Smithy

Durian, I did much the same thing to one of my All-Clad sauce pans: boiled it dry with bits of diced shallot burnt to a crisp inside. I had marks from the shallot, discoloration from the alchohol that had boiled off, and general yellowing of the pan's interior, presumably from the heat. I scrubbed, scoured, and tried bleach. I can't remember whether I tried Sam's oven cleaner trick, but I know I tried simmering water and detergent, and scrubbing at the softened junk. Eventually I got most of the marks off. The interior isn't as shiny as it was before, but it looks okay - heck, usually there's something in it, anyway. Like Anna N, I favor Bon Ami or Barkeeper's Friend. The pan is definitely still okay to use, but as Sam notes, it may not be quite as quick to release as before. That hasn't mattered with my saucepan as much as it may with your skillet.

The kitchen's beautiful! I love love love the woodwork on those cabinets, and the gorgeous horizontal glass fronts on the high cabinets. Congratulations! ETA: Oooh, and that floor is beautiful, and I have a serious case of vent hood envy, and the lighting looks terrific, and...well, you should be very, very pleased.

I love this. Thanks. ← So do I, but this, er, takes the cake for me: What a terrific tribute! Uhm, I don't suppose you'd be willing to post that recipe on RecipeGullet? With the caveat that nobody gets to complain unless they follow the directions exactly? Or maybe even, nobody gets to complain, period.

What a shame! There are many threads on this board about the difficulty of finding really good, really ripe peaches. I find it difficult these days, even when I go to a fruit stand. The stand owners I've talked to have said that they just can't pick the fruit really ripe because it sits too long, gets mauled by potential customers, etc. The mauling is the reason they don't allow "pick your own" any more, too. As for the ripening - if they're starting to shrivel, then they're as good as they'll get and it's time for you to cut your losses and figure that you'll be doing a lot of things involving peach puree with flavor boosters, or peach chunks with other flavors. These really sound like canning peaches to me, with the tough peel and the clingstone. Wash the peaches thoroughly, scrub hard to get the fuzz off, and cut the flesh off in chunks. You can turn that flesh into puree for peach ice cream. You can also can or freeze the chunks for later processing into sauces or purees or pie fillings. It does sound like you'll need flavor boosters of one sort or another. If you can stand the effort of splitting the peaches in half and digging out the pits, you might try grilling a few, drizzled with a balsamic vinegar, possibly sweetened slightly with sugar or brown sugar. That tastes really sensational and seems to be overkill with truly wonderful peaches, so it might be a good salvage in this situation. Sorry I don't have any advice for how to soften these guys up. You've described everything I'd try; my next step might be roasting or stewing, just to see whether it helped. Otherwise I'd be hauling out the canning equipment and cutting away.

I, too, wish I'd thought to warn you about Grandma's. I'm not sure what you could have done to avoid it, though. I think Duluth splits pretty neatly on that weekend into the people who participate (as runners, volunteers or entertainers) or the people who do anything to avoid the critical area. There are parts of Duluth that aren't overrun (like the Cub Foods area), but it would have been well-nigh impossible to get to Canal Park and the Smokehaus. I'm sorry to hear you thought the pie was just okay at the Rustic Inn. I'd bought a raspberry rhubarb pie from them the night before to share at a work party, and we loved it. Thanks for the report! Glad you had fun!

FWIW, I don't think you have to worry too much about the Teflon ™ or its variants. I know it's getting a big smear campaign lately, but if you listen to the fine print (so to speak), they're saying 2 very distinct things: (1) don't overheat it, because if you go too far you may release poisonous fumes as breakdown products, and (2) at lower temperatures you may lose chips from a damaged surface, but any flakes that come off will pass right through you, because it's chemically inert at the non-fuming temperatures. What you're doing isn't going anywhere near the overheat range. The flakes aren't a problem. I have that on my mind lately, because one of my favorite cooking-show hosts is clearly an excellent cook and host but a bit (no, a LOT) weak on science. I just heard her err, yet again, on the side of egregious overcaution this last weekend. I think DuPont (or is it Dow?) is getting a bad rap, and I hate to see a good product scuttled on the basis of pseudoscience scare tactics. All that aside, I want to thank you for a terrific blog. I've been away most of the weekend, and back to work this week, and only able to peek in now and again. Every time I peeked, I found interesting thoughts, theories, discussions about food and philosophy, and ingredients I didn't know! Couldn't help you a bit with the suggestions, but I've enjoyed reading along. Thank you, Ma'am Ducky, and well done.

What I was trying to say is that (for example) the Lebanese Arabic pronunciation may well be different than the Egyptian Arabic pronunciation. There doesn't seem to be one "correct" way of pronouncing much of anything in Arabic, given the differences in dialects. However, I think I learned the word from a Turk, so my pronunciation may be way off regardless. I think you should post the question over on the Middle Eastern forum and see what the native speakers have to say.

