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Grilled pastrami Reuben with chopped liver. Best when it's my housemade pastrami, chopped liver, and Russian dressing, but Kenny & Zuke's in Portland is a pretty close second.

There were only four of us this year but I still went overboard. Everything made from scratch. Sourdough boule Bacon cheddar cornbread Curry spiced pinot noir cranberries Pommes Robuchon Green bean casserole Maple glazed sweet potatoes Giblet gravy Mushroom thyme gravy Sage sausage stuffing Fried turkey Pumpkin bread pudding made with homemade brioche, maple rum sauce Pumpkin cake

Salumi is closed on Monday.

Anybody see a reason why pastrami couldn't be made with short rib meat? I imagine I could ask the butcher to give me short ribs without cutting them in between the bones. At home, I could slice the bones off, leaving a nice slab of meat, similar to this image: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1110/107899...fe9ba2f.jpg?v=0 The marbling and medium fat content of short rib meat seems like it would be perfect for the style of pastrami I'm looking for. I don't know if the differences in texture over plate or brisket would be a problem though.

Called several butchers in the area. The most highly regarded one in the city of Seattle said that they haven't gotten navel plate in for 20 years. I had to drive pretty far south (40 minutes) to a different butcher that said they get it in once a month and usually grind it up for hamburger.

I was taking some additional advice from here, written by Nick Zukin (of Kenny & Zuke's): http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/319246#1872769 Like I said, his advice of brining for five days left my particular brisket too salty even without injection. I braised the entire piece after smoking and sliced immediately. I'll fess up to using the microwave to reheat pieces as needed for Reubens. The pastrami was tender and moist enough to stand up to the microwave. Earlier in the thread somebody mentioned that freezing immediately after smoking works well. I am not sure how necessary a pellicle is since you need the peppercorn/coriander rub to stick, and the meat stays quite a long time in the smoke anyways.

Opinions on whether an online subscription is worth $12.50/year? I guess I could sign up for the trial and see myself, but thought I'd ask here first..

Have been making pastrami starting off with the recipe from Charcuterie. Started with a brisket that was way too lean, brined for five days. Turned out too dry (expected), and far too salty. For the second try, I wanted to use navel plate. It is fairly difficult to find beef navel plate in Seattle.. I had to drive about 20 miles south, but was able to get beef plate with no problems. Cured this for 3 1/2 days and it turned out spectacular! I wanted to use injection, but alas could not find my injector. There were only very thin areas that did not get fully cured. Smoked over hickory and pecan in a Bradley smoker at 200 degrees for about six hours. Braised (instead of steamed) for four hours. Note, my goal was to make a very fatty pastrami, a la Kenny & Zuke's in Portland. Homemade pastrami reuben with homemade chopped liver is awesome!

Yum. While picking up some beef navel plate for pastrami and chuck for goulash, I decided to buy some center cut bones. A tasty snack with parsley salad ala Fergus Henderson... and the dogs love the leftover bone.

Thanks, all. I will wrap them up and dry them out closer to smoking time.

Anyone have advice on how long you can let something rest (during pellicle formation) in the fridge? I have some duck breasts that were pulled out of brine last night but realized too late that smoking just four breasts would be a waste of smoke and wood. Can these wait in the fridge until Friday or Saturday when I can get some racks of ribs in the smoker as well?

No mention of the imminent Mistral closing? My first (and I'm sure a sad last) dinner at Mistral will be on its last night, March 29th. I'm definitely looking forward to it.

Anybody know where to get DC Curing Salt #2 in Seattle?

Thanks to Henry & Lorna, I was able to attend a back-room lunch at Salumi last Tuesday. Three hours (no parking ticket!), a regular + a magnum bottle of wine, 11 plates, good conversation, you can't ask for more. Some of these pictures are not that great, but everybody was hungry and you can't keep people from digging in to pork products very long. #1: Assorted Salumi meats #2: Stuffed eggplant #3: Sweet & sour cipollini onions ("The best onion preparation ever" I think Henry said) #4: Gnocco fritto with culatello #5: Crostini with chicken liver pate (It was not blurry in real life. ) #6: Beet salad #7: Lardo wrapped shrimp #8: Handmade gnocchi with lamb #9: Milk-braised pork tenderloin with fried sage leaves #10: Rapini with guanciale? I forget. #11: Happy birthday Lorna! Chocolate cake made by Henry, with hazelnut frosting made by Lorna. After lunch I came home and took a three hour nap, and there was no need for dinner later. Thanks again everybody! I had a great time.

Quickly looking at the article, I noticed that he recommended doing a pound at a time in a 12 cup processor. I have always done way less, maybe just barely one layer of 1/2" to 1" meat cubes at a time. Definitely pulse, or you'll end up with meat paste, which is good for gyros, but not for burgers. Edit to add that my FP blade is very dull, and I have never had problems.

That would be a shame of WPH left. It has been over a year since I've been there but an ex and I used to go there all the time. Fond memories and excellent food. The Full-On is such a great pizza.

Thomas Keller describes butter poached lobster in The French Laundry Cookbook. They make a beurre monte and cook de-shelled tails and claws at 160-190 degrees for five or six minutes.

Specifically the Costco in Woodinville, WA. I wouldn't be surprised if it was available at most other Costcos though. costco where? thanks ←

Saw this at Costco today for $24.95. Good looking book.

Excellent, Lorna. Thanks for the recipe. Just tried it with a cut up fryer since that's what I had. I thought it might become too salty since most of the meat didn't have skin to protect it, but it came out perfect. More sweet and not as salty as some soy sauce chicken I've had before. The sauce would be great reduced and used as a glaze for some vegetables. Couldn't find any Szechuan peppercorns nearby, so I'll have to stop at World Spice Merchants on Sunday. It was still good with regular black peppercorns though! Thanks again!

Lorna, can you post your soy sauce chicken recipe? I haven't had a chance to try any of the ones I've found, but there is such variation in methods, from just marinating in soy to cooking in a big pot of soy. Curious what method you use. And although I have only met you guys once, I am totally willing to volunteer to help cook or serve or whatever if you need. I'll even bring wine! My knives and apron travel.

Attended last night's Foods of the Parsis dinner at Cache. It was great meeting Lorna and Henry, and although it was our first time, we were warmly invited into their home. The food was awesome, and there were lots of laughs with good company. It was our first time having mutton, and it was a good first time. My girlfriend has had an aversion to crab for years, but loved the dish that subbed in for the poppy and cashew chicken curry. We're both looking forward to visiting Cache again. Thanks Lorna and Henry! (And Seema and Dilip!)