Monte the chief

Monte,
I have been following your story on another thread and was wondering if you
could give us some tips on creating some good healthy sauces to put over
meat and veggies. This seems to be a problem for me since I don't like plain
veggies or meat without some dressing on them. Not that I eat a lot gravy or
fat but sometimes it is nice to have some other flavor with a dish without
adding a lot of fat. Your help would be appreciated.
Roxan

On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 11:19:35 -0400, "roxan"
wrote:
I have been following your story on another thread and was wondering if you
could give us some tips on creating some good healthy sauces to put over
meat and veggies. This seems to be a problem for me since I don't like plain
veggies or meat without some dressing on them. Not that I eat a lot gravy or
fat but sometimes it is nice to have some other flavor with a dish without
adding a lot of fat. Your help would be appreciated.

Hello Roxan,

Sauces and gravies are endless. I don't know what type of flavors you
like. Good recipes are very subjective. What I might like you might
not. Etc.

But if we can just talk basic here we can certain come up with
something.

You do not have to use any fat or grease to make any gravies or
sauces.

You can take plain water and season it until you like it and just add
a tablespoon of flour or some corn starch and thicken it.

There are some ways I do for myself. Which might be of interest for
you.

I take a vegetable "stock" and work with it often. I often get some
fat free low sodium chicken and beef stock in the soup section of the
store and work with it.

some other ideas which I do.. you can take most salad dressings and
make some very nice marinating sauce or just a plain sauce to cover
your entree.. I uses the low fat or calorie ones often.

Tomato and bacon, Ranch, or Italian are very nice to work with on
chicken.

You can heat up the salad dressings and most of them are creamy
already where you don't have to thicken them.

Using salad dressings as a sauce is a great way to begin to learn home
created sauces. They are already mixed and most people like some of
them already.

Now you can make a basic white sauce.. with skim milk and go to town
with all kinds of different seasoning ideas.. That is you putting in
the seasoning you like. Just don't make your roux from any grease, or
butter. smile.

Along this same idea.. is to add different kinds of wines to your
sauces. The list of ideas is endless.

Tomato sauce is very nice. I studied under an Italian chef from Italy
in my past and I was shocked at the simplicity of some of their
sauces..

And that certainly fits into our subject here. Plain crushed tomatoes
or tomatoe paste is so easy to work with and very low in calories.

I put a pan on the stove, medium heat, add a few drops of virgin olive
oil, put in some fine diced onions, fresh garlic, salt pepper. I let
them cook until the onions have a fine brown lines on the edges and
you can see through them.

I take some tomato paste, mix some water in it.. to get the density
where I want it at, then put that into my pan with the onions and
garlic. I then add the seasoning i like. Sometimes I stick a little
tofu in there for some protein.

Take some veggies which you like. I like carrots, celery, sweet bell
peppers red, yellow or green. I cut them up and steam them till they
are al dente.. (they have a snap in the middle when you bite in them)
put them aside.

when my sauce is ready. I add my veggies.. but only when I am ready to
serve it. I do not like over cooked veggies.

This basic sauce can be used on anything. Beef, chicken, pork, or even
fish.

There would be very few calories in this. You just have to think when
you fool with your old recipes that you will not add any grease, oil
or fats to it.

You can cook (with water) any beef afew hours before your meal and
pour the meat and water in a large bowl.. and make sure the water line
is above the meat. Put that bowl in the frig.. and let it cook down.
Take it out and remove the grease from the top. Take that beef and put
in in a collander and wash it off with as hot water as you can and
that will take out much of the dreaded fat.

Take that meat cut it up in small pieces put that meat in that tomato
sauce. Boil up some nice whole wheat pasta.. and as you sit down to
enjoy that say what Emeril Saids "Oh yeah babe"... You can ever go
further and add some "crushed red pepper" and do as Emeril does and
"kick it up a notch".. ( he is one of my favorite chefs and I love his
work)

I hope this might have given you some insight into pushing you forward
into creating some nice sauces.. and that you might, and anyone else
here, share some of yours with me too.