I've always heard the accent on the 3rd syllable, but then I've always heard it as "mujaDERah". Those little short vowels change a lot from one language to the next. If you take the question to the Middle Eastern forum you're bound to get a lot of opinions and assertions, not only about how to pronounce it but how to make it (there's already a thread on that) and who started it and what the authentic version is..... Don't say I didn't warn you.

Mizducky, your final dinner product tonight looked terrific! I'm swooning over the salad as much as the goat. The goat dish looked nice; the salad was drop-dead gorgous. I've never had goat meat, and I'm curious about it. Personally, I think it's difficult to describe meaty tastes, but that never stops me from asking about them. So I'll ask you: what's goat meat like? ...and you'd better not say, "it tastes like chicken!"

I have yet to pick a bad sausage from there. I'm especially fond of chorizo, and theirs is good, so I pretty much always come away with chorizo, Cajun sausage (Mayhaw would laugh, no doubt, at the execution) and some form of Italian sausage. Hot Italian sausage, regular Italian sausage, Polish sausage - those sound rather ordinary, but they're nicely done. The Landjager is unusual. Don't ask me what's in it, because when I asked the gal at the counter couldn't tell me. It's been a while, but I think that may be the one that has saurkraut in it. I liked it, but wasn't as sure how to use it to best advantage.

Awwww...! OK, I'll play: "Accept No Substitutions" When may I expect a non-call from Stan's successors?

At last, the mystery of the cooking wine is explained: the Chinese don't wreck theirs! I don't use ginger as much as you, so it still occasionally dries out on me - or gets lost in the freezer until it's been freezer burned - but here are my methods for storage: 1. Store tightly wrapped in the freezer. Cut off chunks, peel and grate (or chop) as needed. It keeps a long, long time this way, although as noted above I've lost it and found it couple of years too late. 2. Store in brandy. I have to admit, this was something I heard on The Splendid Table, and it sounded like a great idea, but it does turn the ginger brown and I've never been inclined to use it. By now that jar is well-aged. The brandy is a dark ginger brown. Should I try some and report? 3. Store the ginger in a small pot of soil or sand. Pull it up, cut off chunks as needed, replant the remainder, clean off the part you kept and use it. I once planted my ginger know in my orange-tree pot for this purpose, and the method seemed to work...until the ginger sprouted. It shot up until there was a yard-long ginger shoot happily coexisting with the 2' high citrus tree. It eventually died, but in the meantime it was too dear to pull up and use.

I'm so sorry to hear about Heidi's spill, and your change in plans! Glad she'll be okay, though. It will certainly make your silver anniversary a memorable one. I really do like Makinen Market's sausages (see my foodblog for a reminder), but they may be too far out of your way. I've never actually measured, but I think they're 5 - 10 miles off Highway 53. They don't carry other cuts of meat, either. Since I've frequently wondered about good butchers in Virginia when I'm wandering through that way, I'm glad you've asked this question. I'd push Wrazidlo's, but you'd have to be coming through Duluth for that to make sense.

Thanks for that rundown on your diet plan. I particularly applaud the goals: forget the count, go for the function! Can you elaborate on foods that you have found *just* *don't* *work* for you? I noted that too much protein may have an immediate effect on your joints, for instance? If you find out how to make the pumpkin dish, do let us know. It looks good. I'm forever messing with Thanksgiving traditions (and for that reason, am usually restricted to bringing "safe" things like apple pie ). Since I'm usually not much of a pumpkin fan, I'd like to find something good to do with it. I don't envy you your location, but oh, how I wish we'd get a Trader Joe's up here! That's a wonderful store! You continue to break new ground: yours may be the first blog with a restroom shot.

Would those leaves stand up to even a quick stir fry? If not, try this: Make a hot sweet vinaigrette, with or without bacon. Toss it with that lettuce, along with mushrooms and hard-boiled egg, a la wilted spinach salad.

What kind of mandoline-gizmo is that, and how do you like it? It looks as though you adjust the slot slice with that knob on the side. Is the blade pretty sharp? Was it an inexpensive investment? Do you think having a blade run straight across (as yours seems to) instead of on the slant (as mine does) or a V (as some do) makes a difference? (Yes, I'm a gearhead.) Re the suribachi: I have one of those, similar design, although possibly smaller, that my sister picked up for me at an art fair one year. I loove it. It's the perfect size for making a paste of minced garlic and salt, then mixing in the other seasonings before kicking them into a marinade or salad dressing. I just assumed it was a funny mortar and pestle. Thanks for providing the correct name! I'm also a big fan of pita bread for sandwiches. As you note it's low-fat and plenty tasty. I prefer a quick heating in the toaster to the microwave; it stiffens the outside but steams the pocket open. Have you tried that? Edited for spelling. Twice.

