Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkeys Find Everything Hilarious, Including Own Mortality : Video Interlude : Eater National

Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkeys Find Everything Hilarious, Including Own Mortality : Video Interlude : Eater National

Give Me a Slug o' Booze!

Technomic has come out with its restaurant trend predictions for 2011. Now, I've never heard of Technomics before but, by their name, I assume they have something to do with technology and economics. I'm clever that way. Why they're talking about adult beverages, I haven't a clue. But I like adult beverages so I'll bite. 

"Adult beverages, from retro cocktails and high-end spirits to craft beers will get more play in appropriate markets." (Photo: Thinkstock)

So the Mad Men craze is still going strong. And influencing what we drink. With the exception of craft beer, as every man in 1964 drank Pabst Blue Ribbon. Women did not drink beer at all and instead had to chug cough syrup and vanilla except for Betty Draper and her ilk, thin as rail women who could work some undergarments and pearls to their best advantage.

I like adult beverages (yes, I am repeating myself). Sometimes I enjoy going to BevMo and fantasizing about all the high-end liquor and craft beer I would buy if money was no object. You see, the appreciation for alcohol was ingrained into me from youth. My Great Uncle Charles, Helen's brother, a crusty Baltimore born-and-bred codger who loved to drive his huge white Caddy with red leather interior and laughed in a way to betray that he smoked way too many cigarettes, taught me at two or three years old to ask for adult beverages. 

"Lauren, what would you like to drink?"

"Give me a slug o' booze!"

He thought it was really funny. 

At four or five, I could serve the Jolly Girls their cocktails made to order. I could also concoct an old-fashioned, muddling fruit with the best of bartenders. My parents often took me to their favorite piano bar, The Eager House, where special attention was paid to me, where I sat in a special bar stool, drank umpteen million Shirley Temples, and had songs sung just to me by the piano player. I was princess of the Eager House. 

As I light tonight's drinking lamp in preparation for Friday cocktail hour, why don't I share a few concoctions to ready you for 2011. 

1. The Classic Martini 

"I'm not talking a cup of cheap gin splashed over an ice cube. I'm talking satin, fire and ice; Fred Astaire in a glass; surgical cleanliness; insight and comfort; redemption and absolution. I'm talking a martini" --Anonymous

2 1/2 ounces top shelf gin                             

1 1/2 teaspoons dry vermouth
1 lemon twist or cocktail olive

In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine the gin and vermouth. Shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the olive. I like a little olive juice splashed into the shaker and prefer my martini with a blue cheese olive. And, sacrilege, schmacrilege, I prefer substituting the gin with premium vodka as gin makes me mean and I am not a mean person. Belvedere works nicely. Absolut if you're slumming it.

2. The Manhattan

Although many legends exist as to the origin of the Manhattan, many involving Lady Randolph Churchill (Winston's mum), one

 urban legend suggests that the drink was named "Manhattan" after the city's sewage and water system, which ran brown at the time. Ew!

1 3/4 ounces Crown Royal Reserve (or other premium whiskey)

1/2 ounce Sweet Vermouth

1-3 dashes of Bitters

Combine all ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker, strain into a chilled glass, garnish with a Maraschino cherry, and serve straight up. A Dry Manhattan substitutes Dry Vermouth for Sweet and is garnished with a twist. A Rob Roy uses Scotch Whiskey rather than Canadian or Bourbon.

3. The Old Fashioned

The Old Fashioned  first made its appearance in the 1880s at the Pendennis Club, a gentlemen's club in Louisville, Kentucky. Invented by a bartender at the club, it was popularized by Colonel James E Pepper who brought it to the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.


3 dashes bitters 
2 orange slices
1 sugar cube
3 ounces blended whiskey
1 maraschino cherry


In an old-fashioned glass, muddle the bitters and orange into the sugar cube, using the back of a teaspoon. Almost fill the glass with ice cubes and add the whiskey. Garnish with another orange slice and cherry, Serve with a swizzle stick. Substitute brandy for the appropriately named Brandy Old Fashioned. The Old fashioned is a favorite of the hunky but flawed Don Draper on "Mad Men".

