What kind of food.....

Boiled peanuts!!!!!? Oh mmyyy mmmmmyyy myyymmyyy ....(dawgs, Mollybee! you got me stuttering!!).
I luv boiled peanuts. Cooked up a batch of em 'bout 3 wks ago. This time of year is the best for them. I like cooking up the "green" ones (fresh-dug peanuts b4 they start to dry).
I remember as a youngin' goin' to Granny G's house. It was a tradition...she'd have a big pot of 'em cookin'! Us kids would go play out back puttin' pennies on the railroad tracks, waiting for a train to come by and flatten 'em into 3 inch pancakes. Sometimes we'd throw rocks at the wall of the outhouse (depending on who just went in there)! Eventually everyone would meet on the front porch and "behave", eat boiled peanuts, drink apple cider (I think the older folks musta got the spoiled cider cuz whenever they took a sip their expressions would go kinda cock-eyed till they swallowed, but it weren't long 'fore they was laffin' about it!)...oh man, that was the life!
Thanks for the memory Mollybee! ô¿ô

I have never had boiled peanuts. Just the ones in jars or packages in the grocery store with all that deadly salt on them. Sounds yummy and we could add them to the fudge. Eat it after a shrimp dinner!

tiG, the best way to make nice French fries is to use the Chinese method of frying - fry twice. fry in several batches.

1st time around, partially fry the potatoes in hot oil till partially cook [potatoes will be light in color]. place in collander with a catch tray for the excess oil. once the 1st batch is done set aside. partially cook the rest of the potatoes.

2nd time frying - reheat oil to high. fry the 1st batch again till they are nice and crispy.

frying twice, u are guaranteed to have crips French fries on the outside, and soft and flaky on the inside. it could be double work, but well worth the extra effort.

there is another way too. partially blanch the potatoes in water for 10 mins. spread out on baking tray with paper towel on the bottom to absorb extra moisture. then fry in hot oil.

using hot oil in frying does not allow the oil to penetrate on whatever u are frying. medium hot oil will always make the food extra greasy.

try not to lay ur French fries on paper towel... will make ur fries soggy and greasy. use a baking tray with cake cooling wrack on top of baking tray. the oil will drip though, and not on ur french fries.

another note... use Crisco shortening for frying. u get better result than regular oil.

my personal choice in frying is pork fat. give better flavor. if u learn the technique of good frying, the food will not be greasy at all. practice makes perfect. i used this method of frying when i had my catering business in Los Angeles.

MaVie!!! fries are supposed to be a fast food:) whew, if I put that much time into them, company better be coming. They do sound wonderful, just too much work!!
I use a cast iron skillet on high and get them crispy outside, soft inside.

how in the world could I forget Pizza and boiled peanuts. I could eat pizza every day the rest of my life.

and shoe???? how come some of the peanuts are soft and just right and some are hard and have no taste???? oh I wish I was there when you make them, we'd have a peanut eatin party!!!

This message was edited Tuesday, Oct 15th 7:43 AM

Ok Shoe, these are for you!!
Have you ever seen any this big??? Maybe this pic doesn't show the size that well I think I'll take another one too.
Don't eat too many!!

Arrrrgggg This pic doesn't show the size that good eaither! I tell ya these things are HUGH and I had to dig thru them just to find a couple that were of normal size so I could take the pic! They are getting gone fast!

Molly, you could put a coin into the picture to show size. Those look delicious. Wish I could find fresh peanuts to try boiling them so I could taste them too. Peanuts, cashews, pecans, shrimp and fudge!!! Oh and a huge well baked Idaho potato with sour cream and fresh bacon bits. Yum yum.

I've never tried boiled peanuts, either! We don't have many peanut farmers 'round here, so I think I'll have to grow them myself to try 'em. Do you just boil them in plain water on high like corn on the cob?

MaVie, thank you for the info on the french fries! Kenny LOVES fried potatoes ~ has them every other night. That's the reason I have one of those newfangled deep-fryers with the lid that closes during frying 'cause the grease was getting on EVERYTHING in the kitchen. Yuck! Those fryers are nifty!

You know, the more I think about it, the more I think that's how they do the ones you get at McDonald's or in the freezer section at the store. Potatoes have to be parboiled atleast before they're frozen, so it makes sense.

