snowangel

I, in a rather large suburban home, have like 10' of counter space (little enough that I could afford granite), so at this time of year, certainly, it is counter space. After all, in August, I don't turn on the stove. We grill! Different season, I only use one side of the stove as a counter, but use the oven plenty.

Mike, do brisket. I did have a taste in the kitchen as Paul was cutting it up, and I'd forgotten just how damned good brisket is. It vies for attention with butt and how that I had that taste, I think I'll be calling and ordering another whole, untrimmed brisket. I can get them easily at our local meat market in the spring (must be a St. Patrick's Day thing), but otherwise, I have to order one, and it is usually there in just a couple of days. Funny although I prefer my butts naked, I do prefer a rub on brisket -- I've been really happy with Klink's Dry Rub. And, they did scarf up all of the corn, too, except for the three ears I didn't cook, which I shucked and boiled at midnight and snarfed down after everyone had left. Made for a great mid-night snack.

What do you do for car food for the little one? If you're like me, you want something that doesn't require a serious vaccuuming of the car...

or the frozen ones freeze the non-frozen ones (like lettuce). Oh, and try and keep the cooler out of the sun.

I'll let you know a week from now, Abra. I've never done a non-skin on one before, and the one I did is sitting in the fridge. After 20 hours of non-stop tending, I was too tired for anything to "accidentally" fall off the butt. The meat counters here don't ever have them on display, but I can almost always get them if I ask; they have them in the back cooler.

Bryan, will you be transporting any other frozen food at the same time? In my experience, stuff like regular meat (frozen solid) in a good cooler will travel for 8 hours in a cooler very well, and would serve as good "ice packs" for the precious stuff.

Not cooking, but definately entertaining related. Do not try and save time by carrying two 30 pound sacks of ice, and two cases of beer at the same time. All at once. I did make it up the flight of steps, through the dining, living and sun rooms. Then, the timer went off (potatoes done) and the phone rang, and I figured that I could use my elbow or heel to open the door to the deck. Wrong. Bang right into the door jamb. The eye turned more swollen and purple as the night went on. Did you know that a black eye just looks worse and worse for the next two days? Diana thinks my right eye looks like someone at some make-up counter went over the deep edge. I can't wait until it turns green and yellow. Thank god for Ibuprofen and Ray Bans. I'm not even hung over and it hurts to blink.

While we don't have a dog, we do have three kids, and one is Heidi. Although she is permitted in restaurants, it is difficult because people stare and we have to restrain her in her chair (the comments, you know). So, when we're on a road trip, I've learned a few tricks. Pack a couple of plates, forks and spoons, and plastic glasses. Make sure you have a cooler. Deli's and grocery deli counters can become your best friends. You'll find you might be best off picking up food at delis and groceries and eating at local parks. Also don't overlook a small bag of Kingsford and some newspaper. Many parks have bbq's, and a homemade burger on a toasted bun or a grilled steak -- cut chosen and grilled by you -- just might taste good, and meet the dietary requirements, as well as being a lot kinder on the pocketbook. Just look what BryanZ did over here! You don't have to be nearly that elaborate or bring as much stuff as he did! Another advantage of meals in a park is that the dog can run and you can bring a blanket and lay and look at a different sky!

Beautiful, Chris. Have you smoked a skin on butt without scoring the butt? I just smoked a butt, but it turned out not to have but a bit of skin. I also smoked it on the Kettle after smoking a brisket, and at 20 hours of constant tending, I just stuck the whole damned thing in foil, and froze it when it was cool (I'm sure I'll pay a price for that). Do you have any pics of the butt pulled?

Heidi, I completely forgot about my Wall o' water things. Have you tried those? They do work. I used them for years and then just rediscovered them during a garage clean-out project! To change topics, but garden related, thoughts on best ways to compost? In my old house, I had three chicken wire rounds. One had new stuff that was turned into the second one that was turned into the third one (the third one was gold). When we moved to the new house, they gave us some black plastic thing with a lid that is absolute crap. Now that my neighbors have cut down a couple of trees, there is some light on the "unsightly" part of my hard (next to the garage, behind a shed), and I'm about to go back to the former system. I don't think that the black plastic thing gets enough water or sunlight.