It is one of the main reasons I love being a chef/cook.. and that is
that one never gets too old or educated that one can't learn something
new.

I am one of the few fellows I know who subscribes to women's
magazines. I love the recipes.. smile. Some of the women who I work
with in the kitchen turn their heads when I can offer some points in
their conversations.. from the aritices I read from those magazines.
smile. Good diet tips in there too.. In any and all women magazines
there are always two subjects always mentioned. Diet and Recipes.


I have even been taught some nice recipes from my grandchildren. I ask
them what they like to eat and they tell me of their own creations.
And some of it is pretty good. Or pretty yummy as they say.

Good luck..

Monte

Hey, Monte,

Thanks for the great ideas. We'll all be chefs if you keep supplying us with
healthy tips.

Cat

"Montgomery Hounchell" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 11:19:35 -0400, "roxan"
wrote:
I have been following your story on another thread and was wondering if
you
could give us some tips on creating some good healthy sauces to put over
meat and veggies. This seems to be a problem for me since I don't like
plain
veggies or meat without some dressing on them. Not that I eat a lot gravy
or
fat but sometimes it is nice to have some other flavor with a dish
without
adding a lot of fat. Your help would be appreciated.

Hello Roxan,

Sauces and gravies are endless. I don't know what type of flavors you
like. Good recipes are very subjective. What I might like you might
not. Etc.

But if we can just talk basic here we can certain come up with
something.

You do not have to use any fat or grease to make any gravies or
sauces.

You can take plain water and season it until you like it and just add
a tablespoon of flour or some corn starch and thicken it.

There are some ways I do for myself. Which might be of interest for
you.

I take a vegetable "stock" and work with it often. I often get some
fat free low sodium chicken and beef stock in the soup section of the
store and work with it.

some other ideas which I do.. you can take most salad dressings and
make some very nice marinating sauce or just a plain sauce to cover
your entree.. I uses the low fat or calorie ones often.

Tomato and bacon, Ranch, or Italian are very nice to work with on
chicken.

You can heat up the salad dressings and most of them are creamy
already where you don't have to thicken them.

Using salad dressings as a sauce is a great way to begin to learn home
created sauces. They are already mixed and most people like some of
them already.

Now you can make a basic white sauce.. with skim milk and go to town
with all kinds of different seasoning ideas.. That is you putting in
the seasoning you like. Just don't make your roux from any grease, or
butter. smile.

Along this same idea.. is to add different kinds of wines to your
sauces. The list of ideas is endless.

Tomato sauce is very nice. I studied under an Italian chef from Italy
in my past and I was shocked at the simplicity of some of their
sauces..

And that certainly fits into our subject here. Plain crushed tomatoes
or tomatoe paste is so easy to work with and very low in calories.

I put a pan on the stove, medium heat, add a few drops of virgin olive
oil, put in some fine diced onions, fresh garlic, salt pepper. I let
them cook until the onions have a fine brown lines on the edges and
you can see through them.

I take some tomato paste, mix some water in it.. to get the density
where I want it at, then put that into my pan with the onions and
garlic. I then add the seasoning i like. Sometimes I stick a little
tofu in there for some protein.

Take some veggies which you like. I like carrots, celery, sweet bell
peppers red, yellow or green. I cut them up and steam them till they
are al dente.. (they have a snap in the middle when you bite in them)
put them aside.

when my sauce is ready. I add my veggies.. but only when I am ready to
serve it. I do not like over cooked veggies.

This basic sauce can be used on anything. Beef, chicken, pork, or even
fish.

There would be very few calories in this. You just have to think when
you fool with your old recipes that you will not add any grease, oil
or fats to it.

