Maureen, Saveur just had a note about peeling pearl onions this month. Here it is... Pearls of Wisdom by Liz Pearson Pearl onionsÂalso known as creamers in the United StatesÂhave long been prized for their sweet flavor and dainty teardrop shape. Along with lardons and mushrooms, these onions belong to the French trinity of ingredients that garnishes such classics as Coq Au Vin, the sumptuous braise of chicken in red wine. They aren't exactly the friendliest onions to work with, though: because they are the most appealing when their shape is preserved, they shouldn't be randomly tossed into the pot, where they inevitably fall apart, but rather sautéed to the proper degree of doneness and then added to dishes right before serving. They also have stubborn skins that are hard to remove without damage to the onions themselves. Some cooks advise making an X mark at their tip with a knife, boiling them, then peeling away their skins before cooking them further. But we prefer the easier method that James Peterson advocates in Essentials of Cooking (Artisan, 1999). Place the onions in a bowl and add enough boiling water to cover them. Set them aside for a minute, then drain the onions and rinse them in cold water. Trim the root ends. Starting from the onions' tops, simply peel away their skins with your fingers. It's as easy as that." PS... I'd make coq au vin with them

Dear changeling, I'm no expert on this, but I agree with anney's answer. Bringing a mixture to a boil before reducing to a simmer is just a quicker way to get where you're going. With a few things (rice, oatmeal, grits for example), I've always assumed that a quick burst of high heat was necessary to sort of break things open so that they could begin cooking. But this is strictly (uninformed) conjecture on my part. Maybe some food chemist can weigh in and give us the real skinny. I hope you will not be offended if I tell you that your posts often make me laugh out loud. (I assure you I am laughing *with* you rather than *at* you.) You remind me so much of a younger me -- struggling to make sense out of poor directions, arcane references, things that weren't explained in cookbooks because they assumed 'everybody knows' -- only I didn't. Just keep plugging, changeling. You're making great progress, and it will soon come clear! Although I am not the caliber of cook that many on this website are, nobody here ever got sick. :) Besides, I know the answers to all the dumb questions because I already asked them myself. My greatest joy these days is helping my two new DIL's learn how to prepare good meals. Although neither had much experience, they're doing beautifully! If you want to join our cyber-cooking class, we'd be delighted to have you. You can email me at memphismomathotmaildotcom. sm

I'll check my mail, Glenda. Thanks for the info. That's in Vestavia City Center if I remember correctly. Nice owner. I talked with him just before he opened. We'll check it out next time we're in Vestavia. Brenda, Andy can also get live crawfish at Sexton's in Cahaba Heights. (It's just a bit behind the Summit.) I usually call on Tuesday and place an order so they'll hold them for us when they're delivered. They're really not that difficult or time consuming to cleanse for cooking. It's a matter of purging them in a salt water bath several times before cooking them. It takes us about 2 hours to prep for 40 lbs.

I am in the process of something similar. I can tell you a few things. 1. set-up an areas to replace what you will be without for a couple weeks,. We moved our kitchen into front porch during demo. 2. Get some Visqueene plastic(sp?) and tape and seal up all areas you don't want dust. This includes HVAC vents (turn off your system if you can bear the heat/cold) If you have an older house the subfloor is not plywood but pine boards with cracks and all the banging and demolition will drop dust to the area below. Also cover sensitive equipment like TVs, computers, pianos, anything you don't want to get dusty. It will get everywhere not covered up. This may seem like overboard but it is worth it. 3. remove appliances. This opens up the space to work. 4. Have a plan for debris removal. The thick 6mil garbage bags from Home Depot are great for demo trash. Super heavy duty and expensive. You will take out more crap than you would ever think. 5. Once you have done the demolition take stock of your plumbing and wiring. If your house is older like mine you may need to update some of the wiring/plumbing. 6. Take pictures of your opened up walls etc. you can then look back at them if you want to add something later. 7. I'll update as I continue. I am stuck at stage 6, Good Luck.