Shel_B

How much water and how much cornmeal do you use? Is there a need to adjust the amount of wet ingredients in the recipe when you hydrate the cornmeal?

Thanks for all the ideas. The friends who got me the sumac (and other spices) will be coming to dinner in a couple of weeks, and I want to include some of the spices they brought back.

Just doesn't do a thing for me ... sorry.

I forgot about rendering bacon fat in water - probably because I very rarely eat or use bacon. Some people loved the cornbread and some were indifferent. I somewhat expected that based on what some of the people usually eat - lots of prepared foods.

Trader Joe's has bacon pieces - never tried 'em though.

How do you cool an angel food cake upside down? Why is it necessary? Did the cake taste OK?

It's great to see a nice, simple, traditional 4th of July BBQ plate. Thanks for posting the pic.

I will, and maybe I'll pick up a few slices of bacon when I get the lard, make two cornbreads, and compare the results. I could render the bacon fat in the oven, which I wasn't thinking about when I posted earlier. That's much more satisfactory and acceptable than rendering in the skillet.

I just called The Local Butcher Shop (http://thelocalbutchershop.com/) and they carry lard. I think I'll try some with my next cornbread instead of bacon fat. The idea of having to cook bacon and render the fat is not appealing to me.

Me, too.

I made Andie's recipe tonight and here's a Q&D pic of the results: I did make a few adjustments out of necessity. Since I had no bacon or bacon fat, I greased the skillet with grape seed oil and added 2 Tbs of butter to the batter. And, because the people I'm making this for might not appreciate a bare-bones southern-style cornbread, I added 15-grams (2 Tbs) of AP flour, and because they were sitting on the counter when mixing the batter, some thawed, frozen corn kernels for a little extra hit. In addition, I added 1-tsp of sugar as there was a slight bitterness in the bread I made yesterday with cornmeal from the same package. I believe the guests at our little party would appreciate them. I'm excited to see how this turns out. I baked for 26-minutes, the tester came out clean, but the top isn't quite as brown as the one in Andie's pic on her web site. Still, it's an improvement over the cornbread I made yesterday, although I used a different, and unsatisfactory, recipe.

Was bacon from the late 19th and early 20th centuries substantially different than what we generally buy in the supermarket these days? Was it cured differently, perhaps without nitrates/nitrites, made by smoking it more, or were different cures used? Thanks!

Maybe someone has a suggestion for transporting a skillet-baked cornbread. I plan to make one Saturday morning and will have to transport it and wait at least four hours before eating it. My concern is preserving the crispiness of the bottom crust. Any tips on minimizing possible softening of the crust? Or might it not be much of a problem? Thanks

Hello, Mauricio ...Bem-vindo ao nosso fórum para cozinhar. I like your idea to try to come up with modernist approach into traditional Asian cuisine. Perhaps you can start a discussion in our cooking section. It's possible that others have the same idea, and some may even have tried it.

I may try your recipe this evening, if not, I will definitely give it ago in the next week. It looks perfect for an everyday cornbread,and so easy to make. I need something like that in my repertoire.

Thanks for your comments, Franci. I'll try Bob's, since I already have it and see how it works out. If I don't like it, I'll try another recipe and then, if still unsatisfactory, I'll try another brand.

I bought some Bob's yesterday. Not knowing what I wanted, I bought all three grinds. I'll keep your comments about the heirloom cornmeal in mind. Thanks!

Around these parts I see plenty of yellow cornmeal, not so much white. I agree, cornbread looks better in yellow. I've never seen an "albino" cornbread.

I'll be making a couple of skillet cornbreads this weekend. Never made it from scratch. I noticed several grinds of stone ground cornmeal in the stores, and none of the recipes I want to try stipulate whether the meal should be fine, medium, or coarse ground. Any suggestions, but, more important, what are the pros and cons of using the different grinds? Thanks for any suggestions and help.

Am I missing something: If you cook the pork shank first, why cook it again on the rotisserie?

Found this on the local PBS web site. Thought some folks here might enjoy it. http://www.chefsteps.com/activities/vanilla-bean-ice-cream

Take a look at Adega ... we enjoyed it quite a bit several months ago on a short trip to the area. An old friend from Nova Scotia recommended it. If you go, let me know how you liked it.

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/recipe-of-the-day-recipes/slideshow/one-bite-appetizers#one-bite-appetizers/?slide=1&_suid=140428464595202730200852239904 http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/cooking-tips/article/8-new-one-bite-appetizer-recipes-i-e-8-reasons-to-throw-a-party-this-weekend

We do that at Toots' place. After her shower I carry two to three buckets of used water out to the garden. She has a container in one part of her sink for washing and soaking vegetables and dishes. That goes on to the garden as well. She also installed a water recirculator of some sort into the hot water plumbing which significantly shortens the amount of time water has to run before it's hot at the tap. Both of us use low flow toilets (1.3 gallons/flush), and we only flush every other time if there's urine in the bowl. This, BTW, is quite common amongst our friends and acquaintances in this area, a procedure that goes back at least to the 1980s when there was a severe draught in Marin County, across the bridge from us. "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down." Neither of us have a dishwasher, so we are very careful when washing dishes. I don't run water while soaping the dishes, and use a low flow stream when rinsing off the soap. Toots does something similar. Our water company offers a testing kit to determine if the toilets leak (you'd be surprised at how many do and how much water is wasted) which we both use every few months. Toots installed an irrigation system for her garden which has cut water use there substantially yet the garden is looking better than it has in years. All her plants are natives and draught tolerant. She has no lawn. We had a few guests over two weeks ago and one of them said that the garden looked "voluptuous." We often go to talks about conservation and try to stay aware of current ideas.

Well, yes, but that's not the point of my questions. There I am, about to bake, and the powder seems weak. I don't want to leave the house and go to the store - heck, considering the hours I keep, there may not even be a store open. So, my questions still stand ...