Oh, you are all getting me so excited! We go on Thursday (admission is cheaper, rides are half priced, the grease is fresh and the restrooms clean). I can't wait. We'll see all of what Rachel mentioned, plus Judy scultping the heads of the Princesses in butter, and every single animal and farm implement. Then there are the corn dogs, fried cheese curds, french fries, cookies, all-you-can-drink milk, people watching, and trying to keep track of the three kids.

Did you brown the shanks well before-hand and deglaze the pan? Also, I often take a hint from Judy Rogers and salt the meat in advance. And, I'm not a fan of carrots and celery in the braise the whole time. How much liquid did you use? And, yes, reducing the liquid is a good idea after the braise. Please also visit the Braising with Molly topic -- based on the All About Braising cookbook by Molly Stevens, but many of us have done a lot of braising and the bits of advice are great whether you have the book or not.

What excellent advice - what is the significance of downward pointing foliage? I usually trim off some extra leaves to thin things out a bit and let the sun in, but I don't know what downward pointing foliage means. I think we may have a few more weeks of ripening here Zone 5, with any luck they'll keep going right until the end of September, but that first frost can come at any time. It's New England, after all.... ← THe downward facing "branches" will never produce anything. At this point, I pinch off any new blossoms, but anything that has set a tomato (however small) stays. It is just important to allow the plant at this point to put it's energy into getting those tomatoes to the edible stage rather than working on the green stuff. Next year, I'm going a new route with my tomatoes -- one my father did for many years. I'll stop at the tire store and take a mess of junk tires off their hands. Stack them two high, fill the rim with peat moss and the middle with dirt and compost and plant the tomatoes there. The big advantage of that in this place of the late spring is that the tires get nice and warm on a sunny day -- so the dirt is warmer, and they stay warmer at night (tomatoes don't like cool evenings). It always gave my dad a head start. And, with the peat in the rim, if I'm going to be gone for a few days, just soak the peat in the rim and it will leach out into the dirt and roots over the next few days. The season is short here, and we don't get the plants in until Memorial Day weekend.

Time for those of us in Zone 4 (probably Zone 5, too, and of course anyone north of Zone 4) to start trimming your tomato plants. Pinch the new blossoms, and trim all foliage that's pointing downwards to give every tomato we've got a chance to ripen. Let those plants work on ripening, not growing!

I recall what must have been somtime in the winter of 1973, and my father and I were in Taiwan. We happened on a restaurant that was on the 2nd floor of a building, and the smell drew us to this place. That and a sign we couldn't read. We walked in, not speaking the language, and no one in the joint spoke English (or Thai). We were smiling and happy, and eager to eat. So, we were, with sign language, invited to wander around (the other diners were very pleasantly amused) and point at dishes. We ate so well, and when we came back the next night, we were merely ushered to a table, and all indications were that they would just cook for us. That meal ranks as one of the best I've ever had in my life.

I have to agree with Janet here. I can make pie crust in my sleep. I have a friend, who although I would consider a very good cook, cannot roll out a crust to save her life. I can smoke meat with the best of them (on primitive equipment), but am flummoxed by rice noodles and pizza crus. I can turn a carrot (tourne?) with the best of them, but don't ask me to ice a cake. I can bone several pieces of poultry to make a turducken, but don't even ask me to attempt what Janet linked to.

