Smithy

Your man will understand with the first taste!

Do consider starting a thread of its own. I don't know anything about cassava cake and would enjoy hearing everyone's comments about their experiences and versions. ← Ooh, another interested cassava cake person! I like the idea of a separate thread - but either way, I'll be eager to see and read about this. Thanks, Moosh! and Thanks, *Deborah*, for bringing up the topic! I realize you have another entire dinner to post about yet, but these blogs have a way of closing when I'm not looking. In case I don't get back in time tomorrow, I want to thank you for a terrific blog, *Deborah*. You've shown great stamina, terrific taste in kitchen design, and even better taste in friends. May your Wolf ever be hot, and bring you many whistles.

I remember vividly when my entryway sprang a leak. Fortunately my father came before too long to help out, and I have fond memories of him standing outside hosing the roof while I was cramped inside to see if we'd fixed the problem. You may not have the happy memories, but you'll have the relief...and the empathy of those of us who've been through it. Meanwhile, to happier things: I am totally loving this blog, and I wish it didn't have to stop soon. I have to ask about cassava cake. I don't think I've ever had cassava, much less cassava cake, and I've been hesitant to show my ignorance here. What is it like? Is that a fruit I should track down with dogged intent so I can make my very own cake? How would I go about making such a cake? The Japanese restaurant was terrific. Kudos to you for your photos! Kudos to the whole group for packing away so much food. I'm sure you're only doing it for our benefit.

FFB, a lot of us talked about, drooled over, and dreamed about various countertop materials a while back. Here's a thread on Soapstone & Concrete Countertops that may get you some useful commentary, and it refers to yet another thread on Corian and Silestone countertops. There's also some side discussion about soapstone countertops in this thread about soapstone sinks. 'Sfunny, I never thought about soapstone countertops - remind me too much of the lab - and I think that's precisely the reason some people like it. Now, I've been paying more attention, and thinking how nice they would be - and my taste just keeps getting more expensive, far outpacing my salary...

I'm not sure where I've been all these years, but I only recently started hearing it pronounced "CYOO-linary". I grew up with "CULL-inary, in a reasonably well-educated and literate family. Finally, this thread spurred me to open my Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary - which, despite its title, dates back to 1979. It lists "CULL-inary" as the preferred pronunciation. This pronunciation isn't new. I also make allowance for mispronunciations, particularly of foreign words; I'm sure I mangle my fair share of 'em. Some very common foreign terms are an exception, though. I recall, back in the 70's, our California hilarity at a recent immigrant from Oklahoma, who wanted to go eat at TAY-co Bell. I save my linguistic contempt for heads of state who don't know how to pronounce "nuclear".

Gorgeous, all of it: drop-dead gorgeous and luscious-looking. But here's the stunner for me: Moosh, I don't want to hijack *Deborah*'s thread, but would you please tell more about that torte? I've never thought of combining lemon, almond and fig. Now I'm obsessing over it, and I'm pining to try making it.

Oh, racheld, thank you, thank you for my gulley-laugh of the week! <wipes tears from eyes, opens the office door again>

Oh, my goodness, what a weekend! I loove the way your kitchen is coming out, and I applaud you and your friends for the excellent food and photos. (I think the pork smear on that last photo gives it a rather sentimental glow to your Wolf. That was on purpose, wasn't it? ) Now I understand about the S-grates. What a terrific innovation. More about the duck, please. How finely did you have to chop that, or pull it, to get it into the potatoes? I had to reread several times, and then look very closely, to believe that the potatoes had duck in them. It sounds wonderful.

Peanutgirl, that looks wonderful! Abra, have you checked with Tagines.com to see what's going on? That's a disappointingly long time to have to wait! My latest batch of preserved Meyers is good to go. Now, I just have to have some time home to cook.

