Patapsco Mike

Those three meats could be the backbone of a really tasty and unusual gumbo!

Great thread. When I bought my current house, I had a perfect spot for two apple trees. I planted golden delicious and honeycrisp. The golden delicious is a spectacular apple. It keeps well, it's sweet and crisp without being overly firm, it preserves beautifully and makes the best dehydrated slices. It is also a very hardy and productive tree. The honeycrisp is better tasting at it's peak, but it is more prone to disease and not as productive as a tree. It also does not store quite as well. But neither is my favorite apple. I lived in Grand Rapids Michigan for a summer, and worked in an apple orchard. The grower, Phil, gave me quite an education on apples. When it was picking time, I asked him which of the dozen varieties was his favorite. He said "follow me." We walked through the orchard to a tree just loaded with yellow dotted red apples. He picked one and handed it to me. It was just incredible. Sweet and tart with a perfect crunch, great smell, everything. I'd never had an apple nearly as good- and I grew up in the shadow of a big orchard. He said he sold his entire crop of that apple to a small community of Pennsylvania Dutch farmers, and he wished he'd planted ten times that many. I ate my weight in those apples until I left Michigan. That apple was a Paula Red. They can be hard to find, but try them when you see them.

Vitamin C accumulates in the liver of the seal, being acquired by eating fish that eat krill that eat zooplankton that eat phytoplankton. One step up the food chain- the polar bears that eat the seal- Vitamin C levels are further accumulated to the point that they are so high they are toxic to humans. Eating polar bear liver could kill a person.

It's a Chesapeake Bay thing... Growing up less than an hour from the Utz factory, many a summer drive found us at the Utz Factory sampling outrageously fresh chips. Mom and Dad would buy them in these giant 3 gallon tins, and keep them on the attic steps. Never fancy flavors- always just the regular chips. Wow, what memories the sound of a tin of chips opening brings! The smell of salt and lard, the gentle grabbing of a big handful- so as not to break them. Poking around in the tin for the ones that had folded over while cooking- that were extra crunchy. My sister crying to my Mom that "Michael's picking out all the good ones again!!" Cape Cod chips are awesome. Sea salt and malt vinegar Kettle Chips are fantastic with beer But regular Utz will always be #1. It's one of the tastes that brings childhood flooding back.

In Seward, Alaska at the fishing dock I was filleting a halibut when a guy walked up to chat. He was originally from the mid-west, but had married an Inuit woman and moved to Alaska. The first time he met her family, he said they gave him a raw seal eyeball to eat. He thought it was more a test of manliness than any sort of honored-guest tidbit. Of course I asked what it was like. He said it was revolting and horrible. A burst of fishy tasting liquid, then a hard and totally unpalatable lens. He said it was much bigger than he would have ever thought, and had a flavor that would not go away. He gagged it down and had a rather substantial struggle for several minutes to keep from vomiting it back up- much to the delight of his in-laws. Ugh.

Popeyes. It's a real steal at the prices they ask for big buckets IMO. It's such a pain to make from scratch. I love me some Popeyes spicy chicken!

Fair enough, but I don't want people to be turned away from an awesome resource because they think these are a fixed size. You had commented that you wished Mike Rader made his knives a few inches longer. I'm just saying that I'm sure he would- and all you would need to do is ask. Another tidbit- sometimes it's cheaper to buy direct from a maker instead of from a second party. In fact, I've found that this is usually the case. The only downside is you will have to wait for the knife to be made. But since it's something you will have for a lifetime (or at least a very very long time) I think it's well worth it.

This "custom knives are too short" talk is baffling. Any real custom knife maker will make the knife however you want. Hence the term "custom." If you want the knife to be 13 3/8" long, just ask for that length. And if you want a stainless steel, of for a set of 9 knives that all are perfectly matched- ask for it. There are dozens upon dozens of custom makers out there, and they all work with the same commercially available steels. Just choose one who's waiting list is not too long, and who is willing to make what you like.

At the risk of being a thread caboose, let me say that the recipe in the NYT article was a revelation to me. I tried a bunch of bread recipes over 2 decades, and they ranged from to . At best maybe Then I followed the recipe, and first try was If you are still on the fence about trying it, you really need to take the leap. It's so easy it's laughable- and the results.... I popped that first loaf out of the pot and I was in total disbelief. It was crusty, crackling as it cooled. I was flabbergasted. In my wildest dreams I never imagined I could make a crusty holey loaf like that without some special oven, several classes, and God knows what kind of expensive contraptions and PITA gyrations and fermentations. I did it with things I already had in the house for heaven's sake, and made a fantastic loaf the first time. My wife came in the house, looked at a sliced piece in disbelief, and said "you made that??" It was, and remains, a revelation.

Commandments 1 through 5 of the 10 commandments of knives are all "thou shalt not use automatic knife sharpeners" Commandment 6 is "thou shalt make no exceptions to the above" Buy a Sharpmaker, follow the directions. It's easy. Knives are like chainsaws blades- if you let them get dull, they are a nightmare to sharpen. Sometimes practically impossible to bring back unless you really know what you are doing. The trick to keeping a knife (or chain) sharp is to get on some kind of regular schedule of sharpening. If the knife is still fairly sharp, it takes 5 minutes to get it blazing sharp again. If you wait until the knife is really really dull, it might take an hour of work to get it back- and you could end up really making a mess of it. On my S30V blades that get daily use, I strop or make a few passes on ceramic rods about once a month. It takes about 2-3 minutes per knife to get them shaving sharp again. For the chain saw, it's a quick sharpening every 2 tanks of gas (in case you were wondering).

