DTBarton

Having just driven down 301 a few times, I can say that the billboard for Captain Billy's in Pope Creek Maryland says "closed for the season" right now.

A pot of good oyster stew will use up a good many oysters pretty quick and keep for a few days of good cold weather eating. Also, here's a good trick to make shucking easier if you decide to do it. Sometimes worth it as raw oysters have a pretty long shelf life if kept cold, 10 days to 2 weeks. Fill a bucket with hot tap water. Drop some oysters in the shell in the water. Wait a few seconds and start shucking. The brief sit in the hot water really loosens up the shells and makes shucking go much faster. I like to shuck myself if possible as it's easier to save the liquor.

I just made this recipe for French onion soup. It jumped to the list for cold weather favorites, it came out fantastic. http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/de...asp?docid=11811

Basically it's a whole fresh ham stuffed with a kale/cabbage mixture that is usually pretty spicy. Here's an article with a picture of folks stuffing hams: http://somd.com/news/headlines/2007/6754.shtml Google search gives lots of recipes.

Scamhi got my favorite, another vote for raclette. Preferably with weisswurst, great bread, baby potatoes. Asian soups are good too, hot and sour, Pho. Or Marcella Hazan's minestrone.

I don't care for a lot of the schlocky sweet stuff I liked as a kid. Things like Captain Crunch cereal, ring dings, cheap candy, etc. However, some of the crunchy salty stuff I liked back then I still like. Fritos and bean dip (although the dip isn't as good since they stopped using lard) and good potato chips are still enjoyable. And, unlike the topic starter, I still like corn nuts. Our local hispanic store has them in three flavors, hot, BBQ, and lime. Crunch city!

Occasionally in the Delmarva forum, a question about where to get stuffed hams has come up. I was in a butcher store I like today http://www.mybutcherandmore.com/ and they had a recommendation. They said to call Brandy Farms in Gambrills, MD at 410-721-6368. I have not tried their ham, but I have gotten a lot of good stuff at this butcher and they have a valid opinion on meat products. Don't think they'd recommend them if it wasn't good. Happy Holidays!

This is the real deal when the summer tomatoes are in. As for method, I think buttering the bread works better than buttering the pan and it uses less butter.

Also in the oriental vein, I like to marinate wings in soy sauce and a little sesame oil, grind on some black (or szechuan brown) pepper and bake for about 45 minutes at 350. Make a stir fry sauce with some corn starch so it will stick to the wings. Anything will work, I usually use some soy sauce, brown vinegar, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and hot bean paste. Stir in a little corn starch. Stir fry the baked wings in a hot pan and add the sauce. It will thicken into a kind of glaze very quickly. Serve hot garnished with diced green onions.

Or go all the way with the cajun and send them a Turducken! Bet they've never seen that before. http://www.cajungrocer.com/ Or the new Quaducant, quail, duck, and pheasant. Might have to get me one of those.

We keep our olive oil in the original containers in the pantry and keep one of those stainless steel flip top pancake syrup pitchers next to the stove on a saucer. Keep it 1/2 to 2/3 full and I use it up pretty quick and refill.

After a trip to Michigan, we've been enjoying cherry products from there. http://www.mi-cherries.com/ I particularly like the tart cherry preserves with no sugar added, juice sweetened.

Interestingly, Campiello's and Cafe Lurcat are owned by the same group. I noticed this when perusing their respective web sites. We're going to Naples in January. bcjr, you're not involved with this restaurant group, are you?

My favorites are at the old school delis: Attman's in Baltimore - http://www.attmansdeli.com/ Katz's in New York - http://www.katzdeli.com/

Hangar also makes great southwest/Mexican preparations. Rub the meat down with a thick mixture of vegetable oil, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper and let it marinade overnight. Grill over high heat until about medium rare. Slice it fairly thin and serve with tortillas, fresh salsa, cilantro and lime wedges.

I love the minestrone from Marcella Hazan's Classic italian cookbook. Here's a link to the recipe: http://www.culinate.com/recipes/collection...te+Kitchen/2128

I don't know if this guy is Vietnamese or what, but he makes some really good beef and pork jerky and will ship it to you. Always stop in when I go to NYC. http://www.newbeefking.com/

The proliferation of awful Caesar salads over the last few years has been amazing. I don't order them, but the wife does sometimes. What you get: Bland dressing lacking any good olive oil and devoid of anchovies and some shredded white stuff that's id supposed to resemble Parmesan cheese and some lousy croûtons from a bag. Decent ones can be had at better places, but even some better places have fallen victim to Crappy Caesar Salad Syndrome (CCSS).

I also like to put some fresh herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary, parsley) inside the bird along with a lemon cut in two or three pieces.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8070800757.html Agree, disagree?

I think you do have to decide whether you like breaded rings or battered. I'm a fan of battered. I also like peanut oil for frying. For battered rings, tempura batter can be very good. Here's a recipe: http://japanesefood.about.com/od/tempura/r/tempurabatter.htm I like to add a little salt to the batter. Dredge your soaked rings lightly in flour and then dip in the tempura batter. Salt the finished rings as they come out. After you've used tempura batter you'll come to recognize when the thickness is right. As you use it, it will thicken and it needs to be thinned back down with water to the correct thickness. Correct to me is medium thick, too thick is really bad and too thin doesn't hold together in the fryer. Many forums on frites to find. people do obsess over their fried potatoes. The duck fat sounds delicious and decadent, but peanut oil works well also. The twice cooked method is tried and true. Blanch the frites in hot oil until they're almost done (this can be done in fairly large batches). Then fry a second time in individual serving batches until browned and crispy being sure to salt them when they come out.

I just got some very nice royal red shrimp and large gulf shrimp from here: http://www.zirlottseafood.com/ They are frozen, as are almost all shrimp that is not purchased very close to the source in season.

I've never seen Royal Oak Briquettes of any kind around here (although I admit I don't look very hard for briquettes) what part of the country do you live in that you can get them? All we ever around here is Kingsford which is junk. I'm assuming since I have some additives that they still produce more ash, is this true? Is there burning time as long as good lump charcoal? It would be interesting to see how they compare to some of the charcoals evaluated at this site: Charcoal Comparisons ← That's an interesting comparison. I have to admit, I have never factored in moon phase in my grilling calculations!

While I appreciate the notion of real hardwood charcoal, in my experience I have found it to be somewhat difficult to get started and then it burns hot and fast. OK for steaks and other things that cook quickly, but hard to use for longer cooking items. Perhaps I tried the wrong brands or did something wrong, give me your tips. I have had good success with Kingsford, both in the grill and the WSM smoker and not noticed any bad taste from it. That Royal Oak sounds interesting.

I have gotten nice beef from Roseda, a local farm in Monkton, MD. http://www.rosedabeef.com/ Don't know if they sell 1/4 or 1/2 steers, you could call and ask. Here's a list of farms in Maryland that sell to the public, saw some beef in there. http://www.marylandagriculture.info/catego...fm?categoryid=2