For a thorough discussion and comparison of fried chicken recipes, including the benefits of double-dipping, you should also check out eGullet's Cook-off V: Fried Chicken. Since these cook-offs are never closed, you can weigh in with your own thoughts and photos, too! Bump that thread back up, now that summer's a coming-in...

From the same article linked by GG above: "A wooden spoon works best for stirring risotto. It's gentler on the rice than a metal spoon, and it won't scratch the inside of your pan." I understand the bit about a metal spoon scratching the pan, but the first part has me puzzled. What do you suppose "gentler on the rice" means, in the context of using a wooden spoon rather than metal?

Oh, *Deborah*, you really are a brave soul! Then again, there are enough folks around here who've been through the kitchen renovation thing, or are starting it, or are thinking about it, that I suspect this blog will be keenly watched. After all, misery loves company! I like the color scheme. Could you show an up-close of the S grates? I haven't been following that thread (I afraid of getting the new-stove bug) so I don't know what you're talking about. A friend of mine has just finished a kitchen reno - complete with 2 ovens (one convection) and she's in heaven. How's the weather in Vancouver now?

What fun, what total fun this blog has been! Susan, I have the swivel and rocker chairs - and table - that match that glider. I am inspired and amazed at the sausage and cookery that I've seen on this thread. The sausage-making in particular looks like something that would, indeed, be rewarding - and take way too much time and space in our household. Maybe next year. I did manage to hang onto a lot of family heirlooms, and am trying still to work out where to keep them, and when to use them. That is a great pitcher, Mike. I'm glad you and Maggie like it well enough to continue the pattern. Marlene, no quotes from or about you in this post, but I want to extend my thanks and admiration to you as well. Thanks, all, for a terrific blog!

I want ALL of it. Marlene, how fast could you get to northern Minnesota? I'm closer than Susan. Why is your LC tarte tatin pan bad for tarte tatin? And thanks for that gratin tutorial - I adore gratins, after Fifi got me started on them, but hadn't seen my way clear to gratineed broccoli before now.

Is it just discoloration, or can you still feel the crud? If it's just a stain on that surface (looks like enamel?) bleach may be your friend about now. Mike, you really have been a trooper. We expect Susan and Marlene, seasoned bloggers that they are, to soldier on through the tribulations of weather, broken equipment, and the other unpredictable elements of blogging. You've been tried by fire, man, and passed. I have to ask: is grilled pizza worth the extra fuss? What say you all?

Careful, there. If all y'all keep telling about how much work blogging is (oh yes, I remember) there won't be any more volunteers! You're supposed to make it look easy! Then, people who haven't blogged will say "heck, I can do that" so the rest of us can sit back and watch the struggle. Why would the butt temperature drop, if the smoker temperature didn't? Did the smoker temperature drop too, before you goosed it up? Most curious.

Michelle, thanks for that link to the article about being On the Flatbread Trail. Not only was it a good article, but I see the flatbread book they eventually published is still in print, and won a James Beard cookbook award. I just may have to treat myself to this book! I've made pita bread a number of times, and there's a semolina bread (Yemenite? now I'm not looking at the recipe, and I don't remember the nationality) of it that's pretty good. The nice thing about flatbreads is that they don't seem as fussy as the rising kind. They can be thin for wraps, or thick for soaking up sauces. It's time to start baking again.

I've been keeping an eye on the radar all day. Poor Mike has been inundated again. I hope he surfaces enough to post; it looks like the rain might be leaving his area...and heading for you!

I might have known we'd have common musical tastes. I have been resolutely staying away from the charcuterie thread - not enough time, too many cookbooks already, don't need another space-and-time-intensive cooking mania. I feel myself slipping toward the edge. Home-cured bacon, eh? Home-made sausage? Ooh! I also want to know about the planked salmon.

California rice isn't grown in the Colorado River valley. Rice cultivation takes place in northern and north central California, where the climate and conditions are suitable. The Colorado River's woes are indeed related to overuse - which may relate back to your initial point, since agricultural use is part of that overuse - but not from something as wildly inappropriate as rice. I'm not necessarily trying to shoot down your basic premise, that "local" doesn't necessarily equate to "environmentally friendly", but I think it should be pondered in the light of real examples. Edited: Spelling, confounditall.

