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austingirl

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Everything posted by austingirl

  1. Yikes, microwaving roux is a great way to ruin a microwave.
  2. The thing about roux is that while it's certainly a measure of pride (and the mark of a lot of practice) to be able to make a good one from scratch, it's only two basic ingredients - white flour and a neutral oil. Without the rest of the gumbo ingredients, there's not a big flavor difference between two rouxs cooked to the same color of doneness, whether it's made fresh or from a jar.
  3. Yes, it's awesome. After you've done that, smoke a duck and make a gumbo with it, if you haven't already. My uncle always makes a ton of smoked duck gumbo after the first weekend of hunting season. Same - I grew up eating poultry/sausage or seafood gumbo. I also like file in my seafood gumbo. My uncle is deathly allergic to shellfish so we didn't eat seafood gumbo often, because we always made enough gumbo for big family gatherings. And it's so damn expensive to get enough seafood to make a big enough pot. ALTHOUGH a few years back, in what is possibly the most southeast TX thing that's ever happened, my dad was riding his bike down Gulf (the street) behind a shrimp truck and a 75-lb bag of flash-frozen shrimp fell out. The driver didn't notice, so he waited a few minutes and when the truck didn't come back around, he went home, got his truck, went back to the bag (it was about a block from home), loaded it up and brought it home. The shrimp was still frozen so he and my mom spent the evening bagging it all into 5-gallon ziplocks and putting them in the deep freeze. They brought us several bags the next time they came to town. So that's one way to make affordable seafood gumbo.
  4. Last week in the yard I came across a small adult mockingbird just sitting on the ground. The second the dogs spotted her she flew off, but didn't go high and landed on the ground by our fence. Edgar sniffed and pawed at her but she still didn't fly away, even when another mockingbird flew down and tried to swipe at the dogs, and then Rocket (who was in a cone) reached down and chomped on her and that was that. Looked up at me with feathers hanging out of his mouth. I wish they'd stick with rodents and not mess with the mockingbirds, but it's the circle of life, I guess.
  5. See I always get the stuffed crabs or catfish pontchartrain there. With some of those au gratin potatoes as a side. But everything there is amazing. 🙄 Yes, really.
  6. Here's how I make a gumbo. Brown all the andouille. I use 4 12 oz packs of Cajun Holler since it's the easiest to get a hold of in Austin. Damn I miss Nick's in PA, though. Make a roux. I use 1 cup flour to 1 cup vegetable oil. Back home though I save myself some work and use a jar of Douget's or Savoie's roux. I actually never made roux till I moved to Austin and couldn't find it anywhere but Sambet's on 183. Takes me about 30 minutes to make it these days, now that I have a lot of practice under my belt. If you're worried about messing it up, just keep the flame low and be patient. Here it is about ready: Add trinity plus a handful of garlic. I use about 2 green peppers, 2 big onions, and 4-5 celery stalks. Season with a shitload of Tony's and cook about 10 minutes, till the veggies get soft. Add about 3 quarts water or chicken broth, the sausage, and more Tony's. Cook about 30 minutes. Add 3 lbs chicken thighs, seasoned with Tony's. Cook at least an hour. Add 1 bunch each of green onions and Italian parsley. Cook another 15 minutes. Plated with a side of garlic bread. Happy Saturday, y'all! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  7. God, I'm sure I'd be waking up in cold sweats for the rest of my life too. I'm glad everyone in your family is ok. The other thing I keep thinking about from that article is how so many of the 911 callers had no idea what address they were at because they were vacationers. I've never thought about that before but I'm damn sure committing future vacation addresses to memory from now on.
  8. I remember when this happened but had not read the Texas Monthly article till now. I fell asleep last night thinking about it and woke up this morning thinking about it. I can't even imagine what everyone in that house went through and what McComb still must be going through. I'm glad to see that he has remarried and had a new baby.
  9. I can't speak to all the pros/cons as we always had a 5th wheel/pull trailer, but my parents' standpoint has always been that it's easier to pull an RV than it is to drive a motor home while pulling a car, and 5th wheels are cheaper than motor homes, and it's a pain in the ass to get somewhere and not have any other way to get around than by driving the RV around. I'm sure you know this but you don't want to get it hooked up to water, sewer, etc and then have to unhook it to get somewhere.
