Smithy

I think cdh is onto something. In my experience, shrimp gets tougher as it marinates in acid (a) longer and/or (b) at a lower pH. You should be able to pickle those shrimp enough without pre-cooking. Freeze and thaw them first, if they haven't already been frozen, to kill any parasites they might be carrying. I'd love to see the recipe you used, but can't find anything recent in the NYT Magazine site. Can you post a link?

Ohh, I should absolutely not be reading this topic. (Peers over the brink)

This is wonderful news! I look forward to seeing the finished product and comparing it to the version I saw.

Sooo much good-looking stuff here! JoNorvelleWalker, you made me laugh (as you often do) and for some reason I keep visualizing mopping the floor with the baguette. liamsaunt, did you make the bread for both sandwiches above? What is the bread on the tomato sandwich? That is a very cool bowl that the squash fries are in. I'd like to know more about that dish as well as its contents. Were those fries made from a hard squash? It's good to see you here again, robirdstx. Those are beautiful and inspiring meals. liuzhou, somehow I doubt that your 'comfort' food is ever boring. You did the breasts here, and plan the legs and wings for tomorrow. What do you plan for the back bits, bones and neck? Broth alone, or will you find another use for those meat scraps?

I'm thoroughly enjoying your heat wave relief efforts, blue_dolphin. The popsicles look beautiful! I like your idea of getting a little of each element in each bite, and the crunchy element you propose to add sounds like it would be a nice addition. Thanks for posting your results.

I thought Duluth was lagging behind the rest of the country, ElainaA. Now I see we aren't alone; our tomatoes are just coming in, too. Yours are beauties!

Hiya. Do you like to cook, eat, or both?

Thanks for that report, Dave. I'm impressed with the recovery, as well as the tap dancing. Did the meat guy have any thoughts about what might have been wrong with the ribs?

Welcome, Ama. Lurk as much as you like, but you may find you can also contribute! A lot of people are interested in good food "on the cheap". Has your experience on different continents helped broaden your skills and ideas for making good, inexpensive meals? Do you find yourself turning to some cuisines more than others?

In Ivy Manning's book, Crackers and Dips, she gives directions both in cracker dough thickness (for using a rolling pin) and in pasta roller setting. Edited to add Amazon link.

Anna, I'll bet there's going to be a rush of sales for this cooker. Thank you very much! I look forward to more reports. The temperature adjustment on the front panel is interesting. Can it be used to set the temperature in the slow-cooker mode? I'm wondering whether this can be used to slow cook for hours at, say, 140 or 170 (F) for the protein of our choice.

Add me to the list of interested readers. I'm not sure I should be paying attention to this topic, lest I find myself working out what has to leave the kitchen to make room for a new multi-pot. Nonetheless, I'm interested. Willing to be tempted.

Welcome, Peggy! We look forward to having you around. Southern cuisine with Asian influences sounds very appealing. 'Come on in and set a spell,' as my grandparents used to say. If you have any questions about where to find things or how to post, don't hesitate to PM a host.

Anna N, I haven't tried freezing the dough but I think I did halve the recipe with good results. kayb, I think if I were the recipient I'd be very pleased to get smoked salmon spread and chicken liver pate, shelf-stable or not. Those sound like great Christmas baskets! It wasn't too much trouble to paraphrase that recipe, and reminds me that it's been a while since I made the crackers: got off into bread-baking, and kinda forgot about making my own crackers. Please report back on your results and any adjustments.

Here are my adjustments to the recipe, based on what has worked best in our trailer oven. I'll add notes about what was adjusted at the end.Armenian-Style Crackers with Sesame from Alice's Kitchen: My Grandmother Dalal & Mother Alice's Traditional Lebanese Cooking by Linda Dalal Sawaya Makes about 6 dozen crackers cut into 1" x 4" strips. 1 cup + 1 Tbsp lukewarm water 1 Tbsp yeast 1 tsp salt 5 Tbsp olive oil 3-1/4 cups flour - I used half whole wheat and half all-purpose 1/2 cup sesame seeds Use a medium-sized mixing bowl. Dissolve yeast in water, proof for 5 minutes. Add olive oil. Mix in the salt, flour and sesame seeds, and blend well until it's smooth. (She says to do the mixing with your hands; I can't remember whether I start with a stiff spatula; I do finish by kneading on the counter.) Divide the dough into 8 evenly-sized balls; roll them in flour and put them on a tray in a warm place, covered, to rise until they've doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 350F. One at a time with each ball, do the following (keep the rest covered - this part is a bit like working with pita dough): - Roll each ball of dough out as thinly as possible with a rolling pin. - Transfer it to baking parchment on a baking sheet. - Cut it with a knife or pizza wheel into the size cracker you want. - Perforate the crackers with a fork. (Perforations are crucial to keep the crackers from puffing up too much in the oven.) - Use a squirt bottle with water to spritz the dough, then place the baking sheet on bottom oven rack for 10 minutes until slightly browned on bottom. - Squirt the dough again with water and move to top rack for 10 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. It works out to more like 8 minutes top and bottom in my small oven. You have to watch the coloring. While the first ball's worth of crackers is in the oven, you can go to work rolling out the next batch. Cool the crackers on a rack. If you're going to store them in an airtight container, make sure they're completely cool before storing. My proportions above are for a cracker that's half whole wheat and half all-purpose (white) flour. Hers uses 2 parts white flour to 1 part whole wheat; consequently her recipe uses slightly less water and oil - about a tablespoon less in each case. She notes that seasonings are easily adjustable, and this makes a great springboard for other cracker styles. I can't say enough nice things about this book. It started out as a family cookbook, complete with photos and snippets of her immigrant family's history, but the recipes work and the artwork and stories are charming. My admiration increased after I went to the trouble of putting together a family history book of my own one Christmas. I think she's working on a 4th edition now; mine is the 3rd.