You can cook (with water) any beef afew hours before your meal and
pour the meat and water in a large bowl.. and make sure the water line
is above the meat. Put that bowl in the frig.. and let it cook down.
Take it out and remove the grease from the top. Take that beef and put
in in a collander and wash it off with as hot water as you can and
that will take out much of the dreaded fat.

Take that meat cut it up in small pieces put that meat in that tomato
sauce. Boil up some nice whole wheat pasta.. and as you sit down to
enjoy that say what Emeril Saids "Oh yeah babe"... You can ever go
further and add some "crushed red pepper" and do as Emeril does and
"kick it up a notch".. ( he is one of my favorite chefs and I love his
work)

I hope this might have given you some insight into pushing you forward
into creating some nice sauces.. and that you might, and anyone else
here, share some of yours with me too.

It is one of the main reasons I love being a chef/cook.. and that is
that one never gets too old or educated that one can't learn something
new.

I am one of the few fellows I know who subscribes to women's
magazines. I love the recipes.. smile. Some of the women who I work
with in the kitchen turn their heads when I can offer some points in
their conversations.. from the aritices I read from those magazines.
smile. Good diet tips in there too.. In any and all women magazines
there are always two subjects always mentioned. Diet and Recipes.


I have even been taught some nice recipes from my grandchildren. I ask
them what they like to eat and they tell me of their own creations.
And some of it is pretty good. Or pretty yummy as they say.

Good luck..

Monte

Lots of good ideas here! Thanks, Monte!

Chris

"Monte" wrote

Now you can make a basic white sauce.. with skim milk and go to town
with all kinds of different seasoning ideas.. That is you putting in
the seasoning you like. Just don't make your roux from any grease, or
butter. smile.


You can make white sauce without butter!!?? Who knew?

My head is about to explode at the possibilities!!

Thank you :-)

--
Walking on . . .
Laurie in Maine
207/110 60 inches of attitude!
Start: 2/02 Maintained since 2/03

Thanks Monte for all the great ideas. I will give them a try. I use wine in
my cooking for sauces but sometimes don't know whether to use a white wine
or red one. I did a cream sauce the other day with a little white wine and
couple table spoons of half and half over chicken that wasn't too bad once
it was reduced a little. Again thanks for responding to my request.
Roxan
"Montgomery Hounchell" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 11:19:35 -0400, "roxan"
wrote:
I have been following your story on another thread and was wondering if
you
could give us some tips on creating some good healthy sauces to put over
meat and veggies. This seems to be a problem for me since I don't like
plain
veggies or meat without some dressing on them. Not that I eat a lot gravy
or
fat but sometimes it is nice to have some other flavor with a dish
without
adding a lot of fat. Your help would be appreciated.

Hello Roxan,

Sauces and gravies are endless. I don't know what type of flavors you
like. Good recipes are very subjective. What I might like you might
not. Etc.

But if we can just talk basic here we can certain come up with
something.

You do not have to use any fat or grease to make any gravies or
sauces.

You can take plain water and season it until you like it and just add
a tablespoon of flour or some corn starch and thicken it.

There are some ways I do for myself. Which might be of interest for
you.

I take a vegetable "stock" and work with it often. I often get some
fat free low sodium chicken and beef stock in the soup section of the
store and work with it.

some other ideas which I do.. you can take most salad dressings and
make some very nice marinating sauce or just a plain sauce to cover
your entree.. I uses the low fat or calorie ones often.

Tomato and bacon, Ranch, or Italian are very nice to work with on
chicken.

You can heat up the salad dressings and most of them are creamy
already where you don't have to thicken them.

Using salad dressings as a sauce is a great way to begin to learn home
created sauces. They are already mixed and most people like some of
them already.

Now you can make a basic white sauce.. with skim milk and go to town
with all kinds of different seasoning ideas.. That is you putting in
the seasoning you like. Just don't make your roux from any grease, or
butter. smile.

Along this same idea.. is to add different kinds of wines to your
sauces. The list of ideas is endless.