4. The Daiquiri

The term daiquiri comes from a beach near Santiago, Chile. An urban legend suggests it was invented by a group of American mining engineers who ran out of gin. It is nothing like the sicky sweet frozen frippery ubiquitous on chain restaurant menus everywhere.

• 8 parts white Cuban rum
• 2 parts lime juice
• 1 part simple syrup

Shake with lots of finely crushed ice and strain well into a chilled cocktail glass.

5. The Sidecar

The Ritz Hotel in Paris claims to be the origin of the Sidecar invented around World War I by Sam "Suck It" Treadway.

• 8 parts Cognac or Armagnac
• 2 parts lemon juice
• 1 part Cointreau or Triple Sec

Pour all ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist.

So there, make yourself a cocktail, sit by the fire, and discuss the future of plastics together. Cheers!

A history of zombies in America

Because we have to satisfy our zombie fetish. Also, it's a very interesting article.

"Zombies are like the memories of terrible events that we've tried to stash away, tried to forget. And they're not just one memory - they're our mass memory of lives lost, homes destroyed, nations crushed. I think that's why zombies always come in hordes. They return to us the way traumatic memories always do, unbidden, in our fantasies, in a form even more distorted than the original. They're here to make us remember what we've been through and what we've done."

A history of zombies in America

"Hell's Kitchen NIGHTMARES Iron TOP Chef Cafeteria THROWDOWN Ultimate Cookoff CHALLENGE"

Last night, the often hilarious, always controversial South Park aired its season finale, a satirical and very blue skewering of Food Network, its celebrity chefs, and food porn (literally). As someone who watches my share of cooking shows, whether they're instructional, travel-based, or reality (Top Chef All-Stars starts December 1st!), I had to watch it. And I recognized all the chefs they lampooned, a bejeweled Guy Fieri (pictured here), an over-the-top ginger Bobby Flay, a nerdy Alton Brown, a Southern-accent-dripping Paula Deen, a stacked-with-"breasticles"giant-headed Giada De Laurentiis, a sobbing Jamie Oliver ("school cafeteria food should be healfy"), an orange-clogged Mario Batali, and a particularly funny Gordon Ramsay, impersonated by Eric Cartman.

A clip to illustrate:

Creme Fraiche
Tags: SOUTH
PARKRandy Marsh,Sharon Marsh,more...

Stan's father, Randy, has a food porn problem. He stays up late at night and watches what his wife refers to as the "no-no channel". He watches with a blanket on his lap, a blanket with one hand underneath. There is movement under the blanket. He knows what he likes. After his wife uses parental blocks to prevent his pleasure, he uses the very expensive "hotline" to discuss pan-roasting a chicken and deglazing the pan of its brown bits until his wife catches him.

In response, Stan's mom/Randy's wife decides to do something just for herself and buys the already pornographic in appearance Shake Weight. Honestly, the infomercials on this thing already look like hand job instructional devices so it didn't seem like much of a stretch until we learned the Shake Weight ejaculates "cool down liquid"  when the workout is over and needs to be used (faster, faster, switch hands, put your finger there, we need to take your pulse) before it can go into sleep mode. And then there's the cab fare it discharges. Hilarious.

 Cue Corona beer beach scene complete with teak chairs, Sharon in one, the Shake Weight in the other. I found this subplot smarter than the main Randy-centric one. The Shake Weight had a HAL-like voice and became more needy as the episode progressed. Yes, I am a scifi nerd.

 Meanwhile, in the school cafeteria, it was a "Hell's Kitchen NIGHTMARES Iron TOP Chef Cafeteria THROWDOWN Ultimate Cookoff CHALLENGE". Personalities were exaggerated. Jamie Oliver sobbed and sobbed. Paula Deen did things with fat and butter. Giada De Laurentiis smiled vapidly. Mario Batali flipped his shrimp. Alton Brown narrated.

