rworange, thank you so much for taking the time to reply; I do appreciate it very much. You made some great points, so I think I'll toss it. As you said, there wouldn't be much left to bother with. It's 1:30 a.m. where I live, so fast food is out and I don't have anymore. Better safe than sorry, no doubt. I was shocked at how much botulism was mentioned when I Googled this question. Thanks again.

I just read a post on this subject from '03, but still don't know what to do. I've got half of a baked potato left from one I had baked in the oven and couldn't finish, 3 days ago. I just opened the foil and noticed two dark areas on one side of the potato. I've been reading a variety of opinions as to whether it's a good idea to eat it or not. The word 'botulism' scares me! I also don't recall seeing those black 'patches' when I initially placed the half potato in the fridge. I even checked the skin and it appears consistently fine (it's not dark at all). Should I deny my craving for this potato that I was going to load with butter and sour cream and just pout the rest of the night or go for it? What do the two black patches mean, esp. being just on one end and so close together? I don't know if I could just cut that part off and heat up/eat the rest or toss it....along with my screaming taste buds. Thanks so much in advance for any opinions/feedback!

Thank you so much for the replies, janniecooks and babette. I truly appreciate it. I'll definitely take your advice and thaw them overnight. Great advice and good points about the raw egg and the interior not being fully cooked. Thanks again!!

My apologies if this is on the wrong board. I purchased Emeril's 'Classic Louisiana Crab Cakes' and the directions regarding thawing are very unclear. If I deep fry, it states to thaw; if I want to 'cook' them in a little butter or oil it doesn't say. I wouldn't have thought they should be thawed before cooking but I don't know if I should or for how long. So far, I'm really disappointed in the directions. I'd really appreciate any feedback, esp. as this is seafood as far as safety. Thanks so much!

Thanks for your feedback, bulavinaka. I think you hit the proverbial nail on the head. I heated the goat cheese the way 'brendastarlet' suggested and couldn't believe the difference. I was trying to think of a way to describe the flavor, but was unable to....you stated it perfectly. It DID have a delightful creaminess and what you said about the enzymes made sense. I hadn't even thought about the similarity to cream cheese but you were right. I agree with you about feta; I even tend to take the large pieces of it out of the container and eat them on the spot. I tell you, the goat cheese in a marinara sauce was unbelievable and the difference was like night and day. Soon I'll try it with feta, because as you so aptly put it, you can't lose! I appreciate your input so much!

brendastarlet...how ironic that you just helped me out with my post and I came here to put in my two-cents worth only to see your name as the op!! I have to agree with Bordeaux....I grew up with pecan trees in our yard, also, and we used to crack them and sell them for $1.25 a quart (have times ever changed). We also used the two pecans in one hand method, made a fist and covered it with the other hand to apply pressure. It never failed and the pecans came out whole %99 of the time. If you want, pliers will work, too, but the 'two in the hand' is by far the best method and the meat will be intact. Good luck! Are you going to bake/broil them with butter and salt? Geez, now I'm dying for pecans. Enjoy. ;-)

Lol, thanks so much to whomever fixed the issue. I hope it wasn't something I was supposed to do, as I noticed the 'expand' tab on the reply. I appreciate it!

YUM, does that ever sound delicious! Thank you SO much, brendastarlet! I would never have thought of adding a little water to the goat cheese and nuking it, much less adding it directly into marinara sauce; as I initially stated, I didn't even know if goat would work at all in a 'spaghetti' sauce. I know exactly what you mean about the 'bite', too, and that's what I love. Oh, I'm so excited to know I can add that, and the way you do it sounds easy enough for someone like me. Me thinks me will be making marinara and pasta a new way from now on, thanks to you! I really appreciate you taking the time to reply to me so I can do this tonight. :-)

I just posted a question under 'General Chowhounding Topics' and see that BrendaStarlet replied, but I can't see it. I've checked using every means possible and do apologize if I'm posting this in the wrong place, but I have looked for this same topic in other areas of the site. Could someone please advise? I'd really love to see what she had to say regarding my question. Thanks! j

Hi y'all. I'm preparing (around here we say, 'fixin') spaghetti w/meatballs in a marinara sauce. As I'm not one of those who can look at several ingredients and create a miraculous meal, I'm wondering if Feta would work on top of this dish? How about goat cheese? I know that historically and realistically, Mozz. and/or Parm. are used with spaghetti/marinara dishes. I just have some Feta and Goat, both of which I love and am wondering if it would be too funky to use either on top when I stick it in the oven for a few minutes before I chow down. Should I stick to my bag of processed, shredded 4-cheese mix or use the container of Parm. I have? Thanks so much in advance for any help!

jacquelyn, I happen to have the jar of hr AND some MW, lol. It's so funny to me to read your post because even though I live in the south, people in this area tend to despise it, also. It was never in our house growing up, but there's something about it that I just love...;-)
Since I didn't dig into the sandwich last night, I just might try mixing the MW with the HR. (bet that makes you sick...;-).
I had read somewhere that one can use cream cheese to mix with the hr instead of sour cream, but I can't find anything else. I feel like I'm making a huge issue out of a measley ole sandwich....it's not like I'm preparing dinner for a group of diplomats, but I've still received so much help from kind folks. Thanks so much for contributing and please know that I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing with you.

