=Mark

Nobody goes there anymore, it's way too crowded...

This is where the procedure becomes more of an art than a science. Knowing when your burger needs to be flipped, when to add cheese should you desire, and when to remove from the grill is a result of experience and practice. In smoking BBQ, the state of perfect doneness is referred to as "Wabba-wabba." In my case with burgers, I slap it down on what I know is the hottest part of the grill, then close the lid. After about 5 minutes I check on it. What I am specifically looking for is when the bulging little strings of meat that make up the burger are starting to show a cooked color (brownish grey) on the top of the patty while the swelling caused by the cooking burger starts causing the little valleys between the meat "strings" to appear pink, sometimes even with little droplets of blood forced out by the cooking. At this point I check how long it has been on, then flip the burger. What I do next varies depending whether I intend to put cheese on it. If not, just let it cook about 3/4ths the amount of time it cooked on the first side. In a 2/3rds inch patty this is about 6 minutes on the first side and 4 to 5 minutes after flipping. Again with the lid closed when not tending. This is medium rare. If cheese is to be added you'll want to flip an extra time because the side that is cooked first has a flatter profile than the side cooked after flipping (cheese will want to slide off the "more curved" side). You want to cook the burger about 3 to 4 minutes after flipping, then flip it again, add the cheese cover and grill another minute and a half to melt the cheese. Another hint... when plating the cheeseburger put the BOTTOM of the bun on the cheesy side of the burger. If you leave it cheese side up the condiments have a hard time sticking and tend to slip off. Put the burger cheese side down then add the onions, catsup etc to the "cheeseless" side. I find the onions act as sort of a loose "sponge," helping to retain the drizzle of worcestershire and catsup. More recently Ive discovered the absolutely best burger condiment is Hoboken Eddie's Mean Green Hotsauce. I guess I'm obsessing here...

First of all, there's the patty. I'll avoid all the references to grinding ones own, it's been discussed elsewhere. Not too thick, I've seen too many folk try to make an impressive but overly thick fist sized meatball on a bun. I like mine gently pattified about four inches round and about 2/3rds of an inch thick, you might even make a bit of a depression in the center a 'la red blood cell to counteract it's tendancy to swell in the middle when cooking. Now for the cooking... Forgive me but I've got a natural gas grill just outside my back door in the kitchen, so I can avail myself of it's use year round at a moments notice (as I did at lunch today. Folks at work sometimes ask why I go home for lunch every day... Answer? "Because I CAN"). So I grill it till nicely done. Avoid any impulse that is being taught to my kids in the culinary wasteland of western Pennsylvania: "Don't lean on the burger with a spatula squeezing the life out of it!" I like to serve on a toasted bun with some thin sliced red onion, splashed with some worcestershire sauce and a nice blap of heinz. Two of these will make a meal! Sorry for not addressing the original question as to pan frying, but I honestly don't know.

Actually this is a traditional American dinner eaten on St. Patricks day. Irish folk from Ireland don't know about this corned beef and cabbage stuff...

Where's the recipe for the pot of chili made with the Guatamalan Insanity Chiles?

In traditional Hot & Sour soups the main ingredient that gives it a kick is ground white pepper. Many purists will insist that chile peppers are not used. In my own version I do use chile paste and white pepper because that's just the way I am. I'm curious whether the complete omission of white pepper in this recipe was intentional, and if so, why?

I've known establishments where the opposite was a problem, excessive venting was pulling heated/air conditioned air out of the dining room. This was touched on in one of the "Blue Smoke" threads. After they had installed their smoker, the draft from the 15 story high chimmney resulted in a situation in the device more akin to a blast furnace than a food smoker. Several dampers had to be installed and tuned to achieve the correct airflow.

What are the prices charged for Fugu in the establishment you are going to?

Great article, but being a lifelong weather nut I also have to chime in... The folks involved in the weather service no longer advise to open a window to avoid damage from a tornado. 95% of the destructive force is from the windspeed, and the damage that can be attributed to the pressure difference happens much too quickly to be mitigated by a few open windows. Another practice no longer advised when avoiding injury is that of taking refuge under overpasses when a tornato is approaching. Tests and actual incidents have shown that wind pressure can actually be increased when funneled under a highway overpass. OK, back to food...

Not mineral or metallic? Definately not in either case. Genetically Engineered is a very specific definition, and giving animals vitamins or hormones in no way would be considered GEM. This is not to say that the practice of giving animals destined for human consumption vitamins, hormones or antibiotics is a questionable practice, especially in light of growing resistance of pathogenic microbes to antibiotics.

From folks I've known who tried it the texture and flavor are totally unremarkable. No unusual sensations either, apparently you detect nothing unusual... or you die.

So, any possibility of an eGullety type event there in the near future?

A sprinkle of Jim Campbells ground apple smoked Red Savina habanero powder on some vanilla ice cream makes for a dandy treat. Frozen sweet and blazing hot, great contrast!