Cartman as Ramsay yelled and cussed and said f*ck and wanker a lot. The competition was thrilling in a Food Network manufactured drama kind of way. Then, Randy could not find his secret ingredient, creme fraiche.

I'm not going to spoil the very end for you. Let's just say it was satisfying for Randy and Sharon in the end. In an Old Fashioned Way. And Randy slept for the first time in days. And I thought it was one of the most "wrong" South Parks after that contest with Slave and Paris Hilton or perhaps the Lemmywinks saga (still my favorite South Park episode ever). David thought it was funny and "not that bad". To which I exclaimed, "The Shake Weight splooging all over Sharon's face wasn't wrong? What about Randy masturbating to Food Network while the boys were still in the room?"

As usual, I was right and he was wrong. 

The full episode is here.

What they (creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone) did right: The characterizations of the celebrity chefs were dead on and honestly did not need much embellishment or exaggeration as they are all over the top to begin with.
What they did wrong: Well, not much but they didn't include Rachel Ray. Though she is a strange animated person to begin with so I suppose they thought adding her would be redundant.
What I thought of it: It made me uncomfortable and I thanked the Flying Spaghetti Monster multiple times that I was not watching it with my teens. I loved the Shake Weight subplot. As in any art form, there is something right about a device that makes its viewers both laugh, think, and feel uncomfortable regardless of the subject matter. South Park is one of the dumbest and, at the same time, smartest shows on television.
.

Hey Sweet Potato, I could eat you with a spoon!

When I was a little girl, Helen, or Gramma as I called her, would hug me tight and declare that I was so sweet, she could eat me with a spoon. Which, looking back, was very loving and wonderful in that way that only grandmothers can convey; but, at the time, it frightened me. I had all sorts of mental images of my grandmother, who was a tall, big-boned German woman, wielding a giant grapefruit spoon and plunging it into my short, small-boned American body like a deranged zombie.

I assumed it had to be a grapefruit spoon as it needed sharp edges and a point to really dig into my my flesh. Unfounded fear is all in the details. 

But we're here to talk about pie, aren't we? Thanksgiving is in exactly a week. And I am scheduled to work that day. Which does not please me. So let's pout and make sweet potato pie. With bourbon, some in the pie and a slitch on ice for the baker.

Sweet Potato Pie is similar to pumpkin pie in the fact that is indeed orange and uses similar spices and flavorings in its recipe. But a sweet potato is a tuber while a pumpkin is a squash. As an aside, sweet potatoes are not yams but were mislabeled as such by growers who thought we were too stupid to know a sweet potato was not the same as regular potatoes. Because there is nothing worse than baking what you think are russets and discovering that your chives and bacon bits are useless. Yams are a completely different genus and species, are native to Africa, popular in Latin American dishes, and very sweet. They can also grow over seven feet long which would be damned difficult to manage in my kitchen.

To my taste buds, sweet potatoes are richer and slightly more sugary than pumpkins. But canned pumpkin puree is ubiquitous this time of year and one actually has to bake and mash sweet potatoes. How inconvenient. We're making pie with them regardless.

Or irregardless as Helen would say. She loved collecting malapropisms and using them for her own amusement so that someone, meeting her for the first time, would not realize that she knew the correct word or phrase.


Let's bake!


This recipe is courtesy of Paula Deen and FoodNetwork.

Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Prep Time:

20 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

1 hr 55 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups peeled, cooked sweet potatoes
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 stick melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 to 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 cup milk
• 9-inch unbaked pie crust
• 3 egg whites

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the filling, using an electric hand mixer, combine the potatoes, 1 cup of the sugar, the butter, eggs, vanilla, salt, and spices. Mix thoroughly. Add the milk and continue to mix. Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Place the pie on a rack and cool to room temperature before covering with meringue.

For the meringue, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form; beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is glossy and stiff, but not dry. With a rubber spatula, spoon the meringue onto the pie, forming peaks. Make sure the meringue touches the crust all around. Sprinkle with a pinch of granulated sugar. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until delicately browned. Cool and serve.