Tomato sauce is very nice. I studied under an Italian chef from Italy
in my past and I was shocked at the simplicity of some of their
sauces..

And that certainly fits into our subject here. Plain crushed tomatoes
or tomatoe paste is so easy to work with and very low in calories.

I put a pan on the stove, medium heat, add a few drops of virgin olive
oil, put in some fine diced onions, fresh garlic, salt pepper. I let
them cook until the onions have a fine brown lines on the edges and
you can see through them.

I take some tomato paste, mix some water in it.. to get the density
where I want it at, then put that into my pan with the onions and
garlic. I then add the seasoning i like. Sometimes I stick a little
tofu in there for some protein.

Take some veggies which you like. I like carrots, celery, sweet bell
peppers red, yellow or green. I cut them up and steam them till they
are al dente.. (they have a snap in the middle when you bite in them)
put them aside.

when my sauce is ready. I add my veggies.. but only when I am ready to
serve it. I do not like over cooked veggies.

This basic sauce can be used on anything. Beef, chicken, pork, or even
fish.

There would be very few calories in this. You just have to think when
you fool with your old recipes that you will not add any grease, oil
or fats to it.

You can cook (with water) any beef afew hours before your meal and
pour the meat and water in a large bowl.. and make sure the water line
is above the meat. Put that bowl in the frig.. and let it cook down.
Take it out and remove the grease from the top. Take that beef and put
in in a collander and wash it off with as hot water as you can and
that will take out much of the dreaded fat.

Take that meat cut it up in small pieces put that meat in that tomato
sauce. Boil up some nice whole wheat pasta.. and as you sit down to
enjoy that say what Emeril Saids "Oh yeah babe"... You can ever go
further and add some "crushed red pepper" and do as Emeril does and
"kick it up a notch".. ( he is one of my favorite chefs and I love his
work)

I hope this might have given you some insight into pushing you forward
into creating some nice sauces.. and that you might, and anyone else
here, share some of yours with me too.

It is one of the main reasons I love being a chef/cook.. and that is
that one never gets too old or educated that one can't learn something
new.

I am one of the few fellows I know who subscribes to women's
magazines. I love the recipes.. smile. Some of the women who I work
with in the kitchen turn their heads when I can offer some points in
their conversations.. from the aritices I read from those magazines.
smile. Good diet tips in there too.. In any and all women magazines
there are always two subjects always mentioned. Diet and Recipes.


I have even been taught some nice recipes from my grandchildren. I ask
them what they like to eat and they tell me of their own creations.
And some of it is pretty good. Or pretty yummy as they say.

Good luck..

Monte

"Montgomery Hounchell" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 26 Sep 2003 11:19:35 -0400, "roxan"
wrote:
I have been following your story on another thread and was wondering if
you
could give us some tips on creating some good healthy sauces to put over
meat and veggies. This seems to be a problem for me since I don't like
plain
veggies or meat without some dressing on them. Not that I eat a lot gravy
or
fat but sometimes it is nice to have some other flavor with a dish
without
adding a lot of fat. Your help would be appreciated.

Hello Roxan,

Sauces and gravies are endless. I don't know what type of flavors you
like. Good recipes are very subjective. What I might like you might
not. Etc.

But if we can just talk basic here we can certain come up with
something.

You do not have to use any fat or grease to make any gravies or
sauces.

You can take plain water and season it until you like it and just add
a tablespoon of flour or some corn starch and thicken it.

In the south we make a roux for everthing - a one beer roux, two beer, etc.
A three beer roux is really dark A traditional roux involves using oil and
flour. Those of us who really don't need extra calories have found that
baking flour has the same effect. Spread flour thin over a baking sheet and
bake in a medium oven until the flour begins to turn color (usually one or
two beers) stirring frequently. Store in a jar and add to sauces to
thicken. The heated flour 'accepts' more liquid and makes for a nice sauce.

There are some ways I do for myself. Which might be of interest for
you.

