Text 9182, 162 rader
Skriven 2006-12-22 13:14:08 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
   Kommentar till text 9134 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: marine life 718
=======================
Hi Michael,

 RH> I will give credit to them for exposing the masses to various
 RH> cultures.

 ML> Yup, but I wish they'd get it right more consistently. On
 ML> those rare occasions when I watch Food Network, I no longer
 ML> jump up and down and throw things at the screen, howling in
 ML> indignation, partially because they've gotten better but also
 ML> partially because I don't have the energy any more. I think,
 ML> though, that Ian would still behave in such a way if he saw
 ML> some of those programs. What would be very cool would be to


I watch them more for entertainment overall.  OTOH, Steve will say (as
about last night's IC) that some of them look pretty good-and do-able
at home. Alton Brown is the Food Network equal to Bill Nye, the Science
Guy, IMO.


 ML> get a few of us in a room watching, for example, Rachael Ray,
 ML> and record our reactions.

Racheal Ray is a half step better than the Semi Homemade gal, Sandra
somebody or other who uses way too much convenience stuff to try & pass
it off as anywhere near even semi home made in my book.  Geared for the
short attention spans of today I guess.

 ML>  How many people now know that Italian food is more than just
 RH> spaghetti or poorly made lasagne, having watched something like
 RH> "Everyday Italian" for example?  My favorites are "Good Eats" and "Iron
 RH> Chef", both the original Japanese version and now the American one.

 ML> IC irritates me. So the main ingredient is, ta da, potatoes.
 ML> So potatoes have to be in every dish. Big old deal if you're
 ML> allowed to put foie gras and caviar in your potatoes.

It's the more exotic main ingredient ones that are more fun to watch.


 ML> I far prefer the market basket thing, you know, which would
 ML> be a fairer competition, okay, here's a bunch of beets, six
 ML> scallions, a dozen eggs, a rump roast, and a can of tuna,

That would be interesting.


 ML> go for it. The let's see what we can make out of the sad
 ML> ingredients in your fridge thing is also amusing (though were
 ML> I visited by such a crew, I'd probably punch the cook out).

I do that all the time, especially if I've not made a major grocery trip
in quite a while. (G)  I don't think I'd like a visit from that chef
either; I could probably come up with better alternatives than he (or
she) does.

 RH> We probably never would have
 RH> thought about brining a turkey had we not seen his show on it last year
 RH> a couple weeks before Thanksgiving.

 ML> Pout. Nobody listens to me.

 ML> Quoting Michael Loo to Ruth Haffly [who?] on 28 Nov 98:
 ML>   Yuh. I brined the turkey and cooked and mashed the

But Steve didn't see that & did see Alton Brown do it.  That's the
difference--he saw and got the idea planted in his head.  If I told him
about reading it, the idea might not have registered in his brain as
fully.

 ML>   sweet taters, and Carol Bryant [foreshadowing, I guess]
 ML>   made the Brussels sprouts and red onions (recipe from

That was also the Thanksgiving I was dealing with some health issues;
I'd been in the hospital for several days a few weeks before, released
on some drug therapy and was having major surgery a few weeks later.
So, I was probably not firing on all cylinders at that time.


 ML> The funny thing is that I've always been partial to chickpeas.
 ML> I like them with rosemary - either stewed with tomato sauce or
 ML> processed with olive oil and lemon juice. Garlic in both, naturally.
 RH> I can take rosemary (or as the girls called it, "pine needles") up to
 RH> a point.  I'll use it in some things like beef stew but in moderation
 RH> and now more often crushed a bit than just tossed in.

 ML> Crushed is good; whole sprigs is good (you take them out
 ML> of course); leaves get stuck between your teeth, and the
 ML> big sudden rush of pine-like taste can be disconcerting.

Very much so; that's why I use it in moderation and learned that crushed
is best.

 ML> to eat. I ended up rubbing the potatoes (baby Yukons) in
 ML> olive oil and throwing a ramen seasoning packet and some
 ML> garlic powder over them and roasting them. My brother thought
 ML> they were some of the best potatoes he'd ever had. Yuck.
 RH> I'd eliminate the ramen packet and sub something else.

 ML> That was the let's see what we can make out of the sad ingredients
 ML> in your cupboard phenomenon.

No other herbs/spices available?


 RH> BTW, if you want, for the picnic rice ratings, I can bring some of the
 RH> rice blend we like.  It's a mix of red, brown, wild and (as I recall),
 RH> green.  Have to see what else is at Brighter Day, our GA version of

 ML> If you really like it, and you're there, and you don't go buy
 ML> some special for the occasion, that will be great.

It's one we're keeping on hand now.  I'd bought it on a whim but Steve
really likes it.  OTOH, I bought another blend at Trader Joe's, thinking
it would be just as good and Steve nixed it.

 ML> I just enumerated 26 kinds of rice to Dale ... I'm not sure
 ML> we want the event to be remembered as a RiceFest ... speaking
 RH> Will it be known as a Rice to the Finish? (G)

 ML> Boo, hiss. It'll be "can't finish the rice."

Probably--hope Dale has a big freezer. (G)

 RH> We're seriously thinking about it

 ML> Hope you can make it, at least stopping by for a meal
 ML> en route to NY.

Or on our way back to GA.  Seriously, once we get the date for the
reunion established, the picnic week end will be added to the calendar
and factored in the amount of leave Steve puts in for.


 ML> Well. Here's something to toast the holiday season with:

 ML> Bourbon and rum punch

 ML> Just kidding ...


I know.  Same as if I offered you some triple cream goodie and you had a
limited number of pills.


 ML> Iced tea with lemon, mint, and ginger ale
 ML> cat: beverage
 ML> servings: 12

That's more like it. (G) Altho, I've enough of a "tickle" in my throat
that I'm coughing a bit more than usual and hot tea with honey & lemon,
never mind the mint would be just as good.

---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchafflyNOSPAM(at)NOSPAMearthlink(dot)net  FIDO 1:396/45.28

... I am positive that a definite maybe is probably in order.

--- PPoint 3.01
 * Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)