What I did right: I added extra vanilla, a dollop of bourbon and a generous pinch of nutmeg. It seemed sacrilege to not use nutmeg. When beating the meringue, I added a 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar, doubled the amount of egg whites, and beat them to soft peaks with a hand mixer in my clean copper bowl. Nice and high, that's how I like my meringue.
What I did wrong: See Butterscotch Cream Pie.
What I thought of it: Yum. More complex than pumpkin pie, different in that it's topped with meringue instead of whipped cream. It's lighter and better for you. After all, nutritionists at the Center for Science and the Public Interest ranked sweet potatoes #1 in nutrition, outscoring the next highest vegetable by over 100 points.
How I'll tweak it next time: I think I'll make two. Teenage boys, you know.

Innovative Pies From a New Generation of Bakers - NYTimes.com

Who knew pies were trendy?

Innovative Pies From a New Generation of Bakers - NYTimes.com

Tomorrow Night South Park Takes on the Food Network : Video Interlude : Eater National

Must-See TV! Better than microwaved balls! More fun than Big Gay Al! (Too much? Let's watch it and see for ourselves.)

Tomorrow Night South Park Takes on the Food Network : Video Interlude : Eater National

The Channeler is Not Baking Today

Why, you may ask? Well, she's damned tired as she is still working in the often menial, typically Sisyphean food and beverage industry and has been on her feet for far too many hours in the last several days. Her dogs are barking and we are not referring to the puggle, the bloodhound, or the little brown mutt. 

Oy, my feet hurt, my legs ache, and I got a little thing ya know, a little scratchiness. And heavens to Mergatroid, I cannot afford to get sick.

So I have an assignment for you. Make some pie crust for this week. It will make the pies go faster. If you have a food processor, which I do because I am a kitchen gadget whore, use it to make your pie crust. If you don't, use two knives or a pastry blender. If you buy a pre-made pie crust, don't tell me. I can't bear to know these things.

For two 9" pie shells, mix or pulse together 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 tsp of salt. Cut in or pulse 2 sticks (1 cup) of very cold butter cut into pieces. Into a 1-cup Pyrex measuring cup, add an egg yolk, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar, and a little crushed ice. Add water until the mixture reaches the 1/2 cup level. Mix and add to your flour and butter mixture, either with your hands and forks or by adding a slow stream through the feed tube of the food processor while it is running (quick, catch it!). You may not need to add all the liquid as you only need enough until it almost gathers into a ball.

Divide the dough in half. Stick each into a gallon ziploc bag, smush into a flat disc, seal and put it into the refrigerator until later. There, you're done. Go watch Glee and The Fashion Show with TLo. Beware Iman.

Oh, if you were one of those extra credit overachievers in school and want to do more to get ahead, you can bake some sweet potatoes, enough for approximately two cups of mashed sweet potato. I used four medium sweet potatoes.

That is all. I will try not to be so punchy tomorrow. Sláinte! 

Pie Week!

Just like Shark Week but sweeter!

Eons and eons ago, when I was but a mere teenager, I spent a summer working at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. I was there to play nanny to a young baby, the son of the hotel manager, and to free my parents, who were living in North Carolina, of my presence so they could have sex anytime they damned well pleased.

Beside the perks of being able to use the spa free of charge, to eat anything on the premises I desired, and to spend hours hanging poolside with hunky teenage lifeguards, all while getting paid, I got to play Suzie Homemaker and bake during the baby's naptime. On one such magical afternoon, and after searching for recipes which I had the ingredients to make, I discovered the glory that is Butterscotch Cream Pie.

Although a butterscotch pie is not traditional for Thanksgiving, and, in fact, no pie that I feature this week will be, it is a delectable dessert treat. Not too sweet, the richness of its pudding filling is balanced with the lightness of meringue cradled in a flaky pie crust. It's ready for its closeup, Mr DeMille. Just bake and devour.

Recipe was submitted by Colleen on the allrecipes.com website. The photos are my own. 

