col klink

Here's the line: "At Seattle’s Mashiko, a Japanese bagel consists of rice rolled around basil, cream cheese, and smoked salmon."

Creamy Reuben Soup Serves 8 as Soup. Care of Batgrrrl's father. 1/2 c onion, chopped 1/4 c celery, chopped 3 T butter 1/4 c unsifted flour 3 c water 4 T beef bouillion 3 c half and half 12 oz Swiss cheese, shredded 1. in large saucepan cook onion and celery until tender 2. stir in flour until smooth 3. gradually stir in water and bouillion, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes 4 add corned beef, kraut, half and half, and 1 cup cheese 5. cook 30 minutes until slightly thickened, stirring frequently 6. ladle into 8 oven-proof bowls; top each with toasted bread and 1/2 cup cheese (they mean spread the cheese out over the eight bowls). Broil until the cheese melts (which happens very quickly). Serve immediately. Here are the tasting notes: As read, this would be pretty stiff. I adjusted upwards at the kraut. I was more generous with the onion and celery--who is going to notice a quarter cup of anything, except maybe jalapenos? I used less water, and lots more bouillion, and added more bouillion still as it got stiffer. I used half and half, but another time back off to 2% milk, maybe. We came out with 3 of our duppa gritta bowls, ate two, and loved it. Keywords: Soup, Lunch, Dinner, Easy ( RG210 )

Dang, I never even thought to look up there for cider on my frequent visits.

Bringing up the old bacon thread. I went to the market yesterday and picked up some good looking bacon from Crystal's Meat Shop in the Sanitary Market along with some double smoked hot links and a pound of kielbasa. I thought this was the place that Heron was talking about but after checking here, it isn't. I fried up the bacon the morning and it was good, but not as good as Fred Meyer's. It's of the type with little fat and they're almost like fatty ham steaks and cut very thick. Maybe it's just that I don't know how to cook this bacon. I put it in my skillet on medium-low and did a long slow cook. It came out chewy and the fat really didn't render much. I've tried cooking this type of bacon before at higher temperatures with about the same success. Is it that this bacon just isn't that good? Or do I not how to cook high quality bacon? I don't have this problem with fattier bacons. Nah, everybody is wrong except for me. I haven't tried the hot links yet but I'm excited about them. The kielbasa tasted decent with a good pepper flavor but the texture and color were all wrong. It's still better than Hillshire farms.

Wow, ooops, this is Batgrrrl not the Colonel!

I woke up in time!

If I wake up in time, I'll be there at 11:30.

Good work Heron!

Nope. Depends on your butcher I suppose. With mine I can get fresh hog legs or cured legs or fully cooked cured legs which is what ham is. The fresh cured hams are great because you can smoke them yourself for the best ham of your life.

????The shoulder ecompasses all the meat of the forward leg from above the hock to the approximately the spine. The butt of the shoulder is the top, next to the spine. Tommy, the ass is the "ham" or a rear leg. Ham is cured from the rear legs which are leaner than the forward legs or "arms." Hence shoulder.

Pork butt refers to the butt end of the shoulder, opposite end of the foot.

Recently my fiancee and I went to talk to the coordinator and chef of where we'd like to have our wedding reception. I was pretty much keeping out of the conversation and basically nodding until I was able to question the chef. When I asked if they smoke their own salmon, the chef and I went into our own little world of smoking meat and the ladies went on to discuss the reception! The chef and I both had a beautiful moment when I brought up pork shoulders and we both agreed that the shoulder is our favorite cut of meat. It's beautifully marbled and can be cooked in so many ways and is so forgiving. Walking home I wondered to myself, is the shoulder my favorite cut? After much deliberation, I have to say the pork shoulder is my mine. How about you? edit: fiancee didn't come out as nicely as I would've liked.

The only recognizable texture was the duck skin. It was juicy and it wasn't chewy. I have to admit that kind of surprised me, for I thought the temp wasn't high enough to render the fat. The chicken skin wasn't noticable.

As a card carrying Seattleite (yes, it's a real word, check it out on m-w.com!), how come you don't bring your own bags? Shame on you! Be careful or the hippies will corner you in a dark alley, guilt you up and put their stink on you!

That's why it's my favorite!

Howdy folks, here's a link to my photo album on imagestation of the turducken process: Turducken album. Have fun! Here's my favorite pic:

I'f you'd like a link to the pictures I took throughout the process, pm me. Here's the final product:

I use the site not necessarily so I know what happening at my favorite restaurant but for ammo against the restaurants I absolutely dispise, like Gaspare's Ristorante Italiano. Not only do they not know how to store food or wipe their counters, THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO COOK PASTA. They're a friggin' Italian restaurant!@#$!!@%$^!@!!!!

"Make another batch of special sauce, put that mayonnaise in the sun."

Good point NSM, I just picked up some plugra on the cheap and made a damn decent pie crust with it. Unfortunately in Washington the liquor laws prohibit the sell of liquor in grocery stores. I have to admit that when TJ's first arrived in Seattle I was sceptical as they had poor selection except on hippy crap. Now I'm regularly buying $2.99 and $4.99 bottles of wine and they're produce is slowly evolving, they're not a bad place to buy fresh basil. So far I haven't had the courage to buy any of their fresh meats (not great prices or exceptional quality) but you're right about the seafood, it's not bad at all, especially for frozen.

Amen!!

I was quite happy with the liverwurst sandwich which is very reminescent of braunswieger (sp?). I ordered it on French bread with mayo and mustard. It came with shredded lettuce, cucumber and some other stuff I can't remember at the time. Very cool shop! They have a little deli there with some standard turkey, corned beef and pastrami but I would not have anything of that. I ordered some kielbasa to go and I'm very impressed, they sell the real deal! The texture was perfect and it had a light smokiness to it though I would prefer some more pepper and more garlic. Nevertheless, it is the best kielbasa in Seattle (that I know of).

Gravy Gravy is a mainstay of American dinners to go along side turkey, chicken or beef roasts. It's very simple to make and is wonderful on mashed potatoes. Gravy is equal parts fat to flour and enough stock for the consistency of your choice. 1/2 c fat 1/2 c flour 3 c stock If possible, use fat from the roast you are making that day. Otherwise rendered bacon fat or butter works well. Add flour to make a roux. If you're making a beef stock, brown the roux until it's brown or as dark as a chocolate bar. For poultry light brown to brown is preferable. Be sure to continually mix the roux so as not to burn it. Like the fat, use stock made from the same animal or similar as the roast. Add stock incrementally as it is absorbed and until desired thickness is achieved. It should be a little thicker than cream. Tips for stock and fat: Save carcusses from prior roasts and turn them into stock. Store stock in the refrigerator overnight and skim the fat; store separately for later use. The next time you roast, use fat from prior roast to cook current roast's giblets, wings and excess skin. Remove when fat is completely rendered or giblets are browned, add equal amounts flour and stock when ready. Keywords: Easy, Sauce, Dinner ( RG204 )

Satueed Squid Serves 4 as Side. Select only the frshest squid. The eyes should be clear and bright without any off odors. Fresh is better than frozen, but frozen can still be very good. If using frozen, let thaw overnight in the refrigerator. This recipe uses guanciale or smoked pork jowels. It is similar to American bacon but has less meat and therefore easier to cook with. Bacon can be easily substituted or saved bacon grease. 1 lb squid 1/3 lb guanciale 2 T olive oil 1 T red pepper flakes 1/2 lime for juicing 1 T Italian parsley 1 tsp salt 1) Prepare squid by slicing off tentacles just in front of the beak which is just in front of the eyes. Slice head off before the eyes. The guts are removed by slicing open the cavity and putting a finger under the plastic like spine and pulling, the guts will come with. Cut body in perpendicular slies. A more advanced technique would remove the guts without opening the main cavity of the body so that cutting into slices would give you rings. 2) Place olive oil and gaunciale in a medium skillet and render. 3) Add red pepper flakes and squid 4) After 45 seconds to a minute add lime juice and pull squid. Plate and garnish with parsley to serve. Keywords: Side, Seafood, Intermediate, Dinner, Lunch, Italian ( RG202 )

Turducken Serves 25 as Main Dish. The turducken is a mysterious bird that most people have long thought extinct. Though they are hard to find, one can easily duplicate the flavor and texture of a turducken by assembling three different birds and stuffing one inside the next: a duck, a chicken and a turkey. This is no easy task and some people would rather hunt one down in the wild, but for those who are adventuresome and don't mind getting dirty, here's how. Turducken 1 duck (3 - 4 lbs) 1 chicken (3 - 4 lbs) 1 turkey (18 - 21 lbs) Brine 1 gal water 1 c Kosher salt 1 c brown sugar Stuffing 1 package Hot Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage 1 yellow onion 1 lb mushrooms 1 medium apple 1 c butter 2 stalks celery package stuffing mix chicken stock as required My method of praparing a turducken takes two days. On the first the three birds are deboned and then brined. The following day the stuffing is made and then the turducken is assembled and cooked. Though the brining adds a day to the preparation, it is very necessary. Besides making the meat juicier and taste better, it dramatically reduces the cooking time. Deboning the birds will take up to two hours, stuffing less than a half an hour and assembly will take about an hour. Cooking time depends on method, in a smoker at 225 F five hours is sufficient to bring the internal temperature to 155 F and the outside to 165 F which is perfect. Roasting will produce a crisper skin if you put the turducken in at a 500 degree oven for 15 minutes then bring down to 225. Deboning The order of the birds shouldn't matter, but I like to start with the smaller birds and leave the turkey for last as the turkey skin is what is presented to your guests. The duck and the chicken will be completely deboned but the drumsticks of the turkey will be left for presentation purposes. Hopefully I won't have to mention this, but your knives should be very sharp otherwise you will risk cutting yourself. You will primarily use your boning knife but your chef's knife will come in handy for cutting through some of the bones. The duck and the chicken will be very similar to debone. First cut the wings off at the first joint. Reserve with giblets and extra skin for gravy. Flip over and cut along the spine of the bird and gradually pull the skin and eventually meat away from the carcass of the bird. Make your way from neck to tail staying along the carcus. Make sure not to miss the oysters which are along the spine between the thighs and the wings. Be aware that there will be shoulder blades to cut around. I find it's easiest to seperate the breasts before completely boning the legs. Be careful as you work your way to the breastplate as you don't want to cut a whole in the breast skin. After boning the legs remove tendons in the drumsticks. After boning the duck and the chicken, the turkey will be easier. Be careful to leave the skin as intact as possible as it will be holding everything together. Leave the drumstick bones in for final presentation, it will better resmemble an actual bird this way. Brine Mix salt and sugar with the water. Brine is ready when the mixture is completely dissolved. If the water is heated to quicken the process, make sure it is cooled to room temp before placing meat in. Let the three birds sit in brine in the refrigerator overnight. Stuffing I prepare the stuffing according to the recipe on the back fo the commerical mix and add sauteed breakfast sausage, onions, mushrooms, apple and celery. I melt the butter in a separate pot and add the stock, stuffing and sauteed ingredients. This step can be done the day before. Assembly Lay turkey skin side down on a flat surface preferably on a layer of paper towels as it will be wet from the brine. Next put a 1/4" layer of stuffing down. Lay duck skin side down on top of stuffing and then another layer of stuffing. Repeat with the chicken. Begin trussing up the turkey at the neck. Insert metal skewer about half an inch from the edge and up through the other side. Run butcher's twine between skin and skewer and tighten to draw both sides together. Continue down to legs. At least every other skewer, also draw together the duck skin and if possible the chicken skin as well. Tie together turkey legs to resemble standard turkey. Preparation If you have a smoker, by all means smoke your turducken. It will be far more flavorful that way. Just smoke at 225 and rotate every 20 to 30 minutes and try to keep flare ups from the fire to a minimum. If you're roasting the turducken, place in a 500F degree oven for 15 minutes and then turn it down to 225F to finish. You can baste if you like but the skin won't be as crispy. Pull the bird when the internal temperature (the chicken) reaches 155F. Let rest for at least 20 minutes before carving. Serving For the most "oohs" and "ahs" cut across the middle of the breast completely through. Give thin slices containing turkey, duck and chicken and top with gravy made of the giblets and stock of the carcusses. Goes well with roasted potatoes. Keywords: Main Dish, Expert, Duck, Chicken, Turkey ( RG192 )