize we were doing it. I say we, because I've done it too. So, shall we move on and continue as friends?

And the best BBQ I've had in Austin was at County Line. You should have seen my wife there. The ribs here in Alabama are pork (One word - Dreamland), and very good, but when they dropped those Fred Flintstone beef ribs on the table, she made a sound I hadn't heard since... Lets just say she enjoyed them.

I personally hold nothing against Texans, unlike a lot of other Louisiana natives. Lived in Austin for 3 years, and my brother is still there. I honeymooned in San Antonio. I had a fuel pump go out on the Katy Freeway. Lots of Texas stories...

[nessa]

Ok. Deep breath. I like food from everywhere. From Asia to Africa, Scotland to Turkey, California to Texas. I like grilled cheese and I like wasabi encrusted wild salmon. For the most part, I like rustic food, not the "fancy" stuff. I love ethnic food with a passion. I want to explore the rich diversity of flavors from one end of the spectrum to the other. I do not eat offal, viscera or innards. Except that one smoked foie gras thing that one time at that wine tasting..... or that time in Germany where the "nierenspeise" on a stick sure looked and smelled good. Too bad it didn't taste good.

I have no desire to eat fish eggs and champaigne tastes like bubbly grapefruit juice to me. I cannot tell the difference between Veuve Cliquot and whats at the grocery store. Whats more, I don't particulary care to. Please just give me a nice cabernet or shiraz.

Everyone has their preferences, and I don't think that one has to like all the expensive stuff to appreciate that it is high cuisine. I dont think your preference has to be for high cuisine for you to be a foodie either. I think its good to be exposed to things, and important to know and learn about different foods, but the mere experience of being exposed to the finest caviar doesn't mean that you have to like it!

Y'all! Sweetbreads are GLANDS. EWEWEWEW.

For me this forum is about getting to talk to other people that have a passion for food. Its not about who spends the most on food, who makes the most technically complex meal, its about sharing a passion. Its also about learning and being exposed to new foods, techniques etc.

I've only been a member for a few weeks but I certainly did get the slight impression from some posters that if you prefered pozole to steak tartar then you were just not *quite* worthy.

This is such a great thread, I'm loving getting this off my chest!

So there! Thanks Y'all How about some gumbo and barbecue!

[Kim WB]

I think that the members who feel alienated might also be personalizing things a bit. Saying " That pasta dish is not going to be near as good if you use Prego and cardboard boxed parmesan," does NOT mean " IF you use Prego and boxed Parmesan, you are a terrible person who can't cook, knows nothing about food and should not be posting here!" The truth is, the dish will be better with different ingredients. If you like xyz restaurant, and someone suggest abc restaurant because they add truffle oil and caviar to the dish..it's not diminishing your preference, but rather keeping the topic alive and interesting with relevant contributions.

[phaelon56]

Hey "Fistfullaroux" - my best buddy's uncle is the guy who started Dreamland and continued to run it for many years (I think he is now deceased or has sold the business). Too bad he didn't pass along the secrets to great ribs to the branch of the family that's up here - I"ve had ribs at countless of their family cookouts up here in the North but they don't measure up to whjat's available down there.

Not only do folks not understand, they go out of their way to induce you to imbibe. They don't think about the fact you may be in ICU in the morning. It's hard, this backbone thing, but on the other hand, why are you always pushed?

My most recent GF just didn't get when I diplomaticaly explained ot her why I don't drink - she really didn't get it. I spared her from the scariest horror stories (none of which would have been exaggerations) but still she kept insisting that I should "try just a sip" because "this wine is so delicious". I finally suggested that although I wasn't in the mood for wine, I could run downtown and get some heroin and would she like me to get some for her too? She never again offered me a drink and we got along just fine. I coudl care less whether other people drink at meals or any other time and they should be equally uninterested in my drinking habits or lack of same.

[Busboy]

For me this forum is about getting to talk to other people that have a passion for food. Its not about who spends the most on food, who makes the most technically complex meal, its about sharing a passion.

Keep in mind, though, that when people are passionate, things are going to get said in its heat -- things people may disagree with and do not like at all. That's the way passion goes, that helps to keep this sight interesting.

