Nick

The Farm Journal Freezing and Canning cookbook is a good book to have. Very handy.

Snowangel, you bring back memories of the fifties when my father would call Cumming's Market and ask the butcher to have a standing rib (first three ribs) cut for him to pick up on Saturday for Sunday dinner. Beautiful and full-flavored meat. I don't know if it's the breeding or the feed, but you can't get meat like that today. Cumming's was also a small, full-service grocery at the corner of Main and Bridge Streets in Windsor, VT. The market has been gone for many years, but the bridge still stands. I can't count how many times I crossed that bridge. For pics see here.

Did you have to bring up the possibility of hurricanes?

Sorry to differ with so many people, but I love brussels sprouts. Beautiful, miniature, green cabbages. Don't overcook.

Still can't get into gin, but cognac... not bad at all. And there's nothing like a little B&B after dinner.

Amen. Or the smell.

I used to hate turnips back when my mother cooked them - okay, rutabagas. The thing to do is to peel them below the rind. If you cut one in half, you'll see a circle below the skin and beyond that is the meat. Peel the (this is all with a good knife) turnip down to the meat. They're really quite sweet and are excellent in stews and braises. They're even good just cut up and steamed. Green and red peppers sauted are great. As is (are) sauted peppers, onions, and good sausage. Kidneys suck.

Uh oh. Edited to remove thoughtless comments.

Never had truffles or caviar. Does flounder roe count? Oysters are great. Cooked or raw. (American, not European.) Anchovies. I'd really like to like anchovies but, so far, no success. Escargot - snails. Yes, I love snails. Also what we call conckles - pickled conckles. Yes, to mustards. And pepper.

My eye did jump. I never caught the part about cooking uncovered at a rolling boil the whole time. Neither did I notice the part about a "LOT" of butter. Different strokes for different folks.

3-4 inches of rice when you start? That's a lot of rice. You're way ahead of me when it comes to cooking lots of rice. I just cook enough for a meal with maybe some leftover to fry the next day.

Jaymes, Water two knuckles if the rice is one knuckle?

You don't just rinse it. You wash it in a bowl and keep changing the water until the rice comes clean. With some rice you might have to change the water six or eight times. With other rice, once or twice. It depends on how well the rice was cleaned before you got it. OH! SLAP MYSELF ON THE HEAD! You guys are probably talking about white rice. About all I've ever cooked is short grain brown rice. If you're cooking white rice, forget everything I've said. I have no idea.

You're cooking (for me) large batches and I never cook more than say four-six servings. Part of it depends on the size of the pot, part on the rice, and part on the burner. In general, if you had an inch of rice in a large pot, I'd try covering the rice over with another 5/8"-3/4" of water. It really depends on how you cook it - what with bringing it to a boil, how long before you turn it down and put the cover on, and what kind of flame you have under it from thereon. You just have to keep trying (with the same pot) until you get it figured out. At first it might burn.. or it might be totally soggy and awful. I'd rather have burned rice... and years ago I burned plenty of it. If there's any chance you might get a little stoned or drunk while the rice is cooking, put a little extra water in the pan.

Never stir the rice once the cover is on. Leave it alone until you've just got to check it to see if it's done. Maybe Tommy and I are finally agreeing on something.

Wash rice well. Put in a saucepan and add water equal in depth to the rice - this is for small batches - larger batches not so much water. Bring it to a boil and as it comes there, add salt. Let it boil a little bit with the cover off. Then turn down the heat and put the cover on. Cook at a medium simmer for awhile and then finish it off as low as the burner will go. After awhile you get so you intuitively know when the rice is about done. Take a bamboo paddle and go down to the bottom. Probably still a little moist so give the rice a few turns with the paddle and cook a little longer.

If you've ever drunk any real moonshine, it's hard to believe you'd want to get some for this gathering. Things could get crazy. I started to put up the name of a family to get hold of if you're serious, but then I remembered this is the internet. Good, crystal clear, smooth 'shine could result in some people just about going on an acid trip. It's soooo good, you've just got to have a little more.

From my (small) amount of experience, organic doesn't mean much when it comes to eggs. Free range does. It's being able to get all those little bugs, worms, and other forms of live protein that does the trick.

tick tock.. It was a long time ago, but I think we made fritters. Here's a fritter recipe. Pint of clams (shucked) with liquid One egg Cup of cracker crumbs (saltines) Teaspoon of baking powder 1/4 teaspoon of dry mustard If too dry, add milk. Make into patties. Coat with flour. Cook in oil that's the depth of the patties' thickness, or more, until brown. Oil hot enough to cook fairly quickly or clams get tough. Disclaimer: This recipe from handwritten notes on Cindy Prior's way of cooking fritters. Clam fritters are very good and VERY rich. It's easy to eat too much. Edited to add the egg that I forgot.

Sounds like we've got a country person here and one that's throwing down the glove for the long distance prize. Maybe I'll have to reconsider. What's that prize, Varmint?

We do need a shrink to come in here and give an answer. There's just something about nipping the price up a nickle and rounding it off to an even dollar that puts people off. What is it? I've gotten so used to the scam that I don't know if I could handle the $xx.00 myself. It even goes into new car pricing. The price is not $35,000; it's $34,995.

Maybe it all got its start with gasoline pricing. In over 40 years of driving I don't remember ever seeing gas prices as being anything other than $xxx.9. If gas is selling for $1.529 people refer to it as $1.52. Better get a shrink in here to answer the question.

Well, after Tyler was born and the requisite period of time had passed before resuming sex... there we were. And there I was.... Confronted by two marvelous breasts nearly filled with milk and nipples nearly the size of thimbles. I couldn't resist. Sweetness is how I remember it.

I'm in. If Nick brings his guitar, and tommy hauls in his kit, we've got the start of a band -- and I doubt that mediocre would be overstating it. Is it too much to hope that there's a banjo player somewhere on eGullet? Dave, If Tommy brings his "kit" aren't we talking drums here? I mean that's the difference between me bringing a Telecaster and a Martin. But seriously, I wrote in haste up above. It all sounds so good, but the next day I thought about how far it is from Maine to NC. Daunting drive. If MA, CT, NY, and NJ weren't in between it would be a piece of cake. But........ And then, Varmint, since I'm a kind of logistical person, if all kinds of people are crashing in the house, what happens the next morning when that natural urge takes front stage and there's the rush to the bathroom?

A little bleach goes a long way.