(hope I'm posting this correctly). Thanks so very much to each of you for taking the time to give me your suggestions. I've learned some things here! Much gratitude.

almansa, I've been desperately trying to 'fix' the tech. problem I've been having; I noted I had 2 replies but I couldn't see them. I even tried to see if I could p.m. you. I finally posted the tech. problem on the general board (I'll probably be scolded and removed, haha) and reported my own post. I didn't want you or KevinB to think I was ignoring you, so, I really want to thank y'all both so much for your help. Sorry....you're probably worn out. YES, I have some ranch, including some with peppercorn. Would love to read your suggestion; you may be thinking I could just use that w/the horseradish (?). Thanks so much again!!

Thanks a lot, KevinB. You just taught me how to make Russian dressing, also! I appreciate your time and help!

Where to go or what to do. I posted a question awhile ago and have noted on my CHOW page that two kind people have replied. Their posts aren't showing up for some reason and I wouldn't want them to think I was being unappreciative of their time and help. I've searched, checked settings, you name it. I don't know why I cannot see anything but my original posts. HELP? Thanks a lot.

Hi! I have some roast beef I'm getting ready to slap onto a bun and would love to spread some horseradish sauce on it. However, I have no sour cream and despite all of my Googling and searching on here, I cannot find a recipe with a substitute (simple). Could I leave out the s.c. and use mayo. and general ingredients? I'm afraid straight horseradish would have too much of a bite for my taste buds, but fear the sandwich will be lacking without some kind of hr sauce. Can anyone please help? In advance, thanks so much for any advice you pros could provide! I really appreciate it.

Thanks so much to each of you! I thought I had deleted the post as I felt it was such a stupid question. I apologize for not checking sooner to make sure, because I always appreciate the time someone takes to help another in any situation. I also hope I'm posting this correctly so that each of you know I'm very grateful for your help. Thanks SO much for helping me. I obviously need to check my settings again, as I thought I was supposed to get e mails notifying me of responses. Fyi, the sauce is in a heavy plastic packet and isn't frozen but pliable. Thanks again, y'all!

Hi; I wasn't sure where to post this question, esp. as it's probably ridiculous. However, I hope someone can help me, so thanks a lot in advance.
I bought a frozen package of onion petals that has a packet of the 'famous' sauce one normally gets when in a restaurant. There are absolutely NO directions or instructions on the box as to whether I should put the packet in the microwave, run it under hot water or what. I couldn't believe it. It's the basic Aussie sauce served with o. petals, but I'm skeptical of just thawing it and pouring it into a ramekin or other container. I just wrote the company, stating they should inform consumers regarding how to heat up the sauce. I'm not sure what's actually in it, either, as I can't read anything with such small print. My mouth is watering for this fattening treat. Has anyone else bought one of these frozen products (Great American) or any other that has a similar sauce with no instructions whatsoever? Lastly, any ideas as to what I should do? Again, thanks so much for any help! :-(

babette, yeah I see (and FEEL like an idiot, lol). What you said makes perfect sense; for whatever reason, I've always put potatoes in boiling/salted water. Last night I got a craving for some 'regular' potato salad and I still had that bag of red potatoes, lol, so I peeled them first and dropped them in cold water. That made all the difference. Thanks so much for the 'how to boil a potato successfully' lesson, lol.
Louise and Andreas, those both sound so good! I never knew there were so many ways to make GPS.
Is there anyone who can help out Lollya with a veg. recipe for this? Could GPS not make it without the bacon? Maybe the boullion cube would provide some flavor, along with the vinegar, onion, etc. (?).

