"Would it be too much work to brown the meat and give it some nice flavor before the 8-10 hour braise?

"Some of the critics of this wonderful recipe must have never been to Provence--I have, many times, and I can vouch for the authenticity of this sublime reflection of the Provençalculinary soul. Lemonade concentrate is as much an integral thread in the rustic culinary fabric of the region as are in-season melons of Cavaillon; the skinless, boneless chicken breast has also more than earned its stripes right next to its brethren, aïoli and fougasse. I suggest pairing this delectable creation with one of the archetypal traditional beverages of Provence, such as Miller High Life, or Gatorade.

"Why all the negativity? The people who don't like this recipe must not like olives, blue cheese, battered-deep-fried-blue-cheese-stuffed-olives, dipping sauces, Sandra Dee, America, hot fudge sundaes, the drive-in, Winston Churchill, the snowy egret, Horatio Hornblower stories, the sound of air-brakes on a crisp, clear fall evening, college-ruled notebook paper, or all of the above! I left out the battering and deep-frying part--and the dip--and the jar of blue cheese-stuffed olives tasted just fine.

"I have "DVD night" theme parties where we screen a movie on DVD, and eat foods with whimsical names that match the evening's movies. This was chosen for Kevin Costner night. After considering Cake in a Bottle, The Untouchable-cake, Robin Hood: Prince of Cakes, Tin Cake, and Mr. Brooks' Imaginary Homicidal Friend's Beach-Themed Cake, the choice just jumped out at us in the 4 DVDs for $20 section: Life's a "Sizzle Beach, USA" Cake.

Oh: the cake tasted about the way one would expect, based on the ingredients, but it was still slightly better than Waterworld.

"I AGREE WITH ALL POSTERS BELOW! You know who you are. Let me tell you a little story about this recipe. I was headed to the Jazz Fest when my ice chest fell out of the back of the truck and spilled all over the neutral ground. I stopped and cleaned it up, replaced the ice, and then waited in line for about 5 minutes for a pulled duck po boy from Jacques-Imo's. Another patron in line there made a rude comment about Sandra Dee's beignet recipe as I was leaving, and I reflexively whacked them over the head with my pulled duck sandwich, spilling about half of it on the floor. That half a duck po boy was half a duck po boy I could've eaten if I'd only kept my cool. The lesson is obvious--we all need to get along better. I regretted my actions, and offered them a beer to patch things up. The ones I offered were some of the ones that were scuffed up and punctured, but it was still a welcomed gesture.

"I met Sandra Dee in NYC, and she agreed to sit with us at lunch, and I have to say, she put me off at first by ordering a side of "un pomme de terre au four" instead of simply calling it a baked potato. However, she quickly won me over, and I realized just how much she has to dumb herself down for the rest of us to even understand her. This recipe is a prime example, and my entire family LOVES it. Our only complaint--the fresh ground black pepper makes it a little "spicy" for our tastes, and that vinegar...well, it makes it a little sour. We suggest a shake of pre-ground pepper. It's in our grocery in aisle 7, next to the Accent. Not sure if it's the same aisle in yours, but just taking a chance. And instead of the vinegar, Hidden Valley Ranch.

"This pie definitely has the WOW factor. I've made it at least a dozen times now, and my guests can't get enough of it. I did slightly modify it, in that instead of pecans, I use pistachios in the shell--it gives people a fun little activity and causes them to slow down and aspirate less of the streusel into their airways--and instead of drizzling it with caramel and various chocolates as Paula suggests, I stud the exterior with whole Cadbury creme eggs and chunks of hot, deepfried pork belly confit. Slight deviations, but I believe it is true to the spirit of Chef Deen's original.

"First, I appreciate the instructions in this recipe that were clear, but the "easy" designation? It was convenient that Chef Deen clarified the butter--ha ha!--by noting that 1/2 stick of butter equals 1/4 cup. That saved some complicated math!

However, the "drained" thing threw me for a loop. I wasted an afternoon trying to find a can of drained peas before asking a woman if she could help me, and it was pretty embarrassing. I suppose it all worked out, because she thought it was kind of cute that I thought you could buy pre-drained peas, and asked me over for a dinner from some of Chef Deen's other recipes. The English peas turned out just great with a little help from my new friend Annette, and went perfectly with Boiled Hot Dog on Hot Dog Bun, in particular, and she's promised to walk me through that one soon. She suggested I work up to it with one of Chef Deen's intermediate recipes first, though, like Opened Bag of Chips Adjacent to Opened Can of Dip.