chitlins, chitlings, dial. var. of chitterlings? okra, casserules, yum, yum, now you is speakin' southernese.

Regis&Kelly bring us the south. Cracker Barrel,Bob Evans (say, is he still down on that farm?),Shoney's,Wafflehouse and its spinoff Huddlehouse, Blackeyed pea, pappasitos, for the downhome, Dennys (still refusing to seat certain Feds?), IHOP (international crossroads) Bojangles, Sizzler, Culvers Butterburgers (whoa!), Hofs Hut and Pollys' and Bob's Big Boy. I'd add more but the giggles got me.

The average man is 191, 25 years ago 165. Great thread!

I just saw a photo of Kelly Ripa in a magazine. Tell me that woman eats anything and you can knock me down and call me Shirley :D

Can anyone make any sense of the reply by hearuknknbutucntcomn ??
Have I been listening to CNN too long and now no one makes sense to me at all? LOL

Today dinner will be fried fish and cole slaw...you see, I might not be Southern born but I do know how to cook it :)
Can we have another recipe thread?

Yes, let's do another recipe thread...fun,fun, fun.....

It has to be Travel related or we will get yelled at :D

While we're on the subject (of food chains), I cracked up when I saw my husband pulling the car rental into "Fudruckers"--what a stange name, and worse- what kind of food could they possibly be serving with a name like that. But my husband's eyes lit up as memories of eating at a Fudruckers years ago flashed back. Well, food was not bad, and the service was great. I don't see too many of them around. Where are they? We found one in Charleston, VA, I think.

lets begin by doing squash souffle correctly: very young, tiny tender summer squash, cubed, spring onions, with tops and butter (unsalted) into a skillet to soften, first covered, then not, over medium flame, to brown slightly .. salt and pepper. Ten minutes tops. Don't you dare mash the mixture. Gently turn it one time!!! Once, you hear!

Transfer to a bowl, gently, gently, and very gently fold in two egg whites - no yellows, my goodness, don't ruin it - and a touch of mace, 2 TBSP heavy cream, 2% milk if moisture is needed - just a tudge of moisture. We do not want glop! Fold it gently, gently, that's the secret to lightness.

Into a buttered dish to a moderate over, sprinkle ever so lightly with sharp vermont if desired. Perhaps a tuch of cayenne, if you're feeling firey. But No crumbs or crackers, if you please. Man does not live by bread alone. Bake 35-45 minutes - watch carefully - inserted knife clean, you are good to go.

Crisp sauvignon blanc, oh yes!

Ah, Fuddruckers.... The Home Depot in Buckhead(Atlanta) had (still does?) a Fuddruckers in it. I guess since your had to "build" your own hamburger, it made perfect sense being in the Home Depot. You told the cashier how you wanted your beef patty(rare, med rare, done), then you took the burger and put whatever you wanted on it (big bar of lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions and all the condiments). Sat down to eat and watched the paint being mixed..... I lived across the street (Sidney Marcus) at the time, so I ate there at least twice a week.....

Well blacktie, that is not the recipe your mama gave you, and you so gleefully passed around!! LOL

You've now had at least 4 names today. I don't get it--maybe someone needs to check into your need to change names every 5 minutes!

I love all the righteous Redstaters declaiming that there must be something wrong with Regis or other New Yorkers because we don't eat at Cracker Barrel or shop at Wal-Mart.

They REAL reason we don't eat at Cracker Barrel is that there are no Cracker Barrel restaurants in NYC. Zero. Can't eat at a place that doesn't exist.

The REAL reason we don't shop at Wal-Mart is because, and I know you will find this hard to believe, there are NO WAL-MARTS HERE. We do have Target and Home Depot.

If some enterprising fellow opens one of those business here, he will probably have plenty of patronage. I myself would pay top dollar to be able to eat the sublime Waffle House fare in Times Square. I LOVE Waffle House when I travel in the South.