  10. I just got off the phone with my dad and he said to absolutely not get the 6.0 diesel (that's what he had at one point) but you should be good to go with what you got. He says Fords are the best he's had for towing.
  11. My parents bought their first RV in the late 80s - a Starcraft pop-up. 30 years later, yadda yadda yadda, they're now in a 38-ft Elite Suites 5th wheel and all my childhood vacation stories involve RVs. The most memorable one was in Colorado, where we went several times but only once decided to head up to Silverton. I was in high school at the time, so it was in the mid-to-late 90s. I don't remember all the details of the day we tried to get up there, but the gist was that the map did not indicate that at one of the mountain passes, we'd have to drive through a covered bridge around a sharp turn. We were pulling a 30-ish foot 5th wheel with a large pickup and once we got up there it was clear that there was no way we were going to make it through. My dad had to back the whole rig down the mountain, and of course the road was narrow and winding. Had I been paying much attention I'd have been terrified, but I was an oblivious teenager reading a book and didn't realize the gravity of the situation until later. Anywho, my dad tows their current RV with a 2005 F350 diesel. I can find out more details if you need them.
  12. Where in north Austin? We're in Milwood (the one by Mopac/Duval) and the light show is picking up. Dogs are going nuts with the thunder.
  13. Did it at least double after the first 2 hour rise? Ciabatta is a tough one because the dough is so wet that it makes it harder to handle without deflating, so for that first rise after kneading, I like it to triple. This gives you a little wiggle room for some of the bubbles you'll inevitably lose while shaping. And speaking of shaping, I know the KAF recipe says to just lay the dough out in a rectangle, but I would gently push the sides together a bit after you've done so - this gives it a bit of structure that'll help the rise. Also, make sure you're adding steam when you first pop it into the oven. The easiest way is to have a baking sheet on the bottom rack while the oven is preheating, and when you open the oven to put the bread in, dump a handful of ice cubes into that baking sheet just before you shut the door. Some people recommend spritzing the bread with water, or spraying the sides of the oven with water when you first open it, but the ice cube method has always worked fine for me.
  14. Can you share the recipes? Or can you at least share if you used commercial yeast, starter, or a combo of both, and what kind of flour? (Not brand, but all-purpose, bread, etc). There are a few things that could be going on. At a glance, the big air bubbles on top combined with the really tight crumb leads me to think that this loaf was underproofed - how many rises did you give it before baking? Also, how did you shape the loaf? Sometimes poor shaping can manifest by fucking up the rise. The type of flour could also be the culprit - if you're using a sourdough starter and you make a loaf with AP flour, you may not get a great rise because the biological activity going on the starter can do a number on gluten and break down too many of the proteins. This is why most sourdough recipes call for bread flour and not AP.
  15. The hell? He wasn't the target of the warrant. The police fucked up. Girl perspective.
  16. I'm so sorry. May he have endless tennis balls to chase through endless fields. And this always makes me smile. And cry a bit, but mostly smile.
  17. Today we were talking about how the stay-at-home order was extended for Travis Count, and in that exacting way children have, my son just goes "I hate reality. I love doggos." I think I'm going to have to put that on a t-shirt or something.
  18. That poor mama. I hate to think how she's been treated to act like that. How old is she? Honestly, I don't think she's ever going to love you, but I do think you can make some headway by giving her treats and continuing to be deferential and non-threatening.
  19. The dogs got into an actual fight for about 30 seconds and Rocket, despite being a good 40 lbs bigger than Edgar, came out on the losing side and had to get a couple of staples in one of his legs. And in case you were wondering, yes, the now 101-lb dog can still fit in the recliner with me even while wearing a cone. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  20. And then grounders. 😂
  21. I'm still in season 2 but this show fucking kills me. Last night I watched the open where Dan tells Wayne and Dary about the girl who paid attentions to his butthole and I laughed so hard it woke the husband up and he came out to check on me. 😂
  22. I feel like if other people could hear that crack splitter, it could have a positive impact on their lives.
  23. We have a deal where I let him spread out on me to distribute his weight and get comfy, and in return he lets me use his body as a surface on which I can put my book or laptop.
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