snowangel

Thanks, Tammy, for keeping this up. I'm doing a couple of do's this summer for crowds of about 40, and this is great info and food for thought.

Don't be ashamed. Call it all in the name of the science of frying chicken. Remember, I'm the great justifier! Peter is already asking when I'm frying again, and my cousin called today to ask how I make it because her toddlers are begging for it.

My grandmother would have told you a "tidge."

Marlene, is this bone in or no bone? How big is it? I know that for a traditional for a traditional ham, which is from the leg, not the shoulder, I usually put it in a 325 oven. If it's a whole ham (like about 18 lbs., bone in), I let it go for about 12 minutes per pound. But, I'm thinking that the shoulder is fattier, and I'm not sure, but I'd think that it would go faster. Depending on size, you may want to do this when you have a crowd around, depending on how many leftovers you want. For leftovers, I can suggest frittatas, enchiladas, cubano sandwiches, eating right out of the fridge, cold sandwiches, crisping and adding to hash browns, frying instead of bacon for breakfast, etc., etc. Edited to add: But, maybe this will behave, when heated, more like pulled pork that sliced ham?

It is spring, and this woman's thoughts are turning to fancies of larb. It is warm outside. I want to spend my days outside in my wreck of a yard. I have a million things to do at this most hopeful time of year. At this time of year when I want to spend little of my time in the kitchen when the days are beautiful and the kids are in school, I still need to eat. Larb is great to have around. I love having larb to nosh on, carry a bowl with it and lettuce leaves around as I tend to the yard, poke for new plants. On the grocery list, ground pork. I love my new Asian market. If you want ground pork, one of the little old Hmong ladies behind the counter whack off a cut of fatty pork, take two cleavers that are almost as big as they are, and in a flurry of activity, present me with a plastic bag of beautiful chopped pork. Outside of the bird chilies, I have everything else on hand (partly because I have a kaffir lime tree).

fifi, have you tried the two burner method? I learned this at the Former House That Had An Electric Piece of Shit Stove. One burner on high, one on medium and go back and forth as needed to account for that awful recovery time on most electric burners. Yes, I nailed it on the head this time. I had a piece at midnight last night, and a back for breakfast. Sure set me up right for the day! None of my guests could believe I was "brave" enough to fry chicken. I showed them! Edited to add: Thanks to everyone who has contributed to these 14 pages on the art of fried chicken. You make it happen for every one of us. That is the real joy of EG.

I fried a mess of chicken last night. I had two whole cut up chickens, three extra backs , and about 8 legs. I have mentioned before that I had temp control problems. I was having a bunch of people over last night, and since I was bound and determined to get a handle on the temp problem, it seemed like a natural. Plus it has been absolutely beautiful outside, and it seemed like good "eat on the deck" food. And, it was. But, back to temp control. I have figured it out! Although I have figured out that 325 is the ideal temp, I do experience a temp drop when the chicken goes in, one that is takes a few minutes to recover, which I don't think does the chicken crispiness/less greasy factor any good. So, I brought the oil to 360, and quickly dropped in the chicken. Drop to about 315. Lid on for about 3 minutes. Bingo! Temp maintained at 325 for the rest of frying that batch. Next batch, I only put in about half the pan. Far less temp drop, far faster temp recovery. After I turned that, I added the amount to fill the pan. Almost zero temp drop. So, for me, it's about staggering it. Boy, was this popular. I had 5 adults, two really little kids (toddler age), and 5 big kids/teenagers. For all of that chicken, I only had two backs, two wings, 3 breast quarters, one thigh and one leg leftover. The toddlers were my cousin's kids who we were watching while they went out to dinner. She was amazed when she returned to discover that each of these kids had eaten two legs apiece! For a side, I served a slaw that's a take off on a Nigella Lawson one -- buttermilk, mayo, vinegar, honey dressing; this one also has dried cranberries and pecans. So, I've fried a lot of chicken lately, and will take a break. But, as we talked last night, this is the perfect thing for me to make on a day when we're going to The Cabin because it is so good leftover. We always get there and are hungry, and this would sure beat chips and crap. I never feel like cooking the evening we get there because we are too busy re-discovering and being excited about being at our little piece of heaven. A good something to eat at the end of the dock

If you can find them, buy the tubs of curry paste. What's amazing is that the cans are $.79 for 4 oz. and the tubs are $1.19-$1.49 for 14 oz.