Well y'all, I tried the red potatoes, cut out the 'bad spots', cut the smaller ones in half, the larger ones in quarters and doggone if I STILL didn't end up with mush. I was so disgusted. I'm wondering if it's because I DID put them in water that was already boiling. I can't believe that at my age I'm still having to learn the importance of putting them in cold water! Thanks to all of you for the great suggestions.
Lollya, that's a great question! I have a friend who's vegetarian but has to cook meat for her family; she won't eat the actual meat but will eat the food cooked IN the grease, sauce, etc. Ie, if she wanted GPS she'd leave out the bacon on hers but would still eat it with the bacon grease. I don't know if that's an option for you or not. I do RESPECT your being a veg. so much and hope someone knows of a way to make GPS vegetarian-style. Don't you just hate it when you start jonesing for a particular food that you can't eat? I'll sure let you know if I find a recipe for it without the bacon. ;-)

Sara T, thanks so much! Please don't go to a lot of trouble, but if you DO happen to find the recipe, that would be great. I love 'flavorful spicy' but not 'obnoxious heat' as you so well described. I appreciate it very much!

p.s. jackie de....somehow I missed your post until just now. It WAS your post to which I was referring and I thank you so much for that suggestion about the half and half. That's another thing I never would have thought about doing, but boy were you right! I think that's what gave my c.s. that taste that I just can't describe. Your post above about your mother in law is so funny; I can't help but laugh. And you are absolutely right about this site. I'm so overwhelmed by how nice, considerate and helpful everyone is. I can't believe how many people are so willing to take their time to help another with ideas and suggestions. Isn't that nice? This definitely IS a community and I just hate that I didn't find Chowhound earlier. So, despite your m.i.l. being unwilling to divulge her recipes, thank YOU for that amazing idea with the half and half. You can bet I'm going to be using it on a regular basis. Yum, I imagine it would be incredible in a pasta salad. ;-)

Thanks so much, uptown jimmy and HillJ! I'm SO going to try c.s. in the avocado and leave out the 'fruit'. I hadn't even thought about lime juice on the avocado, but I bet that really adds to the flavor of it stuffed with the c.s. I'm really grateful to you for such a delicious idea!
Sara T...I tried jerked chicken one time in a restaurant and it was so hot I had to send it back. Do you happen to know of any brands that I could find that aren't so hot, or is there a home-made 'jerk' recipe one can make? That really does sound good!!
Anne H. WHAT A GOOD QUESTION! I'm so glad you asked that, as I'd like to know that, also. That's the reason I just buy the deli chickens from Ingles (in this area). Those are 'roasted' (is that correct?) and the texture is perfect. I'm like you...I wouldn't know whether it would be better to boil/broil/bake the chicken to give the best texture or what, but those already 'cooked' from the grocery stores are perfect, imo. I just peel off the skin and grab the white meat in large pieces, then pull apart and shred; if you prefer, you could also cut it into small chunks, but I like it just pulled and shredded. The meat is tender and juicy, not to mention quick and easy. Around here, the chickens are about $5 which is worth it to me, esp. with the cost of raw chicken breasts and the time/mess involved in cooking them. I hope someone answers your question, lol! I'm really curious as to whether anyone else using the deli chickens or if most people start from scratch (get it? 'scratch', lol?). Thanks so much, y'all!

Thanks for the reply, revsharkie. Everything you said makes such good sense. I know I read on here somewhere in the general potato salad recipes something about boiling potatoes whole, but as I said, it just didn't work. Just as you stated, it was mush. I'm going to try it your way. I wonder if I may ask if you peel yours prior to boiling? Also, do I have to use flour, which I know is needed to thicken, but can I do without that in your opinion? I'm SO glad to know that red potatoes will even work for GPS; the few times I've made it, I've used other kinds of potatoes (I actually wish someone would initiate a post on different kinds of potatoes, which are better for boiling/baking, etc.). And I agree with you on the bacon; I've bought it before and it tasted great. Thanks again, rev. I appreciate your reply very much!
P.s. What time should I plan to be at your house for supper? Of course I'm kidding about reviewing, I just like good, free food...;-). How sweet of you to offer to open up your home and cooking to me! God bless.

This is such an old post that I don't know if mine will cause it to show up or not, but I'm hoping some of you excellent Hounds can please advise. I was viewing all of the potato salad recipes the other night and of course I had to make some, using each of your suggestions. I used red potatoes and doggone if I didn't end up with mush salad. ;-(. As I've stated in my post for good chicken salad recipes, I'm NOT a good cook by any means like y'all are; still, I do know how to boil potatoes (or so I thought). I DID cut out the 'bad spots' and put them in boiling water whole. Is that what I did wrong, cooking them whole? I thought I saw some recipes that called for cooking the potatoes whole, but about halfway through them being done, the skin, which I love, was peeling off in the water. By the time they were done, the potatoes were such that there wasn't even much to peel. Tonight I'm craving German Potato Salad and wonder if anyone feels the red potatoes would be ok to try in lieu of other kinds. If I can use them, I assume I should at least cut them in half (?). Also, to simplify things, would I be ok just using the bacon, sauteeing the onion in the grease and adding cider vinegar along with a tad of sugar? I LOVE this dish and have to eat it warm. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I swear, I'm going to gain so much weight since I found Chowhound, lol. Y'all are just TOO good at food! Maybe y'all would consider letting me take a long road trip where I take turns eating at each of your houses, lol; then I'll come back and give my reviews...;-)
Thanks so much!