Wow, what feasts! I'm drooling. It's interesting to see that the butts stall at different temperatures, anywhere from the low 160's into the mid-170's, unless I'm misreading. Does anyone know why this is? My friends who've taken the cheap route on cedar have just gotten cedar shingles - maybe cedar shakes, I'm fuzzy on the difference. They don't seem to have suffered any from it. Does anyone know of additives to watch out for with cedar roofing materials? I haven't heard of any. Snowangel, my trick for cleaning burned-on caramel gunk is similar to Anna N's. I put the pot back on the stove with enough water to cover the burned-on gunk, pour in liberal amounts of dishwashing detergent, and bring it all to a simmer and leave it simmering, stirring occasionally and scraping gently at the pot bottom and sides with a spoon. Hours of simmering may be required but should do the trick.

I second the grilled desserts request. I am very fond of grilled peaches and nectarines, drizzled with a slighly sweet, slightly caramelized glaze of balsamic vinegar. I'll bet a touch of pomegranate molasses would work well on that, too. If all else fails, you could do s'mores. ← Come now. I'm already sacrificing myself for the great blog good by making veggies! You don't really think you're going to see fruits of any description from me do you? ← Well, that's why I mentioned s'mores. However, the 4-layer chocolate cake mentioned upthread would also do nicely. I hate trash. I hate having to pitch stuff that you shouldn't have to use in the first place. Those plastic bags at the grocery for produce? I rinse them, let they dry and take them back to the store to reuse. Again and again and again. My kids hate going to the grocery with me, as I come armed with bags -- plastic and paper -- that have been used. I recycle as much as possible, but much prefer reuse to recycling. That's one reason I spend a lot more money for the milk in the glass jars. ← Brava, bravissima! Oh, and about the fishing opener: much to my surprise, the roads north were not packed up here. I think the rain and the cold must have discouraged some anglers up this way. I wouldn't have thought that possible before this evening. As they say, you can always tell a fisherman, but you can't tell him much. Marlene, one way to make kebabs less fiddly is to skewer all the meat together (on as many skewers as it takes), all the onions onto a different set of skewers, all the tomatoes on yet different skewers, and so on. The main advantage is that, since everything cooks at a slightly different rate, you can control the cooking - get your meat done properly without carbonizing the onions, for instance. The other advantage is that it's less fiddly. I took to this strategy a couple of years ago after hearing about it on The Splendid Table, or some such. When each component is cooked you un-skewer it onto a serving plate, and each person dishes out servings to please. ...However, after looking at your kebabs, I'm questioning that choice. Yours really are lovely. As to the asparagus, I lean toward the thin asparagus, myself, but I've read that if you peel the bases of the thick asparagus you get good tender flavor at less cost per pound. OK, I confess. My sense of humor is arrested at about age 10.

I second the grilled desserts request. I am very fond of grilled peaches and nectarines, drizzled with a slighly sweet, slightly caramelized glaze of balsamic vinegar. I'll bet a touch of pomegranate molasses would work well on that, too. If all else fails, you could do s'mores.

Marlene, I don't have an exact time for you, but it's on the order of minutes. 5 minutes, maybe? Watch them closely. I'm enjoying this blog, folks. I have to keep popping in and out, and frantically reading to catch up, so I suspect I'm missing out on some fine points. I am certainly getting a kick out of the commentary on butts. Kudos to Marlene for grilling in the rain. Snowangel, if it makes you feel any better, up on the Iron Range they had 4" rain in 36 hours; along the South Shore in Ironwood they had enough snow to close the schools; here around Duluth and up the North Shore it may get back down to freezing tonight. And it hasn't stopped raining yet.

Beanie, your link doesn't seem to work. What is the stuff?