My local paper, the Asbury Park Press ran a feature on Sara Moulton Cooks at Home in today's food section.

The puffers from the US east coast are not toxic like the Asian variety prepared as Fugu. My uncle and brother used to catch them by the bushel basket in Barnegat Bay. My uncle would fillet them and freeze what we did not cook that day.

I've often felt that there was any indication that God has a sense of humor, fresh growing brussels sprouts ranks right up there...

Brussels sprouts are cool!

One could seriously argue that what constitutes American cuisine would, like the cuisines of other countries, be that which is most often exported to the rest of the world. With this in mind there's really no escaping the fact that in the majority of the rest of the world American cuisine is Big Macs, Whoppers, KFC and Pizza Hut.

"mistreating" is subjective. in your mind it's mistreating the tuna, but not in the mind of the person eating it well done Exactly. One could also argue that from the tuna's perspective even being served raw is being mistreated...

I love Hot & Sour soup and often judge a Chinese restaurant by it. I hate when they add too much cornstarch and turn it into Hot & Sour pudding.

My pet peeve (yes I know this is the wrong thread (the original one can be found here ) but I figure it fits (it is, after all, my call) as it appears in this thread) is over use of nested parenthetical statements.

After years of long and careful experimentation I have found the perfect method for enjoying everything from fine wine to acid plonk. May I present the stainless steel dog dish and a plastic eyedropper! The dog dish. Give it a gentle tap and it rings. Raise it, and feel the heft and solidity. No more shattered glass with severed veins and poked out eyes when you've had a box or two too many. Almost untippable. No deadly lead leeching into your vintage Mad Dog from sissy lead crystal. Each dog dish is stamped out with the precision that only fine Chinese robotic equipment is capable of. Who are you going to trust, a machine, or some lederhosen clad foreign wino who apprenticed by blowing into breathalyzers on the side of the road? The dog dish's unique design creates an exceptionally wide evaporation surface that helps to intensify a wine's bouquet and enhance a silky taste in the mouth. To further intensify this effect, the optional baseball cap may be utilized, although this does require that it be turned in the unnatural position with the brim in front. With enough wine, however, this starts to feel almost natural. The eyedropper, plastic for safety, is the final component in this system to enhance the bouquet, taste, balance, and finish of every wine you swill. Are you going to trust a stupid glass to be responsible for the flow of the wine, and consequently where it touches the various taste zones of the tongue? Yeah, right! I personally have witnessed, on numerous occasions, a cranky glass deliberately toss the wine through the mouth and up the nose of someone who was innocently enjoying a joke! With the eyedropper, the initial contact point, and the order of those following it, depends only on the sobriety of the imbiber. To further enhance the safety of the eyedropper, I suggest tying it securely to a large soft object. A rubber dog bone completes the ensemble. Wine is composed of a balance and harmony of different elements: fruit, acidity, minerals, tannin, and alcohol. It is solely the quantity that is chugged that makes these anal and persnickety details irrelevant, not the mythical qualities of some overpriced, jumped up jelly jar. For the price of a single Riedel glass, you can be the proud owner of service for 12. So twist off the cap of that Thunderbird and throw a party!

Reminds me of a waitress in a place I worked in years ago. She had decided that the constant drinking was not doing her any good so she decided to quit. She went dry for several months, then fell off the wagon one night really hard. Down in smoke and flames so to speak. When she showed up late the following day, she was pretty much green about the gills and while holding her head woozily was heard to mutter: "So help me God I swear on all that's holy that I will never, never, EVER quit drinking again..."

I also had the distinct displeasure of doing the "Chile Willie" dance after using the facilities after chopping a bunch of serranos for salsa... My favorite chile pepper source is Mild to Wild Pepper Company. Owner Jim Campbell is a full time fireman in Indiana, and started the business as a hobby. He grows all of his own peppers and grinds them and sells his own powders and sauces. One of my favorites is his Apple Smoked ground Red Savina Habenero. Amazing heat and great flavor. Jim has been featured on several TV Food Network specials, and hosts an annual event called Open Fields. After he finishes his official harvest he invites any chileheads with means of transportation to spend a long weekend in late September to pick as many peppers as thay can for free. Here's an image of early morning Sunday during last Fall's Open Fields: I have no commercial affiliation with Jim or Mild to Wild, but have met the man and found him to be friendly, generous and charitable. The guy grows a mean batch of chiles too!

We just had a dust-up on the Chilehead list as to whether Habanero was spelled with a tilde (Was started by a commercial grower spamming the list about seeds he sells for peppers allegedly hotter than Red Savina Habaneros, he had tildes all over the place). The consensus was that in classic spanish vernacular the tilde is not used, but as with the various spellings of chile/chili/chilli itself, variations on the proper spelling are becoming more accepted.