Norm Matthews

I suppose you just want to reheat a serving at a time? If so, I'd stick it in the microwave for half a minute.

I wanted to do something with cabbage. I thought cabbage rolls but Cass was not enthused so I looked for something and came across bierocks but didn't like any of the recipes I found so made it up as I went. I changed a basic French bread recipe by adding some sugar, oil and an egg and brushing the top with egg and water and sprinkling them with poppy seeds. I tasting the filling as I went. I used cabbage, onion, hamburger salt, pepper, celery seed, Beau Monde, oregano and i don't remember what else. I made 16 and should have added more filling but they were stuffed when I made them and they were good anyway.

Sorry. I didn't know you were talking about such a small ham. I didn't see where you mention a half ham. 5 lbs is smaller that what I was thinking of a fresh ham. They usually run at least 15 lbs and dry cure takes about a week per inch measured to the center.

Glad to hear it came out well.

One usually thinks of chuck or round for pot roasts. The chuck comes from the shoulder and there are several cuts (and names) for shoulder roasts besides chuck but those -in my opinion- make the best pot roasts. The round also has several cuts. They all come from the other end and are pot roasted but generally don't have as much fat so aren't as taste-y, again in my opinion. Ground can come from any part of the cow. It may be chuck or round or shank or brisket or flank or a combination of several. What is more important is how lean or fat is it?

if your intent is to flavor the pork roast rather than do a true cure to turn it into a real ham, (because a week is not enough time) then have you considered injections?

Since the bird does not have skin, you would do well to cover it with a fatty meat. I don't know if pancetta has enough fat to keep the pheasant moist or not. Bacon would and you might consider draping it with cheesecloth soaked in a savory, buttery broth,and atop moist aromatic vegetables, but the one way that you won't have to worry about over-cooking is to do a braise, simmer or fricassee (to use an old fashioned term).

Young pheasants that have eaten well will have a layer of fat under the skin and can be cooked in any way that a young chicken can... roasted or broiled. If food for the bird was scarce or it is an older bird, it will best be cooked by moist heat, either braised or simmered.

This is a very useful wed site for determining how long refrigerated and frozen foods last. http://www.stilltasty.com/

I think a lot of people would be surprised at how many restaurant 'chefs' are actually high school students working part time and don't even know enough to let the fryer heat up after they turn it on before putting stuff in it.

My son and his GF asked me to start a blog because they'd ask me about something i made a week or more ago and I would remember the basic recipe but not what I did differently and they wanted an accurate account so I started the blog. All I do is post the recipe and how I made it with pictures of the meal.

Not true -- the brine can have a little less salt than the amount in solution in the bird, and be both effective and actually decrease the salt content a little. Osmosis is a beautiful thing. The bird and the brine will try to reach equilibrium. With that salt transfer, some of the added brine flavorings transfer as well. It's not like a turkey is some kind of salt sponge. All this goes out the window if doing an injection marinade, though. Don't shoot more salt into an already-salty bird. For the rare times I find myself with a Butterball-type turkey, I'll shoot it with unsalted garlic thyme paprika butter. Probably the best thing one can do for one of those birds, short of not getting one in the first place. (I'm not at all OK with industrial turkey farming.) I would not call it a brine if you put the turkey in a solution that pulls salt OUT of the bird. Sounds like an attempt at a marinade to me.

Brining depends on the bird. Kosher turkeys and 'butterball' type ones have already been brined and more would just make them salty.

If the meat is one large chunk, I brown it first. If it is cut up, I usually cook it all together.

I have noticed a lot of people will grab one knife and do all the cutting with it. It is usually a small one. I asked some and the usual answer was it is the sharpest one in the kitchen. My son often used a cheap serrated steak knife to cut even carrots. He said it was because he was afraid to mess up my good knives. I let it go because I'd found my favorite paring knife in the dish washer a couple times but he is better now and I see he usually uses the better ones now.

My ex is Korean. She and her family used to run our Korean restaurant for several years. Our son got a recipe for Kalbi from his uncle and modified it until he was satisfied with the results. He made this recipe last June on the BBQ. We had some LA cut spare ribs (3 to 4 section bones) and also cut some traditional spare ribs that I cut into long strips. He thinks the traditional one bone kind makes the better ribs. this isn't the best picture but was the only one I could find just now. Son made his recipe for kalbi, I grilled some bok choy, rice cooker made the rice and the restaurant down the street made the kimchee. Kalbi 1/2 C. soy sauce 8 T. sugar 5 T. water 4 T. sherry 3 T. corn syrup 1 T. minced garlic 1/2 tsp. grated ginger 1/2 C. sesame oil juice of 1 lime juice of 1 orange chopped green onion pinch of pepper Marinate overnight, grill medium heat until done.

Todays dinner was chuck roast with onions carrots and mushrooms with skillet hash browns. No salad LOL

Son made bohn mi sandwiches today

Here is how dinner came out. The rice was flavored with Sazon Goya con culantro Y achiote and chicken base. Salad dressing was olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lime juice with salt and pepper.

This tread reminds me of the Julia Child skit on SNL where she (Dan Ackroyd) cut herself. I have taken the end of my finger off a couple times with a Santoku- which I never use any more-. I used elevation, pressure and bandaids designed for knuckles and fingertips in fabric. The first day I go through several bandaids and lots of Neosporin. I don't keep the bandaids in the kitchen though. Don't need them all that often. I do have an Aloe plant in the kitchen, partly because that is where the best growing sunlight is but also for minor burns.

Getting ready for dinner tonight and for sandwiches tomorrow. There were two pork tenderloins in one package-as always- so cut one up for sauteing tomorrow for bohn mi sandwiches and tonight will roast the other one with garlic, chilies and lime juice.

They make hot water dispensers for your sink. Not just the hot water from your tap but a separate devise can be installed that will dispense really how water on demand. Not nearly as glamorous as a Zouirushi but very practical. I use to have one and made tea one cup at a time with it whenever I wanted some. No prior set up required. Just have it installed and it is ready to go whenever you want hot water for soup or coffee or tea or whatever.

My son made dinner last night. It was Korean style chicken wings which were crispy wings with a sweet ginger glaze. He also made fried rice with kimchee. It was very good.

Hi Kaye. Martini chicken is a recipe from Chef Pino Luongo. Chicken breasts are pounded flat, dipped in flour, then beaten egg then finally in grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese only-no bread crumbs, browned in a skillet with some oil then finished in the oven with some dry white wine and blanched carrots and green beans (Haricot verts), I usually serve it with linguine and a butter sauce. You can probably find the recipe if you google Breast of Chicken, Martini-Style.

Came home from antiquing this evening and discovered both Cassie and Charles were going to be home for dinner so took a flatiron steak from the fridge and made Sukiyaki. Soup is beef broth left over from the recipe with some water and green onions. Salad is knife cut romaine lettuce with radish and plum. We also had kimchi that we already had gotten from the Korean restaurant/market not far from us and steamed rice. It took about 30-40 minutes to make the meal and cost was around $6.00 per person. There were enough leftovers for another serving.