johnnyd

Every year involves a quest to find something different. My wife clearly won this round with this stuff - Banana sauce. When tomato shipments evaporated in WWII, an enterprising Philipina started tinkering with bananas to find an alternative to catsup. It's still popular apparently. Can't wait to try it!

dcarch - those are great! We've used a SAVEUR recipe (issue #109) for years. A pinch of salt on the shredded russets releases more potato water - after a while we gather it in a kitchen rag and twist-squeeze the hell out of it and let liquid stand so starch sinks to the bottom, discard water, mix starch deposit with an egg and matzo flour - add potato and chopped scallion, then fry in duck or chicken fat at med/high in cast iron. Serve w/ apple sauce spiked w/horseradish. That's-a New Years breakfast!

Yesterday's grilled harissa chicken in some tom yum broth w/noodles, daikon a nd carrot. Mmmm...

Some old pals came to visit from Virginia and brought me a ripe pawpaw. Apparently they were George Washington's favorite dessert. They don't come to market, they said, because they ripen too fast to stay on the shelf. They have several stones in each fruit. They remind me of custard apples (fruta de conde) I had in Brazil - tastes like banana/mango but smelled like pears. Delicious!

Hey Mr. Dome - RE: Papaya - The secret to good papaya is to let it ripen for a few days until it turns yellow and blotchy and begins to give when you squeeze it. I find this works especially well in summertime. We have had one a week since June here in Maine, served with a spritz of lime. The peppery seeds are good for the gut too. Buy it green and let it sit until it looks like hell and you want to throw it out - that's when they're sweetest. Cheers.

Lobster linguine leftovers, with vermouth de Chambery, garden chives, garlic and a boatload of butter

More baby octopus, as it turns out. The next day I swapped that acid with house salsa and dusted it with sumac.

Avocado, grapefruit, cukes, purple daikon, and pink peppercorn in balsamic and lemon oil. Basically calling for seafood but I'm working on my base layers today.

Cast iron skillet at med-high - doesn't take long, these, maybe five minutes. Rest five minutes and they finish quite well. Served with avocado, scallion and grapefruit salad w/pink peppercorn.

Baby Octopus from India marinated 3hrs in EVOO, oregano, chili flake and a pinch of salt.

Liuzhou! I've gone through this whole thread and your photos of local KFC and pizza hut offerings are illuminating, a bit startling, and just wonderful. Thank you so much! McDonald's serves congee? Fantastic!

Eventide at Fenway. New location opened last autumn by award winning Portland Maine-based crew. Lobster rolls served on Asian steamed buns baked in house with browned butter. Terrific oyster bar too.

Outstanding! Where are you HC?

D'you old folks remember that Chodorow Restaurant Name Contest? Damn, that was funny... And the feud with Ruhlman was epic... Remember when they stayed up all night in Cincinnati? <sigh>

I've been battling spots where sugar-based glaze burned onto my cast iron. I'm definitely trying the multi-pass grapeseed cure after a final scrub. Linseed oil has no business being near food, but when cut with turpentine, makes a great outdoor wood finish. We added some pine tar to make a classic Maine deck finish, applied monthly on mahogany wash rails and foredeck.

Cantcookstilltry: We make Rogan Josh from a recipe in Clifford Wright's "Real Stew" once every couple months or whenever local butcher gets local lamb at a reasonable price. Pretty dependable results from everything we've tried in there actually. Give it a go.

Preserved lemons??? Sorrel is already lemony so I don't see the point

Today's New York Times weighs in on Maine's Shrimp Industry: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/26/dining/maine-shrimp-fishery-climate-change.html?action=click&contentCollection=dining&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0 Great photos too.

State of Maine Department of Marine Resources Moratorium on Northern Shrimp Commercial Fishing Maintained for 2018 Season Portland, ME – In response to the depleted condition of the northern shrimp resource, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section extended the moratorium on commercial fishing for the 2018 fishing season. The Section also approved a 13.3 metric ton (mt) research set aside (RSA) and tasked the Technical Committee to develop the RSA program design and report back to the Section for final approval by December 14. Industry members continued to express concern about the economic impacts of the fishery closure, especially in light of a lack of positive signals in terms of stock rebuilding. Based on these concerns, the Section agreed to include in future discussions the possibility of opening a directed fishery if improvements in stock condition (e.g., strong recruitment or biomass indices) are not realized. The 2017 Stock Status Report for Gulf of Maine (GOM) Northern Shrimp indicates abundance and biomass indices for 2012–2017 are the lowest on record of the 34 year time series, with 2017 being the lowest observed. Recruitment since 2011 has been poor and includes the four smallest year classes on record. The recruitment index in 2017 (2016 year class) was the second lowest observed. Current harvestable biomass is mainly comprised of females from the weak 2013 year class and some small, early-maturing females from the below-average 2015 year class. Recruitment of northern shrimp is related to both spawning biomass and ocean temperatures, with higher spawning biomass and colder temperatures producing stronger recruitment. Ocean temperatures in western Gulf of Maine shrimp habitat have increased over the past decade and reached unprecedented highs within the past several years. While 2014 and 2015 temperatures were cooler, 2016 and 2017 temperatures were again high, and temperature is predicted to continue rising as a result of climate change. This suggests an increasingly inhospitable environment for northern shrimp and the need for strong conservation efforts to help restore and maintain the stock. The Northern Shrimp Technical Committee considers the stock to be in poor condition with limited prospects for the near future.

We had great fun doing the New England Fried Clams: Shacks and Restaurants thread (5 pages) back in 2005. Perhaps we should do a memorial round this summer? He would love that!

Stunning!

There are several cheeses from Corsica and the Pyrenees that have used ash covering for a long time. When we lived in Brazil, there were pure charcoal tablets for stomach aches. They totally work but I can never find any here.

What happens when you make ramen with your purple chicken stock....

What happens when you use heirloom carrot in your chicken stock:

"..... because I'm hardcore." Indeed, Madam!