Pam R

And of course - beer cheese soup. Served with popcorn.

There is definitely still a Tabatchnick's making soup: http://www.tabatchnick.com/index.asp I assumed they just came from a factory somewhere . . .

Levitts out of Montreal produced excellent (I mean, really excellent) kosher deli. They're not around anymore. Shefa (or Toronto Kosher) has some very good products. Maybe I'll bake a cheese kugel for dinner.

It's not just that there aren't enough people who will go out of their way. In most places, kosher meat (and other ingredients) are just more expensive than non-kosher. They can't compete. As you said - fewer people are keeping kosher, so they don't frequent the kosher places as often. Soon, there's not enough business to keep them going. There's also another issue. In our modern world, there are people who don't want their traditional old-world foods. With each generation, there is less of a connection to these foods. Once the immigrants make it to a certain status, deli food is too low brow for them. Sushi, foie gras or a hanger steak are their first choice. It's truly sad that Rascal House is closing - I have fond memories of it.

Peter, Happy Victoria Day. It's great to see a Canadian blogging - and from a place I've never been. Big question: Did you eat anything today?

I wear aprons at work, where I rarely cook these days. On the rare occasion that I do a demo or tv spot I wear one. At home I never wear one. The trick, of course, is learning how to deal with the stains. Oil used to drive me crazy. But now I can get them out.

That's another way to do things . . . She threw me! I will keep repeating to myself "don't listen to strangers in grocery stores . . don't listen to strangers in grocery stores . . ." I'm not so sure that the produce guys at some of the stores I frequent would know how to pick one . . I'm not a fan of buying cut ones either. Honestly, I don't know if I can buy local watermelons. If they are available, it won't be until much later this summer. Thanks for the info Russ. So my tapping is the right way to go. I never knew about the colour issue, but I'll try it out. If I ever see that lady again I'll tell her that shape isn't an issue. Or else I'll say thanks and then stick with the one I wanted.

Yesterday I got the coals going at 7:30 AM and the shoulder went on the grill at around 8: I couldn't get any good chunks of wood, so I used the wet-wood-in-foil trick. What does everybody else do with the wood? After 4 hours, it was just starting to get a little colour on it: After 8 hours I flipped it over. I think I read that some people flip them, some don't. Don't think it really made a difference. . . not sure: (you can see the chicken thighs I threw on in this picture) 10 hours - looking good. Fork test tells me it's not ready. Took it off at 12 hours. The thicker section was registering at 175 - the thinner part at just over 180: There was only one small section that I could actually pull. The rest of the roast, though great-tasting, was too dry. Not enough marbling. With some of the homemade bbq sauce it was fine, but it was more of a slicing roast than a pulling roast. Dinner. No slaw because I was working on some recipes for a column yesterday - but the cucumber, tomato and beet salads were great sides (with the roasted garlic potatoes). And the chicken was delicious: A couple of thoughts: Tasted great - but it was too dry. Not the right cut. I think a chuck roast would be better - I'll order some in. The rub added a really nice flavour layer - but was not on long enough.

Short ribs would have been amazing. I also have beef spare ribs. That'll be next time.

Any interesting experiments lately? Is everybody still baking a lot of bread or did the novelty wear off?

Very cool. Was the rosemary very strong? I'm always concerned it will overwhelm.

I'm at the grocery store a few days ago and the huge watermelon displays have caught my eye. Using my normal watermelon picking technique, I gently tap the watermelon the way my mother taught me. Using the back of my hand, I knock on it, listening for the 'hollow' sound. You know. I go through 3 watermelons, not satisfied with any of the sounds. The 4th one is a keeper. It's oddly shaped, like a pear, but it sounds sweet. I'm lifting it out of the bin when I hear another customer yelling "No no. Wrong shape." I look up - yep, she's talking to me. I look at the melon and back at the lady and say "But it sounds good." She's not buying it. "Wrong shape. You want a round one." She's thrown me. I put back the pear shaped, perfectly hollow-sounding melon and go for a dull-sounding rounder one. Tasteless and a little slimy. That's what that got me. What I should have done was buy both of them to compare. Please - tell me how you choose a watermelon. Does shape matter?

I can't think of a local grocery store that even offers paper bags. Not one. One of the larger chains charges you for every plastic bag you use (you have to guess how many you'll need and tell the cashier before paying for your groceries - then he/she hands them to you from his/her secret stash.) Of course, you pack your own bags here. My father won't buy the bags but usually has waxed cardboard boxes in his car and will put his groceries into his cart without bagging, then will transfer the groceries to the boxes at the car. In our store we use plastic bags 99% of the time. But we do have smaller paper bags for small items. I find that my customers aren't shy about telling me how they want their things packed. Double bags, only two chickens in a bag, not too heavy!!, etc. Only 2 of my customers bring their own reusable bags. I recently bought a few bright-orange cloth(?) Home Depot bags. They're great - huge and they have a clasp at the top that helps keep things from rolling out as I drive home.

