I'm about 35 miles north of Biloxi, Dianne. So far it's just cloudy and a little windy, but the weatherman on WLOX said they're going to have the whole weather crew working on Saturday to "man" today's weather situation - he thinks there may be tornadoes. I got just under an inch of rain Monday, so I'm not bone dry, but I'm in a rain deficit for the year, and we could sure use some today. But like you said, no tornadoes, please! There were numerous tornadoes that went through this area during the hurricane, in addition to the hurricane force winds, so I've really had enough of serious weather as I know you have! I'll keep you posted - you do the same, because it'll be moving east. MissSherry

You can also use sake in place of sherry, which is what I usually do. However, I usually drink red wine (Sangiovese, Pinot Noir, or Côtes du Rhône) with Brie cheese, but I use white wine (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Chardonnay) when cooking mushrooms. I don't think a red wine would be good with mushrooms, even though I prefer it with Brie. I've never heard of Mushroom and Brie Soup and I think I would like to make it. I have mushrooms and brie on hand. Does anyone have a recipe that they like?

Cream sherry and dry sherry are two totally different things. Very distinct and very different flavor flavors. Unless specified, usually recipes asking for sherry are referring to dry sherry. It keeps for years, can be used in white sauces, it's used to marinate meats and chicken particularly in Chinese cooking and is great in seafood soups or seafood casseroles.

Sherry at 3.37 pH isn't as acidic as vinegar so food pickled in sherry and not processed in a BWB will not store as long before the brine begins to cloud as bacteria and molds begin to develop. UN-opened the shelf life is listed as 1 year depending on if the peppers were peeled or not (peel is the primary bacteria source). But once opened to air the shelf life begins to decline. Containers that are processed in a BWB will have a much longer shelf life both opened and un-opened. You can extend the shelf life of opened containers by storing them in the fridge and by refreshing the sherry brine as it is used. Dave