KeystoneNate

I made the same Scofflaw last night with Old Overholt and homemade grenadine, and I thought it was a great drink. Nicely balanced, in my not-at-all expert opinion. Also, I tried Katie Loeb's "My Best Negroni" this past weekend, and again found another winner. I added it to my Kindred Cocktails book, but as a private recipe. Katie, if you see this post - do you mind if I change it to a public searchable recipe? I entered your name for you to receive proper credit.

I made the corn bread this past weekend using the isomalt (obtained through Amazon). I've never seen it in a store, but my experience in the local area (small town) is hardly a good indication of the general availability of isomalt.

I mixed a Perfect Negroni last night based on EvergreenDan's recommendation. To be honest, I didn't think I'd be able to tell much difference with only a half-ounce change in the overall drink, but I was really surprised. Sure, the drink is still sweet up front, but definitely less syrupy. Not as heavy, if that makes sense. Anyway, thanks for the tip! I'm going to try some of the other variations KD1191 mentioned, but for now the "perfect" version is my preference.

Definitely, I'll give that a shot tonight. Any preferred gin for a Negroni? I have Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire, and Hendrick's at home (not to say I wouldn't run out in search of something new). I've only used the Tanqueray so far - I thought the Hendrick's might be too subtle with the vermouth and Campari.

I recently picked up a copy of Dale DeGroff's The Essential Cocktail hoping to get a better understanding of some classic cocktails. Last night's drink was a Negroni using the recipe in his book. I've never ordered one at a bar (my local haunts don't make good cocktails, so I stick to craft beer or bourbon - both fine with me) so I have nothing to compare it to, but I think his 1-1-1 version is great. I definitely like how the Campari dries out after each sip. I'm also a fan of hoppy beers, so the bitterness appeals to me.

I received the shipping notice from Amazon yesterday evening. I ordered on April 22nd, for anyone keeping track or interested. As a side note, the shipping date on the product page hasn't been updated and Amazon still lists the collection as out of stock. I was obviously surprised to receive the shipping notice without receiving an update on product availability. Not a complaint, just mentioning it for the sake of sharing info.

I don't have any issue with good craft beer in a can. Both cans and bottles are recycled in my neighborhood, so that isn't really a deciding factor for me. I'm a homebrewer, but I've amassed enough bottles that I don't need to worry about that anymore, plus I'm moving on to kegging in the near future anyway. I think one of the issues with beer from a bottle or a can is that you really do need to pour it into a glass, as mentioned above. Both bottles and cans prevent most aroma from reaching your nose when you drink, and I have noticed odd metallic or stale flavors on the rare occasions I do drink without a glass. Three breweries (off the top of my head) produce exceptional beer and can some, if not most, of their offerings: Sly Fox, based in Pennsylvania, has six beers distributed in cans, three of which I think are really standout selections - the Pikeland Pils, the Route 113 IPA, and the Royal Weisse Ale. 21st Amendment out of San Diego offers five beers in cans. I've tried all of them, and I think their black IPA (Back in Black), Belgian dark (Monk's Blood), and their watermelon wheat (Hell or High Watermelon) are worth giving a shot. I'm not normally a big fan of fruit beer, but their watermelon wheat is nicely flavored without being too sweet or overpowering. Oskar Blues from Colorado cans all of the beers they distribute, and I think their imperial red (G'Knight, formerly known as Gordon), imperial stout (Ten Fidy), and the imperial IPA (Gubna) are all fantastic. I also agree with a comment made earlier regarding Young's Double Chocolate from a can or a bottle. That is one of my wife's favorite beers, and we first had it from a can (poured into a glass). We found it in a bottle at another location, and the strong dark chocolate flavor was almost gone - nothing compared to the can.

Octaveman, those ribs look great. Kim, I could go for some of that fish right now as a late-night snack. I'm curious to try the key lime tartar sauce. Dinner tonight was fried soft-shell crab sandwiches: Made a quick salad for Sunday afternoon - chopped romaine, cucumber, hard-boiled egg, and a strawberry balsamic vinaigrette:

I've had luck with opening the bottom vent about a quarter of its full open setting. I do the same with the top vent, then adjust the top vent as needed. A half to three-quarter chimney of charcoal is enough to get started, then I throw another unlit handful in every couple of hours. If it's not too windy, the temp stays pretty constant. Keeping the vents just barely open helps hold the temp low, although closing them too far chokes the fire. Trial and error is your best bet!