Same here. We got an electric grinder that we used to use for cumin. It looked nifty but has been a disappointment. It's much too slow on the output. The coffee grinder cost half as much and works at least 4 times as well.

Aqualung / Ian Anderson. What did Fagan do? Here I thought I was a good SD fan! I haven't been tuned to the optifast program discussions enough. Do please tell us more about optifast. Foggy June Gloom, indeed. We have it up here in the frozen north, too, but I'll bet your temps are warmer!

Do you have time to smoke a brisket at home, then bring it up for pulled pork after reheating? How about some sausages for the grill? Cut up some of that venison (or other meat of your choice) and put it in Ziplock containers with marinade. Freeze. Bring up in the cooler. Cook as kebabs on the grill when they thaw. Get a tri-tip steak, put it (intact) in Zip-lock container with marinade. Same thing: freeze; cook on grill when it's thawed. Enjoy. How about a pan of lasagna or other pasta that can be oven-cooked? I think you have an oven? Freeze it; let it thaw in the cooler; cook when convenient. Make up a batch of gumbo, stew, or soup - you pick - and freeze in one large or several small containers. Freeze. Heat and eat when thawed. (In case you can't tell, I've planned whole sailing trips based on the freeze-in-advance, store-in-cooler, cook-when-thawed, minimize dishes principle.) Bring up whole eggplants. On the day for cooking, slice them into 1/2 thick rounds; salt and let sit for 1/2 hour to draw out the moisture; pat dry. Grill, basting with olive oil. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and more oil. Or top those grilled slices with yoghurt and chopped mint. Bring up good raw tomatoes - I suppose it's too early for them at your markets, as it is up here, but perhaps from the grocery store? Chop them finely and mix with chopped onions, basil, cucumbers, perhaps a bit of mint, and oil and vinegar. Bring up good cheese, bread, mustard. Make really truly grilled cheese sandwiches.

Good morning, Mizducky! You're already off to a great start, and I too am glad you're already blogging again. Oh, the sailboats. Oh, the lyrics! I've never seen plates with a piano keyboard on the border. I want some! Never mind that I have enough dishware already; I want those! Think they'd mind if you made off with one or two? I'll PM my mailing address. Is that mint in the bowl behind the bun? That soup looks luscious. I'll be interested to hear more insights about the diet and how well it works for you. I do hope you're figuring on a permanent change in eating habits, rather than a temporary change until you get the weight down to where you need it? I think we've talked about that before, but it's certainly an evergreen topic.

Really? Where did you get that number? Doesn't it depend on how the beef is raised and processed?

I guess that means I couldn't bring my dog with me to Germany.

Hathor, you asked Paula but I'll dip my oar in anyway. If it's an all-the-way-through crack I think I'd try simmering it in milk instead; I think that would do a better job of penetrating the entire crack with a sealant than soaking in water then oiling and ashing and baking. The olive oil cure Paula referred to was something for hairline cracks and pores, and my sense of it is that it makes more of a filler than a binder/strengthener. Somewhere, either upthread here or on another thread, there was a discussion about using a milk soak and simmer to cure cracks in claypots. We were trying to figure out why that would work, and Fifi made the connection that milk contains caseine, which is a principal ingredient of Elmer's Glue. If I can find that thread, or that series of posts in this thread, I'll edit this to add a link. Edited to add this link about how to fix a developing clay pot crack

My friends in Tanzania use a microwave, and they wouldn't be without it. Among other things, they use it to microwave those few articles of clothing that can't be ironed, to make sure insect eggs won't hatch in their clothes. They're physicians, by the way, and would probably be clued in if there were a prohibition against microwave ovens there. Edited to add their non-food use, which is interesting although beside the point.

Majkeli, I don't have the personal relationship with tagines.com that Wolfert does, but I'm still surprised at the lack of response from them. When I inquired about some surface cracks on my new tagine and sent them a photo asking about it, they responded promptly. (For the record, they said first, it was cosmetic and natural and second, to go ahead and use it - and if it broke or got worse they'd replace it.) That was over a year ago and I've been very happy with my tagine. That said, I too would be irked if I'd been treated the way you seem to be. I wonder if there's something going on there in addition to being sold out. Did their earlier email suggest that they'd just send you a replacement? In that case, maybe they're waiting for the shipment before they say any more. Can you tell that I like to cut people a lot of slack? This company seems like a really nice one. Nonetheless, if you think it's time to escalate things you have a couple of options. Was yours a credit card order? If so, you can notify tagines.com that you're going to dispute the charges unless you get a replacement. Can you email them a photo of what you're talking about so they're clear on the unusability of the tagine? Could this be shipping damage? I once actually resorted to the Better Business Bureau, and that got remarkable results from one company. But that was after nearly a year of being jerked around, no doubt because they thought I'd give up and go away. I enjoyed winning that one.