snowangel

Peter, my husband is one to keep "inventory" which can range from spare screws and nuts and bolts to the odd pieces of wood and veneer. I'm forever giving him grief about these odd bits and pieces, but when I showed him your monkfish, he got endless satisfaction of knowing that some of this inventory can be used in the "kitchen" for something other than home improvement!

I'm with suzi on the checking books out of the library. My benchmark for buying a book is "have I checked it out of the library and renewed it as many times as possible twice?" But, there are books that wax and wane. That's one thing friends are for. Gotta book I don't think I want? Loan it to a very close friend (she does the same thing). If a year goes by and neither of us think of it, much less pull it off the shelf, bingo, gone. There are, of course exceptions. One I can think of is the copy of the "Ladies Home Cookbook" from my Aunt Laura, circa 1902. On the odd chance every decade I want to know how to prevent cholera, voila!

So, really, these terms refer to the grilled or toasted item(s) and not what's put on top of them, right? If so, a menu should reat crostini topped with whatever, not just crostini?? Unless the crostini is served with no toppings?

One of the favorites around here is from an old Minimalist (Bittman, NY Times) column-- take corn kernels put them in a hot skillet and sort of brown them and then add whatever you want. We favor scallions and jalapenos. I'll have to dig around and see if I can't find the article and what other sorts of combinations he recommends.

So, Chris. I assume that the bacon is off the smoker, and if you haven't cooked any up, well, you better and report!

So, over on the Butt and the Brisketbeef shoulder -- think smoking, not just grilling folks -- topic, there's much talk of rubs. There's even talk about rubs on Bacon that's been brined before the dry rub. Me, I'm a fan of a nekked butt, but I want a rub on my brisket (I've never smoked a shoulder, but Pam's inspiring me). What is your rub of choice? Do tell all, and if your rub recipe is your own, do add it to RecipeGullet. Me, I've sort of been stuck on Klink's Dry Rub, but I could be pursuaded to try something else for the meat I'll smoke this coming weekend. Do you rub just before putting the slab o meat on the smoker, or do you do in in advance by a coupla days?

Pam, I'll be curious to see a pic of the shoulder. And why a shoulder and not a brisket? Oh, and why the new Weber? What's wrong with the old Kettle? The older Kettle's are great because everything is a bit "looser" so you can shut everything down and get a lower temp... And, do tell more about the rub, please. Finally, I'd trust the twist of the fork more than a temp, although please do let us know at what internal temp you pull the beast.

Tell me more about pickling them, please!

Maggie, the problem with deviled eggs is that they never make it out of the house. It's the "oh, I should just have one. Which turns into way more than one; and let's not forget that the cook needs to taste test several of them to assure quality control. BTW, cumbled bacon bits make a nice garnish as well.

I think I'd try it with uncooked bacon and see what happens (just make sure and have a drip pan!). Or, it you have enough trout, you could try some with uncooked bacon, and some with bacon that simply has some of the fat rendered out... What kind of smoking apparatus?

On MOnday, May 21, we will visit a place I think that no eG Foodblog has gone before. Two photos, taken from the same place, but at different times: Guess away!

I, too, love the TJ's buck bags. Unlike many of the totes I own, they have a bottom that is expandable. Oh, and don't ever bag my groceries for me, unless you are one of my kids, and the rules have been drilled into them. I, too, pack very organized, and if I know that a bag o stuff is going to the basement for the extra storage space, it's in one bag. Stuff for the cabin or the deep freeze is in another bag. A big school fundraiser here is to hand a bucket and have a sports team bag your groceries. I always tell them that I will bag them for myself, but here's a couple of bucks -- could you please put it in the donation box? Dave, I'd never thought about the roaches and paper bags because bugs aren't a problem up here, but I'm becoming far more conservative in my use of resources, and now that our recycle bins have covers, I don't need the bags for recycling, and I've made the commitment not to use trash bags. Simply dump the trash into the bin and a quick sponge out after I empty the trash (I compost a ton of stuff), and I figure I'm not only reusing and recycling, but simply not using! (I'm the person who maintains that Hefty has the greatest scam going -- convincing people that they need to purchase something for the express purpose of throwing it away). Oh, and none of my kids will shop with me because I bring in clean, dry bags to the grocery for the produce that needs a bag.

One thing I learned from Paula Wolfert is to separate the meat from the liquid and refrigerate each separately -- sealing the meat tightly in plastic wrap or a ziplock). This does seem to produce an even more succulent result (using Steven's reheat method -- gentle and moist). The added advantage is that it is very easy to get the fat off the top of the separated liquid. I've also often found that if there are vegetables in the braise, they tend to have given their all after the first braise, so I usually strain out the veg after the first braise and use new vegetables for the reheat.

