Brittany

For many years when we went to the Washington coast crabbing we would cook them alive whole. After being shown how to cook them cleaned I have never gone back. You flip them on there back, and with a large chief knife stab down into the mouth area. Than just come on down with the knife sliceing them inhalf, clean and put in boiling water. We find the meat is whiter and fresher tasteing. Which makes sense, you are not cooking something in its own guts. We felt that this yellowed the meat. Charlie

Stevea, In one book i have it says. To make tamarind water, It is one tablespoon syrup in one half cup hot water. If using paste a chunk about the size of golf ball in one half cup very hot water, set for 10 minutes and strain through very fine strainer. I use the syrup when I make my own Worcestershire sauce, but have not tryed other things. Hope this helps. Charlie

Season that griddle and start using it, is the best thing for it. I have a couple of skillets that the kids broke the handles on. Had the handles welded back on and they work just fine. Grandmother use to put the skillets in the fire place when they got to much crud on them and burn them off. Reseason them and of she would go. Cast iron cooking seems to be coming back. Charlie

Rich I think the easiest way to go for your first time is a meat processor supply house. They have all ready made up kits of differant brineing solutions. You just add water. I get my bucket with a lid from a bakery, just ask for a frosting bucket some times they will give them to you or charge a dallor or two. I corn my own beef and it is far better than store bought. Charlie

My book, Sublime Smoke suggest a paste applied the night before. Medium rare is 30 minutes per pound at 225 to 250 degrees. If you would like the paste recipe I will pm it to you. Charlie

Bigwino. That is where I bought mine. This weekend I think I will try something slow and will use your idea of turning up the heat until the chips are going. I was real satisfied with the way it maintained the heat Sunday and like the results, except for the rub i put on. Thank all of you for the help and great links. Charlie

Do any of you use a smoker. What are some of your dishes. I got a Smoky Mountain gas water smoker this weekend. Did the rib thing, I think it cooks ribs better than my Smokearoma. I am looking forward to some vegies. Charlie

From Cooking Fish and Shellfish Plunge into boiling water until shell opens. Sever the adductor muscle, discard skin and stomach, rinse well in cold water. It is possible to cut three steaks from one goeduck ( one from the breast and two from the neck ) These may be breaded and fried, and the rest ground for chowder clams. I have never dug this type of clam, but think that they are used a lot for chowder. They dig for these and horseshoe clams at Birch Bay, up by Blaine, WA. Charlie

It has been some time ago when this happened and I am a little fuzzy on the details. As I remenber Jeff was a ordained minister who taught in a small norhtwest college. He started using food and recipes as a way of teaching his classes to make them more interesting. The F G M was born out of that. Maybe someone else can fill in the details of my foggie memory. I do not think Jeff had any formal training. Charlie

After reading the post on onion confit and having just purchased a 50 pound sack of onions. I decided at 8:30 last night to get out the crock pot and give this a go. This morning at 6:30 after being on low they are cooked down one half and are starting to brown some. I have set the lid ajar and will keep going. I also turn it on high, it is now 3:00 and they look like the pictures that have been posted. For a total of 18 and one half hours, I have since went to town and got some brats and are going to try them with the onion confit. Charlie

Fistfullaroux I think that it is Calrose rice, What liquid, rice, ratio do you like. Charlie

Fistfullaroux I think that it is Calrose rice, What liquid, rice, ratio do you like. Charlie

We have a Champion Juicer and it gets the job done. It is also several years old and working fine. Charlie

Made my first pot of Jambalaya in a cast iron dutch oven. After watching the All American Festival show on food network. Didn`t like the way the rice cooked what type of rice do you use for this dish. I thought the rest was good, but the rice didn`t puff up and split like they talked about. Charlie

We like Pearl River Bridge Superior Light Soy Sauce best. They make a dark and a mushroom, but the lighter salt factor seems less intense to us. Charlie