MichaelJ

Last night's sausage arugula pizza.

Last night's Sunday Supper -- Trout, green beans, almonds.

I had some fresh rhubarb over the weekend, but what I made was decidely more <cough> rustic <cough> than that cake. Tasty though.

I recently picked up a grinder attachment for the Kitchenaid, so I thought I'd try my hand at grinding my own meat for burgers. First attempt was with a 3:1 ratio of ground to flank. It looked (and smelled) beautiful. I seasoned with just salt and pepper and grilled over a very hot hardwood charcoal fire. One of the best tasting burgers I've made, but not the perfect burger. Not yet. For one thing, they need to be bigger for more bun coverage. (And I need to take better photos, bah.)

Never trust a round pizza.

I've spent a long, long time lurking. After all the inspiration you all have given me, it's time to pay back. I had some leftover Jerk chicken (smoked over pimento wood charcoal). I tossed it with some orecchiette, topping it with a poached egg. The gratuitous yolk shot. --Michael

Ok, so this is the thread (along with its predecessor) that has caused me to throw off my long held lurker status. I received the book a couple of weeks ago and have had much difficulty thinking of anything else since. On Friday, I picked up my first pork belly from my butcher. It is a local, pastured hog. Too bad it already had the skinned removed. It was a 6.6lb belly, which I cut in half for two cures. On the left is the standard maple syrup. On the right is a Sichuan peppercorn cure. Bellies rubbed. Thank you all for the inspiration. I will update next weekend after the smoking. --Michael