I take a vegetable "stock" and work with it often. I often get some
fat free low sodium chicken and beef stock in the soup section of the
store and work with it.

some other ideas which I do.. you can take most salad dressings and
make some very nice marinating sauce or just a plain sauce to cover
your entree.. I uses the low fat or calorie ones often.

Tomato and bacon, Ranch, or Italian are very nice to work with on
chicken.

You can heat up the salad dressings and most of them are creamy
already where you don't have to thicken them.

Using salad dressings as a sauce is a great way to begin to learn home
created sauces. They are already mixed and most people like some of
them already.

Now you can make a basic white sauce.. with skim milk and go to town
with all kinds of different seasoning ideas.. That is you putting in
the seasoning you like. Just don't make your roux from any grease, or
butter. smile.

Along this same idea.. is to add different kinds of wines to your
sauces. The list of ideas is endless.

I love wine sauces. I drink white wine and my BF drinks red so there is
always left over wine at the house. I find the whites do not have a long
shelf life but make terrific sauces. One recipe that I love either as a
soup or as a sauce involves roasting tomatoes, garlic and a sweet vidalia
onion in the crock pot until they are complete mush. Then they are blended
until smooth. Adding beef broth and wine makes for a wonderful tomato soup
(add fresh basil from the garden and add some FF sour cream when serving).
By itself, it makes a thick sauce for pasta which can be thinned to taste
with broth or water or wine. Oh, and I find salt to be needed for either of
these recipes but I am not very sensitive to salt.

Tomato sauce is very nice. I studied under an Italian chef from Italy
in my past and I was shocked at the simplicity of some of their
sauces..

And that certainly fits into our subject here. Plain crushed tomatoes
or tomatoe paste is so easy to work with and very low in calories.

I put a pan on the stove, medium heat, add a few drops of virgin olive
oil, put in some fine diced onions, fresh garlic, salt pepper. I let
them cook until the onions have a fine brown lines on the edges and
you can see through them.

I take some tomato paste, mix some water in it.. to get the density
where I want it at, then put that into my pan with the onions and
garlic. I then add the seasoning i like. Sometimes I stick a little
tofu in there for some protein.

Take some veggies which you like. I like carrots, celery, sweet bell
peppers red, yellow or green. I cut them up and steam them till they
are al dente.. (they have a snap in the middle when you bite in them)
put them aside.

when my sauce is ready. I add my veggies.. but only when I am ready to
serve it. I do not like over cooked veggies.

This basic sauce can be used on anything. Beef, chicken, pork, or even
fish.

There would be very few calories in this. You just have to think when
you fool with your old recipes that you will not add any grease, oil
or fats to it.

You can cook (with water) any beef afew hours before your meal and
pour the meat and water in a large bowl.. and make sure the water line
is above the meat. Put that bowl in the frig.. and let it cook down.
Take it out and remove the grease from the top. Take that beef and put
in in a collander and wash it off with as hot water as you can and
that will take out much of the dreaded fat.

I am going to try that as I am a serious beefeater!

Take that meat cut it up in small pieces put that meat in that tomato
sauce. Boil up some nice whole wheat pasta.. and as you sit down to
enjoy that say what Emeril Saids "Oh yeah babe"... You can ever go
further and add some "crushed red pepper" and do as Emeril does and
"kick it up a notch".. ( he is one of my favorite chefs and I love his
work)

I love Emeril, as well. We have several of his resturaunts here in
Louisiana - NOLA's, Emeril's etc. His recipes are a tad complicated at
times but he is most entertaining.

I hope this might have given you some insight into pushing you forward
into creating some nice sauces.. and that you might, and anyone else
here, share some of yours with me too.

It is one of the main reasons I love being a chef/cook.. and that is
that one never gets too old or educated that one can't learn something
new.