Good question. Anybody have any idea how long this will take? The goal is to get up nice and early to start it . . . well, that's the idea. Excellent! Thanks. Your wish, my command. The shoulder is because I've done brisket before - and while I love the brisket, I wanted to try something else. Plus, kosher briskets are incredibly expensive. Heck, shoulders are too - but not as expensive as briskets. She was taken to the lake a few years ago and never came home. She's not in very good shape and rather than bringing her back in, I decided it was time for a new one. Nothing special. Just some brown sugar, black pepper, ancho chili powder, cumin and kosher salt. No measuring, just some of this and some of that. OK. Fork and thermometer are ready and waiting. Good point about the rub not doing too much. I'm thinking it'll make a good crust? Picked up this one at Rona today. It's a Weber 22.5" One Touch Silver. $128 at Rona, $147 at Home Depot. It seems to be the same one that I had.

After looking through the Behold My Butt topic, I started thinking about smoking a beef shoulder. Thinking quickly became doing. I have a 6 kilo shoulder thawing. I'm planning on putting a rub on it tonight and then smoking tomorrow (going Weber shopping this afternoon to replace my old one - kettle, not bullet). Any advice? Er. Any chance I can get anything similar with a beef shoulder roast? Please?

Right. But none of the blends I sell (or have seen) actually use zaatar leaves. I don't have any real recipes that use sumac, but occasionally I'll use it when I make chicken kebabs. Just mix ground chicken with sumac, a little cumin, garlic, salt, pepper, grated red onion - onto sticks and chill. Grill and serve with fresh pita.

I hear you on that – and I'll be the first to admit that my slapdash approach means that I almost never get the same results twice. But it's always edible and recognizable as what it's supposed to be. What I'm confused by is people who just can't manage to bake anything – anything edible anyway – ever. Or are too afraid to try. I made this lovely bundt cake from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours. I brought it to work and one of my coworkers asked for the recipe. A month or so later he made it and brought it in – I don't know what he did wrong (or substituted), but it had such an odd aftertaste. One of our other coworkers commented to me privately that she couldn't believe it was supposed to be the same recipe. ← A couple of points. When I bake at work, I measure (though I've still questioned whether or not I added all of the flour . . .and still baked it). But I think it's kind of fun, when I'm doing something at home, to see how it'll work out this time! Always edible, sometimes a little more dense, sometimes a little more moist, but always edible! Here's the thing. If we all follow the same recipe in a cookbook - and I mean follow it - measuring everything to the best of our abilities and following the recipe to a T - we're still going to have variations. It's the way we interpret and it's the way we go about things (dip and scoop, spoon and pack, sift or not, etc.). On one hand, as a person who does the baking/cooking, I love that. As somebody who writes recipes, it scares me. I have no idea why you do it, but I love it! You start off with good intentions . . .

oooooh. You bring up another good point. How many times have I been having a conversation or was interrupted and couldn't remember what I had already put in the bowl? Do you toss everything and start from scratch or hope for the best. (I hope for the best.)

How many times have you heard somebody say "I love to cook, but baking is too hard. You have to be so precise." Sure, you have to be more precise than when you're making a pot of soup, but am I the only one that 'loosely' measures? Unless I'm writing a recipe, my vanillla never touches a measuring spoon. Mix up some batter - hmm, a little sticky - I'll just add a little more flour. How much? No idea. 7 oz. of melted chocolate in those brownies? Heck, I have 8. A little rum is good, how bad could a little more be? Don't get me wrong, there are recipes out there that need all the precision in the world. But when I'm making a batch of cookies, brownies, icing and even some cakes it's often done in a little slapdash manner. Anybody else throwing caution to the wind - or does it just result in flops?

I know most of you won't have experienced rye bread in Winnipeg, and you may think I'm off my rocker, but we have amazing rye bread here. What we lack in good Jewish delis (my family even tried to run one, bringing in our smoked meat from Montreal) we make up for in good Jewish bread. Really. You should try it.

Here's the latest list of upcoming Pastry and Baking events in the eGullet Event Calendar. Dessert Expo - Alanta (June 1-3) World Pastry Forum - Nashville (June 27 - July 1) 2007 National Pastry Team Championship - Nashville (July 2-3) Chocolate Centers Course with Wybauw (Aug 21-24) Please PM a P&B host with your event suggestions! Thanks!

Everything Alana said is what I would suggest. What kind of cake is it? That could make a difference.

I make key lime curd and keep it in the freezer. When I need to make tarts, I thaw it (you could use it fresh, of course) and mix it with sweetened, condensed milk. Works really well.

My baba made it. Now my sister makes it about once a year. In our family it's served hot, and she's not shy with the garlic. Not for me, but the father (and uncles) likes it. Lots of marrow bones swimming in the gelatinous garlic sauce. Apparently it's best served with lots of fresh challah for dipping.

I sub lime juice for lemon in my curd recipe. Works beautifully. Orange is another story. . .