Scallops, rhubarb pie, pizza...who couldn't love this thread? Tonight's dinner was a quick salad with dandelion greens, bacon (home-cured thanks to the Charcuterie book and thread), and mushrooms. It's an Eric Ripert recipe I found in the Food and Wine recipe search. And some form of required starch with a salad: Trois Pistoles from Unibroue

I think a no-mayo coleslaw is best for pulled pork sandwiches. I wasn't a huge believer of coleslaw on pork until a local barbecue joint opened (but has since closed, unfortunately) and I had one of their sandwiches with slaw. My wife also prefers a vinegar-based slaw over the mayo variety anyway, so that's what I usually make. I like both versions, but for a pulled pork sandwich, the vinegary slaw wins my vote. The pork is deliciously fatty as it is, I don't think the mayo enhances that at all.

I'm afraid looks are deceiving, in this case. The pancakes were pretty dense. I just mixed the leftover mashed potatoes with an egg and some flour - too much flour, because the mixture ended up thicker than intended. I spooned the batter into a skillet with duck fat for frying. The potato mixture is usually moist enough to form into patties without being too sticky. This time, it was incredibly sticky, I assume from using too much flour.

This morning's breakfast was a potato pancake (leftover mashed potatoes with goat cheese), poached egg, and hollandaise.

Bruce, that chicken looks great. I smoked some chicken and ribs a couple of weekends ago, but never posted the pictures. The chicken was brined for a few hours, then smoked. The ribs were dry-rubbed and refrigerated overnight. Nothing too complicated - dried chiles, smoked paprika, brown sugar, dry mustard, star anise, salt, cayenne, maybe some other spices that I can't remember. I pulled them from the smoker a little too early, and they weren't as tender as they should've been. A short steam in a covered pan worked the following evening, not only to reheat them, but also soften them up nicely. Last night's dinner was a quick soba noodle soup with edamame. Just some dashi, fish sauce, and sliced green onions for garnish.

Is this the thread you were trying to find? I usually have the best luck with the Google search, compared to the standard site search. Cooking with "All About Braising"

I saw this post on the "Recipes That Rock: 2009" thread and decided to try it last night. It really is fantastic - quick, simple, and full of bright flavors.

Beautiful pictures, as usual - from Ce'nedra's noodle soup, to suzi's meatballs and green beans. I like green beans, but I've never had a craving for them until I saw that picture with the hollandaise. Prawncrackers, the confit looks fantastic! I made duck confit for the first time last year and it immediately became the dish my wife looks forward to the most. I don't find whole fish at my usual grocery store very often, but when they have some in stock, it's usually whole croakers. I picked up a couple over the weekend and broiled them with a soy, ginger, orange, and honey glaze - pretty much homemade teriyaki, I guess, with a little Sriracha for heat.

These pictures are all fantastic and look quite tasty! Thanks to everyone for sharing. I have a couple from last night - one of my wife's coworkers brought us a smoked trout back from a trip he had taken. So I needed a way to use it. Over the weekend we had a spinach and goat cheese salad with smoked trout and the remainder went into last night's dinner. I smoked a pork shoulder over the weekend, so I threw some of that in the hash as well. Smoked Trout and Pulled Pork Hash with Fried Egg Smoked Trout Brandade

I'll have to second Rich's assessment of the SN Torpedo IPA. I happened to be in southern New Jersey last week and stopped by Joe Canal's in Marlton. That store is great, by the way, simply for the selection. I live in Pennsylvania, which has strange laws about selling beer - a dedicated beer store can only sell cases or kegs, while a place that sells food can sell takeout six-packs. That sort of limits the sampling of many beers, since I don't always want a full case just to taste something and the smaller six-pack places usually don't have a varied selection. Anyway, back to the Torpedo - I picked up two bottles along with a bottle of Bigfoot (SN's barley wine), some of Unibroue's beers, a couple of Dogfish Head's, and a Southern Tier Cherry Saison. I am very impressed with the Torpedo. Rich's description is perfect and I can't add anything to what he said.