The new Harlem IHOP is STANDING ROOM ONLY, for example.

sainted moms would eschew mashers, even the squashy type, and never countenance crumbs, even mock crackers.

Regarding the reply previous to this, can anyone else make any sense of this? blacktie/smilingstill/markbittman needs a good meal, get those brain cells activated again!

<b>OK I started a Traveling Recipe Thread!
I would like the dumpling recipes!!</b>

It was so funny--your Mom's recipe and DH's Mom's were identical with one exception...you cooked your onions before putting them in. Ours went in raw. And they weren't green onions then, but white. And here we thought we had something original and it's probably a Cracker Barrel product. Wonderful memories, but we don't mess with the real thing! Why foo foo it up? :D

I wish I could give you one Scarlett...that was strictly my m-i-l's domain. I'm sure South Beach would frown now!!

I wanted to add blacktie...I tried your mother's version, cooking the onions, but preferred ours, which kept them crisp, but with an eased bite from the the baking. Gave a nice texture to the casserole.

We've have tons of these restaurants mentioned above in Illinois (every 20 blocks there is another in some of these categories) and Cracker Barrel used to be the favorite of my one son's hockey team after the games in winter. It is my least favorite of the chains around us. We have better chains like, Thank God It's Fridays or Outback. The thing is, especially for breakfast, there are such BETTER restaurants everywhere. Most look like dives, are definitely not chains, and you just have to find them. This way you get the real thing &quot;comfort&quot; food and not the processed &quot;comfort&quot; food. There's grease and there's grease. Bad for you, for the most part anyway, but if you are going bad- go ahead and enjoy butter and not margarine. That kind of difference.

We have tons of Cracker Barrels, Big Boys, White Castles, Chilis, TGIF, Bob Evans, IHOP, Denny's, Shoney's, Waffle House, Schoops, Steak &amp; Shake, Popeye's Applebee's etc. etc. in the Midwest- but still there is room for the occasional great little diner to &quot;make it.&quot; Tons of them are right in Chicago.
Definitely not fine dining, but you can get some delicious food giving them a chance.

Especially in states like Indiana and Michigan- try the small diner instead of the Waffle House. You will be amazed at the difference- especially with the biscuits and gravy. No processed or powdered mixes used for gravy in most of these places. There is one in Koontz Lake Indiana called Al's Diner (NOT the hamburger chain by that name) and they have as good as Mississippi. You don't have to be in the South or of the South to taste that difference or to know good Southern cooking. Real rendered lard too reveals itself in lots of ways.

Well, I couldn't resist this one. I live in the town where Cracker Barrel was founded. All of you must know that it is definitely a Red State restaurant. The founder is a huge supporter of the Reps and Dubbya. That being said, being a lover of southern food it can do the trick. Great breakfast, biscuits and oh, those beans and greens!! There are many southern restaurants in the south that do this type of food better but if I lived in New Jersery, like Kelly, I would like it.

JJ5, I agree with most of what you said. But never have I seen a Waffle House in Illinois and I grew up in Southern Illinois. I mean, truly Southern Illinois, south of the B &amp; O railroad tracks. And now that I have smoot60's info about the owners of Cracker Barrel, I will no longer eat there. Just as I, much as I love it, refuse to eat ice cream at Oberweis.

Just reread that posting and realized it comes across very self-righteous. Sorry about that! Just meant to make a comment, not to preach.

gosh, you are gonna get busted for sure. Off with your head!

Let's face it. The votes were very close in all the states. You've just as many red as blue in each.

Woo there! Yes, I'm sorry to say that there are Waffle House in Illinois and all over Indiana. The ones in Illinois are on I-70 and another is on I-270. We drive all around the Midwest constantly and I knew I had seen them. There are a whole bunch in Indiana and some of them are called Waffle &amp; Steak but have same motif/ design, and some are called Waffle House as in the South. Why I remember this well is because my wonderful significant person decided he had to try one with a huge trailer, boat, and cockatiel on board. I had been with my kids once and did not want to go into another. But after getting the whole kit and kaboodle into this tiny, long narrow parking lot (as most Waffle House's have, I hear)we couldn't get seated. And then we couldn't get out of the parking lot. True story. That's why I won't forget Waffle House.