I have no pictures of the brisket. In a nutshell, the almost 13 pounder was on for almost 14 hours, at which point I put the butt on (let me tell you, by the time the butt was done, there was foiling it, taking a shower and sticking in the freezer; I can reheat and pull, which I know is not preferred, but after almost 20 hours, of fairly contant attending, I was one tired lady). But, outside of Paul and I, none of the folks who came tonight had ever had smoked brisket. It was more than well received, to the point that the only little bit I had was what Paul fed me as he sliced it up. As we served the brisket, Paul commented ont he fat "You could discard it, but it like butter, only better. I'd advice that you either eat it or slather it on the sweet corn." Good advice, me thinks. I attended to guests, and by the time I was ready to load up a plate, it was all GONE. Almost 13 pounds raw feeds 30, but barely. Oh, Mike. I was reminded my the mere tasting that I had that butt is good, but brisket is easily as worthy.

I will second the advice to go to Citypages. For one thing, Dara does a nice job of reviewing restaurants, their listing is great, and none of their links go out of date. And, do think about 112 Eatery if you are looking for something a bit funker. Should you want to go really funky, but not fancy, and have a largish group, don't overlook the new Midtown Global Market. Or, maybe just save that one for a lunch, too.

Levain is really noisy, and I had a not so great experience at Cosmos, but that was quite some time ago.

How nice, Rick? Funky nice or fancy nice? Edited to add: if you want nice nice, seriously consider Vincent. Downtown, very nice, elegant and the food is wonderful. Also, you might want to consider the Dakota Restaurant and Jazz Club if you want music as well. Both of these are downtown; I'm much less familiar with the Uptown area, but if you go just across the river from downtown, there are a couple of good choices -- Fugaise comes to mind. Ooh, and then there's Restaurant Alma, but ever since their 4 star review, tables are really hard to come by.

The brisket is done, and resting comfortably in foil. 12 pounds, just over 12 hours to reach 198, at which point, a few little bits "fell" off. Amazing how that happens. I've learned one thing. The Kettle (the 21 incher) would not accommodate both the brisket and the butt, so as soon as I got the brisket off, I put on the butt. Oh, I learned another thing. If you are going to be up as late as I am, switch from beer to iced coffee earlier. So, I will reheat the brisket tomorrow for the party. Any idea how long this will take in a low and slow oven?

Dianne makes a VERY good point here. The supermarket chickens and pork do need some help. But, I'm finding that the local organic stuff I get (sometimes I even find out what the name of the animal was) need far less help. THe pork is porkier, and not nearly so lean, so it really tastes like pork. I also like Judy Roger's approach to salting in advance.

It was a very expensive weekend. We don't have the tally yet, but we are nearing the three figure point. A friend asked me today "don't you just wish you'd stayed home?" Absolutely not. Eating sweet corn, my first brandywine of the year, and some great steak followed by laying in the lake checking out the almost full-moon and yet another star display that was beyond priceless.

I'm running way behind on posting to this topic. We've had skewered meat several times in the last few weeks. It's fun to do, and the kids really enjoy skewering meat. First, my skewers. I love these skewers; stuff doesn't roll around on them! These were some cheap skewers in one of those plastic packages on a rack at the local supermarket. I've had them for what feels like forever. First up, chicken breasts marinated in ancho chili powder, lime, garlic and some oil, along side a black bean and tomato salsa. Rave reviews. Venison kebabs. Marinated the venison in Ruth Smith's Shish-ka-bob Marinade, courtesy of Smithy. This was very, very nice. The hot dogs were for my cousin's kids who only eat hot dogs and Kraft Mac and Cheese . For my birthday, Paul and I were alone at home, so I got some beautiful scallops. Fish/seafood (outside of shrimp) are pretty fragile, so I tend to use two skewers. These were unadorned with anything before grilling. (We also had sweet corn with this meal.) When we saw Peter at camp, he said that when he gets home, he want's to eat satay or some meat on a stick!

I, too, have a really soft spot for butts, and it looks to me like once the brisket has smoked for a while and done some shrinking, I'll be able to get a butt on, too. So, when I was at the market today, I got a nice 7 pound bone-in/skin-on butt. I'm having a big party on Friday (brisket) and another gathering the week following, so time to do some serious smoking!