Chris Amirault

Kristin, I'm surprised: are other staple Southeast Asian ingredients (lemon grass, galangal, etc.) so expensive?

Oh my, yes. Click for Khmer preserved limes, or here for limes from Guyana, or....

What's the story with limes? There seem to be wild inconsistencies in this staple citrus. Take price. Here in the northeast, I can get ten for a dollar at the local Asian and Latino/a markets, but the local megamart (Stop n Shop, Shaw's) sells 'em two for a dollar, and Whole Paycheck has been known to ask .69 for a single fruit. Meanwhile, you can get twenty or thirty for a buck in Arizona. And while I'm asking, why is it that some limes have a thin skin, little pith, and full, juicy interior, whereas others in the same bushel have thick skins and pith and are dry as a day-old Munchkin? I seem to remember that someone mentioned frozen limes in a recent thread; are some limes frozen at some stage of the harvest or distribution? But it's all good. We have a dozen or two limes in the house at all times for larb, caipirinhas, grilled meats, you name it. Tell me about limes. What do you use them for? Are they a staple in your house? What do they cost in your neck of the woods?

Looks good, but I'm surprised that there's no allspice in the filling.

I also head to House of Noodles for pho when I'm sick. The combo of a good stock with those chiles, cilantro, and sriracha hits the spot. edited to add: I just merged several "feed a cold" threads into one. A quick glance suggests that chicken soup is, without question, the cure for what ails you!

Why yes. I do believe this is quite apparent in The House of Pancakes. ← I think that Adam was making an interesting point that this classist comment ignores. The deliberateness of the American model encourages a more self-aware approach to the use of the utensils. Quite an interesting twist on the usual pragmatic approach to consumption that characterizes American eating. It seems to me that an entire thread devoted to the consideration of etiquette regarding forks presumes a level of interest in customs, gesture, and culture that this smug reference to IHOP dismisses.

All my cookbooks are gone! Y'all are speed demons!

Trellis and Roasting are gone. Any Bert Greene fans out there? How about Pierre Franey?!?

Care to say more, foodie52? What exactly gets under your skin post-sell-out?

OK, I'm diving in. I've got four books that I'd be happy to ship to anyone who's interested: Bert Greene's Kitchen Roasting by Barbara Kafka Pierre Franey's Cooking in America The Trellis Cookbook by Marcel Desaulniers

There's a few prior threads on the subject of scars, including First Cooking scar? and Burns, and, um, Burns. edited to add: Forgot to mention my primary cooking scar, a spot on my left middle finger where a little cajun napalm hit and stuck while I was making gumbo. Three layers of skin came off under the cold water. Bones look... nauseating.

This is amazing. Click on that link, and you too can lean how to break down a whole side of beef. What a resource, live and virtual, Rochelle!

I think that starting off with all of the herbs poking out of the cavity is plenty slutty already, Wendy -- you know, in a tasteful kind of way. I hope you're going to eat all of that golden skin while it's still crispy, Kathleen!

What, you think "Roast at 500F for 45 minutes" doesn't work in every situation?

Uncle!! 1/2" dice, 1/2" dice, 1/2" dice, 1/2" dice, 1/2" dice....

Oh, cool: that's prickly pear cactus fruit purée. Click for a source. Hibiscus is the uber-red blossom of the namesake plant, which is dried and then used for teas and other drinks.

Where's that damned cassoulet cook-off thread??!?

After quite a few hours simmering, then resting, then coming back to heat, here's the finished chili: That yellow tinge is a photo effect, thankfully. And here are the beans using the oven-baked method. They turned out fantastic, I must say. Buh bye, bean soaking: The finished product: baked potato (Andrea's favorite base), beans, chili, cheese, jalapeño: Enjoying this with a fantastic Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA. Finally: ok, Linda, you win! It's clear that this big chunk of chuck is not traditional at all. I dunno how in the world I thought it was, but I did. Next time, I'll rough grind up the chuck. Traditional or not, I just love those strands o' beef!

Wow... that's pretty amazing, I must say. I have a Patio Wok, which is an outdoor propane-driven wok burner that cranks out 49K BTUs. I never -- I mean, never -- set it at its highest. I can't imagine what you'd need 100-120K BTUs for: reforging the wok itself? Yeesh!

Thanks for adding that with its family name, menton1. I mentioned Venda Ravioli above, but without the address. Tony's Colonial down the street has a excellent cheese, meats, and olive selection, too, making those two stores must stops on Federal Hill.

I find this very difficult to do, but I have to admit I never regret doing it. Now that I've found this free cookbook exchange thread, I feel a renewed sense that I oughta unload a few things.

The chili is simmering on the stove. The process so far. 3 1/2 lb chuck roast, which I have to say was so beautiful I took this glamour shot: 1 1/2-2" cubes: Browned the cubes in a T or 2 of lard: Poured off the fat and added two diced onions to brown in the fond: Added several minced garlic cloves, then a few T of cumin that I had toasted and ground. Meanwhile, at the same time, I had toasted 5-6 ancho, pasilla, mullato, and chipotle chiles in that same skillet; I then doused them with a few cups of boiling water: They all went into the blender: I then added that chile paste into the dutch oven, along with some salt, cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground chocolate (a T or 2 each, though a bit lighter on the cloves). Fried that paste for a while, tasted, and decided it needed a bit of cayenne to increase the heat: I then added the meat, a can of crushed tomatoes, and a couple of cups of chicken stock that I needed to use up for moisture: Results a bit later!

Great thread topic, Pontormo! Since as you point out taste is often blunted when you're sick, I wonder if part of the appeal of chicken soup is the mouthfeel of a good, slightly gelatinous stock.

Looks great, Bill. Quick question: What do you mean by that parenthesis? Looks like a lot of weekend chili going on here!

I wanted to link to the no-soak method for beans, which I'll be using today. Here's a link to Fifi's post about that method: click. I'm planning to add some onion, garlic, pepper, and Mexican oregano to this recipe and doubling it. Results to follow. I alwo wanted to say that the Time/Life volume on American cooking has a three page section on chili by Dale Brown, which includes the following: It's hard to tell from a quick googling, but I think that "wild marjoram" is the same as "Mexican oregano."