Shel_B

Today was the day. The beef cheeks arrived and I picked them up at Berkeley's Local Butcher. I've not opened the package yet, and will try to make the braise in the next day or two. Really looking forward to trying them. The gang at the shop also provided some pork neck bones, a couple of chicken carcasses, and their luscious ground pork. On the agenda with peposo is Bolognese and bone broth. Just need a bit more chicken meat which I'll pick up at TJ's tomorrow. I treated myself to a walnut chocolate chip cookie made with leaf lard. All-in-all, a good day in Berkeley.

Thanks for your input. Sometimes I need a little reassurance about my ideas. The only drawback I can see from putting the mixture in the fridge overnight is that it would need time to come up to room temp before using it. A minor issue to be sure. I can't think of any other downside.

ATK has a recipe for corn muffins that I like. It includes adding cornmeal to milk and heating it in the microwave. The idea behind the technique is that the heated cornmeal mixture absorbs more liquid resulting in moister muffins. I like the recipe and would like to try something similar with buttermilk. I have read, in multiple places, the buttermilk should not be heated. In lieu of heating the mixture I allow the cornmeal to soak for a long time at room temperature in the buttermilk, and the results are pretty good. Could the buttermilk be heated, perhaps on the stovetop instead of in the microwave, to affect better absorption. I'm thinking to keep the temp no higher than 200-deg F.

I didn't think I had anything to contribute here, and then I remembered the small, magnetic shelves that are attached to the fridge and (not shown) to a side of the Breville countertop oven. Since my kitchen is small and space is at a premium, these shelves are very handy. They come in a few sizes and are available through Amazon. Click here to see an example (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

Not very expensive here, just a dollar or two more than clover honey for the same size container at the beekeeping supply shop that I mentioned.

It seems to be fairly easy to come by in my area ...

That's good to know. I don't think I knew that, although I should have. Thanks!

The issue for me is that I don't know the quality and purity of their honey. “There is more honey being sold each year than existing bee populations are capable of producing and from some countries which don’t even have the climate or floral resources to produce large volumes of honey,” said Arturo Carrillo, coordinator of the Honey Authenticity Project, which estimates that about a third of worldwide honey imports could be counterfeit.

The local honeys that I've tried don't have the flavor profile I'm seeking. That's not saying there's none that do, but I've not yet found what I'm looking for. A friend who lives about 50 miles north of me just recommended a honey and beekeeping supplier near her home. They have a good selection of guaranteed unadulterated honeys, including Tupelo from a good location in Florida. I'm going to drive up there within the week and taste honeys and get an education. Now that you mention the Sonoran Desert, I realize that I have a friend who lives in the area in Mexico. I'm sure she can be of some help. Thanks. You've been more helpful than you know.

I'm looking for a high quality, unadulterated, pure honey with a mild flavor to use in some recipes. I've read that much of the commercial honey isn't real, or has been cut with other sweeteners, and I definitely want to stay away from such products. Any suggestions? I'm considering Tupelo honey, which I recall as being quite mild. Is my memory accurate?

Great to know. I got the inspiration to use corn stock from Jason Farmer who used the Instant Pot.

@Katie Meadow, thanks for the tip. I hadn't even thought about looking for corn this time of year. I'll check BB when next I'm over there.

I often enjoy hoe cakes, sometimes called Johnny cakes, and also by other names. It's a simple recipe that has its roots in Native American cooking. Over the years, the original recipe has been "improved" with the addition of other ingredients besides the original corn and water, such as white flour, sugar, and so on. I make mine by closely following traditional methods. Yesterday I saw a video where someone made stock from corn cobs which were left over from cutting the kernels from the cobs. I want to try this, and use the corn cob stock instead of water in my hoe cakes. Unfortunately, there ain't no fresh corn around here at this time of the year. However, I've seen frozen corn-on-the-cob and I'm wondering if the frozen cobs would make a decent stock. The ingredients are just cobs and water, and maybe a touch of salt. Would I be wasting my time using frozen cobs, or do you think it's worth a try? I'm inclined to give it a shot, but would also appreciate some feedback. Another thought would be to use frozen kernels, whiz 'em around in the Vitamix with some water, and then heat and strain the results. Any thoughts on that technique?

FWIW, I've been using that technique for rice for many years. Works great, saves a lot of space.

@ElsieDWhile I found the bay leaves, I've not yet used any, but I can speak to prices. I paid $3.95 for the package of oregano and $4.95 for the Bay leaves which, when compared to commercial and other "spice shop" prices makes it less expensive than some products based on cost per ounce. However, the cost for these herbs depends greatly upon where you buy them. I found Amazon, for example, to be more expensive than my local shops, but many people don't have local shops that carry such items. Good luck in your quest, and please let us know what you ended up with.

I found this recently:

A dry, very well-toasted, fork-split, commercial English muffin (Trader Joe's is a good example) with a slice of sharp cheddar placed between the halves. The heat of the freshly toasted muffin melts the cheese providing a nice contrast to the crisp muffin slices. Sometimes I'll add a generous grind of black pepper to the sandwich, usually Kampot or Anakuzhy. I also enjoy a Diet Coke with Chinese take out food. It's the only time I drink the stuff, but it's got to be very cold, so the can and the glass spend a few minutes in the freezer before drinking the Coke.

I purchased the Calabrian oregano at Berkeley Bowl and the Sicilian at a little Italian grocery in El Cerrito called Giovanni's, 1600 Liberty Street at Potrero.

... and boy, am I glad I did. Over the years I;ve purchased numerous brands of oregano, from commercial-supermarket oregano to oregano sold by spice shops, like Penzeys, etc. None of those oreganos had the deep flavor and robust aroma of what I used tonight. They are lifeless by comparison. I bought a Calabrian oregano and a Sicilian-grown oregano. They are similar, although the differences are subtle. While I didn't cook a dish using these herbs, I mixed an equal amount into equal amounts of passata and warmed them both to the same temperature. It was hard for me to detect much difference, although the Sicilian seemed a skosh sweeter. More comparisons are needed. One thing is clear, I will not go back to those other oreganos. However, it would be interesting to compare these to similarly-packaged Greek oregano.

This worked for me with a shrimp dish I had in Scottsdale, although no beer was involved, just a polite request.

Does this count as it's not a movie? Dinner Party Diaries is a new series on Amazon exploring parties hosted by José Andrés: https://www.amazon.com/Dinner-Party-Diaries-José-Andrés/dp/B0CVLHSSHD/ref=sr_1_1?

What's the difference between shins and shanks?

I just got off the phone with The Local Butcher in Berkeley and ordered a couple of beef cheeks. They'll call me when they're ready and I'll check back here when I get 'em. It'll be a while as, believe it or not, there's a waiting list for them and now I'm in the queue. Thanks for everyone's input. I'm excited to try them. I the mean time, I'll try some more common cuts just to get a feel for making the dish and decide upon what pepper variety to use.

I never heard of Restaurant Depot until you mentioned them. There are four stores in my very general area, the closest of which is about 16 miles from me. The drive is on heavily congested freeway, and is inconvenient to anyplace I frequent, so a special trip would be necessary. It's not a place I'd like to shop. Thanks for the info ... might be useful in the future.

I appreciate the info. I don't buy perishables online.