And, no, I am not a photographer. If Barry or Julie visit, you'll be able to see some quality food porn.

Butterscotch Cream Pie

Rated: Submitted By: Colleen Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cook Time: 40 Minutes Ready In: 45 Minutes Servings: 8

"This recipe has been a favorite of mine and my family for over 50 years. The meringue topping with the butterscotch filling makes for a very rich dessert, eat it warm."

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups milk 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 egg yolks 3 tablespoons butter, melted 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 egg whites 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Brush pie crust lightly with egg white to seal. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until light brown and crisp. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	In a small bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar and salt; set aside. In the top of a double boiler over medium heat, scald the milk while stirring with a whisk. Slowly whisk in the flour mixture. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened; remove from heat.
3.	Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Stir in 1/3 of the milk mixture to temper the yolks, Then pour the yolk mixture back into the pan. Return to the stove and cook, stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Pour into baked pie crust.
4.	In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and confectioners' sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, covering completely.
5.	Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 to 15 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown in spots.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com What I did right: As I don't cotton to tempering egg yolks (pathological fear of scrambling), I performed my Time Saving Superhero Pudding and Pie Filling Shortcut. After whisking the dry ingredients together in a heavy bottomed saucepan (I prefer All-Clad Master Chef), I mixed in the egg yolks and then drizzled in the milk before heating the pan. After about ten minutes of stirring with a whisk, the mixture thickened and came to a full boil. I took it off the heat, added the butter and twice the vanilla called for, and, shazam, butterscotch pie filling. Also, I used a clean copper bowl and a handheld mixer to beat the egg whites, giving me picture-perfect meringue. What I did wrong: I could say I did nothing wrong though I did insist on using my favorite Emile Henry 10" pie plate which was a tad large for this recipe. My 8" Pyrex would have made a high and perfect pie but it's boring glass and I like pretty dishes. I am a girl after all. What I thought of it: Delicious! There I was right back at The Greenbrier all over again, poolside with hunky teenage lifeguards. Then, I started to feel pervy because I am 47  and my twin boys are the same age as those lifeguards were so I just ate quietly and minded my own beeswax while my waistline expanded. How I'll tweak it next time: I'll search the internets for a smaller but still pretty pie plate or, sigh, use the Pyrex one. Other than that, I won't change a thing. Unless you all have a special request, tomorrow we'll talk dough and sweet potatoes. And ugly pie plates because the pretty one has a pie in it.  BTW, Helen would definitely enjoy a piece of this pie. She liked having  "a little meat on her bones". In moderation. "Everything in moderation."

Get Thee to Tom and Lorenzo!

When I started this blog, I had every intention of adding zombies to the food and drink. After all, a cocktail is named after them. Plus, I've been a fan of all things zombie since I was a wee bairn "sleeping" in the backseat of my parents' Thunderbird at the drive-in movie theater.

With the advent of the Best New Show on Television, The Walking Dead, I planned on writing a weekly review. More than just camp or schlock, the series is full of character study and plot blended with a large serving of pathos. Last night's episode, the third of six, was outstanding. I think my favorite thus far. I wanted to share my enthusiasm with you all, my handful of readers who come for recipes, stories, drama, and humor and be able to say, "Surprise, I got you gore!"

The trouble/gift is that Tom and Lorenzo, my favorite gays in the whole wide world, beat me to it and did a better job than I could ever manage. So surf there. Do not pass GO and do not collect $200.

You can thank me later.

Today's Interesting-to-Lauren Trivia. In the series, the living refer to the zombies as "Walkers", the very same term we use at the golf club to describe players without carts. This amuses me. You can make your own judgments. 

The Rediscovery of Sweet Corn Cake

With many thanks to Julie Delio.

Many moons ago, when we had fewer children and animals to husband, Hubby and I treated ourselves to the occasional brunch at Kiva Grill. This upscale New Mexico-style restaurant across from the no-longer-new Marriott in the La Jolla/UTC area of California featured amazing cuisine unfamiliar to me at the time. Amongst the delicious blue corn tamales, the red or green chiles, the posole, and the pork adovada, lay a hidden yet simple gem, Mexican Sweet Corn Cake. Not quite a pudding but not a bread either, it's sweetness provided the perfect foil to the spiciness of its accompaniments. 

