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I have the pig covered at this point, thanks to a recomendation from ronniesuburban....it will arrive Wednesday. I intend to brine it overnight, however I still have am clueless as to any flavoring agents to add to the brine. I am considering the oven instead of the barbeque......and the more I think about it the more I think that might work. Well, thanks for the great suggestions thus far!

I read the book, and did certainly did have an effect on me. However, I felt the recent movie Super Size Me was more effective when it came to shock appeal.

I was do not think I am capable of stuffing the pig as I do not feel I fully comprehend how to keep the pig intact and debone it at the same time. I was planning to carve tableside, simply so I could show off the finished product in its entirety, however I am now reconsidering my position.

Help! In 5 days I will be roasting a suckling pig for Thanksgiving Dinner. Unfortunately, I realize at this point that I have little or no information on how to approach this. Here is my plan: I'm looking for a pig that will be in the general vicinity of 20 pounds. Can I expect to find a suckling pig of this weight? All the butchers I have talked to have told me that I should not expect anything under 38 pounds. I thought suckling pigs never got anywhere near that large. Could they have been referring to a typical whole pig? Anyway, on with the plan. I will brine the pig in a garbage bag, but I do not know what type of brine to use. Any ideas in this area? Moving on, I have set up the rotiserrrie on my gas grill. I figure I will simply stick the pig on that and then put some soaked hardwood chips onto the grill along with some herbs and just let it roast/smoke. As far as serving, this aspect really scares me. I have no experience in butchering whole animals and any tips would certainly help. All in all, does this sound like a viable plan? Thanks in advance for all the help, ~Ben

Alinea's site, which I believe is still under construction, is absolutely amazing.

Roast them! Sure its not exactly original, but with some curry, they are amazing!

Forum on what to do with your seeds is here

I can't speak for the French Laundry, but I can for Trotters, and I simply don't think you can get food there for that little. The only time I dined there, it was at the kitchen table, so I can't speak for sure, but the bill came to just over 250 per person. That was with no wine! Furthermore, any drinks we did werent charged to us. It seems that almost all Zagat estimations should simply be assumed to be an underetimate, agreed?

andiesenji, do you plan to roast the seeds of those squash?

All you out there who eat them with the shell on, (as stupid as this sounds) do you ever experience digestive....um....difficulties after an extended feast of seeds?

Anyone else have thoughts on the latest gourmet: the restaurant issue? I found the articles to be wonderful for the most part, if you could find them! There are so many adds in that gosh dang restaurant issue. PS, anyone else interested in reinstituting these threads?

Wow....this looks like it is going to be fantastic! I found the earlier remakes a little...well....annoying.....but these challengers look really great.

Wow Number 1: I'm very impressed, thanks for the great info Number 2: If the tapioca doesn't start in the form of a pearl, why bother turning it in to one?

So last night I'm cookin up some tapioca pudding........ later as my family and I were eating it, it occurred to us: what is tapioca? Are we talking about a wheat product here? Does anyone know? Furthermore, are there uses for tapioca beyond pudding?

I actually made this dish last night, and it turned out really superbly. I had none of the problems that I have experienced before. I loosely based the dish off a recipe that I found here and also used some of the tips that you guys gave me. If I could figure out the darn image gullet I'd post a picture.....but anyway.....sucess!

So they become chewable when the puff?

I think I'll put in my own two cents and say that I subscribe to 8 different cooking mags including Savuer, Gourmet, Bon Appetite, Cooks Illustrated, Fine Cooking, Everday Food, and others and I have to say, I dont find Savuer that enjoyable. Maybe its simply because I'd rather (in most cases) be reading about cooking technique, then culinary adventures. I love Cooks Illustrated, though I can't say I've ever made a single recipe. Gourmet and Bon Appetite might as well be the same magazine in my eyes, and both are LOADED with ads. Fine cooking is a little too straight forward for my tastes, but I find Everyday Food to be fantastic. I'm by no means a Martha Stewart fan, and this is a Martha produced magazine, but the recipes are quick and easy and superb. On the other hand, it has very little content, no articles, great pictures though, and darn good ideas. Anyway, I'm not sure I have a point, except that I just don't see the light in Savuer, though I will confess, I've never tried a recipe from it. Tell me, are the recipes worthwhile?

My friend insists that a long slow roast will do the trick....but thats like saying sticking a rock in the oven would make it chewable

Yes but does anyone understand the differences between green and normal seeds?

I agree with Fifi.....will the shell soften enough to be edible? As far as cleaning, I think it just takes some time.....at least I'm certainly not aware of any tricks. Fifi, in response to your question about seeds that you purchase in comparison to the ones from pumpkins, I believe that the kind you most often see in a grocery are Green Pumpkin Seeds, while the ones you take from a carving pumpkin is different. I could be wrong.......my only source of knowledge is that in this months issue of Everyday Food...they had a section on recipes to use with Green Pumpkin Seeds. It would appear to me that these seeds are useful in many different types of recipes (ie muffins and other baked goods) while carving pumpkin seeds are really only good for roasting. Once again though, I could be completely and utterly wrong about everything I just said.

Pumpkin carving time is almost here....and every year I get myself riled up about what exciting culinary adventures I'm going to have with my seeds this time, yet somehow, I manage to continue to put off doing anything with the seedsm and end up tossing them in the trash. If any of you guys carve pumpkins, what do you do with your seeds? Roast them? Anyway, I'm up for anything...........

I've heard that gas broilers are not as effective as their electric counterparts. I believe this is because the heat from said gas broiler rises to the top of the oven faster than that of the electric brioler, which has a better tendency to travel downwards towards the food.

Awesome!

But I want to change that This is one of my dishes to order in a restaurant, yet at home, the one attempt I've made at it was disastrous. However, I've reached the point where my desire to eat has overcome my fear of attempting.... can anyone help me on my quest? Recipes, thoughts, tips.....all are welcome Thanks

I would highly HIGHLY recommend Alton Brown's recipe for chewy cookies. My personal favorite (although not really on topic here) is his recipe for thin cookies. The recipe for his chewy cookies can be found here