I have a bag of gizzards in my freezer. What do I do with them?

That leftover curry was outstanding this morning. What I do is put servings of rice, topped with curry into bowls and nuke when ready to eat. It does reheat beautifully, although it's better if the vegetable is more like a bamboo shoot and less like a Thai eggplant which tend to fall apart.

April 8, 2005 From yesterday's Star Tribune's Taste section: Go bananas for a long, yellow fruit. Al Sicherman tantalizes us with Praline Turtle Cake. A wonderful review of Lucia's, which has become a Minneapolis landmark. Counter Intelligence -- restaurant news. Now Open -- Jensen's Cafe in Burnsville. Local Food events, including the Seward Coop Fair. From the Pioneer Press: A review of Craftsman. Small Bites -- mini reviews of Jensen's Cafe and East River Market. Restaurant News.. From City Pages: Dara Moskowitz on How Dry You Are -- wine related. From Buon Gusto: A review of Heartland. Chef Speak -- an interview with Isaac Becker of 112 Eatery. Edited to add some articles from Mix, a bi-monthly publication available at Twin Citie's coops: A review of Levain by EG member Schneier and Karen. <><><><><> Media Digest Notes... Updates from some Twin Cities media outlets, which do not 'go to press' by Friday each week, may be edited into each week's post as they become available. Please do not reply on this thread. For discussion of any stories which are linked here, please feel free to start a new thread or contact the forum host or the "digester" who will be happy to do it for you.

I'll admit first off that I took no photos. It was a killer pot of red curry, which chicken and bamboo shoots and a few of those little eggplants that needed to be used. And, I'll also admit that I used Maesri curry paste (from a tub). I boned some thighs, chopped then into hunks and included some of the bones. For the first time in a long while, I also added some kaffir lime leaves from my plant. I made an extra huge batch, using two of the bigger cans of coconut milk. And, an extra huge pot of rice. So, with all of those leftovers, I sent some home with our guest (my cousin), and made myself two containers of rice and curry. I love leftover rice and curry for breakfast. I put rice and curry in bowls, plates on top, fridge, for nuking the next morning. I didn't have time to get to the Asian market today, so didn't get fresh Thai basil. But, last summer, as the first frost was upon our doorstep, I whizzed the last of the leaves off the plant in the food processor, added a bit of oil, and froze it in a log. This is the best way to preserve this basil. It added just the right touch. Reminder to self. Always add a couple of lime leaves to the curry, plus a tidge of palm sugar. The tidge of palm sugar just set everything off. We also had some stir-fried veg. Some asparagus and some broccoli. Lots of big hunks of garlic, some fish sauce, and a dried chili scrunched in my hand and added to the oil before I added the veg.

Varmint, I am jealous. All I could see is outlets. You have outlets everywhere. That is so cool. I'm currently stuck with one four-plex and one duplex, neither of which are conveniently located. BTW, everything else looks great.

More food for thought: Nigella's Shoulder, Maggie's Butt Pork Shoulder Edited to add: don't forget to check the Braising with Molly thread.

I am almost embarrassed to add that I now live in Coon Rapids. No comments, please. But, My Le Hoa is great. For dim sum or dinner. But, up in these areas the place I am most curious about is an apparently very popular joint called "The Vineyard." They do a lot with "seafood" and prime rib, and have some cauliflower and bacon salad that they licensed to a couple of other places. Should you be up for a jaunt to either of these (or Tria), let us know (we're more than ready for a sans kids outing), and we'll join you. I'd vote for My Lee Hoa over the Vineyard, although that one does intrigue me. Perhaps a study in just how bad the taste is up here.

I've never fridged fish sauce or tamarind paste. Cupboard for both.

But what about my backs?

These are sounding somewhat like one of the kids of enchiladas that my former neighbors (Hispanic) used to make. I think too often we associate enchiladas with being baked. "Authentic" is an odd terms. There are many things that are authentic that aren't all the same. Like we're discussing on the Pad Thai thread. Having lived in Thailand, I ate pad thai, cooked by Thais, in Thailand, and I would swear that not one single person's pad thai tasted like another's.

Yes, Linda, you have the cutest legs around . Did the plastic container contain the flour from seeping out and getting into all of those cupboard door and counter nooks and crannies? Even tought I have gas (stove, I mean), I still have trouble with temp control. I figure I just need to fry up a few more batches (I have two people at church who are saving backs for me ) and then I should have it down.

