Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I lived in Texas years ago, and I still pine away for Bluebell icecream. Do they still use that cute jingle? "Bluebell is the best icecrem in the country!"

Good point. An opened jar of chopped garlic does not have an endless shelf life.

Oh yes! Hamburgers with mustard! They were huge! That was the place we ate our burgers when we lived in Texas in the 80's. (Although there was this shack near Lawton OK that had THE best burger in the world, I wish I could remeber the name of the place.)

I can really relate to the onion problem. I often wondered how they manage to chop onions on TV without blubbering through the show. Over the years I've tried some pretty goofy ideas (just try chopping an onion under running water-the good news-the blood goes right down the drain!) The best tip I've used is to chill the onions for 30 minutes or so before chopping. (Given your 3 hour time schedule for the recipe, this shouldn't be a problem!)

I've never understood what people find so amusing about Paula Dean's cooking style. It's really terrible. There is some great good cooked in the the south, but you wouldn't know it by watching her.

I use parchment paper all the time, and in very hot ovens (450 + degrees), and I've never had it ignite. (It will turn brown) I do think it helps prevent baked goods from browning on the botton too quickly. Silpats do the same thing, but there's that whole clean up thing...I also use cream and turbinado sugar for sparkle and crunch.