Chris Amirault

This is a sickness. Looking at that greenhouse, I'm thinking, "What about using our basement shower stall...." BTW, it's nipplemania here in Providence.

For a while I thought I'd show the entire mise en place for this meal, but as I got closer to serving my usual deep-fry nervous nellyism took over, so I gave up. But I'll keep this shot of the initial chowder meez just to make a point: This is about a cup of onion, 1/2 cup of celery, and 1/4 lb of my home cured bacon. Unfortunately, I forgot that this batch of bacon is too salty to use without blanching until just before service -- by tasting the chowder for salt. The bacon, plus the extra-briny clam juice, made for a chowder that was, at best, bracingly saline. I do chowder by feel: cook the bacon or salt pork gently; soften the onion and celery; add some clam juice, diced potato, thyme, a bay leaf, and lots of pepper; when the potatoes are nearly done add the clams and a good dose of half n half or cream; salt at the end. Or not. So much for "feel." Live and learn. Meanwhile, I'm happy to report that the clam cakes that I made using this Recipe Gullet recipe were perfect: Friend, if that looks good to you, please do spread a little Rhode Island sunshine in your kitchen and fry up some clam cakes!

Stage one of tonight's chowdahfest. Instead of getting a few pounds of clams, I kind of lost it at the store and came home with an entire sack of clams: Yes, friends, that's 100 clams, about 25 pounds, there in that sack, wild cherrystones (bigger than littlenecks, smaller than quahogs) that had been harvested yesterday in Long Island Sound off the coast of Connecticut. Each clam was about 1/4 pound, a little smaller than a medium apple and a little bigger than the base of a bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale: First off, I needed to clean the outside of the clams. Then, I set up my steaming rig: Stockpot with two cups of water, then the steaming rack, then a simple flat basket to hold the clams. I steamed about 20 clams at a time: As they opened up, I plucked them out: Working over a bowl, I shucked the clams, being sure to save every drop of the liquor. From that 25 pounds of cherrystones in the shell, I got about 2 1/2 pounds of clam meat: And, after straining the broth and the liquor in the shucking bowl, I got eight cups of stunning clam juice: Of course, the chef enjoyed a few -- well, more than a few -- treats while he toiled: These happen to be among the best, briny-est, sweetest clams I've ever had, so I'm expecting a fantastic chowdah later tonight. More soon!

If there were a theme to my experiences with this book, that's it. I am just stunned at how a little skill and some time yields remarkable stuff. All of the sausages I've made are utterly superior to anything I've ever had, and I'm sure I'm still just getting going. And the bacon? Fuggedaboudit. I'm inventing new ways to eat bacon so I can justify curing additional slabs. It's quite wonderful to discover an entirely new area of cooking, devote some time and interest to learning, and be able to do so well so quickly. For that, I owe the authors of this book a great debt.

Along with all the other good advice, I'd add that you need to be able to eat shit on a pretty regular basis. If you can embrace humanity, with its wildly diverse characters, desires, and moods, wearing a big smile, you'll get some good tips. If you cannot help but wear your emotions on your face (particularly when your knees, feet, and back are aching), then take a pass. But if you can, the world needs you waiting on tables!

Perhaps a good scotch ale is the ideal accompaniment to a long weekend of smoking meat....

Onglet/hanger and entrecote, sure. But rump steak? I'm confused. I've only had that as a roast, not as a steak.

This is a fascinating thread, entwining technology, function, service, you name it. I was particularly struck by this paragraph by Holly: This made me think about a check I had from Milles Fleurs in Rancho Santa Fe CA about twenty years ago: I had written the menu of what was then one of the best meals I had ever had on the thick white card stock check. It was a memento that sustained a lasting impression -- form suiting a very different function than the thermal print POS slip serves.

Fantastic blog for so many reasons -- but I'm particularly moved by your great shots at Salumi. I can feel the warmth of the place through your photos and text. Wonderful stuff.

Dave, if you click on over to the Charcuterie thread, you'll find that there's some action heating up very shortly.

I think that the bacon goes well with a nice hock on the side, Susan.

I have two slabs (4.5#) of belly curing into bacon in the fridge, and I'm going through the book getting ingredients for andouille, almonds, jalapenos, turkey, pastrami, ham, hocks, salmon, chorizo, gouda, and hunter sausage. That will all fit in the Bradley at the same time, right? With enough beer?

I just spoke to Shola on the phone to confirm, and it's true: after the trip to Europe, he will be moving on to other ventures. I'm sure we all wish him the very best in those endeavors!

Not quite lost by the looks of this thread!

That sounds like Fergus Henderson's recipe to me. Are you looking for a recipe, an idea, or what?

My goodness how predictable we all are.... Coffee.

Yes, it's a power cord issue: More here at the recall notice.

Oh, you betcha, Ron. Over in the Charcuterie thread, in fact, I'm already gettin' geared up!

I'm very happy to report that I've taken the plunge and bought a Bradley smoker and some alder, apple, and hickory pucks. (Click here for details on that.) I've already started salivating... er, I mean, planning, planning, that is, about my first batches to smoke. Based on house preferences and tips here, I'm thinking of starting with some bacon, salmon, bacon, the brine-cured turkey, more bacon, ham hocks, andouille, definitely extra bacon, and chorizo. Perhaps some of the hunter sausages that Elie made. Maybe some gouda. Probably a little more bacon. Obviously there are some major logistical issues to work out here (curing, refrigeration, cold v hot smoking, space, time), but you can leave those to me. At least, until I panic and run back here to post questions. What I'm wondering is: if you were getting a spankin' new smoker soon, what Charcuterie recipes would you start with?

Just ordered a Bradley from the eBay store of The Yard and Pool Company for $310 and free shipping; this beats every other place I've checked by $40-100. Plus my first three packs of pucks were tossed into the same free shipping deal, and each of those packs of 48 were about $15 -- which is a lot cheaper than the Barbecue Store's prices above ($24 each). After much hand-wringing, I went with alder, apple, and hickory, btw. Thanks, again, everyone.

I think a mojito without mint is called an omito, btw.

If you have a high power stove, you can probably do it all in one shot. ← This dish is a staple at our house when we can get good pea shoots, and we do it all in one shot. Great pictorial as always, Ah Leung.

Several of the issues raised in this thread are now being discussed in the Daily Gullet's "Sincerest Form" article.

It looks like I can get a 60-bisquette starter packet of my choice, so I'm thinking that Ron's suggestions encompass a lot of advice here and would be a good way to go. Thanks, everyone, for responding so quickly -- I really appreciate it.

Apple and hickory for sure, then, as I'm definitely going for some NC barbecue soon after the arrival of the smoker. Thanks, Dean. Other thoughts?