totally random

[MaddieM]

...but being from the UK, I have a burning desire to know what the hell is a corndog...and what does root beer taste like and what is it made of?

[Rob Wick]

MaddieM,

A corn dog is simply a hot dog with a stick dipped in batter and deep fried.

As for what root beer tastes like...that's really hard to describe. It was originally made with Sassafras Roots (hence the name) and now the sassafras is artificial.

It looks like on the UK's Amazon site, you can buy A&W which is one of the most popular brands of root beer in America.

Allan Nevins, one of the greatest Lincoln and Civil War scholars who ever lived, appreciated root beer like a fine wine and was very particular about what type he would drink.

Best
Rob

[L Verge]

Root beer also makes a wonderful ice cream float. Just put a few scoops of vanilla ice cream in a glass and pour in the root beer.

As children, we had a row of sassafras saplings behind the ball fields at our elementary school. We would break off twigs and chew on them because they tasted so good. Old-timers used to do the same, only rough up the end and brush their teeth with the twig. It's a wonder we didn't die from putting environmental hazards in our mouth...

If you have Twinkies in the UK, you might want to know that we weird Americans will even fry them in deep oil. Of course, a lot of our Yankees are known to freeze their Snicker bars and Three Musketeers bars before eating also.

There used to be a saying when I was a child that the Chinese thought that Americans' tea habits were weird: First, we boil the tea to make it hot; then we add ice to make it cold; sugar to make it sweet; and lemon to make it sour. Americans are never happy!

Yes, folks, in case you haven't noticed, I am doing everything I can to avoid watching television tonight!

[MaddieM]

I'm an avid Stephen King reader, and for years and years, I wanted to try a Hershey bar. Then one day, they turned up in Asda...and tasted like Doggie choc drops. Ewwww... what a let down.

I think I've had a twinkie... it was not a good experience. Too much sugar for UK tastes, I think.

However, the root beer sounds good and one day I might get round to trying out some proper corn bread. I tried making some once, and it tasted like burned electricity cables. Don't ask......

[Craig Hipkins]

Maddie,

I have had a root beer in England, but they taste nothing like they do here in the States. At least the one I tasted in Bilston was rather bitter. Maybe it was the sugar content. The beer rocks though!

Craig

[LincolnMan]

Maddie:This is off topic from your thread but I've been meaning to ask you something as you are from England. One of the things I'm interested in regarding Abraham Lincoln are the statues that have been made of him. Are there any Lincoln statues in the area of England where you are? Or Lincoln statues in England that you are aware of?

[Donna McCreary]

Maddie -- for a corn dog, the hot dog must be dipped in a batter made of corn meal, not flour. The 'secret' to making good corn bread is to bake it in a cast iron skilllet or muffin pan.

[Laurie Verge]

I agree that we should have specified corn meal batter for those dogs. Donna, you sound like my grandmother's kind of cook. Now, shall we introduce Maddie to Southern spoon bread and peanut soup?

[LincolnMan]

Or how about chocolate gravy?

[MaddieM]

Maddie:This is off topic from your thread but I've been meaning to ask you something as you are from England. One of the things I'm interested in regarding Abraham Lincoln are the statues that have been made of him. Are there any Lincoln statues in the area of England where you are? Or Lincoln statues in England that you are aware of?

Yes indeed. Here we go. Erected in Parliament square, London

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there is also one here, where I live, in Manchester.

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningn...earer.html

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I agree that we should have specified corn meal batter for those dogs. Donna, you sound like my grandmother's kind of cook. Now, shall we introduce Maddie to Southern spoon bread and peanut soup?

Oh don't. I have a thing about southern soul food. Love the stuff.

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Maddie -- for a corn dog, the hot dog must be dipped in a batter made of corn meal, not flour. The 'secret' to making good corn bread is to bake it in a cast iron skilllet or muffin pan.

Aha!!!! i cooked it in a silicone baking tray. might account for the awful 'rubbery' taste. Hahaha....

[Laurie Verge]

Bill,

I have to know what chocolate gravy is! And I should warn you that Betty O is a chocaholic. Her friends swear that, if they ever try to draw blood from her, Hershey's syrup will come out!

[LincolnMan]

Laurie: chocolate gravy? I assumed it was common in the South. My family roots are in Cookeville, Tennessee. Any family restaurant you go in offers it. Of course, most folks eat it with biscuits-but really it can be served in place of anything that would need gravy. I took it for granted that people knew about it!

[MaddieM]

Laurie: chocolate gravy? I assumed it was common in the South. My family roots are in Cookeville, Tennessee. Any family restaurant you go in offers it. Of course, most folks eat it with biscuits-but really it can be served in place of anything that would need gravy. I took it for granted that people knew about it!

Are you suggesting this delicacy is served with savoury food or sweet food?

[L Verge]

Bill - Please tell me what's in it??? I assume it's different from red-eye gravy?

If we're not careful here, MTL's ghost is going to come back and give us a lesson in Southern cooking.

[Joe Di Cola]

Bill - Please tell me what's in it??? I assume it's different from red-eye gravy?

If we're not careful here, MTL's ghost is going to come back and give us a lesson in Southern cooking.

Sounds as though it might be like Mole, used in some Mexican cuisine.