snowangel

We continue on our journey around the world. I must say that this second post has me puzzled. My husband has noted a wood screw and a couple of clamps. But, where will we visit?

To quote Linda on frying chicken: Wiser words have never been spoken. Perhaps we should all go out and buy a Le Creuset pot or, better yet, make some Chicken and Sausage Gumbo to honor Linda. I was fortunate to host Linda just over a year ago (actually, I enlisted her help in making sausages) and the SSB that she was entertained not only my husband (also a SSB), but three kids. We laughed a lot.

Bruce, that looks absolutuley wonderful. Are green mangos easy to find? What kind of lettuce?

Someone is very close on guessing the location...

You can also use them for a bastardized "som tam" (usually made with green papayas), but Melkor's advice is how you'd see it done on all sorts of carts and people on the street in Thailand.

Tomorrow, we'll leave North America and travel far, far away. And, while I'm not positive, I think we've only had one blog from this country and it was a long time ago. And, to make the guessing even more difficult, our next blogger will be on vacation here, so it's not their normal home.

Chrs, the 12 pound bone in butt is in the fridge, to be brined tomorrow or Saturday and smoked either Saturday or Sunday (checking the weather). Any ideas on proportions of sugar to the other two things? I've been a nekked butt person forever, but I think it's time I spread my wings. Oh, and I'm going with the genius idea of scorind the skin just down into the flesh. My Weber is over 25 years old. The lid fits nice and tight. We have had to replace (once) that thingie in the bottom that helps you get the ash out. The great thing about this old Kettle is that the top vent thingie is ever so slightly loose, so I can keep the whole thing closed up and maintain a really low temp (as low as 175 and still see smoking coming out of it). Oh, one other replacement on the Kettle. The wooden (!) handle on the lid was spot welded on, and that weld failed, so we drilled it out and screwed in the handle. This thing was made for life.

These things are also really good on smoked butt.

Ditto on the green onions. Why do they slime so rapidly? And, why do they migrate over the back of the drawer so when you notice "that smell" you discover some green liquid pile underneath the crisper?

Ah, David! The nuking the stuff in the office microwave. Why was it never OK for me to reheat leftover curry and add some Thai basil leaves but it was OK to nuke microwave popcorn (ewww!) Good use of leftovers for lunch at work! I'm excuted to see your upcoming LV meal!

Hanging head in shame, I'm wondering just what a muncho is? (slinking off to a corner to do penance)

I've discovered that beef and venison chili is not good cold. But, leftover Tom Yam, with all of that lime, and all of those peppers, is more than divine. Quite frankly, I think any soup with a lotta lime or lemon does well hot and cold. Oh, and let's forget soupps that have a lot of congeealed fat (like chili).

Pam, if you click here, you'll see a discussion on The Smoke Ring. Sometimes I get one, sometimes I don't, but it doesn't seem to matter in the final product. Pam, your heat was probably too high initially. Was the beast really cold when you put it on? That helps too.

My friends and I (and I think some uptopic will concur) that her time on the recipe is all wrong. When I've done this dish, I do it in the oven, but move it to the top of the stove, on not so gentle a heat to get things moving and reducing. And, my notes say that while I leave a lid on while it's in the oven for a little bit, I tend to remove the lid fairly early. And, the frying is odd because there is still a lot of coconut milk gunk (solids). Edited to add: The pork with lime, coconut and mango works equally well with chicken thighs and one you should make soon! Just look for an overripe mango, and as a matter of fact, when mangos were on sale for next to nothing, I bought a couple of extras, and froze the mangos after removing the skin and pit. Worked like a charm.

What did you opt to do with the feet and head?