I love olive oil, oohh, and olives too.On our holiday, we went on a cruise, and I used to take lunch up on deck 'cos it was self service, well, one day they had beautiful olives, hundreds of them on a platter, so I piles as many on my plate as I could, (along with a bit of salad too, to hide some)trouble was the ship was rolling a bit,and I tipped my plate ,and all these olives went rolling all around the deck right in front of the crew.I was soooo embarrased, they were all scuttling around trying to pick them up before peole in the queue were slipping on them.I just gave them a sickly smile and scuttled off to hide in a corner to eat the remaing 5 olives. I was gutted, so near, but so far!I was too embarrased to go back for any more.they never served them again!
Ilove fruit too, if I'm in the garden I can eats pounds of raspberries every time I walk past the canes. i have to tell my hubby that they haven't done well, 'cos there's never any left to bring in for tea.LOL

Yea this should be a better shot, Thanks Lani!!

You should be able to find raw peanuts at your local grocery store. I found them at my local Super Wal-Mart store in the produce dept. They usually sell them out of big boxes where you just scoop out the amount you want. Or you can also buy them in bags also. Just make sure they say "raw" or "green" I usually rinse them off a little and put them in my crock pot(slow cooker) and add about 2tb of salt. Then cover with water and cook. They usually take a pretty good while to cook, but as long as you keep them stirred then they will all get done in just a few hours.. But now a long time ago we would boil them on the stove and to me that took longer! Make sure to keep them covered with water too. Every now and then I will taste of the water to make sure that it is salty enough. and of course I test a peanut to check for doneness.
O yea and they also sell them in cans!! As bad as I hate it I have bought them that way before but they are no where near as good coming from the can!!

Note: The ones beside the dime are of normal size. The others are the hugh ones I have found this time!! 2 of the big ones are a mouth full!!

tiG, it maybe fast food to u. i come from a line of good cooks, that is how we cook. in Asia, we do not take our food for granted, like the French cooks, we always take extra step/s in food we prepare.

next time, u go on fast food place or McDonald, observe how they make French fries. it is done exactly the way i describe it.

i love boiled peanuts too! grew up eating a lot of them. love ripe olives. i used olive oil in fresh baked bread instead of butter, more healthier.

Zowie Mollybee, those are some whoppers! I've seen some bigguns b4, I think they were called Virginia Jumbos or something. (Where is Carol I wonder; she lives around peanut country in Va.)

I'm lucky that we can get green ones at the big farmer's mkt in Raleigh this time of year...those are the very best for boiling. I have bought raw ones in bags at the grocery store tho...I usually put them in a big pot, cover with twice as much water as there are peanuts, add salt and bring to a rolling boil. Let them simmer a bit, then turn off the heat and let them sit over nite. (tiG, this will help alleviate that problem you mentioned above...some being soft and some being hard. The dryer the peanut the longer it takes to cook/soften them up.) Anyway, next day I heat em back up and simmer till they are to my liking, adjusting the salt level as they go along.
Get this!: When you first eat them they could taste perfect, but if you bagged them to store in the fridge they will taste more and more salty, almost too salty sometimes. If that happen I add water to the bags of peanuts and it will pull some of the salt back outta the peanuts.

MaVie, those fries sound great! I don't double-cook them but will give it a try sometime. My favorite fries are when me and DD go out to the garden, dig em up fresh, then take them to the shoffice and start cooking. Those babies are so fresh they don't need double frying. We'll sit and eat, neither one of us saying a word (unless it's "more ketchup please) untill they're all gone! Yumpin' Yiminy!

Do you boil them with the shells off or on?
I have seen raw peanuts without the shells but never with the shells in bags. Those are reserved for the salted and unsalted cooked ones. Salted ones are too salty and the unsalted aren't salty enough.

Boil with the shells on. 'Smatter of fact, sometimes the shells themselves are tender enuff so you can eat the whole peanut without shelling it! Yum!

oh yeah, and the shell holds all the juicy good stuff in!!!

MaVie, I certainly didn't mean that your fries wouldn't be divine!!! I'm just too lazy!! I should spend more time on the food, but it comes and goes in spurts.

no offense taken tiG, u know me better than that :)! speaking of food, i think it is about time to bump up the turkey and ham recipe we had last year. don't u think so????

oh yeah!!!! that was soooooo good!!

ok, i got it bookmarked and will bump it up.

I don't think I will find them in the shell though. Waaaaa but I will try to find some so I can taste this treat.