Thank YOU, HillJ! You know, I was thinking earlier today how much response this post has received and I'm so glad. I'll never worry about making c.s. again with all of these wonderful ideas and suggestions. And, I cannot believe yours!! I LOVE avocados and would never, ever have thought of stuffing one with curried chicken salad....what an awesome idea. You can bet your patootie that I'm going to try that. Yum, does that ever sound good. Did you add other 'stuff' to the chicken salad or just the basic onion, spices, mayo., etc.? And did you sprinkle lemon juice on the avocado or just stuff the c.s. in it? Good grief, now I'm gonna have to go buy an avocado tomorrow, lol!
You know, one thing I've noticed is that hounds seem to be really particular about the kind of mayonnaise and the difference it makes; who'd a' thunk? ;-). Maybe we should start a post just on mayo. ZoeZ, I live in NC, so have never heard of Best Foods Mayo. (or McCormicks for that matter!), so I'm really curious about that now. I wonder if I could find the Mexican version you're referring to, esp. if it has lemon in it. I usually just get Hellmans or Dukes, but only because the other limited choices we have are awful. Thanks again, y'all!

Y'all, I did it! Thanks to each of you, I made some more last night and reviewed the suggestions y'all had submitted. At the age of 54, I'm just not a good cook. I live alone (with 5 animal-children), so I tend to eat out or eat frozen foods too much. BUT, last night I made what I consider the BEST chicken salad I've ever tasted in my life, thanks to y'all. Here's what I did.
Again, a deli-chicken. I just shredded into small pieces the white meat. I poured on the curry powder, s&p, some dill and tarragon. Then I threw in toasted almonds (I burned the walnuts because I was on the phone, lol...didn't listen to rose water!), some dried cranberries and raisins that come in a bag, black olives, finely chopped celery, green pepper, green grapes and lots of onion. The dressing was just mayo. with some half & half (I saw that suggestion somewhere on here...maybe for potato salad?) and I swear, it was out of this world. It had just enough crunch and a really good 'sweet' taste, but not too sweet. And, the texture ended up perfectly for either a sandwich or on a bed of lettuce drizzled with blue cheese dressing (or ranch). Thanks y'all! I think you hounds may make a cook out of me yet! Yeeeeha.

MsMe, thanks so much! Yum, each of those sound so good! You really helped simplify things for me. The recipe with the pineapple sounds delicious and I LOVE Miracle Whip!
I'm in N.C. and have yet to find any deli-type chicken salad such as what you described, but I sure wish I could. It sounds like you were able to duplicate the recipe just fine....wow, $8 a lb.? Good grief! ;-(
Thank you so much for your help and I really mean that; now I'm craving chicken salad on crackers, lol!

Hello to all. Please let me state that I've been having computer trouble and have not been able to reply to these wonderful posts until now. Also, my 'cay' cey on my ceyboard is severely stuc, so please excuse my use of the letter 'c' instead of 'cay' (lol).
I wanted to respond and express my appreciation to each of you for the wonderful replies to my post. I am overwhelmed at the responses along with the incredible recipes and individual suggestions you each have. I'm going to print this page out now before this old computer crashes. I had NO idea there were so many ingredients one can add to chic. salad. I am VERY grateful to each of you for your time and help...there are some obviously excellent chefs here! Just fyi, I ended up using mayo., red onion, green grapes (sliced in half), chopped celery (using as many of the leaves as I could) and toasted walnuts along with almonds! I just had to try both since so many of you suggested almonds and some thought walnuts would be good, also. Thancs to Rose Water for teaching me how to toast nuts; had I not followed those directions, I'm sure I would have burned them. I cannot begin to express my gratitude to each of you. When anyone posts a question for help and gets the wonderful responses such as those that I received, I feel it becomes a personal and selfless gesture on others' parts. I am truly touched by the help every single one of you provided, esp. as none of you had to bother and give up your time and assistance. Sorry for sounding 'mushy', but I really felt blessed; there is such a sense of community here and you are each special and giving. You are each SO appreciated, more than I could say. In fact, I'm going to mace some more tonight using some of the different ingredients y'all suggested! Much gratitude and may God bless.

Byrd, thanks a lot! So, use the celery leaves? I wouldn't have thought of that. I assume you mean to chop them finely (?). Doggone it, I don't have ANY curry in this house and I sure meant to get some. Well, it's obvious I'm just going to much on cheese instead of putting it on the sandwich! I appreciate your input.
Sorry to keep posting 'thank you's' but I HAVE to, and I know there's no way to send a p.m. to those that have taken their time to help me. Sorry for the repititious off-topic replies.