I am just back from our cabin. One of our guest showed up with farmer's market spinach, prime steak, a fab selection of wine, etc. And, a cellophane package from the deli with a label: Unforgettable Turkey Wrap. Apparently the wrap was very forgettable because it is now in the trash, but the kids and I did disect it today: Some spongey thing purporting to be a tortilla; a mess of diced stryofoam tomatoes, something that was lettuce in a former life, and something else purporting to be "roasted turkey breast" that looked more like some sort of pressed turkey product. We could find no evidence of the mustard listed ont he label, and we were not willing to venture a guess as to whether there were any other condiments on the thing. Yew. Peter (age 11) asked: "Are wraps the new black?" I can get great wraps close by. Soft, hand-made tortillas wrapped around all manner of fatty pork products. Summer rolls made to order by the little Hmong ladies at the local deli. Like some have said, not all "wraps" are bad. But, then again, they aren't called wraps. Or at my house, larb wrapped in lettuce leaves?

Our next blog starts on Monday, June 18. We visit a different part of North America, and here are your clues! What are these, and where to they come from? And, just where are we? This could be Northern Minnesota, except there would be one of 10,000 lakes, so it's not here. Our next blogger perhaps may have let slip that she/he is blogging, so I'm expecting some guesses on this one. Oh, and I don't think that the next blogger is a caterer or does meals for seniors...

So, Randi, what sort of feedback do you get from the seniors? What about today's meal did they appear to like/dislike? And, how much do they tell you about how do they like the meal, and how much do you ascertain from the looks on their faces and how clean (or not) their plates are?

Pam, most of the Asian pickles I have done require cutting up the veg, giving it a quick dousing of salt, a sit in the colander, followed by a rinse and squeeze. Add vinegar, salt, sugar, etc., etc. (depends on the pickle) and anywhere from 15 minutes to a couple of hours in the fridge. What pickle books did you get? For anyone who ever espies a copy of the Farm Journal Canning book at a garage sale or thrift store, pick up a copy.

Pork ribs are from Pigs!!! Sorry, I couldnt resist ← My slip of the tongue was unintential, but the ribs looked so different from what I normally cook. Ribs are on the menu for next week, so I'll make sure and take a picture of them out of the package, before I do anthing to them. The ribs that infernoo showed seem much redder in color, and much more trimmed, and not just in terms of fat. My slaps are not so rectangular.

Growing up, I spent summers on a farm in NE, and pickles were a Big Deal. It was the patch of cukes (rather than a patch, it was an acre). It was vats of boiling water, a bazillion jars, lids, etc. -- all in the heat of August. It wasn't until I moved to Asia that I learned that there were all sorts of other vegetables (and meats, for that matter; just think about pickled pigs feet) that the world of quick pickles entered my life. The current favorite is the Everyday Daikon and Carrot Pickle from "Into the Vietnamese Kitchen" by Andrea Nguyen (testimonial here), but I'm realizing that all of my Asian cookbooks have pickle recipes -- most of which are easy to prepare and cure in record time and make the most wonderful accompaniments to all sorts of goodies. I no longer wait for what's in my garden, but also choose to shop at the market for what's fresh for quicker pickles.

I've been a bit more conscious lately about just how often I use these shears in place of the knife. Never mind what kind I have (and never mind that I have two pair in the drawer, and another one on the counter for the family to misplace), but over the years, I've discovered that they do a mighty fine job on a chicken, finely "slicing" green onions, and are invaluable when it comes to hot peppers. For the hot peppers, just hold then by the stem, and make some cuts from tip to end, use the tip of the scissors to scrape out most of the seeds and ribs, and then do some find cross cuts to get a nice dice. Heresy say you? Well, I only have one pair of scissors to clean, and the cutting board is still clean, and I haven't used a pair of plastic gloves, and my hands only need a quick rinse, and I can still take my contact lenses out and re-wear them. To which cooking tasks have your shears replaced the knife and cutting board?

Chris, off the top of my head. How is this being advertised, and what are the critera (other than the cooker sees it as being chili)? What are the facilities like? What are the prize(s)? Is there anything wrong with having sevearl prices -- like the chili that the die hard hot fans like the best? The chili the kids like the best? The chili that the churchwives like the best? I think if this is a homespun contest without many rules, that there should perhaps be several categories of winners... After all, my preferred bowl o chili is not necessarily what all would prefer...

dockhl: I'm intrigued by the idea of rice. Just regular plain cooked rice? Did you put it on the bottom and get a nice rice crust?

How about some Skewers?