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thistle

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  1. thistle
    I'd like to invite some of my neighbors & coworkers over for a casual Mardi Gras dinner (Feb. 20, Tuesday night). I'm thinking about smoking a Boston butt, shredding it & serving some plain, some w/ an NC vinegar-based bbq sauce. For apps, I'd like to do deviled eggs, pickled shrimp, ham biscuits. I'm planning some sort of vegetarian alternative-red beans & rice? Maybe add a salad, slaw, corn muffins or bread, french bread, & for dessert, I was thinking poundcake, fruit, & shortbread cookies or cupcakes. I'd like to prepare as much as I can in advance..any ideas?
  2. thistle
    Also a one-dish slow-cooker novice, who would really like to expand my repertoire-about the only thing I cook in my slowcooker (other than soap, whch you can also make in a crockpot-I do use a separate one) is turkey stock, made by throwing in a smoked turkey carcass, cold water, various onions, celery, s & peppercorns. I've cooked different bean soups in the crockpot, & braised beef, but I'd like to try something different...
  3. thistle
    I, on the other hand, am looking for a new toaster oven-my stalwart little B& D toaster oven was set on fire last week by my 7 yr. old daughter, who was cooking a poptart. Yes, it sounds improbable, but combine a cookie dough pt, placed on top of tinfoil that her brother used to heat up garlic breadsticks, a disabled smoke alarm (when we burnt a bagel earlier that morning), & a mother who was not paying attention, led to a fiery denouement-I first tried to use a spatula to smash the flaming poptarts, then realized my plant mister was on the counter, so I used it to douse the flames. The fire melted the metal bar over the heating element, cracked the top of the oven, & several old letters & coupons on top caught fire. I now need to replace the toaster oven (which I find much more useful than a toaster, I generally use it to melt cheese on things), before my DH sees it & gives us all a stern lecture...Linda
  4. thistle
    OK, Porcupine, what are you growing under that light? Not just veggies, I guess-what is your other obsession? Herbs just take a little time, once you get them started, they're easy -thyme, oregano, rosemary can be perennials. Cilantro is a challenge, this past summer I planted Vietnamese cilantro, it doesn't bolt as quick as regular cilantro & it flourished-as a matter of fact, it grew to an enormous size & engulfed a nearby rose- between that & a Mexican bush sage, my tiny bed was overwhelmed. The only things that look like they have survived the winter in the beds that are going to be planted with vegetables are a few agastaches, hollyhocks, purple fennel, & the scraggly rosebushes. I'm going to edge them w/ boards, dump on a bunch of composted leaves, plant seed, & hope for the best...
  5. thistle
    Thanks, I may have some questions for you, as I go along. I'm going to register for the beekeeping class that starts next month & I've even ordered some bees for spring, from Rossman Apiaries, in GA. Wish me luck! I've got lots of seed to start, too, but I usually take the easy way out & get tomato & pepper seedlings. All of my inside fluorescent lighting is dedicated to the orchids, at least until they can move out for their summer vacation. With this recent cold snap, I'm longing for spring, my favorite time of the year...Linda
  6. thistle
    I guess it's a little early for this, but is anyone thinking about their garden? I was happy with what I planted last year, mostly tomatoes & hot peppers, so this year I plan to 1)add a little more space & try some oddball crops-pinkeye purplehull peas, lots of lettuce/mesclun/greens, okra in the front beds 2)put in more herbs around other plantings & 3), this is a maybe, I'd like to add some bees, I'm thinking about taking a beekeeping class this spring-Anyone besides me have spring fever-how do you plan to indulge it? (ok, I'd really like to take an extended vacation in a tropical paradise, but that's not going to happen)....
  7. thistle
    Well, after telling my MIL that I had every kitchen-related thing I ever needed, I'm having second thoughts-especially after seeing that Shun Ken Onion knife... Past Xmases, my MIL has bought me some great presents- a silicone baking sheet, cheese knives, a special guacamole knife & masher, some wonderful cookbooks, & all I've done in return is feed them very well when they're here. One of the best kitchen related presents I received was from my husband (I think it was before we were married), my Zojirushi rice cooker-I use it at least 1-2 times a week. Is it just me or does anyone else feel strange about it being almost 70 degrees in December, almost Christmas, & it feels like spring?
  8. thistle
    Ilaine, The great thing about the best T'giving ever is you have something to shoot for next year. I was really surprised at how well ours went this year, of course, we had it easy, just the meats-turkey, turkey breast, ham, & country ham-& apps. We had a great group of guests-they brought their own sodas, & sides, takeout containers for leftovers, & helped w/ everything. Everyone thanked us for hosting, but it was easy, we're central, & everyone brought stuff-I (momentarily) felt bad for not providing everything, but noone who came to our T'giving dinner was overworked....
