snowangel

If there are any kids in the crowd, get them to put beans with a little olive oil or butter in foil packets and toss them on the grill. Kids love doing the foil packets.

Peter, a couple of his friends and I went to a local you pick 'em place this morning and came home with 40 pounds. They are absolutely beautiful, and the morning was perfect for picking -- windy (no bugs) and cloudy (cool). I'm planning on making Ice Cream (and perhaps sorbet). I'll also do something with strawberries and rhubarb. Seeking other suggestions, outside of jam.

Me, I'd have just put it over rice, stuck it in the fridge, warmed it up the next morning and eaten it for breakfast! But, I like TongoRad's idea.

Thanks for the photo essay. Made me think about Shepherd's Way Farm up here in Minnesota and the January tragedy. But, to happier thoughts. Please talk more about the BBQ and the pulled pork. Is banana pudding a down south thing?

Sparrowgrass, your post really hit a nerve. I won't be partaking of any of that for quite some time. We've had a cool and wet spring, so Paul reports that the sweet corn isn't even knee high (isn't the old adage up here that it should be knee high by the 4th of July?). Heck, my tomato plants are only a foot high. Anyway, I'm insistent that the corn is very, very fresh, and the stand where Paul picks up corn knows my fetish. By the end of corn season, my family is about ready to kill, because I'm happy eating nothing but sweet corn for dinner for about a month. I do acquiese and fix burgers or BLT's to placate the masses.

I have to say that learning to make mayo has been terrific. When we go to our cabin up north, I hate hauling up a whole big jar of mayo, and I'm never sure if we're going to use it (yes, I know I could decant some into a smaller jar), but the kids and I had a lot of fun making it up there. This is a great project with kids.

Sorbet qualifies, I think! Glad this has come up. Peter, a couple of his friends and I planned to go pick strawberries tomorrow!

I know that with my embroidered day of the week flour sack dishclothes (I have 5 sets, thanks to older relatives), if they are slightly damp, they seem to do a better job of drying. But, do not wipe up spills with these towels. My family all knows that they are somewhat sacred. I just get the plain ones for regular every day use. My family thinks I am the towel police. BTW. White towels aborb more than those that are dyed. Dye takes up absorbing space.

Kim, how long ago did you confit? Do you think that more than the pot that the cassoulet was cooked in that having bones in made a bigger difference?

I hope that you have a chair handy, some good reading material, and that you packed a lunch-because you are going to be waiting a long time before you top my patented "Italian Sausage Stuffed Smoked Meatloaf" Anybody can smoke a big hunk of meat, but it takes skill and a certain level of depravity to smoke a meat loaf. Fortunately I have been blessed with large amounts of both qualities. ← You haven't met me yet! And, all of these comments from a man who was afraid that the water up north would be cold (I swim at temps above 44 F). We now return you to food. Yes, burgers very soon, as well as brisket and the meatloaf.

I even bought creamy peanut butter today. So sometime this week, I'm going to join the crowd. I'm going to wait to top Brooks grilled/smoked "manly" meatloaf until this weekend when I am all set up for smoking my brisket.

I'm not thinking an ice cube, but a chunk of butter in the middle, but it would make poking that hole that I do so well sort of difficult...

I've added smooth PB to the list, and I have a ton of ground chuck in the freezer, courtesy of my local meat market. On the menu soon!

I have "mom hands" so they can handle anything. So, no corn holders for me, but corn holders for the kids. My great, late and most wonderful Aunt Laura gave me her set. They were metal, and did a most wonderful job of conducting all of the heat to your fingers, so they reside in that box of equally "important" stuff she gave me, like hat pins.

Anybody besides me remember Zantigo? THey had a great green chili that made a terrific chilito. Well, here in the Twin Cities, there are now about 5 Zantigo's. They still have that great green chili and a pretty great taco Burrito. Their enchiladas are pretty darned good. When I was remodeling the kitchen in our prior house, I made many a trip to Zantigo's since they were next door to Home Depot .

Comments, questions: You have fried several times already. What is your prefered grease or oil? Talk more about the fried chicken. What did you do to prep the chicken other than cut it up. Buttermilk? Egg wash? Dredging mixture? The veg. We are at least a month away from home-grown/farmer's market tomatoes. I'm jealous. And, the green beans. I don't know which of these I love more, and the unbelievably cool spring has just put these off even longer. Be sure and keep posting pictures of veg so those of us way up here can live vicariously. How does the flow go in your new kitchen?

Congrats, Marlene (I mean Don). All I can say is that you are much more patient than I am. I'd be smoking tomorrow if I were you! On another note, I got a brisket today, unfrozen, but cryvac'd. My butcher got it in this morning. I'd really like to wait until Friday or Saturday to smoke it. Will it be OK in the coldest part of my fridge until then? Or, should I smoke earlier? Freeze it? (It's a beautiful 11 pounder with a nice fat cap. Much more manageable size than that 18+ pounder I did earlier this spring. There should be room on the Weber for something else, as well!)

I love my magnetic strip. I'll have to do a search, but somewhere on eGullet, there was a discussion that involved knife blocks and the gunk that can live in them. I like my knife strip because it sits on the wall behind the sink out of the way of prying hands of little kids.

I usually figure about 8 hours or so. And, yes, the smoke does penetrate!

So, why do you think that fried chicken backs are reserved for me, at least in this household?!?! The bacon on bacon sandwich (sans bread) sort of qualifies for this, as well.

So, this is meat stuffed in meat. Argh, it doesn't get any manlier than that!!! Strong work. ← OK, men. The gauntlet has been thrown down and this lass will take the challenge. My husband will give me a hankie. I shop on Monday or Tuesday. This Weber Kettle smoking goddess accepts the challenge.

Nice view, dude! You are looking mighty fine... Anyway. Piecrust. I use a shortening/butter mix, and there is more butter than shortening (I use Julia's version). My late, great grandmother swore by crisco, and I know that her wrath would wreak havoc on me if I ever made a pie crust without it, so I acquiese. Does. Mrs. Dr. Varmint have some sort of doctoring job that allows her evenings and weekends at home? How is the kitchen? You can be honest with us. Have you found anything you wished you'd done different? Anything that has struck you as the bestest and greatest thing you could have done? Happy soccering!

Smaller grill vs. bigger one (thinking Kettle-type here). One of the things about the Weber Kettle that important to remember is that it is much, much easier is if you have a hinged grate (scroll about 2/3 the way down the page). Otherwise, you can't get chunks of wood in (you have to resort to chips) and it can be mighty hard to get briquettes in between the handle area and the first rung of the grate. Plus, I think the small size would require far more tending... So, I do think you know the answer.

Seems that Daddy-A had a similar problem with his brisket on the bullet. Me, I'll stick to my ancient Kettle. Edited to add: The stall at 170 isn't necessarily about the temp of your bullet. I do believe that it has more to do with the "insert scientific term" conversion of the collegen to that stuff that's not gristle any more, but silky and melty. Even running between 215 and 225, the stall is sometimes a couple of hours (maybe more, next time I'll count the beers per stall). So, given that this is about that collegen conversion, I'd bet that it varies per butt, depending on how much collagen the butt has. My, I've spent a lot of time on butt

I'm with Jason. And, I'm really sad about the garlic thing. That was good. I love everything at White Castle. Jason, have you ever had breakfast at The Castle? They actually take an egg in a shell and crack it on a griddle! In front of you!