Gen. Applewhite

I like a cajun brown jambalaya, as opposed to creole style with tomatoes. Unfortunately I did not get a pic of everything before starting, but the first step is to make a really flavorful stock. This is the carcass of a roasted chicken, the shells from a pound of shrimp, and trimmings from the onion, celery and green onions. After a couple hours of simmering I had 8 cups of stock, and after straining I put it back on the stove to reduce that down to 4: Once your stock is ready, brown up some andouille in a heavy bottomed pot: : Remove the sausage, then sauté the trinity and a jalapeño in the rendered fat: I cook the hell out of my vegetables, probably 30 minutes on medium heat, then stir in a tablespoon of cajun seasoning and some minced garlic for a couple more minutes: Add the stock, sausage, picked chicken, green onions, and a few bay leaves. Bring it all to a rolling boil and add 2 cups of rice: Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, turn it over (but don't stir), then cover with a lid and simmer for 15 more minutes. It should look like the pic below, after which I tossed in the shrimp, turned it over again, put the cover back on, turned off the heat, and let it steam for 15 minutes while the shrimp cook: Once the shrimp are pink it's ready to go. Serve with more green onions and hot sauce:

Cube 3 pounds of beef, cover in water and simmer until tender. Let it cool or refrigerate overnight and skim the fat off the top, and then add as much crushed garlic as you want, a pureed onion, and three packages of chili seasonings. Return to simmer and get it to the desired thickness, either by adding more liquid, or simmering with the lid off/adding a thickener (i.e., masa flour). At that point, adjust the final taste to your liking by adding any combination of salt, red pepper or cumin.

Not to mention that it's at a resort with a half dozen other restaurants. It is damn good though.

Yes. In some dishes, it's great, but in others I think it overpowers the bean flavor. I most dishes I use water, but as you can see with the above red bean recipe, the entire thing ends up as a smoky pork stock.

If you're in before COB Friday and BBQ is you

I'm here for the gangbang. Toast the peppers, soak in water, then puree: Cut the roast into steaks and sear the bejesus out of them: Sauté the onions, then add garlic, cumin and oregano: Cube the beef before going back in the pot. This is before adding the puree and some water: While drinking aggressively, simmer, taste and adjust until it is to your liking: I did not make cornbread, but was feeling too fancy to just crumble saltines:

The lighter ones on the left are Conecuh cajun sausage from Alabama, and the right is Comeaux's andouille, which Central Market carries. Both are a step up from the Cajun Hollar andouille I usually grab at HEB.

With overnight lows kissing 70, it's time to start this thread back up. I'll kick it off same as last time, with red beans. This particular batch might've been the best I've ever made. I will credit the second massive smoked hock I subbed in for the usual tasso, and my wife's idea to mash just a spoonful of the beans and leave the rest whole. Here is the lineup the night before, after which I soaked the beans and chopped the vegetables: Brown the sausage: Remove the sausage and sauté the trinity, jalapeño and green onions in the rendered fat, then stir in spices and half a head of garlic: Add back the sausage and soaked beans, then nestle in the hocks, this pic was taken before adding just enough water to cover, putting the lid on the pot and sticking it in a low oven for 3 hours: Once your beans are tender, pick the hoof meat and add it back to the pot, then either mash a spoonful of beans or let them simmer until the liquid gets creamy: Didn't even need rice. This will keep the bed warm tonight:

Are we talking about where it was set or shot? I'm assuming the former. I know Lawrence had been busting his ass all week getting to the job site, but I doubt he was commuting 3+ hours each way.

Anywhere with a Las Colinas I suppose.

My wife and I have had the opposite experience in Alamo Heights. Neither of us is from SA. My office recently moved from downtown to the 281/1604 area and while my commute isn't as nice as it used to be, the daily exposure to BFE has made me appreciate Alamo Heights and the other nearby areas even more.

I stayed at Turtle Bay ten years ago and loved it. North Shore was cool and it was a good jumping off point for day trips from Kaena Point all the way to Kaneohe. But I will echo that it is not a convenient drive into Honolulu. When is your trip? North Shore waves during the winter season is a sight to behold.

I see your explanation in the other thread. I can't decide if I need to follow this more closely or take a step back.

I'm curious as to who sent the email on page 81 of the Ike Kaveladze exhibits.

AH ain't no picnic. Some dude got murked 100 yards from my front door a couple years ago.

Ironside and Crack Shack

How dare you. Take it back. As has been stated, 1604 is such a clusterfuck it really makes me appreciate Alamo Heights' proximity to town. My job is about to move from DT to Sonterra and if not for the Thundercloud up there I'd be polishing my resume.

No advice on where to stay but eat a Swiss hot dog.

Enchiladas, pointy boots, close-but-not-too-close to Cotulla, affordable everything, heat indexes in the 120s

To each his own. I give Houston the nod on weather because of the summer thunderstorms that keep things green throughout the year, which I prefer to the dry brown summers you get everywhere west of I-45. Of course, I did not have to suffer through Harvey, so I don't get PTSD every time it starts to rain. And your point about flooding is well taken. With Houston's topography, there is nothing you can do but hope to get lucky. It comforts me to know that my house will never flood unless a pipe bursts.

I grew up in Fort Worth, and split my college/grad school years in my 20s between Austin and Houston. Now I'm 37 with a wife and two kids (2.5 & .5). There are more than enough good restaurants and things for us to do here in San Antonio, and we enjoy living close to downtown. Houston has it beat when it comes to weather, tall trees and Asian food, but raising a family there would be a comparative beating. Every visit to Austin, which is quite easy, confirms that it no longer has the qualities that I would miss about it. I would compare SA's small town feel to that of Fort Worth circa 1998-2003, without the surrounding Metroplex.

Pics of the egg rolls have been located:

It looks like all of my pics are lost to the ether, but I posted this recipe for crawfish egg rolls on the previous board: First, make a light roux of 3 Tbsp each butter and flour. Add in two cups of very finely diced trinity, two cloves of garlic and a Tbsp of cajun seasoning and cook it all until soft. Turn off the heat and stir in one cup of steamed rice, a quarter cup each of creme fraiche, heavy cream and seafood stock, a cup of sharp cheddar and a bunch of green onions. Once it cools add a pound and a half of cooked crawfish meat and stick it all in the fridge overnight. The next day, roll a quarter cup of filling into each big egg roll wrapper (or a big Tbsp rolled into a won-ton wrapper). At that point you can freeze. Eventually you should deep fry them until golden brown on the outside and serve with remoulade.

Ba Le Vietnamese, Fish Market Maui, and the Gazebo are solid cheap places near Hyatt Regency. I think it was the thread on the other site that learned me about Thai Food by Pranee on the road to Hana and it is indeed legit, worth planning the trip around her odd hours. Old Lahaina Luau is my pick if that's your thing, and if not for your kids I would absolutely hit the magic/comedy show in Lahaina, as lame as that sounds. Also, the drive from Kapalua to Kuhului around the northwest side of the island was scenic and pants shitting scary.

Building on this, Blue Crush is in my top ten.