Rico

Thanks, Dakki and Blether. I'd like to take credit for the improvement, but I'm afraid it's all due to the new camera and the talent the 'auto' button has ... Thanks to the feedback from some of the folks here, I tried a steak and kidney pie. It worked well with the regular, and not puff pastry, crust. That's not to say puff pastry would have not worked - only that the regular worked well.

I wanted to chime in, but Mjx, you've said everything I could have wanted to, and much more effectively than I would have. So, I second what you said.

I will be making a steak and kidney pie this afternoon, and was curious to know if the puff pastry I see called for in most of the recipes is required to maintain the 'authenticity' (not to start any discussions about the semantics of authenticity) of the dish, or can one just use a regular savory pie crust?

A pastrami sandwich, with homemade mustard. I learned how to make homemade mustard from Andie's eGCI course several years back when I was an even smaller culinary pup than I am now. I've changed some things up in my version, but still am eternally grateful for that course - or really, a lot of those courses. Those are greatness.Can we have more of those?

It was the first nice day around here in what seems like ages, and since it was the Super Bowl, I went ahead and smoked a pork shoulder for some sliders. I'd never made a vinegar-based sauce before, and kind of threw one together with mango juice, dijon, and apple cider vinegar. I thought it might be a disaster, but it turned out really well. The other sauce is my go-to brisket sauce. Edited to add a photo.

I printed this out and put it on my refrigerator so my fiancee can know how lucky she is (sarcasm).

Mesquite smoke billowing from the smoker, doing its thing to the brisket and likely some other random somesuch while I sit in the 103-degree weather drinking a cold Shiner Bock.

Any food ending in -ator. As in, The Baconator. I say food because the opposite is true with beer. Paulaner Salvator and Spaten Optimator are delicious.

I don't say breaking down, but upon giving it further thought, to my ears it is more specific than "cutting up" a chicken. I think for that reason alone amateurs (such as myself) would find good reason to use it. Specificity is specificity, regardless of kitchen rank. I'm sure there are a lot of words we use in everyday language that originated in a professional world in which we don't make our living.

Yup. I've had one of these in my drawer for several years now. I've used it (or tried to use it, rather) once. And that makes me a dumb kitchen item for not throwing it out already (hat tip to Angevin and Porthos for that one-liner).

Funny, I just made ravioli for lunch before stopping by to see what's going on in eGworld. Maybe try making the pasta a spinach pasta and not adding spinach into the filling, and instead use some sort of cured pork (along with the cheese), as has been mentioned; That's actually what I tried this afternoon and it worked pretty well as something a little different for me. Chopped "Sun-dried" tomatoes and some olive oil to dress ...

Dave, is not using vegetables your MO with all stock, or just pork stock? I like the idea, but have never tried it.

Wait, you're including weekends in this thing? Wow, that is dedication. Crazy, insane dedication. I suppose the health benefit is not being hung over on Saturdays. Or Sundays. And occasionally Mondays.

Thread revival. I've made a few things in this book, and they've turned out wonderfully - at least I think: I'd never had Anadama bread, so I do know if it tasted like it's supposed to taste, but it tasted good. But I learned something today: Read all the directions. When he says 6-10 tablespoons of water, he might actually mean that you might need to use all 10, and not just 6. Wasted the day trying to make ciabatta. Ended up with ciabrick.

Robirdstx - if H-town was anything like Dallas, then 'Big Chill' was an appropriate name. Glad that little episode is over. The Chowder looks like a perfect antidote to the cold. Chris - that steak looks great. Made spinach and ricotta canneloni with a lamb bolognaise the other day. Not sure of the difference between a ragout and bolognaise, so I just guessed and called it bolognaise.

Hidden Valley Ranch. On anything.

Launchpad McQuack's final crash landing: My frying pan. Made some seared duck breasts with arugula and mushrooms. I had to make it twice because I overcooked it the first time (fortunately I got a couple of extras). On that first batch, I sliced them, they were fine, and then when I put them on the plate they were cooked through. Finicky birds, they are. Fortunately I got the second round right. I'm new at the duck thing. The success: The not-so-success. Yeah, that's why I made it smaller. People don't love the dinner thread because of the failures ... at least, I don't think so. I haven't done a straw poll on it - just pure assumption.

Whoa, percyn, I was in such a hurry to post that I missed your steak and lobster. Wow, does that look incredible.

A buddy of mine went hunting and had the decency to donate a few pounds of the ground venison to my fridge. So I cooked it up with some garlic and bacon and such, stuffed it in a poblano and roasted it. And then topped it with a batch of tomato sauce stuff I threw together.

(Sitting at my computer hitting the refresh button on this page every 20 seconds)

That is just one of the most special and wonderful things I have seen in 2011.

Thank you kindly, and that's a fantastic idea. Something new every day ... I've got a brinkman wet smoker, had some hickory on hand for some pork ribs awhile back, so I put it to use for about three hours. I didn't really worry about the temp - it never exceeded 180, so when I finished smoking it, I put it in the oven at 375 for about 30 minutes just to make sure it was soft. Now the whole house smells like hickory. It's super. And just for the helluvit, I took a picture.

Scottyboy, you're eating well, it looks like (intentional massive understatement). And Dakki, that shrimp looks fantastic; like something I'd eat a helluva lot of, given the chance. I'm late on the butternut squash soup bandwagon, so to make it at least a little interesting, I halved and smoked the squash first before souping it. I'll probably make that a routine for this soup.

Thanks, Dakki. And there is almost always a lager involved. Or a Bock.

Made some Spicy Red Pepper Shrimp skewers. For some reason, it was like 70 degrees last night in Dallas. And that's a great grilling opportunity I didn't want to waste.