You should have heard the bird. He wasn't happy and let us know, and so I kept my mouth shut.

And Oberweis is not the best ice cream either. It's good, but a lot of dairies in Michigan make it on the spot and it's better. Are you boycotting for political reasons also?

CAPH52, do you live near SIU? I was there in the early 1960's and was it a party town. There were so many wild dogs from students camping out and/or living in trailers with pets, and then going hippie and leaving the dogs behind and around Carbondale that you needed a stick to fight them off at times. NO EXAGERATION. When my youngest son returned there more than 30 years later, we were still hearing dog tales. Haloween Party is over now too, I hear.

BEAUTIFUL country in Southern Illinois and mostly overlooked. Shawnee Nat. Forest/Park and a little creek and hill everywhere you turn- fishing heaven. Almost got killed there on a motor bike over 40 years ago when I was close to infancy (Ha-Ha)- the whole wheel got caught between two planks of a wooden plank bridge. It was a wake up call for both of us on that bike. I love that area and glad that fodors has someone to fill us in. Have you ever been to Cohokia mounds? I don't care if I hijack a thread about Cracker Barrel, ugh!

Cracker Barrel has had public relations problems because of their descrimination problems with blacks and gays. They have been reported to have fired people who they deemed gay, and do not hire blacks in order to maintain their down-home southern image. Kelly Ripa doesn't have a clue about her infatuation with this place.

While you are correct that they have had been cited for problems with discrimination, to say they don't hire african americans is not correct (at least not now). I also don't think Kelly mentioning that she and her kids enjoyed the place on one show is what I'd consider an infatuation.

I must make a comment about the above poster's talk about diners. I grew up in Northern NJ the diner capital of the world! Every two miles had another diner. Each glitzy little place had the revolving cake tray. These cakes were huge! I often wondered who ate that stuff. Anyway, they had the best breakfasts night and day...taylor ham with egg and cheese on a great hard roll...mmmmm I am getting hungry and french fries with gravy, and the best burgers....Oh well, I am now off to my kitchen...

jor, let's say you're right that Kelly doesn't have a clue. But what to do? Do you only patronize restaurants where there are gays and blacks? It's difficult to know whether smaller places discriminate. We only know about Cracker Barrel because they got caught.

JJ5, I concede on the Waffle House issue. I checked the website. You're right, there are two in Illinois (a pretty small number compared to the Southern states). I should've checked the website before I posted rather than after.

I grew up in So. Illinois, haven't lived there in over 30 years. But with in-laws still there, we make the trip from the Chicago suburbs several times a year.

Yes, we took our kids to Cahokia Mounds a couple of years ago. And, yes, I stay away from Oberweis for political reasons. I refuse to help fund another of his senate races.

I was telling a friend about Cracker Barrel's rather ugly discriminatory history. He found that a hoot--the Cracker Barrel near his is a major gay hangout, and most of the staff is gay. Give an American entity time to correct itself, and it does it!

Sorry to get off the subject, but...isn't there something better than Waffle House for breakfast? We always seem to end up there whenever we are traveling in the south--for convenience sake and lack of knowing better, and I have never been excited with the food or service. The last one we went to was just outside of Asheville. There was a hole in the ceiling with water dripping from some sort of condensation. It was dripping right in the middle of the front entry as soon as you walked in, water dripping on a counter seat, and splashing onto the countertop and the placemat menu. It was just business as usual as customers waited (what seemed forever) for a table watching the drips, workers all walking around it, and patrons sitting next to the wet chair and counter eating away.