Ponditis... the raw peanuts, i normally see in Asian or Latino markets. i have not seen them sold on a regular grocery store chain. hth

I have NEVER seen raw peanuts for sale up here! And that is the only way I can eat them: not dried/cured! Boo hoo. 'Shoe, Molly, all you fortunate Southerners, eat some for me, hear? I miss them from my AZ days.

Thanks for the cooking techniques, y'all! I don't think I've ever seen GREEN raw ones here, either. I guess I'll just have to grow some. They sound SOOOOOOOOOO good! Which are the best to grow in HOT weather? Tastiest whatever the weather? Since they're a legume, I'm guessing they should be grown like peas and beans ~ any different things I should know? Cool weather spring crop or hot weather summer crop? Sorry for all the questions, but y'all have me really wanting some now. ;)

Those all sound like good questions to me too. I have never grown them before and I have only bought them from the store so I am no help here. The only thing I do know is they grow uder ground like potatoes, so the peanuts don't grow on the top of the plant like peas or beans. Not sure if you have to pull up the whole plant or if you just dig them out around the plant. I'm pretty sure we grow alot of peanuts here in Ga too but the question is how?! LOL

Yeah, I've read about them growing under the ground, too. Wild! And even wilder is what I read about them starting out as blooms on the top of the plant, then sending a runner thing down into the ground where the nut grows. Is that true?

Boiled Peanuts now your talking. Right after my son got married we were all going to Fl. on vacation and right before we got to Dothan Al. my son said we need to find a Mcdonalds he was hungry. I told hem we could find boiled peanuts before we found a Mcdonals and he said no way. Well we made a bet and guess who won. Yep Father knows best when it comes to Dothan Al. and peanuts.
I love pizza also and never get tired of it. That is about the only thing that if we have any left I make sure doesn't get thrown away.

Can't find peanuts in the shell? Pondy? You really saying the truth? I declare I declare I declare.... Never heard of such a thing.
Makes me wanna send some up there. Ya'll are surely hurtin'!

mmmmmm crawfish is the one! I eat 'em till I pop! And lots of chocolate too.

HEY WINGNUT:http://davesgarden.com/t/26850/

Oh, Lisa!! You're SO mean!! I just showed that to Kenny and he asked, "It's not crawdad season anymore is it?" I said, no, I don't think so and he almost cried. *Grin* You boil cabbage along with them? That sounds GREAT! We'll have to try that next time. We sometimes put new potatoes, corn on the cob and chunks of sausage in there, but never tried cabbage.

I also recognized the corn and lemons, but what were those two dark things, one of them was just behind and to the left of the soda can (wrong beverage to go with mudbugs, BTW. LOLOLOL!) and the other is to the right of that one on the other side of the can. Are those boil-in-bags with the seasonings in them?

peanut growing info... http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AA258

MaVie to the rescue! Thanks, girl. :)

u're welcome Linda :)!

Wingy...them two dark things? Dontcha know? Heck, even us back-country folks know what them is.
Gator stomachs. A delicacy! Whatcha do is pen 'em up and feed em nuttin but collard greens and corn pone. After 11 days you butcher them. What's in the stomach is a delite that most folks w/common sense will fight over. (If you lose then you only get the feets.)
That pic sure looks like a good spread to me! I can't wait for Howie and GW to head down Lisa's way to get a good taste of real food!

Shoe, will you send me some peanuts??? You sweet thing, you. I still have not been able to find raw peanuts in the shell. :(((((((....... tears under my sad sad smile. Hey I just got to thinkin' Shoe, you can come out here and bring me some peanuts and fish in my pond all week long and we can eat peanuts and bar-b-qued fish. Yum Yum. :))))) double chins and lots of them.

Hmmmm...sounds like a good plan to me!
(Maybe peanuts are also good fish bait!) (I know corn kernals are!)

ROTF, 'Shoe! Gator stomachs, eh? LOLOLOL!! I kinda' like dem gator feetzes, so I'll be late for the tummy fights. ;)

Yeah, Right Horseshoe! You try feeding collard greens to an alligator and he'll eat your arm off all the way up to your shoulder...'specially after about the 10th day!

Heheheheh...now how'd you know that!? ô¿-

There is plenty of fish here for everybody!! Come on up to Idaho and we will eat spuds, fudge, fish, and Shoe's peanuts! Yum yum. Lani