My Black Bean and Rice Salad is always a hit. Easy to prepare and does not require refrigeration. Vegan, too, in case that matters.

I rarely have milk or cream in my coffee, but when I do, it had better be barely a splash of whole milk (half and half will do in a pinch). Skim milk need not apply. And, it had better be just a splash, and the milk had better not be cold. I want my coffee with hot or iced.

I agree that whacking one of the butts in half should not be a problem, but here's another thought. The ribs and chicken (especially) won't take nearly as long as the butts, so what about using one rack for the whole butt and moving it down when it shrinks some? Although I've never used a bullet (only a kettle), I know that I often stick other stuff on once the butt (or brisket) has shrunk. I'll be waiting for results of your smoke-a-thon. Serious smoking happening here next week or weekend.

Me? I'd smoke a brisket and/or a butt, get some squishy white buns and make some slaw, and churn some ice cream. It's what I know best, and is very simple for me to put on the table. I'm not going to compete with the chef, who probably doesn't do much smoking meat on the kettle at low and slow temps. Out on the deck overlooking my garden? I guess I'm not thinking I'd compete, I showcase what I can do well and easily, giving me plenty of time to be a proper hostess.

Tell me more about these noodles! What all is in them? Are they from a wagon or a stand? One of the things I missed the most about leaving Thailand was the profusion of noddle shops and wagons, although I was especially fond of the bird's eye chili/vinegar condiment.

While I like walleye very much, I'm especially fond of sun fish, just because they are so much easier to catch (and a ton of fun on a hot August day, using a cane pole). Another favorite is perch, if you can find a mess that aren't wormy. BTW, the walleye really is a perch, not a pike, although it is often called walleye pike. As to cooking them, I do what my MIL taught me to do. Shallow fry, following a dreg is egg beaten with water and a dusting of finely crushed saltine crackers. I have friends who vow by cornflake crumbs. I can't be bothered with the beer batter and deep frying because, quite frankly, when I'm up at the lake, I couldn't be bothered with cleaning up all of the splatters, baked on bits of batter than inevitably fall on the stove, oil storage/filtering, etc. I do the same method here at home when Paul's been ice fishing, unless they are crappies. I find the taste of the crappie a bit muddy, and find it takes very well to a shallow "deep" fry ala Asian and topped with a spicy sauce (fish fried whole, head, tale and all -- merely gutted). Fishing season is upon us!

What I really love is all of the lime wedges. To me, fried rice just isn't fried rice without lime!

What is on top of the rice and in the piles above the rice?

I'm hard pressed to recommend a gas grill, having no experience with them. I'm a Kettle Queen, so I'm wondering if you've considered the Weber Performer? Seems to me that it has all of the advantages of a quick start with the benefits of charcoal.

I find it interesting that she was able to eat the soggy sandwich and didn't realize until the next day to complain. Had it happened on the spot, that's one thing. But the next day?

Bump. It's hot here (finally, and I'm happy!), so made lemonade this morning using this recipe. I think what makes it so wonderful is that it is so infused with lemon peel oils. And, perhaps part of the appeal for this particular recipe is the circumstances. Learning to make it in the kitchen with the grandma's, all in their faded house dresses -- gabbing about kids, neighbor kids, tomatoes, planning a jelly making session. I always got the seat of honor -- on the kitchen counter. These women who had raised babies and teens together, and were aging together. Then, the sweaty pitchers and jelly jars, and all of us kids racing around, hoping that someone would put a sprinkler on, but not until the linens had been retrieved from the clothes line. Then plates of sliced ham, deviled eggs, platters of sliced tomatoes and potato salad. The men would rouse themselves and head to the field to pick the sweet corn -- the water would already be boiling, and we'd have churned butter that day. Then desserts -- pies, mostly. Then the babies resting on the grandma's bosoms while they both napped, and us girls headed to the attic to return with formals from another era for dress up, as our adult parents sat around and caught up on who'd be doing what.

Lemonade I had forgotten about this recipe until I was digging through my gread-grandmother's recipe box. It's so faded that I can't take a picture of it, but it's written on the backside of a grocery list, with a note "family reunions." 6 big, heavy lemons 1 c sugar 4 c cold water 5 c boiling water Zest two of the lemons. Juice all of the lemons and cut the juiced lemons into quarters. Pour boiling water over the cut up lemons and zest and let cool to tepid. Mix lemon juice with the sugar and cold water. Strain both and mix together. Keywords: Non-Alcoholic Beverage, Vegan, Easy ( RG1973 )