Kim's observation is a good one. And it is a measure of how important food is, beyond its role as sustenance, that it evokes such passion and sometimes such hurt. You can tell someone all day and night that their favorite football team sucks or their car is a piece of junk, and they may disagree -- even angrily. But rarely will they have to talk about it with their mental health care professional. Tell them that they cook their spaghetti wrong, though, and you risk inflicting significant psychic trauma.

I suggest that, if someone insults your pozole, you smack down their steak tartar. If someone disses your boiled greens, dismiss their hand-harvested organic petit pois with a sneer and the back of your hand. And if they try to foist sweetbreads on you, tell them that if God had meant sweetbreads to be eaten, he would have put them in scrapple where they belong (or give them to me, I love the little guys).

What the heck -- it's only dinner.

[nessa]

[

I suggest that, if someone insults your pozole, you smack down their steak tartar. If someone disses your boiled greens, dismiss their hand-harvested organic petit pois with a sneer and the back of your hand. And if they try to foist sweetbreads on you, tell them that if God had meant sweetbreads to be eaten, he would have put them in scrapple where they belong (or give them to me, I love the little guys).

What the heck -- it's only dinner.

Why? I happen to like both the tartar and the pozole, petit pois and greens.

I'm able to say "no thanks" politely to the glandular matter so no need to belittle their choice.

I'm not big on conflict, personally. According to the dessert poll, I'm a custard and not much ruffles my feathers. Or something like that. Why expend all that energy on angst? I could be having dessert instead

[cjs]

Ok. Deep breath. I like food from everywhere. From Asia to Africa, Scotland to Turkey, California to Texas. I like grilled cheese and I like wasabi encrusted wild salmon. For the most part, I like rustic food, not the "fancy" stuff. I love ethnic food with a passion. I want to explore the rich diversity of flavors from one end of the spectrum to the other. I do not eat offal, viscera or innards. Except that one smoked foie gras thing that one time at that wine tasting..... or that time in Germany where the "nierenspeise" on a stick sure looked and smelled good. Too bad it didn't taste good.

I have no desire to eat fish eggs and champaigne tastes like bubbly grapefruit juice to me. I cannot tell the difference between Veuve Cliquot and whats at the grocery store. Whats more, I don't particulary care to. Please just give me a nice cabernet or shiraz.

Everyone has their preferences, and I don't think that one has to like all the expensive stuff to appreciate that it is high cuisine. I dont think your preference has to be for high cuisine for you to be a foodie either. I think its good to be exposed to things, and important to know and learn about different foods, but the mere experience of being exposed to the finest caviar doesn't mean that you have to like it!

Y'all! Sweetbreads are GLANDS. EWEWEWEW.

For me this forum is about getting to talk to other people that have a passion for food. Its not about who spends the most on food, who makes the most technically complex meal, its about sharing a passion. Its also about learning and being exposed to new foods, techniques etc.

I've only been a member for a few weeks but I certainly did get the slight impression from some posters that if you prefered pozole to steak tartar then you were just not *quite* worthy.

This is such a great thread, I'm loving getting this off my chest!

So there! Thanks Y'all How about some gumbo and barbecue!

what she said.

[Mayhaw Man]

Hey "Fistfullaroux" - my best buddy's uncle is the guy who started Dreamland and continued to run it for many years (I think he is now deceased or has sold the business).

Big Daddy. I tried to buy the junked out Pontiac wagon that used to sit out back a couple of times. He was a nice guy, but didn't exactly expound on the secrets of his fabulous ribs.

[Mayhaw Man]

I suggest that, if someone insults your pozole, you smack down their steak tartar. If someone disses your boiled greens, dismiss their hand-harvested organic petit pois with a sneer and the back of your hand. And if they try to foist sweetbreads on you, tell them that if God had meant sweetbreads to be eaten, he would have put them in scrapple where they belong (or give them to me, I love the little guys).

What the heck -- it's only dinner.

Exactly.

If someone takes a whack at your okra (and I frankly find that hard to imagine, but it does happen, just put beans in their chili. That'll show 'em just how deep your feelings run.