Smithy

I'd like to make bread like that. It looks wonderful: ideal for saying, on the one hand, "it has fewer calories" and on the other hand, "look at all the voids I can fill with butter/braunschweiger/jam/whatever". Tie wraps! Very different than the new citrus squeezers or zesters that I thought I saw.

What is in the squarish container behind and above the Montana bread knife in the third photo and to the left of the oven mitts in the photo before that? It looks a little like colored plastic hearts. In the bottom photo there seem to be identical red thingies packaged in cardboard and plastic, sitting atop what looks like gummies. I take it that was a latest-and-greatest thingie that each of you will use and take home? What is it? The label suggests something to do with citrus.

Rendering the bacon fat in water is a good trick. I hadn't thought before about how that would help cut the salts, but of course it would. Funny, I never saw Wright bacon ends and pieces in California; we didn't discover it until we started traveling in Texas. It's one of our staples now. Love the stuff!

What a great haul from your shopping expedition! I'm looking forward to seeing it in use. I feel your pain about people throwing things away, when they're perfectly good. Expiration dates? Hah! Add 10 years, at least. :-) Is that a stack of 4 small cutting boards (in nice colors) I see? High-density polywhateverpolymer? I have a terrible time passing up things like that. Thanks for letting me shop vicariously.

Thanks for the nickel photo! The tempura looked pale compared to what I usually see. If I didn't know your photographic skills in general - and have more from this batch as a comparison - I'd wonder whether it was exposure. Since I do, I don't. If you get my drift. ;-) Which leads to the next question: how did the texture of these rather pale tempura shrimp and vegetables compare with the usual, more golden versions?

As it happens, it's only just started warming up here. I scored several packages of rhubarb at the grocery store earlier today (I missed the Farmers' Market); I got plenty to make sure I could participate. I'll post photos later so y'all can comment. The checkout clerk noted that he loves rhubarb just dipped in sugar; he eats it out of hand, like celery!

It probably needs to be larger than a standard six-pack sized bottle. Maybe it's an excuse to buy yourself a nice bottle of champagne vinegar, perhaps? Or one of those oversized beer bottles would be about right. I think one of the reasons Mom used an oversized bottle was to make sure it had enough mass at the bottom to stand upright with that large cake balanced on it. Edited for clarity.

That's the purpose of putting a pop bottle in the hole in the center cone. It holds the center of the cake pan (the loose part) up. My mother never used the feet on the outer part. I suppose if your center part of the cake is so slippery that it slides right off the center cone then it might slide down onto the pop bottle, but I doubt it would hurt anything. My mother had a large bottle that had once held 7-Up, especially dedicated to sprinkling clothes for ironing and holding up inverted angel cake pans (not at the same time). It was smaller than the family-size bottles you buy now but larger and a single-serving bottle; I'm going to guess about 20 oz but I could be way off there.

What should I look for when selecting rhubarb? Color? Size? Weight for its size? Something else?

Oh, those ribs! Much prettier than mine! :-)

Just tell everyone it's an "Angel Puddin' Cake", Shelby. I bet it'll be delicious! cyalexa, thanks for the comic relief. The plastic bottle and ensuing disaster makes for a great image, but it probably wasn't so funny at the time. :-)

MelissaH and I have similar questions. I'm thinking that if Sudbury has a Costco or a Real Grocery Store, then it's come up quite a bit since I last passed through. Granted, I last passed through many years ago. Photos of the trip will be welcome, as always. Is the Giant Nickel still there?

No, that's why I wondered. I've never seen one of the stores, and I didn't pay much attention to the topic here. Lobster condos. Huh.

It looks great, Shelby! (I love that watermelon bowl!)

The placards for selecting seafood and meat look like something more stores should use to educate customers. I can't make out enough to see whether they convey good and useful information, however, or are just overly-precious marketing ploys. What was your take on them?

How about a rough recipe, or description? Maybe one of us with local rhubarb can try it.

I have a nectarine/amaretto ice cream base chilling in the refrigerator, to be churned later today - or tomorrow if we opt for a long bicycle ride today. Ribs from the smoker, waiting to be gently warmed. No big party planned, but it's nice to finally celebrate summer!

I've been seeing rhubarb in our local grocery stores. Tomorrow I'm hitting the farmers' market to see whether the locals are offering it. Then I'll have to start choosing among all the offerings here. To date, my most pleasant experience with rhubarb has been in the company of strawberries (in a pie), or in my friend's excellent rhubarb crumble. I look forward to trying it as a compote or a pork sauce.

Welcome, Mauricio! We're glad to have you here. We look forward to hearing more about your ventures and adventures, whether in modernist cuisine or the more mundane aspects of cookery.

What glorious photos. I'm sure it isn't as good as being there in the flesh, but it's a nice treat for the rest of us. Thank you!

It does look good. I've had braised hocks before but never by spit-roasting. However, I found a blog post that says there are 2 ways to prepare Munich Schweinshaxe: either braised in sauerkraut, or seasoned and left to dry in the refrigerator to get that tight skin, then spit-roasted. This blogger chose the second method. The pictures include one of two hocks on a rotisserie spit. I haven't tried this recipe, but I must say the finished product looks delectable. Here's a link to the blog post in question: http://www.evilshenanigans.com/2010/09/schweinshaxe-spatzle-und-rotkohl-pork-knuckle-spatzle-and-red-cabbage/. boudin noir, if you try it, please let us know back here how it came out!

I have the same question that Shel_B has. In addition, I'll note that pork shank (in my experience) generally wants long, slow low cooking - preferably in a moist environment. A braise is a good way to go, for example. I'm not sure that a rotisserie would give you that, although I'm no expert on the topic.

Welcome back, minas6907! Those chocolates are beautiful. If I were in the same room with them, I doubt I could avoid any of them; they're beautiful and tempting both with and without the luster dust. Congratulations! May your ceremony, and the subsequent marriage, be joyous.

I agree with Lisa with respect to the oven camera. The camera idea makes a lot of sense; however, my industrial experience (in hot, dusty environments), coupled with kitchen disasters, suggests a need for a really bombproof lens and imaging system that can be cleaned easily. I'd hate to have the whole camera system die because of grease spattering in the oven. I'd hate even more to think of the costs of servicing or repairing such an item. I *have* noticed the wild temperature swings to which Myrhvold's article alludes. Convection in my fancy new oven helps; baking stones on upper and lower racks help more; the combination of convection AND oven stones (top and bottom) is best. Nonetheless the temperature fluctuates with the thermocouple's on/off cycle, and I lose at least 10F when I open the door. It would be very nice to have an oven that avoids those problems. The hot-air curtain to prevent the temperature drop when one opens the door makes theoretical sense. They'll have to work out a way to prevent burns before it comes to fruition in the consumer world. Do we have any beta-test volunteers?

It is beautiful. I wonder if it's somebody's one-off pottery experiment, given that it has no markings? No way to know, I suppose. It looks very well-made.