Here's an item where questions about food can be asked and
(one hopes) answered.

96 responses total.

My first question:  Does anyone know whatever became of
Wheatena, the whole wheat hot cereal?  I used to love that
stuff, but in looking for it recently I have come up 
empty handed.  I wonder if it's possibly a regional thing
(I used to get it on the East coast), but I think I bought
it in Michigan at least once, several years ago.  So I
fear that it may have disappeared from the market 
entirely.  Does anyone have any leads?

Haven't looked for it lately, but I can confirm that it was
available locally.  Used to buy it here in Ann Arbor, many
years ago.

Okay, here's one I've wondered about.  Cooking sherry is just
fine, kept in a dark pantry, for a good long time.  Or so I've
heard.  But Marsala should be refrigerated after it's been opened,
right?  Does Marsala have a shorter shelf-life than generic sherry?
Is there a reason for this?  Have I been given bogus information?

Wheatena is available here.  I get it at the S. Industrial Kroger's and
I've seen it at Meijer.

Marsala is a wine, rather than a 'fortified' wine as sherry is.

Should sherry be refrigerated too?  

not necessary.  And HONEY keeps forever, if you don't mind melting it
again.

How do you melt it?  I've got a jar with a solid honey-lump in it
right now.

Put it in a pan of hot water.  You can keep the water on the stove at a
slow simmer if needed (I usually just keep changing the water as it cools).
Or, put it in the microwave and zap .5-1 minute at a time til it "melts".

I always keep my sherry in the fridge, but if the bottle has a 
good-fitting cork it's probably unnecessary.

Thanks, I'll start doing the same.

Wheatena--I've seen it at the Packard Street Food Co-op--and they also carry
          Bear Mush, which is very similar.  You can even get it in bulk.

Cooking Sherry--if you specifically mean *cooking* sherry, another factor that
          makes it keep longer is that when it's labeled for cooking, it's been
          "fortified" with salt.

        As to the regular sherry, I never refridgerate it and I've never had 
        a problem.  The extra alcohol content probably acts as a preservative.

Thanks, all.  I found my Wheatena a couple of days ago, at the
Busch's near the intersection of Plymouth and Green.

[Also speaking of looking for things, I finally found a store down here that
sells Vernors ginger ale!  ;-)  ]

Here's an odd sort of question.  What do people like to do
with leeks?  I bought some a few days ago because I'd heard
wonderful things about how they taste, but I'm not sure what
I'd like to do with them.  Greene has some leek recipes, but 
none of them lit my fire so far...

When we get ahold of some leeks we make onion family soup.  Just sautee some
of every kind of the onion family you have on hand or can get ahold of:  reg
onions, scallions, leeks, garlic, shallots.  Add chicken broth, water or
veggies stock, salt and pepper and whatever other spices you like.  Bring to
boil and simmer til all the veggies are tender.  Add some milk or cream and
gentley heat through.  Serve with crusty bread.  Yummy

   Leeks work well in stir frys too.

   Leeks work well eaten raw.

I usually use leeks instead of onions whenever I want onion flavor,
but not as 'strongly.' I don't use 'em much for things like
beef stew, but for risotto and chicken dishes they're great.

I've made a leek and potato soup once that turned out pretty good.

Thanks for all the ideas!

What does "tromp d'oeil" mean?  Stepping on eyes?  Williams Sonoma uses
the term a lot.

Tromp means to trick or fool. A tromp d'oeil is when someone paints
a window on a blank wall and you're fooled into thinking that it's
an actual window.  Dunno what it has to do with food, though.

Valerie, I have a cookbook which includes a whole mess of tromp d'oeil
recipies.  Some very weird looking food.  Grapefruit halves with eyes,
a "pizza" which is actually a strawberry dessert, etc.

Sorry to nitpick, but I believe the term is "trompe l'oeil".
Have to go check my art books to be 100 percent certain, though.

Right you are!

 What is in a "Diablo Sandwich" and how is it prepared.

 Saw this in a movie once, and always wanted to try it.

 You have no idea what is in one, or how they're prepared, yet you want to
eat one?

  I'm that way about a lot of things. I can usually make a decision about
liking it from the recipe, and the ingrediants. But then again, I shouldn't
be taking your venomous bait in the first place. Shame on me.

  Are blackeyed peas a variety or close relative of chickpeas?

Well, they're all legumes.  Why do you ask?

  Because.

  Or, in more detail--seems to me somebody told me they were
  closely related (more so than just both being legumes), so
  I'm curious if that's true or not.

My dictionary says they are both pealike edible seeds, but the chickpea
comes from a bushy plant (Cicer arietenum) and the black-eyed pea,
or cowpea, comes from a tropical vine (Vigna sinensis).  This
doesn't sound like a very close relationship.

Possibly a confusion between chicks & cows on someone's part?

  How long do "winter squashes" last?  I've got an acorn squash or
something that's been sitting around for about 3 months.  It's
turned from green-orange to mostly orange, but still feels hard on
the outside.  Might it still be edible, or would I be advised not
to open it?

Winter squashes can last a long time.  As long as it isn't mushy,
it's safe to open it to see what's inside.

I'm under the impression that they're called winter squashes because
people could keep them around and eat 'em all through the winter.

I agree with valerie...you can keep winter squashes around for ages...it will
smell distinctly icky when opened if bad...not like a fresh squash at
all...you will definitely know if it is bad!

I agree, the squash should be good.  Does anyone have an old fashioned reciepe
for wald!tel seangi  youre welcomed help !help

I,m looking for  a waldorf salad receipe.  I mostly need help with what goes
into the dressing for it. exit quit !quit !exit I also need help with this
conf. business!

Hi Liz!  You're doing basically the right thing, you'll get there.  :)
(I don't have a Waldorf Salad recipe, but wanted to enter an encouraging
response.)

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