You could buy diamondback terrapins by the bushel in Cambridge, MD this time last year. Since the harvesting moratorium went into effect this spring, I'm not sure they would still carry them. But they have always been legal for sale in MD. As to snapping turtle, I don't know. I've never seen it, but I've never looked for it so...

The Shun classic uses a VG10 steel core. It's a great stainless steel, some would argue it's the best stainless coming out of Japan right now. But you can't expect it to hold an edge like the newer supersteels. On the plus side, it's a whole lot easier to sharpen than S30V... Get and learn how to use a strop. Just a few swipes on a strop and you will be back in business.

Stokes (1) "best", Oak Grove "excellent" and the one pound Eckerton "one of the three best" sure look like the same exact type of tomato to me. I wonder if they all came from the same wholesale vendor? I think slkinsey really nailed it. Also, there is just such shocking variety from week to week even off the same plant. Right now I'm picking spectacular tomatoes from my German Queen plants- just luscious and almost perfectly formed. Two weeks ago the ones I was picking were catfacing and soft, and some were developing the dreaded blossom end rot. The difference? Now we are having some warm nights, and I've been home more often and better able to water them. Thanks for the post, it was interesting to read. I hope your date didn't notice your tomato breath

Nothing like having a fantastic knife or 10. The only downside is you will really, really miss it if you ever have to do any cooking without it. I spent a small fortune on a pair of custom kitchen knives. They are amazing. But if I'm at my Mom's and need to chop an onion, it's annoying.

I had two of these for lunch today. Great combination, like a peanut butter cup sandwich! My kids thing these are the best ever.

I get enough from my bushes to make spaghetti sauce with nothing but cherry tomatoes- a mixture of tart and sweet yellow cherry tomatoes. I just cut each one in half and throw them all in the pot together with some home made ham stock (after browning my onions, peppers and carrots). I don't know why, but it always comes out even more tasty than with my regular heirlooms.

It's not the shoes. Pilates, yoga, etc all help, but you won't be able to practice them with any regularity if you are working those hours. Bottom line- 16 hours a day is about 6 hours too long to be on your feet. You need to get off your feet for some of those 16 hours or you are going to end up just like the meat guy. Do you want to be able to take a walk with your kids/grandkids?

Lobstersquad is very creative with Mediterranean flair and beautiful original watercolors created by the blogger

all the flavour of the snail came through. ← That's good, right? My Mom tells the story of being a young girl in Germany before WWII, and gathering snails along the roads in a pail. Her Dad would sell them in town to a snail broker for shipment to France. I visited Germany many times as a child, and the snails are/were still very abundant and surprisingly large. Having seen them live, and having been slimed by them many many times as a young boy, I can not for the life of me imagine eating one (nor can my mother).

Walkerswood is OK, but do your own with fresh ingredients and you won't go back. I see soy sauce listed as an ingredient from time to time in jerk recipes, and 2 of the 3 jerk recipes in my family cookbook have it. But my favorite does not. 6 lbs pork ribs, intact, trimmed of fat and membranes or 2 chickens 8 scallions, finely chopped 1 medium onion, finely chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 2-3 habanero peppers, seeded, de-veined and finely chopped 2 t minced fresh thyme 1 t salt 2 t light cane sugar 1 t ground allspice ½ t ground nutmeg ½ t ground cinnamon 1 t coarsely ground black pepper 1 T cider vinegar ¼ C vegetable oil Refrigerate overnight and then grill. Amazing. If you've never tried it, and you like spicy food, you really are missing out.

1) Franks Chili Lime hot sauce (generic chili vinegar with lime, I use this on a ton of things) 2) Matouk's Hot Calypso (Carribean style habanero vinegar, quite hot, great with curry or a dollop in soups. Too hot for a lot of people to handle except in minute amounts) 3) Hoy et Fong Sriracha (Korean chili garlic vinegar, shake on some sauteed veggies) 4) Panang Curry (OK, technically it's a paste- but if you cut it with a bit of water... a dab in with some chicken and rice is magic- but it's hotter than it smells. Trader Joes makes a killer version) 5) Jalepeno Tabasco (in the green bottle- very nice zing and bite without the ACK-PEPPER of the red Tabasco) I must be the only one who does not like regular Tabasco.

ACK! I'm an idiot, please forgive me. My brain pulled the old switcheroo. Au Petit Paris is in Frostburg, and I've not eaten there in two decades (though it is decent). I meant Tersiguels in Ellicott City. Very, very good and not as expensive as most people think. They grow a lot of their own produce and have a wonderful and ever-changing (though small) menu.

Cajun Emily- for Baltimore Area French food- have you tried Au Petit Paris in Ellicott City? I've had some really wonderful meals there over the years. When I'm in Baltimore, I can never stop myself from going to Faidley's in Lexington Market for crab cakes. I've eaten crab cakes all over the world- from Alaska to Paris- but none compare. They are really something special. But with so many wonderful places to eat in and around Ellicott City and Columbia, the truth is that I rarely find an excuse to head to B'More.

Here's a review of a few combos.

Here's what I would do. Sometime after dark take the chicken livers down to the river. Cut each one into 2 pieces and put each piece on a 2/0 circle hook, add about 1 oz of weight, lob them into the deepest spot you can find using a heavy fishing rod, and wait. You should be able to turn those couple lives into 5-10 lbs of catfish. Then you really have something to cook!