Lucy's recent blog reminded me that I was hungry for potstickers. Although she boiled hers, the process is basically the same for potstickers while one is making the dumplings. The difference is in what you do with these when they are done. I first fell in love with these during a January in Taiwan sometime in the very early 70's. The other difference between the ones I did and the ones Lucy did is that I used purchased wrappers. My local asian market carries some very nice fresh ones. So, this the the dumplings just after stuffing: . I had made the filling yesterday, and took a woodworking break to stuff them today. It took me 23 minutes to stuff these. All of them have at least 5, if not 6, pleats on each side (I did get a couple with 7 on each side). Then, I put a skillet on the stove, added a little oil, cranked it to high, and put in the stickers, trying to achieve as much of a circular pattern as possible. Since I was helping Peter with spelling, it was not as successful as I would have liked: . Once I figured they were nicely browned on the bottom, I added stock: I slapped a lid on and let them simmer. Meantime, I stirfryed some broccoli with garlic chunks and some fish sauce, and a tidge of stock. Soon, the pot stickers were done!. They required only a nudge with the spatula to release: They were way yummy. I served with two dipping sauces -- soy, rice vinegar, sesame oil for both of them. One also had garlic, the other chili oil. I really love pot stickers. They bring back many memories, and I just love the crispy/soft parts.

So, I was bad. I was not as diligent with the camera as I should have been. But, I did snap a photo of the big end as I was taking it off (the flat came off earlier). Most of the folks who were over for dinner had never had smoked brisket before ( ). They raved. They ate tons. The favorite BBQ sauce was =Mark's South Carolina Mustard Vinegar stuff. I also had some supermarket sauce that went begging. It was wonderful. Best yet, it was our first meal of the season on the deck. It was 70 degrees (f) yesterday, and with the change in time, we couldn't have asked for more. However, Peter and Diana did say that they like smoked pork better.

As mentioned upthread somewhere, it is not unusual to get more color on the noodles by adding some paprika to the water when you soak the noodles. When I lived in Bangkok, sometimes the egg bits were more discernable, sometimes less. Since we had pad thai about 2 days before this cookoff, I'm going to wait until later in the week to do it. In fact, I think over the course of the next couple of weeks, I might do it twice -- to compare fresh vs. dried rice noodles. In the meantime, we'll work on the leftovers from my big ass brisket.

If I were going to reheat it, I'd do it in the oven or toaster oven, and not wrapped in foil. That might do a nice job of re-crisping the crust. Try it and report back!

fifi, this is the first really totally beautiful day we've had. My windows haven't been washed in a decade (I asked my neighbors). But, the beer. I started with coffee (one cup, spiked with brandy). Followed with a bloody mary, which just seemed more appropriate for breakfast. I figured it provided more nutrition! But, I have been drinking beer. Trust me. Yes, I can hold that temp. Part of it is that my weber is old. We've been married almost a quarter of a century, and we've had it almost that long. I leave every vent closed. That top vent doesn't fit as well as it should, so that seems to provide all that's needed to keep it going, but barely, and keep a steady stream of smoke wafting over the meat. The other part is not putting much charcoal in the chimney, and not much on the grill, and add gradually, a couple of chunks a time. I use kingsford. I think that that hardwood stuff burns too hot and fast. The flat came off a few minutes ago. The other part has a bit to go. It was about 6" thick before starting the process. I wonder just how big this cow was! When I purchased it, it was frozen, and all I could think of was that old episode of the Alfred Hitchcock show where the wife offs the hubby with a frozen piece of meat, and then thaws and cooks the thing before feeding it to the police, thereby removing the evidence. My family was especially nice to me that evening!

We're having folks over late this afternoon. I've smoked plenty of pork shoulders lately, and Paul had a hankering for smoked brisket. So, off I went to the local meat market. As I reported on the Dry Rub and Smoked Meat thread, I got a big ass brisket. Today is a stunning day. It's close to 70 degrees (F) outside for the first time in many, many months. I have doffed the turtleneck in favor of a t-shirt, and doffed the socks and am baretoed in my birkies. It's big. So big that I had to cut it in half to get it on the trusty Weber kettle. I had hoped to have space to sneak a shoulder onto the grill, but I don't think so... It's happily smoking away, and has been for a number of hours. I have done a wonderful job of holding the temp down. The first three hours were between 200 and 225! Meantime, in between tending the Weber, I am washing windows.