  9. thistle
    Joe, Your post almost had me crying-because I considered it myself. We hosted, for probably the 5 or 6th time, my inlaws & various outlaws, I was expecting 11 adults & 5 kids (one is an infant), then was surprised w/ an additional guest , who is allergic to all types of pepper. However, it all went well, we smoked a turkey & a turkey breast, had a ham & also country ham, on rolls, for a starter. Everyone else brought the sides-rolls, m. potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes & excellent homemade pies-apple, pecan, & pumpkin. My MIL made her cornbread dressing. I did some apps, cheese board, salami & country ham, crackers, bread, clam dip, olives, nuts, carrot & celery sticks. I also made a cabbage, bacon, sauerkraut, mushroom,& apple saute (w/ pomegranate vinegar), because that's my favorite part of T'giving dinner. We had enough food (& plastic containers) to parcel out the leftovers, enough comfy places for people to nap afterwords, a fire in the fireplace...as much as the thought of a '1-stop dinner' appealed to me, ours was great, because everyone helped out. I made stock w/ the turkey carcasses last night & have a lentil soup in the crockpot now, & another crockpot, w/ the hambone in it. And it's so quiet here right now...
  10. thistle
    almost anything w/ melted cheese, like an open faced bagel w/ tomato, melted cheddar & guacamole-a real mess to eat, everything slides all over the place... 2nd the blk-eyed peas, w/ rice,soy sauce &/or hot sauce & cornbread poundcake, in the morning for breakfast, w/ some fruit...
  11. thistle
    No homemade candy for me, just prewrapped, commercial stuff-but this is the fastest I've ever been cleaned out (Actually, don't think I've ever run out before, just held some in reserve & turned off the lights at around 9). It started off slow (my own kids went off w/ friends at 6:15 & aren't back yet), then picked up-I had a lot of large (8-12) groups of teens/preteens. I also made the mistake of having hardwood put in my entryhall right before Halloween, we made it through the first 3 days of not stepping on it, but tonight was too much for my dog-doggie footprints all through the polyurethane!
  12. thistle
    I'm looking forward to it, too. I have M. Richard's Home Cooking w/ a French Accent & have picked up alot of tips over the years. I greatly admire his cooking at Citronelle (although I have not experienced it) & I think his new cookbook will be great...(Is that alright to say? I wish I could eat at Citronelle every night, but lacking that, I'm glad I have his cookbooks)...
  13. thistle
    I went down to visit my mom this past weekend-I couldn't believe the amount of houses that have sprouted up & the prices!-we only went out to eat once, at the Riverview, in Sneads Ferry. This restaurant has been here for a long time & does most things right, I had the fried shrimp lunch special, w/ fried okra & slaw. Their slaw wasn't as good as it used to be, but the hushpuppies were excellent-I asked for more with our hot crab dip. On the way out, we hit Dr. RootBeer's Hall of Foam & the kids got root beer floats....the beaches were beautiful, as they have always been...
  14. thistle
    I guess I can answer this-Wilmington is a smaller town, w/ lots of northern immigrants. Beach property is probably priced a little lower than some places-Wilmington has some small businesses, a state university-UNC-W, but if you want privacy & quiet, go a few miles north to Topsail Beach-I grew up in this area & Topsail is still very isolated & quiet-there is literally nothing in this area-the beaches are still wide open (& not totally safe, there are undertows in the area)....
  15. thistle
    Down-home joints-RiverView restaurant in Sneads Ferry, good fried rock shrimp, home-made pies, close to Topsail Beach, -unfortunately , these local places are being phased out....
  16. thistle
    Is it Indigo Landing? My mom lives in that area & she told me that she & some friends ate there the other night & that it was delicious...
  17. thistle
    School lunches-my kids, who are 7 & 11, have mixed reactions... My son, Tom, who's older, is happy to eat anything at the school cafeteria (he went away to 2 summer camps this year & raved about the food), my daughter, who is younger, frequently asks me to pack a lunch (very boring-ham sandwich, no crusts, carrots, apple or other fruit, juice or CL lemonade)-she's already asked me to pack a lunch for the first day of school... They're strange kids-no PB&J, no spaghetti (my mom is like, 'what kid doesn't like pasta?'), only PLAIN rice, chicken, veg...
  18. thistle
    Crabcakes are one of my favorites, but when I make them at home, they tend to fall apart (not enough binder or not chilled enough?) One of my newest cookbooks is Tom Douglas's 'I Love Crabcakes', which is great-I hope I make even half these recipes! The family & I headed downtown yesterday (actually, we wanted to go to Ceiba, but didn't realize it wasn't open Sundays), we perambulated the White House, pausing while some helicopters landed, then headed to Old Ebbitt Grill, where I had the crabcake sandwich. It was yummy, w/ vinegary cucumber salad, but that crabcake I had about a week ago at the Santa Fe Grill in Deep Creek, MD was the best-I still can't believe it!