What about Armenian-style crackers with sesame seeds? Think Ak-Mak. I've had excellent success with the recipe from Alice's Kitchen: Traditional Lebanese Cooking. It's dead easy: flour (white and whole wheat), water, salt, yeast, olive oil, and sesame seeds. The seasonings can be adjusted. I haven't been able to find the recipe posted on the web, but if it sounds appealing PM me. I think they hold well; we usually eat them too quickly to be sure.

What is the reddish item at the bottom of the last photo?

I liked the comment that older recipes recognize contingencies (ingredient maybe not available) and that they put cooks closer to the food sources (the season, the weather, the appearance of an appropriate bird). I am personally fond, however, of the structure that lets me check that everything's in place (with or without substitutes) before I begin. It helps me stay organized, and I need all the help I can get. :-)

I'm more inclined to think that calling it 'mayo' when it's missing a defining ingredient of the emulsion in question is misleading. 'Mayo' is common slang for 'mayonnaise', and using the classic definition of that cold sauce it isn't possible to have vegan mayonnaise. Maybe they need to come up with a new term ('vegemayo'?) for what they're marketing. I can grant that 'vegan imitation mayonnaise' might be too truthful (and cumbersome) to be appealing.

It's funny that they argue that the FDA is behind the times and should expand their definition of 'Mayonnaise'. Miracle Whip calls itself a spread. I suppose "Just Mayo Non-Mayonnaise Spread" would fail the company's marketing test.

The Senegal book caught my eye in another review, and with this additional recommendation I may have to go for it. My best friend's oldest son is starting his 3rd year there (Peace Corp), and I've been hearing enough about the place to be interested in knowing more about the food. I also like the writeup for Essential Turkish Cuisine: "Mastering the Art of French Cooking meets Jerusalem - in Turkey." :-D

Here's a nice Food52 article about Renee Erickson's Sauteed Dates, with several ideas for serving them (with yogurt, drizzled with olive oil, and so on). They point out that sauteing the dates helps bring out the more savory notes. Along the same lines - possibly inspired by that blog post - I stuffed some with walnuts, then caramelized them. Can't remember whether I broiled or sauteed them to get the browning, but they disappeared quickly at our party. The slightly bitter caramel notes really showed them off and played nicely with the walnuts. I have also added finely chopped dates to the onion/garlic/aromatics for meat sauces, but can't honestly say that it became a regular addition.

Shelby, congratulations - and thanks for the laughs! That bread loaf reminds me of the hypercranial "advanced" aliens from any number of old sci-fi flicks. :-)

I should have read more carefully last night before posting. gfron1's post clearly says that the sliding scale escalates for more copies sold. That's great! I still wonder why it would be a triple-tier escalator for electronic books. Does anyone know?

It's interesting that they have a triple-tier arrangement for the hard cover and electronic, but not for paperback. Why would the digital copy have multiple scales for 'first 1000 copies' then another for '2000 copies' and yet another for any more than that? It isn't as though they have to keep resetting the printing presses. In both the hardback and electronic copies there are scales like 'x net for 1000 copies and y net for 2000 copies' (percentages not specified here). Suppose the hard numbers are 10% of net profit for 1000 books sold and 5% net profit for 2000 books sold. Does that mean you get 10% on the first 1000 books sold and only 5% on the remainder? Or does it mean that once you pass the 1000-book mark your overall take goes down to 5% for the lot, so you'd only get 5% on a sale of 1900 copies? The question goes the other way as well, of course; if the sliding scale goes up with number of copies sold that sounds promising for you. My question remains as to whether the take is based on blocks of 1000 (or whatever) or the total sold. My other question also stands as to why the sliding scale applies to electronic copies.