I am one of the few fellows I know who subscribes to women's
magazines. I love the recipes.. smile. Some of the women who I work
with in the kitchen turn their heads when I can offer some points in
their conversations.. from the aritices I read from those magazines.
smile. Good diet tips in there too.. In any and all women magazines
there are always two subjects always mentioned. Diet and Recipes.

You have several qualities that would make you an excellent cook book
author. First, you appreciate good food. Second, you understand that
reducing calories and increasing the nutritional value of foods does not
have to result in sacrificing taste. Third, you have the ability to
communicate and teach through the written word. I know that I would buy
your cookbook if you ever wrote one! I can envision chapters in which you
teach the principles of making sauces, salads, etc. and then provide
recipes. Just a thought..........


I have even been taught some nice recipes from my grandchildren. I ask
them what they like to eat and they tell me of their own creations.
And some of it is pretty good. Or pretty yummy as they say.

Good luck..

Monte

SnugBear wrote:

"Monte" wrote

Now you can make a basic white sauce.. with skim milk and go to town
with all kinds of different seasoning ideas.. That is you putting in
the seasoning you like. Just don't make your roux from any grease, or
butter. smile.

You can make white sauce without butter!!?? Who knew?

You can't make a traditional white sauce which is thickened with a
roux, but you can make a starch-thickened sauce with a slurry.

roux = butter (or any fat) and flour (or any starch)
slurry = any starch (or flour) and water (or milk, wine, juice, stock,
etc.)

It's essentially how gravies are made. Pan juices, fat poured off,
deglazed with some water-based liquid and thickened with a starch by
bringing it to a light boil.

My head is about to explode at the possibilities!!

They're huge. Skim milk gravy, well-seasoned, thickened with a starch
is perfectly good food. Same thing for beef or chicken stock. Burgundy
wine, cooked down a bit and thickened with pan drippings is luscious.
For people doing a low carb approach, one of the food gums like
xanthan, guar or Arabic would be substituted if they wanted *no* added
carbs.

Pastorio

On Sat, 27 Sep 2003 22:16:49 -0500, "Julianne"
wrote:
Hi, Julianne,

In the south we make a roux for everthing - a one beer roux, two beer, etc.
A three beer roux is really dark

Now this is something interesting. I use a beer based batter for a
nice beading for fish, chicken, vegetables etc. but to make a roux
from it. Very interesting. I shall have to try this one out. You bake
the flour to get it dark for dark sauce. yes?

with broth or water or wine. Oh, and I find salt to be needed for either of
these recipes but I am not very sensitive to salt.

Yes. I do too. But in most resturants they don't allow us to cook with
salt, because of people who might have high blood pressure and others
who are allergic etc. But where I work now, in the college they allow
it. Not too many 18 to 22 year old students have too much trouble with
their salt intake. Smile.

I love Emeril, as well. We have several of his resturaunts here in
Louisiana - NOLA's, Emeril's etc. His recipes are a tad complicated at
times but he is most entertaining.

Louisiana? YES.. I love it there. I love the people and the FOOD.
A few years ago I was in and cooked for 450 worker/performers of The
Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey circus.
I traveled around this country to many times. And when we played New
Oreleans we all would go down to the French Quarter on Bourbon street
and "party".. smile. There was four or five us cooks and we would go
out to eat. We would ask the waiter to tell the chefs there that we
would like to talk some with them and they would come out and sit with
us and if the time was right and the business slow we would go into
the kitchen and discuss recipes. Good God what food we had, and what
music. It was one of the four places I found in these United States
where I said I could move to and feel at home.
Of course I am a southerner lived most of my life in the Hills of
Kentucky and there is that southeren feeling there but the New Orleans
people certainly live up to our wonderful southeren hospitality we are
famous for. There are some might fine people there and I carry around
many wonderful memories and recipes from the many chef's I was able to
meet and learn from when we were there.

I actually was taken outside at one place and the chef let me
"blacken" some fish. It was something else. that cast iron dutch oven
was red with hit on the bottom and it was a real experience frying
that fish. Smile.

