patrickamory

Chris Taylor beautiful ribs. I made Hoppin' John. Started by making homemade salt pork last week (see the salt pork thread). It's extremely tasty just cut into thin slices and eaten straight up: Then finally got my Anson Mills red peas out of the freezer, where they have been languishing for a while: And then prepared Hoppin' John according to John Thorne's recipe (I would have used the Anson Mills preparation, but all their recipes feel too fussy to me and use too many ingredients). This was perfection, really the most satisfying meal I've made in ages:

Yes perhaps I should have said "warm it." It's completely edible to begin with. Just remove the crust and the mold as needed.

There's another solution for country hams… don't soak it or cook it at all, take David Chang's lead and slice paper-thin like prosciutto, serve on bread. Delicious.

Hi djyee100, I've just never thought it was very good. The seafood (especially the lobster) never seem particularly fresh, there's a chain atmosphere, and it's just not something I'd go out of my way for. I grew up in Boston and it was definitely the place in, say, the early 1980s, but it's changed ownership several times and expanded beyond New England. I don't know what to say, but it'd definitely be low on my list for shellfish at any rate. (That said, being from Boston, there are few restaurants I'd go to for lobster either!) Patrick

I highly recommend, in this order: Molana - Persian (Watertown) Il Casale - Italian (Belmont) and I haven't been there for 30 years but it still gets good reviews: Il Capriccio (Waltham) The Summershack at Alewife (North Cambridge) is probably your best bet for seafood in the area. But you're not going to get anything comparable to the North Shore, New Hampshire or Maine.

Beautiful, Soba and Anna! And everyone else. American-style spaghetti and meat sauce. I experimented slightly with touches that I never would have encountered in my youth in the '70s. Mixed ground lamb with the ground beef. Chopped a medium-hot Indian chile (but despite it being quite spicy to the taste, the kick was completely lost in the sauce). Not to mention the fresh chopped parsley on top - that would have been quite unheard of (as would flat-leaf parsley in general).

Formaggio Kitchen is still great - in fact it's better than ever. One of my favorite specialty food shops in the country. Legal Seafoods is not a chain I'd recommend.

It's a bit of a drive, but the Ipswich Clam Box north of Boston is an absolute must. Be prepared to wait. It's worth it. Then you can visit Salem for all the historical sites, or one of the pretty coastal towns like Manchester or Marblehead.

Hi liuzhou, Those look similar to what Madhur Jaffrey calls "long green medium-hot" chiles - regularly available in the Indian groceries near my house. If these are they, the heat are exactly as described - medium-hot. Of course varying from chile to chile and plant to plant and season to season as usual, but far less mouth-burning than small Thai chiles, with still a touch of the fresh flavor of green bell peppers. I use them for all sorts of preparations - the heat level makes them very versatile.

Dopiaza looks wonderful Ann as does your cauliflower (I love Indian cauliflower). So… how spicy did you go???

Just made a new batch of salt pork according to this recipe: http://www.aliyaleekong.com/homemade-salt-pork/ This dry brine method under heavy weights and changed every day for a week has produced some awesome looking results: I have no doubt the flavor will be more concentrated and intense than the John Thorne wet brine method I was using before. I do have one question: the recipe says to wrap in cheesecloth and store in fridge for a month. Should I enclose the cheesecloth in plastic wrap, or is the point of the cheesecloth to dry the meat out further?

Those little radishes look exquisite.

Ann_T - looks like it was delicious! Only downside is the house does smell of onions for a few days… whew!

Chicken dopiaza. 9 onions to 2 1/2 lbs chicken!

Bruce the biscuits.

Beer! A bottle of Negra Modelo to be precise.

Drunken beans

I ordered it from a place in Chicago for $22 - the shipping was more than the cost of the wine! Not worth taking back. I had a feeling when I saw the low level in the bottle, though with old wines sometimes that's not a problem. In this case, the cork was totally damp throughout, and the wine was just a ghost of what it had been.

Another 1975 Kabinett. Unfortunately this one was totally oxidized.

Dry-fried green beans and spaghetti aglio e olio.

So much good stuff above… I'm reeling. Soba: the Iraqi cookbook is Nawal Nasrallah's Delights from the Garden of Eden. Fascinating historical background; my one comment is that the recipes tend towards under-seasoning, at least to my taste. Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Delights-Garden-Eden-Cookbook-History/dp/1845534573 … and, I recognized the Eataly butcher counter at once. menuinprogress: that pastrami looks mouthwatering, as does the press-grilled cheese sandwich version of it. Norm: intriguing back story and those lacquered game hens are incredibly tempting… care to share the recipe now that you've dug it out?

basquecook I always wonder about those hipster Brooklyn butchers. I love dealing with my old guys at Ottomanelli on Bleecker Street - they are such pros and so completely helpful and unpretentious. Bruce great to see you cooking Thai again. Soba your pastas always look terrific and give me great ideas… Two dishes from Nawal Nasrallah's Garden of Eden. Turmeric rice with toasted almonds and raisins, and "sparrows' heads" (meatballs) in dill sauce. The yellow bits are split chickpeas (chana dal), which appear to be unexpectedly common in Iraqi cuisine.

Jaded Fork - those noodles sound & look fantastic. Noted. Casserole of cauliflower and meatballs, from Nasrallah's 'Garden of Eden.'

New Orleans red beans and rice. I didn't have a cracked ham bone, so I used a mixture of ham stock and pork neck bones. Beans were RG sangre de toro.

Echo Ann T on your pulled pork sandwich robirdstx - WOW. Soba - nice to have you back.