My setup is just a regular old Weber kettle (the 22.5 inch model) - just like yours, from what I can tell from the pictures you've posted. I have the grill grate with the flaps on the side that lift up for ease of adding more charcoal and wood pieces. I had the grill before I read this thread, and after reading other success stories about smoking with a kettle grill, I had to give it a shot. It's easy to maintain a low temp with the bottom and top vents just partially open. Again, thanks to everyone on this thread for the tips and instructions! I'm fortunate to live in an area with many apple orchards, so access to apple wood is not a problem. The only wood I can find in stores is mesquite and hickory, but I think the smoke from fruit wood is not quite as harsh - maybe it's all in my head, I don't know. I only used one piece of a quartered log and it lasted all day. Unfortunately I had to toss the whole thing in at once because I didn't have the right tools to make it any smaller. I had grand ideas of using a handsaw and hatchet to break the log down into more manageable pieces, but after thirty minutes of frustratingly slow progress, I just tossed the log in a bucket of water to soak overnight, after making sure it would fit in the kettle for the next morning. I totally agree! It's the perfect way to start the day.

It turned out beautifully. I took it off the smoker after roughly ten or eleven hours when the internal temp hit 190F. The rub added a lot of flavor without overpowering the pork at all. I mentioned earlier that I made rolls for sandwiches, which my wife and I ate last night. However, I served regular old hamburger buns today when company came over and the sandwiches were actually better, in my opinion. Homemade buns might just be overkill when it comes to pulled pork sandwiches. Here are some pictures of the finished product: Resting after being pulled from the smoker In the middle of pulling a pile of pork Last night's dinner - this one with coleslaw, the second without (no pics of that one) Overall it was a success, and I think I prefer a rubbed butt to a brined butt. Everyone really liked the food tonight, including my friend's usually picky six-year-old and teenager (who went back for a third sandwich after a short break). I guess few can resist the lure of smoked pig!

After being stuck at a desk all week, I thought some quality time spent with a big hunk of pork would be a nice way to break the daily grind. Plus, the weather has really improved over the past couple of days and some time outside is most welcome. I've smoked three pork shoulders on my Weber (kettle grill, not a dedicated smoker) using all of the tips and guidance accumulated on this thread. So thanks to everyone for posting pictures and stories - the information has been fantastic. I've always brined and smoked the other butts, but I wanted to try something different with this one, just to give it a shot. I used chrisamirault's dry rub recipe (minus the zataar and New Mexico chiles, but double the ancho), posted above, and the ten-pound butt is now happily relaxing in the smoke. I made =mark's South Carolina barbecue sauce this morning, along with some coleslaw. Some bread dough is proofing and will be baked into soft rolls for pulled pork sandwiches, of course. Some pics for your enjoyment: Scored, rubbed, and ready for the refrigerator Two hours into the smoke Texture closeup I started around 7:30 this morning and the internal temp is now 136F, so it has quite some time to go. I'm planning on having some friends over tomorrow afternoon, but I know my wife and I will each enjoy a sandwich tonight, no matter how late the pork comes out of the smoker.

I made the Breakfast Sausage with Sage and Ginger recipe about six months ago. I didn't stuff it into casings; I just vacuum-sealed it and froze it in small tubular portions, easily sliced into patties. My wife likes the flavor and I do as well, however, I think the garlic may be a bit overpowering (mostly just the aftertaste). Then again, I may only notice that because we eat this sausage for breakfast on the occasional Saturday or Sunday morning, and the aftertaste tends to hang around for the better part of the day. The sausage is certainly flavorful and now that we've eaten all of the original batch, I will certainly make it again.

On the morning after Thanksgiving, I used leftover mashed parsnips and turnips to make cakes, similar to potato pancakes, for brunch. I just added an egg and some flour until the mash reached a firmer consistency and then formed into patties and fried on each side in bacon fat. The parsnip pancakes were served with leftover mushroom gravy on the plate, pancake on that, a small mound of baby spinach and bacon dressing on the pancake, and a few pieces of braised turkey leg to top it off. My wife and I also enjoyed the required Thanksgiving leftover sandwich - sliced turkey breast, sage stuffing, cranberry chutney, baby spinach leaves, and whole-grain mustard on homemade wheat bread. Yesterday I used what little remained of the braised turkey legs and thighs to make soup. Nothing too involved - chicken stock, chick peas, green lentils, chopped turkey meat that was braised with rosemary and sun-dried tomatoes, and spinach. I also threw in a handful of dried cherries just because I like the tart sweetness with the spinach and chickpeas.