Note from Helen: "I don't like spice. All that pepper makes me choke." Coughs for emphasis. 

We loved the sweet corn cake. We emptied multiple chafing dishes of sweet corn cake. Because of that love, The Kiva Grill went belly up as their corn cake costs became too high to stay in business. I may be slightly exaggerating but they did, in fact, close down and I, in fact, had babies and sat on the bed for a year with a pillow on my lap practicing the football hold while nursing twins and never went to brunch again. But I digress.

Years of fun and chaos passed with nary a thought to the aforementioned corn cake until a recent sojourn to Texas, state of great cuisine in which each and every Anglicized/mispronounced city demands in its charter that a Tex-Mex and a barbecue restaurant must exist for every 10,000 people at a minimum. The lovely and gracious Julie Delio served as hostess and, on my last day there and after an interesting tour of downtown Fort Worth, the cattleyards, and the barrio, we ended up at an upscale New Mexican restaurant serving Sunday brunch. And there, there amongst 10,000 salsas and meats aplenty, a beacon from my past shone. Right in front of me, Sweet Mexican Corn Cake. I did my Meg Ryan in Harry Met Sally impression right then and there but I was not, repeat, I was not faking it. 

Home, I searched the internets and tubes and discovered the following recipe. Today, I tried it. What follows are my thoughts and critiques.

Recipe was submitted by Lee Ann Clarke to the allrecipes.com website.

Sweet Corn Cake

Rated: Submitted By: Lee Ann Clarke Photo By: Christina Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 1 Hour Ready In: 1 Hour 15 Minutes Servings: 6

"Corn flour, or masa harina, is available at many larger grocers. Here it blends with corn meal, sugar, butter and cream in this luscious pudding-cake."

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter, softened 1/3 cup masa harina 1/4 cup water 1 1/2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed

1/4 cup cornmeal 1/3 cup white sugar 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a medium bowl beat butter until it is creamy. Add the Mexican corn flour and water and beat until well mixed.
2.	Using a food processor, process thawed corn, but leave chunky. Stir into the butter mixture.
3.	In a separate bowl, mix cornmeal, sugar, cream, salt, and baking powder. Add to corn flour mixture and stir to combine. Pour batter into an ungreased 8x8 inch baking pan. Smooth batter and cover with aluminum foil. Place pan into a 9x13 inch baking dish that is filled a third of the way with water.
4.	Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven F (175 degrees C) oven for 50 to 60 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Use an ice cream scoop for easy removal from pan.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com What I did right: I didn't try to "healthy-up" the recipe. Helen always said butter makes it better and, pounds schmounds, she was dead right. I used polenta instead of regular cornmeal which I think gave it more bite and I used half and half because that's all I had and I was too lazy and unshowered to drive 16 miles to the grocery store. What I did wrong: I prepared it in the Kitchenaid stand mixer which was overkill, not enough batter for such a large bowl without the handy dandy scraping beater blade that I don't own.  Next time, I will use one medium and one small bowl, my right hand, a fork, and a spatula. I suppose one could use a hand mixer if creaming butter with bare hands makes one squeamish. Personally, I need the extra moisture. Also, I did not use hot water in the water bath which prolonged the cooking time. What I thought of it: After I clean the corn kernels from behind my ears and in between my toes because I felt compelled to bathe in it, I'll let you know. In other words, Meg Ryan in Harry Met Sally all over again. And again without the faking it. How I'll tweak it next time: I don't need to do a damned thing to it but I might add chopped hatch chiles or bacon bits to add a little salt and spice but, as Helen was wont to say, that would be gilding the lily. BTW, another wonderful discovery in Texas? Shiner Bock. Which I could also bathe in but, for now, I think I'll drink some and watch football. It is Sunday, after all.