=Mark

Be careful not to let the seam where the cable enters the probe get wet, liquids can wick down into the probe and short it out. About 50% of the time they can be dried out in a 4oo degree oven, the rest of the time they are history. Also just because a WSM may burn for 6 or 8 hours does not mean that you can trust the sucker to maintain temps without an occasional nudge of the intake vents. I like to check on mine every half hour in a perfect world, or at least once an hour. Did your water pan boil dry? Mine will do so after about 4 hours resulting in a temp spike if the pan is not refilled.

What I do is fill the fire ring with unlit lump charcoal, that is level with the top of the ring. Yes, that's right, fill the darn thing all the way! Then I take 4 or 5 pieces of lump hardwood and embed them in varying depths in the charcoal, with at least one piece on the top. While doing this I have a chimney full of lump firing up. When the chimney is fully engaged I dump it on the top of the ulit charcoal so that it forms a mound. Then I assemble the smoker and damp down the bottom vents and wait for the temp to stabilize, playing with the vents. In doing this the fire actually burns down through the unlit charcoal like a giant cigarette, constantly causing a couple pieces of the hardwood to smoulder. Also, by burning from the top down, ashes do not accumulate to clog the air flow. The relative lack of free airflow through the vents prevents the wood from fully igniting. Starting with this large amount of unlit lump also extends the time that it will burn to more than 8 hours. After 6 or so hours you may need to stir the coals up a bit (be gentle or you'll stir up ashes) to coax more heat. After 8 or more hours you might need to add pieces of unlit lump. At this point you need to be aware of when to add charcoal as there is a delay from when charcoal is added till it catches and starts to heat up. You either have to practice or are genetically a pyromaniac to begin with...

Are they in English or hard to read cutesy dude-spelling?

I use it with the chimney to start the initial batch, but generally don't need to do a second batch as the full fire grate of lump will burn 8+ hours on it's own. Since I use lump charcoal which does not emit nasties while igniting I add ulit pieces to the fire if needed during a long burn like a brisket.

Although the only meals that I've had there were special events organized by Rosie and whoever sponsored her at the time, I never had anything but excellent food there. A couple of the most memorable dishes in particular were: Sauteed Diver Scallops on a nest of Seaweed Salad with Roasted Red and Gold Beets and Green Pea Coulis And Roasted Rack of Venison Chop with Parsnip & Fennel Puree, Braised Red Cabbage, Sauteed Kale, with a Cabernet Apple Cider Sauce. So what are Chef David's plans for the future?

One thing to note, meat tends to take on more smoke flavor early on when the surface is still somewhat cool. After about an hour and a half the meat will no longer absorb much in the way of smoke flavor, and tars and creosote may accumulate if the smoke is too heavy. If you feel you may not have enough charcoal or other fuel to sustain the whole session it is better advised that you start the meat in the smoker to get the most flavor, then if you need to, finish it off in the oven.

Skirt Steak...

I've seen "reviews" of this item in a number of publications. It seems the "Rare, specialized alloy" is actually a plain aluminium plate that could be manufactured for about 50 cents. Of course even that is worth more than those supposed antenna boosters you stick on the back of your cell phone...

Rain can really suck the heat out of a smoker if is directly exposed. Nessesity is the mother of invention, one of those cheapie clamp-on umbrellas for beach chairs works wonders on a WSM in the rain...

True, but Montreal smoked meat is something that reasonably accessible to someone living one state/province-line away. If someone was a connoisseur of smoked meat, its reasonable to assume they'd seek out the Montreal variety, unless they are one of those life-long Manhattanite types who swear that they'll never leave the borough. Maybe, but the focus of the article is on New York Pastrami. I don't see a valid reason for questioning why product from outside of NYC is not discussed.

It means soup of the day NOW, but what did it mean back then? I know what it means now (ba ba bump), of course, but obviously Bux is referring to something that I don't know about. Make sense? Soba This is going to get complicated, so bear with me: French English ------------------ Soupe = soup Du = of Jour = day

What's a "Reverse Reservation?" Does that let an establishment know what nights you won't be attending?

Standard BBQ trick is to wrap in plastic, then wrap in layers of newspaper, then put the whole shebang in a cooler. Will keep this way for 4 to 6 hours.

Aside from some regional specialties I'd have to restate the idea that there is no specific US cuisine. The national culinary character is defined more by it's differences than it's similarities.

I've found that Ball half pint mason jars hold up much better to firm washing than any of that sissy hand blown stuff...

No, but I don't think they've done any stories about Himalayan smoked Yak either...