  19. thistle
    Some more thoughts on kitchens (it's always easier to criticize, rather then do it yourself, although the PO, who is a realtor, did a pretty good job). Pluses- Kitchenaid Superba appliances (no problems yet), tile back splash ( what I hate on the floor I like on the wall), utilitarian yet mostly functional cabinets, a small (36" x 48") granite topped (Kashmir gold, which looks like cinnamon raisin-bread toast & Kashmir also happens to be the name of our beloved yellow dog) island, w/ no insets (but unfortunately, no outlets, either) Minuses-soffits over the cabinets instead of ceiling height, it's a small kitchen, but it's still the nicest kitchen I've cooked in so far, I have to say that some of the basic Army quarters, w/ 50-yr. old formica countertops & vintage linoleum floors, which have seen dozens of occupants, have held up amazingly well...
  20. thistle
    I agree, I use my convection infrequently (actually, I have 2, because my microwave is a combo)-I go back & forth between using the regular & convection for poundcake, the only thing I seem to bake with any frequency anymore, & w/ the convection, the cake is a bit underdone in the center top. One thing I like is that this oven (Kitchenaid Superba) has an easy convect conversion button, for meats, baked goods, & other (I don't think I've ever used other), to adapt times & temps.
  21. thistle
    That Aga is gorgeous-aubergine or heather? I didn't remodel our kitchen, the previous owners did, I definitely would have done some things differently. First off, lighting-if possible, go for good natural light, as well as areas of task lighting. I also hate our floor, Italian ceramic tile that is just 'natural' & distressed enough to catch every bit of grime-we're going to rip it out (I hate to do it, it's just a couple of years old) & replace with oak floors. I realize there's a risk of water damage, but I can't live with the tile. I do like the granite counters, although the color wouldn't be my first choice. They installed a new fridge & left the old one in the garage, a few steps away-that has been great!-extra freezer space, chilling drinks for crowds. A bigger pantry would be nice, but at least I have one. You can find alot of useful tips on the kitchen forum of That Home Site - also, design it for you, not necessarily resale; if you're going to go through the stress of remodeling, it should be worth it...
  22. thistle
    Deep Creek I should edit my post, I really don't know if there are 'great' restaurants, we didn't hit many restaurants (all those kids!), but we did eat at Santa Fe Grille (right next to the rental checkin place) one evening & I was surprised by one of the best crabcakes I've ever had-nice lumps of crabmeat, lightly bound, & the flatbread it came on wasn't bad (didn't need it, though). Almost everyone else's meals looked a little dismal, unfortunately; I think I just got lucky, usually when I order, I get it & think I should have gotten my second choice-to find a wonderful crabcake in McHenry, MD was serendipity. The best grocery was the Foodland (also right across from the Railey realty complex), the Arrowhead market looked ok, too (not as large a selection of items, but you could shop by boat) & the small gourmet deli had wireless, so there were a couple of folks w/ laptaps, working away.
  23. thistle
    Deep Creek Back from a week long vacation at Deep Creek Lake, & if anyone is thinking about going there, here's my thoughts-1)very conveniently located, we're in NOVA, it was about 3-3.5 hours drive, on interstates, from here 2)great vacation spot, centrally located, lots of activities for all ages (we were there w/ my inlaws & my DH's sibs-most of the time 7 adults & 5 kids, from newborn to 11, with a few extra adults on the weekends)-we had a house that was on the mountainside, near Wisp, although it wasn't lakefront, most things are convenient, we rented jetskis one morning (I passed), went to Swallow Falls State Park (waterfalls & swimming areas, very nice). The DCL area is tourist-oriented, with great grocery stores, restaurants, but not over-saturated-little traffic, lovely, cool mornings..it was a great getaway, 2 of my SILs & I did yoga at the lake one morning, my first yoga class & it was wonderful, breezes & daddy longlegs!...it was a relaxing vacation, but it's nice to be home...
  24. thistle
    Well, this may not be much help-I've been to Charleston, eaten at Aw Shucks, but not the gumbo-there's a gumbo recipe I've wanted to try, but just haven't had the occasion, -Crab Gumbo, in the Frog Commissary Cookbook. I love seafood, in most way, shape, or form-except oysters, can't do that, yet. If you want, I'll email you the crab gumbo recipe...
  25. thistle
    Oh, I agree, I want to get a chimney starter, I bought the little grill as a stopgap, (I really want a gas grill, may get one soon). Right now, I'm using crumpled newspaper, a few chemical briquettes, & a bunch of hardwood charcoal. I'm still not used to grilling, though, & have a hard time waiting for the coals to die down...My stuff tonight turned out great, also made a blk bean, corn/tomato salad, w/ a basil vinaigrette. Next week, I'm going on vacation, up to a rented house (my inlaws do this every year, usually different places, last year was Lake Anna, the previous 2 years was Edisto,SC, which was wonderful)-this year, we're going to Deep Creek Lake, MD. So, if anyone has any tips on grocery stores, farmers markets, what to pack, I'd truly appreciate it. It looks like it will be alot of women & children (don't worry, we have ample tvs, DVDs, & computer games)-I'm going to pack lots of books & look forward to a peaceful, maybe even cooler, week...
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