Ke1th: Do you know if Matt's Rib Shack is still there in Buckhead? We loved that place and hope to go back one day.

OO, I didn't see your post until today. I don't have any great hand-me-down receipes for squash casserole (although I wish I did). But, I made a great version for Christmas last year and I'd be happy to email you that recipe sometime. Or, I can post it on Scarlett's recipe thread when I come across it.

I topped the recipe thread :)

Have a good day ((F))

Poster graduated from the challenges of canned tomato soup to actual cooking. We remain ...

Amazed

The Bob's Big Boy still is in Fresno, it has moved from the Blackstone &amp; Shaw location and is now on Blackstone near Bullard Ave. I too was a BBB fan, loved their hamburgers and chocolate sundaes there.

Johnny Rockets is lots of fun with some pretty good burgers comprable to In n Out. It's fun to watch them sing and dance to YMCA when we go there to eat. My DD has had a couple of birthday parties there that were really fun. ***kim*** :)

This is off the topic (sorry I've never experienced Cracker Barrel)....

but why is it that when you click on &quot;Amazed's&quot; screen name, nothing comes up? How are you able to block it Amazed? Are we supposed to be 'amazed'?

Kind of like David Copperfield, huh? LOL To keep this on-topic, there is a little chain of restaurants in the PNW called The Pig N' Pancake that we like for breakfast. Kind of like an IHOP on the Oregon Coast. They have locations in Seaside, Astoria and Cannon Beach that I know of. They make really good little piggies in a blanket! ***kim*** :)

seetheworld, it's a neat trick that only people dressed in &quot;blacktie&quot; can do while posting 9 to 5, Monday through Friday at the office, with a job that evidently requires little, if any, time or effort.

Thanks Statia--I'm just now seeing your post, sorry. I do have DH's Mom's squash recipe, an old family favorite. I was just wondering if Cracker Barrel's is similar. Squash, onions, crumbled saltines mixed into it all. It was yummy and relatively healthy, in comparison to some of the food that came out of that very southern kitchen. It was all wonderful, but lawsy, if eaten daily would send cholesterol levels into the stratosphere.

OO...I've never had squash casserole at Cracker Barrel. They must not have it or I'm sure I would have eaten it.
Now, they have an outstanding hashbrown potato casserole.

Wow, this sure is getting a great response!! I, too, love the Cracker Barrel. We always try to stop at one when we travel - you can always count on a good, inexpensive meal. My hubby just loves their Sunday chicken dinner special. And I love their fried shrimp dinner or grilled chicken tenderloins..be sure to have them with their wonderful honey mustard. Cracker Barrel is the best!!!

I tried to resist a reply but,alas,here I am.I'm a southerner(yes, I was born here... lol)and live very close to the town where the CB was founded.Honestly, I dont eat there that often and it seems there is one located off almost every exit of the interstate.What is interesting to me ,however, is that the majority of the patrons typically are travelers and often aren't even southern.If I want real southern food, I just go to my mom's or grandmother's like everyone else.CB may have been concieved in a southern state, but that by no means makes it have real southern flavor.I'm not knocking it at all..sometimes after a long day at the ball game and too many bloody's ..there is nothing like hashbrown casserole from CB..I'm just saying its kinda like a knock off of the real thing.

In regard to a lapdog's post...I do LOVE a place where I can get CRUSHED ice in my drink.What happened to the days of good old crushed ice..it makes your drink sooooooooo much better!!

OO and iceeu, the squash casserole came up due to my original post on this thread where I mentioned Black Eyed Pea restaurants serving a great squash casserole. I didn't mention Cracker Barrel serving it, although they might have one, as well. Just clarifying.

It's funny, but I've never thought of Cracker Barrel as southern food, really just comfort food.

For all you IHOP fans, they are opening the first one in my area tomorrow (southern Ohio) and it is going to be specifically to try out new menu items - a test market I suppose. Should be interesting to see what they come up with.