peanutgirl

Have you discussed her post-op diet with her surgeon... or a nutritionist? Some high protein suggestions: low-fat cheese tofu nuts and nut butters other than peanut (eg. almond & cashew butters are DELICIOUS) Best wishes to both of you!

What she said .

It's our anniversary on New Year's Eve so we're going out for a very early dinner while my Husbands Sister & BIL come watch the( 4) kids for a few hours. We figure, take it when you can get it... babysitters, that is . Hubby likes the hibatchi table at Banzai in Hamilton so that's where we're going. It's not fancy, but kinda kitchsy fun with all the food flying, and we're sure to drink a little too much sake... can't complain about that. We'll be home way early enough to avoid traffic and drunk drivers, and we'll still get to spend time with the kids before sending them up to bed.

I have a question on brine ingredients... specifically the addition of soy sauce. What proportion to water, and would the salt still be necessary? I've brined a few chickens, turkey wings and pork shoulders with success but had this idea ( Ok, it was a dream. I dream of smoking ever since we bought our WSM a few months ago!) to try a honey/ soy flavored brine. Can anyone give me a starting point, so I can fool around with it? I was thinking a cup each of honey & soy to a gallon of water. Any opinions would be appreciated as I plan on smoking some chicken on New Year's Day.

On Nigella.com she says about this cake~ "It tastes like on of those sponges you drench, while cooling, with syrup, only you don't have to. This is the easiest cake I know". I've wanted to make this cake for quite a long time. Ever since I saw her make it on Nigella Bites. The last crate of clementines I bought at Christmas is not moving as fast as the first 4 crates I bought. I think the kids have had their fill. (I couldn't pass up that last crate for $2.99 at Shoprite) Since you made this, please tell me how many cups of nuts you used. The recipe calls for 2 1/3 Cup of ground almonds. Just how many chopped almonds should I buy to get this amount of ground almonds? I'm not sure of the Cups? pounds? before I grind and process. Sorry if this is a dumb question. I would appreciate your help. I want to make this for New Years day. I couldn't pass up the 2.99 deal at Shop Rite either . I think I used approximately 12 oz of almonds... weight before grinding. I had some slivered almonds leftover from green bean almondine and opened another full 6 oz bag to make up the 2 1/3 cp measurement (with a bit to spare). I processed the nuts in my Cuisinart until very fine and measured after grinding. I don't have a kitchen scale, so I winged it and used 5 clemintines (uniform in size). Also, I was too lazy to dig out my springform pan, so I just buttered and lined with waxed paper 2 8 inch cake pans. I hope this helps! As I hoped, it was very good with our morning coffee. Very, very moist... and so fragrant.

I made Nigella's clemintine cake today, and it was pretty damn tasty & easy to boot. I'm sure it will be even better in the morning with coffee. Next time I'll cut back on the sugar slightly though. It's a bit sweet for my taste ( kids loved it of course).

An eggplant calzone and for dessert a piece of cake from the 1937 wedding of King Edward VIII.

Thanx to both of you . I knew someone here would be able to help.

Make risotto with some of the stock and freeze the rest for another use ( like making more risotto).

I probably have the name wrong, but hey, it was a long time ago! I was an exchange student in Hannover Germany once upon a time ago back in the early 80's. We took a side trip to West Berlin and stayed in a youth hostel for a week and also some bar nearby within stumbling distance, whose name escapes me now, for obvious reasons. I enjoyed a drink I was told was unique to Berlin. It was a beer of some sort, mixed with a raspberry (I think) syrup. It was kind of frothy and pink in color. Has anyone ever had, or heard, or knows how to make such a thing? I'd like to recreate the taste if I can, if only for nostalgia's sake.

Can I get on the guest list for next year ? What an undertaking... the prep pictures look like it's going to be amazing amount of food & fun.

To make anything more than a toothpick full of cotton candy, you will need a fullsize cotton candy machine. The toy ones won't cut it... although they are the most inexpensive way to go. Good commercial machines can cost upwards of a thousand dollars. The sugar is either pre-flavored, or you can buy different flavors/coloring to mix into regular granulated sugar. It's a dry powdery sort of thing. One brand that comes to mind is Flossine. My kids also received a cheap cotton candy machine last Christmas. Once they tired of white candy, I tried leftover colored sugar used for cookie decorating. It seemed to work well at first, but eventually gummed up the machine.

I prefer hardcover (most of mine are), but will not turn away a softcover if I really covet it and that's all that's available.

I have 110 with one on the way.

Smoked chicken,your basic home made macaroni salad, & a green salad. Of course only the chicken is pictured.

