Nick

See the posts Maggie and I made at Christmas Ham Unless you're heavy duty into salt, I'd boil it before baking.

Well, we are talking Rockland, Maine. You're right about Kerry. He does some stuff we don't usually see around these parts.

"The winter garden is located in a medium sized unheated greenhouse. Spinach, claytonia, beet leaves, watercress, endive, raddicchio, arugula, and many Asian greens flourish through the winter under a covering of remay garden fabric. Temperatures inside the greenhouse can reach the upper seventies on a sunny January day." Gotta get over there and check this out. It's only 30 minutes away.

Jason, I know what you're talkin' about. But maybe you were jivin' and I missed it? As far as the oven those pizza's are being cooked in..... If the fire isn't made in the oven where the food is being cooked, I've got my doubts.

That ain't a little bit on the macho side of things is it?

Why? The point of a bar is to drink alcohol in a social environment:.....Why does smoking have to be a part of that? Why does wine drinking have to be a part of eating at an upscale place? Goes with the food you say. Tobacco goes with drink for some people. Good tobacco with good drink. I'm with Bourdain. "But a bar is not a coal mine. You are ENTITLED as a worker to make reasonable choices--and working in a fucking SALOON, by centuries of glorious tradition implies working around drinkers, smokers, and persons who might, conceivably smoke, drink too much ...." That goes for customers as well. You don't like smoke? Don't go there. Edit: I don't like the smell of smoke rolling off those "factory-built" cigarettes any more than most people, but with the air handling systems, and filtration that comes with them, no one has to smell it in a "good" joint. Maybe it is a class thing. The "uppers" can't stand the sight of the "lowers" waving a cigarette around. And the "lowers" think the "uppers" look some foolish playing the wine game.

Nick, you're making me hungry. No seafood tonight. Maine wild deer steak, yukon golds, and some great brussels sprouts.

No wonder you didn't follow up on the scallops! I'll take the Boneless Quail rolled around Foie Gras layered with white Truffle. All wrapped in Savoy Cabbage Leaf with Quail/Truffle Dry Aged Prime Loin de Boeuf; Yukon Gold Mash, Chanterelles and Haricot vert. Cabernet Sauce

I like CI. Maybe it's a New England thing. And of course, I'm always happy to find that I'm using whatever it is that comes out on top - in the testing of things.

Those of us (natives) in the real northeast have a similar feeling. Must be because of the sparse landscape. Our attitude is - spend your money and leave.

Yeah. I remember from that article Mario coming in, going through the throwaway barrel, digging stuff out, and then collaring whoever had thrown it away and line them out. I'll have to see if I've still got that issue and re-read it.

I think Jin's onto it. Rich, when you say,"What I mean by mealy is that even after cooking the peas long enough to break them down, they still seem almost dry even thought they been fully hydrated." - you're describing old peas/beans. You can cook them 'til hell freezes over and it won't do any good. Okay Jaymes, I hear ya. But, I can see you cranking that A/C for all it's worth and sitting there with a good hot bowl of hearty pea soup. Dave, you know how to shame a dude. Now I'll have to come clean. Only thing is, now I'm going to have to make a pea soup and keep notes. I just do it. Don't have anything written down.

Tommy, I was the one who turned this into a jam session when I tried to draw Mario in on page 5 - "Mario, you got anything to say? Jump in and when (if) I get down that way to see ngatti, I'll bring my Telecaster along and we'll play some blues. Chicago style." Then we got Plotz, Nina, Dave, and Robert S. ready for a jam. So, it seemed to me you were busting our collective balls - with apologies to Nina . "not with this fucking lot i don't." What "lot" were you refering to? Rest my case. Now let's take it back to the top - Babbo.

Watch it on the seed catalogs. Nothing I can tell you will make any difference, but I'll bet you order 5-10 times more seeds than you'll ever plant.

Perhaps. Nick#1 said something in what i thought was was an innocent post. Tommy had to turn it to BS.

Jin, I don't think you've got an ounce of country in you. It's bad enough adding wine, but when you cook the hocks separately, you just lost me.

Well said, phaelon56. Only thing is I not only don't drink wine, I don't drink coffee. Why the f**k is it that restaurants, classy ones, can't be happy, and make enough money, just serving people good food?

not with this fucking lot i don't. only with friends. ... Tommy, I've got a pretty good idea of the only beat you know. It's nothing I'm into so just keep it amongst your friends.

Sandra, I was the same as your son when I was young. Edit: And this was not canned soup, it was soup my mother, a good cook, had made.

After reading the latest posts, I'm not sure anyone's interested. And, cooking northern style wouldn't be what you'd want, or be good for you, down there where the heat isn't fit to bear. Somebody from the south has got to pipe up here.

Yep, it really does. To me pea soup is a cold weather dish and that's about the only time I make it. And, like you, I don't soak the peas overnight and don't puree it. Split peas need no soaking. I also use just water. I started to give a recipe, but it wouldn't be any good for people living in a hot climate. I also put other stuff in the woodshed to cool when winter approaches and is then here. Braises, stews, chowders, etc. I do that after the meal and it cools things off fairly rapidly without screwing up the fridge.

I'll have to think about that. I've made a lot of pea soups. What do you mean by "mealy?" It is, traditionally, a bit mealy, but I can see that it could be too mealy. Above all, a good pea soup is hearty, at least in the north. And it's always best when it sits in the woodshed over night in the colder months. Down there it would be the fridge. But, that wouldn't (I don't think) make it any smoother, lighter, to the palette. Pounding this around in what little mind I have left, I think we need southern pea soup cooks to weigh in here. A northern soup would be too heavy for south FL, if that makes any sense.

Think, Steve, think. Rack your brain (?) for the answer.

You mean Tommy?

Tell 'em the temp (instant read), you want the chops cooked to.