Down on the west side of Red Bank there is a growing community of Mexican Americans. There are 3 or 4 Mexican restaurants off of Monmouth Street, one of which (La Chalupa) caters to the mexican community that staffs most of the kitchens of the rest of the local restaurants. It is the furthest from the typical melted cheese and ranchero sauce bloated dishes one most expects in your standard Tex Mex type places. The food is good, fresh and cheap, the atmosphere consists of buzzing neon signs, posters of upcoming hispanic events and a contest between the Mexican pop songs on the juke box in one corner and the Spanish Language TV in the other.

Beyond a certain level of service, style and cooking expertise restaurants can elevate themselves to a destination in of themselves. They will appeal to a level of dining that goes beyond being just a place to eat prior to doing something else. Rich and I made a round trip from DC to Inn at Little Washington several years ago. The Cheese course with glasses of port served out on the patio by the fountain on a late spring evening alone would have been worth the 60 mile (One way) trip.

Broadway Diner, Red Bank, NJ. Packed 24/7, even open Christmas day. Great for a snack after a Willie Nelson or Penn & Teller show at the Count Basie Theater down the street...

That was the one. This was the dinner where your husband related the story of the fundraiser he attended where the valet parking folks accidentally drove his vehicle into the side of a house...

Just have to mention that I just this moment got back from the Manalapan Wegmans near Freehold NJ. It is about 20 minutes from me. I have mixed feelings on it. On one hand they have great prepared foods, but on the other hand does shaking a salmon filet with almond slivers justify doubling it's price per pound? I've noticed in the year or so that they have been open they have cut back on a lot of the variety of produce, obviously they are not going to lose money on stuff they can't sell. The most telling incident happened a few months ago when I was preparing for an eGullet event and wanted to show off the place to my ex chef brother. I was looking for blue corn chips and canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce. Nada. I mean c'mon! this is 2003. This ain't gourmet stuff, my local 7-11 carries it! I asked the lady stocking the ethnic canned goods area about the chipotles in adobo and she looked at me like I had 2 heads. "Is that two things your asking for?" she asked. "No" I explained, "They are canned chipotles in an adobo sauce." She then went on... "It sounds to me that you are asking for two different things..." Cripes! I held back the observation that chicken soup is like 10 different things but they still manage to get it into one can! Ended up getting the blue chips and chipotles at a local Shop Rite. Incidentally, am having stuffed grape leaves, balsamic marinated pickled onions, fresh herbed tomato and mozzerella salad and a bunch of other goodies from their salad bar for dinner. Also managed to pick up a Vietnamese pig sculpture to adorn my back porch...

Recipe for my "Holy Guacamole." I also like to vary it with cilantro, chopped green onion and other goodies. There is a little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant near Exit109 that caters to the Mexican population that staff most of the other restaurant kitchens in the area (Hint, no puddles of ranchero sauce and gobs of melted jack cheese here, and the Mexican pop songs on the jukebox compete with the Spanish language TV at opposite corners of the tiny dining room), and they will make servings of guacamole to order. No avacodos get smooshed until they recieve an order. Not sure what they use but it's the best restaurant guac I've come across.

In this statement I believe you are very wrong. The dangers from SARS are very real. Mortality statistics for SARS are increasing towards 10%. All the numbers I am seeing, including China, Canada and Vietnam (Which seems to have stopped the spread, no new cases in 2 incubation periods) seem to round off at a bit less than 5% mortality. While still significant (Twice the mortality of influenza) I still feel the coverage is resulting in unnessesary hysteria in the general public. At least the media has not reached the duct tape and plastic stage as of yet.

Well, looks like Sunday is going to be the best day for this fest. Think I'll be heading over there for the afternoon. Anyone else planning on going? Wanna hook up?

Had dinner at Far East Taste in Eatontown NJ last night. Chef Rich does a medly of Chinese, Thai and Malaysian dishes, and in my opinion does the best Hot & Sour soup and fried dumplings in the county if not the state. The idea of avoiding the place due to the result of SARS never even entered my mind until reading the editorial. In my mind, even in the areas currently effected, the virulence and morbidity (or lack thereof) do not merit the hysteria that the media seems to be stirring up. In my opinion the current style of reporting is to maximize media market shares and has no bearing on the actual gravity of the situation. The only actual story in my opinion is the delay in reporting of the start of the spread of SARS earlier in the year by the Chinese Govt. But that is pretty much old news now. This brings to mind the current state of 24/7 style of reporting national and international news that seems to foster this hysterical type of reporting. The most egregious recent example of this was when John Kennedy Jrs. Plane went missing a couple years ago. For two solid days the only information the media had was that he did not show up when and where he should have. Nevertheless, for 48 solid hours we were forced to endure aerial shots of boats sailing around aimlessly on Long Island Sound and endless repetition of total speculation as to what may or may not have happened. "At this point we have no information, and we intend to provide continuous coverage of it." Being that the current closest cluster of cases of SARS is in Canada, not China, I'm going to be avoiding Canadian restaurants for the near future...