Not me... both my husband. #1: sprinkle cinnamon in soup, thinking it's cayenne. #2: use vanilla in a savory marinade, thinking it's soy sauce. So I like to decant my ingredients into more attractive containers! Use your olfactory senses while cooking. I know what's where.

Since the weather was so gorgeous in NJ, we went for our second run with our new (1 week old today) WSM. We rubbed pork ribs last night... and I brined a 7 1/2 lb oven stuffer roaster overnight. Pictures are self explanatory. Shhh!!! Don't notice the sample ripped off the left hand side!!! Another satisfying experience! My husband & I did decide a few things this time out, based on our personal preferences of course. #1:The next time we do ribs (and we will!!!), we will use a mop during the smoking process. #2:While I found the brining of the chicken tasty... I will definitely not waste extra ingredients in the brine. I decided to add freshly ground pepper, lemon rind, bay leaves and a few other aromatics. It seemed like a good idea (despite reading the brining course), I thought some of the flavors might permeate the meat, like a marinade. In the end result I didn't taste any of it...except a pleasant slight salty trace. So, for lack of a proper thread... I would like to thank col klink and egullet for giving me the confidence to indulge in what is sure to become my new obsession! I've always loved to grill, but this smoking could quickly become an addiction .

Thanx for the compliments. If I could get away with it, I would smoke our Thanksgiving turkey. My family wouldn't stand for it though. Thankgiving & Christmas dinners are not the meals for my adventurous cooking endeavors. Out of respect, and an effort to keep my Mother's memory alive, I prepare everything as she would have. Any other time for a change in menu is fine though! Quick question: is it possible (or advisable even), to use freshly cut wood for smoking? My step-father posed this to me. He was wondering if just using branches from the apple & cherry trees in his yard would work in the smoker.

I made Alton Browns version of stove top mac & cheese last night. It too, calls for evaporated milk, as well as eggs. I reheated some for breakfast (in the microwave) and it was fine. Did yours have eggs? Maybe it needed a binder.

Here are the results of my 1st smoking experience. Sorry the pictures are so big, I'm computer challenged. WooHoo 190 !!! Digging in. Finally. Next up is going to be ribs. We were pretty pleased with the results. My 5 year old son proclaimed the turkey wings "the best turkey you ever made mommy!" He also said I should make the Thanksgiving turkey this way. I won't...but will definitely smoke a whole turkey soon...after the ribs.

col klink, Thank you for your responses. Yes, It is a pork shoulder...approximately 8 lbs. Though I did trim it before brining. I made sure to leave the fat alone, but I just couldn't stand that gross looking football skin, so I removed it. I don't know if that was a mistake or not. It is a WSM I have. Rest assured, I've only turned the meat once. Around the 4 1/2 hour mark. It's 5+ hours now and the digital thermometer says the meat is at 158 degrees. I'm aiming towards the 190 temp for the pulled pork. I (as well as my husband) hope it gets there! My turkey wings looked good. Nice and shiney golden brown. I took them off at 180 because I was being overly cautious with the doneness factor. If I can get my husband to cooperate, I'll post some pictures later. Thanx again!

OK... I've got my smoker smoking. Like a child waiting to open presents on Christmas morning, I awoke early (4am) and excited to get started. However, since I have no outdoor lighting, I was forced to wait until dawn. Around 6:00 am my husband went out to the garage to bring our shiney new smoker to the patio at the back of our house. It was then that I found out he threw away the chimney I thought was in the garage! No matter, I poured myself the drink you suggested in your course description (coffee, due to the time of day) and calmed myself. I got the charcoal lit and the smoker up to 300 degrees. After putting the meat on, the temp did drop, which I understand is normal. It went down to 175 and I was concerned so I threw some more charcoal in the ring. I'm using lump charcoal because that's what my husband bought, and soaked hickory wood chips, because that's what we have laying around here. 4 hours into the adventure, the smoker is at 220 degrees. The pork is at 142 degrees. Should I try to raise the temperature, or is it OK to stay in that range? Also... would it be beneficial to turn the meat over, or better to leave alone? Your advice is much appreciated! edited to correct spelling.

col klink, Bought a WSM over the weekend. I'm anxious to get smoking, so I have an 8 lb picnic brining right now, as well as a bunch of large turkey wings. I figured I'd experiment with the cheaper choices for my first time smoking. Q: can you give me an approximation on the cooking time for the pork? Does 6-10 hours seem way off? How about the wings, I'm guessing only a few hours. Thanx !

Whew! I have to show this thread to my husband. He is constantly trying to correct this quirk in my typing style (obviously unsuccessfully). Actually, it's less of a quirk and more like an "I just suck at typing" problem.

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