site banner
PaperclipPerfector  4mo ago (text post)   3335 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 21, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

3
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Oh to be sure, and I have made efforts to do so, even once emailing a restaurant in Foley Alabama to ask how the hell they made theirs (they stonewalled me but apparently taped my email to their wall).

My standard for a restaurant I'll happily go to is a place that makes something I either don't know how to make properly or don't often have the time commitment to make. Gumbo falls in that category. You're completely correct, however, my skills are just apparently weak or I don't have some secret ingredient to do it right.

Gumbo is one of the easier things to make in the kitchen. It's barely a step above "dump everything in the pot" chili. Isaac Toups' basic chicken and sausage gumbo walkthrough on youtube is a good start, the dish is very forgiving as long as you get the roux right. It's not complicated food, it's long-simmering food set aside to feed a large group of people. You can get everything done inside of 20min and then spend the day drinking beer or whatever while it bubbles.

Yeah as I say I've done gumbo several times but I don't think it ever turns out right. Maybe it's the roux as you suggest.

The trick I was missing for gumbo is to use all three traditional thickeners - dark roux. file powder, and okra. When I only used one or two I'd always be disappointed.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats