lancastermike

Katie, It is a speciality item. Several months ago we went to the big IKEA store and than drove down the road towards Conshohocken. At what I believe was the Plymouth shopping center the speciality store had it on the shelf. I have not checked it recently to see the stock levels. The guy at my local store got it in for me from another store. I did not have to SLO it Uh oh, wrong again. I just checked and it now IS a SLO. Should have know better that to think the Aphrodite Of Alcohol would not be on top of this. This is bad news as we love the stuff. I have about 1/2 a bottle left, I better start looking. Edited for stupidity

Bourbon and orange bitters are great. Recently I have been pouring 2 1/2 oz of bourbon and 1/2 oz maraschino over ice and adding two splashes of Fee Brothers orange bitters. This makes a very nice sipping drink for me.

It is the Antigua burr grinder and it has about 15 or so adjustments from fine to coarse. I have only used the coarse as I drink press pot coffee these days. I will certainly try it. It would be nice to only have one kind of bean around so as not to have to remember which is which

My wife has wanted a home machine for a while. For her birthday I got a Gaggia 35008 Carezza Espresso from Amazon.com. With the free shipping and the 25-dollar off offer I got it delivered for $174.00. I have a grinder that I use for my regular coffee that does a bang up job for the coarse grind I use in my press pot. I did not pay all that much for it and wonder if it will give me what I will need for the Gaggia to work. It is a Bodum brand grinder that I doubt is up to the level you recommend. The Gaggia arrived last night and her birthday is Feb 5. The shop were I get my beans is right up the street, would it make more sense to have them do an espresso grind for me? I doubt the machine will be used every day. While I am asking, what coffee to use? From what I know, which is not much, espresso is a grind and technique not a kind of coffee. I guess it is mostly made with dark roast, but what about just a fine espresso grind of my favorite Sumatran beans?

Three gals, one a cocktail drinker and two who are easy. Sorry, Beth I have no tips for you, but it sounds like my kind of group. There is a joke or two there, but I will refrain. Welcome to E-Gullet and I am sure you will get a tip or two about were to go

I use the Maverick remote when I am smoking and it works fine. I wonder about the accuarcy but when I am smoking pork I do not nned to be exact. When I am doing aomething else that I reallly need temps for I use my instant read that I can calibrate. The alarm works fine and it works in my house. But the reviewers are right, they are all of dubious quality. The probes are the issue, i just wipe mine down with a disinfectant wipe. Keep them away from water

I agree with Dave, I make my own, however, Fee Brothers has real grenedine for sale along with their orange bitters and other mixes

Got a 12 pack of the cans of the Diet Coke Black Cherry Vanilla and it was much better than I expected it would be. Neither the cherry nor the vanilla overwhelm and it certainly has none of the horrible taste of the Vanilla Coke. At one of my local supermarkets the 12oz cans were 4 12 packs for 10 dollars. At the other one that did not have the sale they were $4.39 for one 12 pack. When I managed bars I knew that fountain soda was a license to print money. Canned soda seems the same

Last night we had a couple of old standbys. I had a Ward 8 and Maggie an Aviation. Both were very nice. We use the Sam Kinsey method for our Aviations 2oz gin {Gordons} 1/2 oz maraschino {Luxardo} 1/2 oz lemon juice. Maggie loves these. I used the Cocktail DB receipe for my Ward 8, with my own made grenedine.

Would love to drive up for a bottle of bitters and a cocktail or two, Sam. Real problem on visiting Manhatthan these days is price of a room. Article in the NYT about this just the other day. We used to like to come up for a show and a weekend stay, but it is just too dear these days

In fact, my Fee Bros Orange bitters came from DiBruno's. I do not think they stock Peychaud's however. I may ask her if she has a source however.

Looking for a source for Peychaud's bitters other than the Buffalo Trace site. PA LCB tells me there supplier has none and will not be getting anymore so they cannot special order it for me. The Buffalo Trace site wants 10 bucks for shipping. I am not cheap, but that seems a little much. Any help for another source? It is not at retail in Pennsylvania

I am in prison most of the day. Not an inmate, I work at one. A county prison. There is no microwave or other cooking device for the inmates here. They get three meals a day served on trays from the kitchen. Commisary includes ramen noodles. The speciality of the inmates here is "Chi-Chi". It is different in each housing area. What they do is mix various commisary items in their ramen noodle bowl and crunch it all together. You and I would consider it inedible, but it is something different from what the kitchen gives them. The same kitchen makes a daily meal for the staff. I do not partake, not because it is made by the inmates as some of my co-workers do, but because it is all fat and startch. I bring my lunch. Once in a rare while if I forget my lunch I will eat here. Lots of bad pasta, potatoes and cheese. County lock-up is no place for good food. I guess prison life holds some interest to folks on the outside. Take my word for it, prison live sucks. Some guys here thrive on it, but it is no fun. Some people seem to want to romanticize prison life. Often, when I met people and they ask were I work, I cringe. I guess it is understandable that folks are interested in what it is like on the inside. However, the reality is nothing at all like the popular view

Maple is fine for smoking. Fruit woods are great for poultry. Check with your local orchard for trimmings. I got a big box of apple from my local orchard for a couple of bucks. Are there grape growers aroung your area? I have never used it but know those that do use grape vines. I do NOT like mesquite for smoking. Grilling, maybe but the taste is too strong for smoking. Pecan, hickory, and other nut bearing trees work well. Your ash would do fine. I would think wood should be easy to find in your area

I love to dunk Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets in cold milk. Sometimes I eat the butterscotch off the top and dunk the cakes, sometimes the whole thing. The sponge soaks up the milk and than sort of melts in the mouth.

The WSM comes with a cover that I do not use. I do know guys who put a trash bag over the smoker and than use the cover as it is not waterproof. I keep mine outside but do store my charcoal in the garage to keep it dry. I also keep the grates in the garage as they will rust, the WSM itself will not. If outside it is important to clean out the ashes, if they get water in with them they can lead to issues with corrosion of the fire bowl. However, the WSM is a wonderful device that really is not hard to use or to maintain. Years ago I had a cheap-o Brinkman that was such a pain in the ass to use I stopped smoking for several years. Reading the butt thread made me get off of mine and buy a WSM. I have been very happy I did. There is a ton of information on the Virtual Weber Bullet site which will answer any question you would have about it.

Wow, what a saga, Melissa. It should not be that hard. The water in the pan is to moderate the temp. So cooking with it empty and foil lined may be the answer. I am sorry it turned out to be such a nightmare for you. With my Weber Smokey Mountain the cold is not an issue as long as it is not windy. With probes from digital thermometers I have found that washing them is an issue they should not be immersed. I wipe mine with a clorox wipe. If this device is such a pain to use I would take it back. Charcoal is not so bad and aWSM would have done the job for you. I do know that everytime I fire the smoker disaster is a possibility. I believe this is part of the allure of smoking

Yes, getting the pork done ahead of time is fine. Wrapped in heavy duty foil and held in a cooler that has been heated with a soaking of hot water a piece of pork that large should hold a safe temp for several hours. I never plan a meal time based on when I think the pork will be done. Either have it done ahead or make it an event were waiting does not matter as much, such as a summer cook out with lots of beer. When cooking chicken and any other meat it is best to have the chicken on the lower of the two grates. Any nasty chicken juices should drip into the pan, not the pork. Unless you are serving the Notre Dame fans, than I would not worry. Go Buckeyes edited for spelling and stupidity

Go get 'em Melissa. Another e-gullet smokehead is born. I have never seen a contraption like yours but it ought to work fine, the trick will being regulating the flame to stay at the right temp. 225 to 250 tops at the grate. Would it be possible that the diffuser fits on top of the bowl that holds the wood? The hole in the middle to let the smoke through? Just a 100% uninformed guess. In my charcoal smoker I use chunks of wood. I would think chips would work better here and the out best be smoked. I am very anxious to hear how this works for you. Susan is correct that chicken is a great test. Smoked chicken thighs are wonderful.

Last night had a Bijou for the first time. A very interesting drink. Lots of different tastes. A little bit of pucker from the vermouth to start, but the finish was much smoother with the orange bitters really shining through. A fine example of an old style cocktail. I think this is an example of the orange bitters being essential for the drink to work

My darling wife Maggie found me a first edition hardcover of Gary Regan's Book of Bourbon for a Christmas gift. What a wonderful gift it is. I have alyways loved bourbon and this gives me information I never had both historical and current. I know it was published in 1995 but it is still very current. I would imagine many of you have seen this, but if not, it is worth the search for it. I particularly enjoyed the recipe for distilling a batch of bourbon. If someone has a source for the still and the barrels I could get the corn, wheat and rye

Allura, The reason there is no "stupid baking questions" thread is because there are no stupid baking questions. As a novice baker who has never made layer cakes, I was not aware of the icing dam technique and have learned something from your post. The reason I love this forum so much is that all levels of bakers -- from novices like me to advanced home bakers such as PatrickS (who is also a great photographer ) and Ling, to the professionals such as Wendy, Nightscotsman and so many others -- we are all here to share, learn, and advance our skills. Keep those "stupid" questions coming! ← Great response Beanie!!!!! I couldn't agree more.......... all questions and thoughts on any level are welcome here. ← When I read Pastry and Baking I am always so impressed how the professionals share and help us home bakers without any attitude or pretense. E-Gullet is a wonderful place full of wonderful people, but I believe this part of it is the shining star of what it can and should be.

For all the Philadelphia area store conspiracy theorists I note that this IS now showing as in stock in several Philadelphia area stores but NOT anywere else in the state. I still hope to get some in time for a Christmas gift. ← I ordered two bottles from the web site and it has been shipped to my local store. I will be able to gift it after all. Thanks to Deidre for the heads up that it was available on the web site.

Around here Costco has Kingsford year round.

I use the WSM no matter what the temps. However, grilling is different than smoking. On the Weber Virtual Bullet site there is a whole section of rigs guys have built for cold weather. Many involving water heater wraps. Wind is a much bigger problem than cold for me. For grilling I use a gas grill and like above it takes a lot longer to get up to temp when it is cold, but I have not yet been stopped.