You certainly shouldn't have any trouble finding wonderful recipes in
that area. Smile.


You have several qualities that would make you an excellent cook book
author.

Oh, thank you and bless you for your kind words. But I don't know
about writing.

Monte

"Montgomery Hounchell" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 27 Sep 2003 22:16:49 -0500, "Julianne"
wrote:
Hi, Julianne,

In the south we make a roux for everthing - a one beer roux, two beer,
etc.
A three beer roux is really dark

Now this is something interesting. I use a beer based batter for a
nice beading for fish, chicken, vegetables etc. but to make a roux
from it. Very interesting. I shall have to try this one out. You bake
the flour to get it dark for dark sauce. yes?

No, silly. We measure how long we cook the roux by how many beers you drink.
It is an exercise in patience as everyone tends to want to turn up the heat
and speed things up. You cannot speed a good roux.

with broth or water or wine. Oh, and I find salt to be needed for either
of
these recipes but I am not very sensitive to salt.

Yes. I do too. But in most resturants they don't allow us to cook with
salt, because of people who might have high blood pressure and others
who are allergic etc. But where I work now, in the college they allow
it. Not too many 18 to 22 year old students have too much trouble with
their salt intake. Smile.

I love Emeril, as well. We have several of his resturaunts here in
Louisiana - NOLA's, Emeril's etc. His recipes are a tad complicated at
times but he is most entertaining.

Louisiana? YES.. I love it there. I love the people and the FOOD.
A few years ago I was in and cooked for 450 worker/performers of The
Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey circus.
I traveled around this country to many times. And when we played New
Oreleans we all would go down to the French Quarter on Bourbon street
and "party".. smile. There was four or five us cooks and we would go
out to eat. We would ask the waiter to tell the chefs there that we
would like to talk some with them and they would come out and sit with
us and if the time was right and the business slow we would go into
the kitchen and discuss recipes. Good God what food we had, and what
music. It was one of the four places I found in these United States
where I said I could move to and feel at home.

The chef's in Louisiana are very proud and very comptetive. They love to
show off! I imagine chefs are like that everywhere but since there isn't a
shy bone in our entire state, it is easy to appreciate this in chef's. You
can eat at a different restaurant every day in New Orleans and never run out
of good places to eat.

Of course I am a southerner lived most of my life in the Hills of
Kentucky and there is that southeren feeling there but the New Orleans
people certainly live up to our wonderful southeren hospitality we are
famous for. There are some might fine people there and I carry around
many wonderful memories and recipes from the many chef's I was able to
meet and learn from when we were there.

I actually was taken outside at one place and the chef let me
"blacken" some fish. It was something else. that cast iron dutch oven
was red with hit on the bottom and it was a real experience frying
that fish. Smile.

Ah, we love blackened anything here! Also, with Thanksgiving coming, all
the men will be frying Turkeys. It is hard to mess up a fried turkey and
the women can concentrate on sweet potato casseroles, etc. while the men fry
turkeys. It is heavenly. At my BF's camp, we have a host of cast iron
cookware and his neighbor up there seasons it regularly for us. If you are
good, you never immerse them in water. I am not that good, being conscious
of germs and all.

You certainly shouldn't have any trouble finding wonderful recipes in
that area. Smile.

Too good, I'm afraid but there are some wonderful cajun cookbooks that have
addressed health can calories. Holly Clegg wrote one and Vernon Roget's is
to die for. For truly wonderful recipes, the River Road cookbooks are
wonderful. They are compilations of everyone's favorite recipes put
together for charity. Again, in the comptetitive spirit, only the best
recipes are included. No one really cares about fat and calories so each
recipe has to be considered carefully. I find one can almost always cut the
butter at least in half and buy leaner cuts of meat than are called for.


You have several qualities that would make you an excellent cook book
author.

Oh, thank you and bless you for your kind words. But I don't know
about writing.

Monte