weinoo

This one? Wow, it's so rounded... do you own any of the Copper Coeur Line?

I find that hard to believe. Then again, Ann Arbor/MI in general has some other legal devices which might cloud one's judgement.

What next, @Shelby ? Banh mi flavored? Dove flavored?

They have marketing people specifically devoted to people like you.

Why can't they just leave well enough alone?

This is a closed device as well...but I seriously don't know why cleanup, as it relates to smokers, drives everyone so batty. Take a look at @Norm Matthews set up...my guess is Norm isn't overly worried about cleanup!

Well, that's only if you believe that Zingerman's pastrami is anywhere near as good as Katz's. I mean, you have to compare equivalents, not just some product having the same name.

So you guys mean these companies are trying to make money!! I am shocked, I tell you!! (OK, what's the movie reference?)

I haven't set them off in a long while. I have the kitchen window open and there's decent cross ventilation, and the hood sucks up most of the smoke and filters it through charcoal. I also have two nice air purifiers (with HEPA) in different locations (and you should see the filters on those when they get cleaned).

Now you're just trying to confuse me. Because the item price isn't any cheaper if I pay for shipping, is it? I just have to spend a certain amount.

The new Ibushi Gin Donabe got a tryout last night. Now this isn't the $350 Ibushi gin; it was more like $50. Some seafood arrived yesterday, so I started with that... Scallops and prawns, brined for an hour or so, and then smoke cooked for as long as the instructions sorta say. Tasty, but not quite perfect at this point. More practice necessary. It's also why I didn't do the full pound of prawns and half pound of scallops; the rest got poached in a shellfish stock - they were delicious. Re: the instructions: "they" say to line the bottom of the donabe with foil and put the chips on top of that, as it makes for easier cleanup. Well, it also makes for not as good smoke, in my opinion. I think the chips should go on the bottom of the donabe, in order to be in better contact with heat, and then be topped with foil, to catch any drips from the product being smoked. Or no foil at all. So I'll try that next time. And scallops/shrimp are not necessarily the best item to smoke, if you like these things barely cooked. If they're barely cooked, they'll get practically no smoke flavor and I might as well use a smoking gun. If they (the prawns and scallops) get nice and smoky, they're probably overcooked. I think a pork tenderloin, or something along those lines, will make for a better experiment. And since I can probably get some great steelhead filets and whole trout, that'll be on the menu too.

Some of the places I've used for higher-end stuff do free shipping at a certain spend level. Even overnight. Katz's, Russ & Daughters, Regalis, Great-Alaska, Browne Trading, for starters.

I'm sure the Zingerman's stuff is lovely, but man - their shipping rates are up there.

It was on a few menus here for a while. I think Wildair had it. Delish!

She held off on the bacon until the end, probably because she was so disgusted with everything else.

We've usually seen it deep fried.

I LIKE AVA!

Wow!

No, I was thinking with bacon and eggs. The traditional way.

But they don't ship! Bigoli is very hard to find, and I wanted to make a specific sauce to use it with. I actually ordered some bucatini (for the hell of it, and because they had stock of Faella product) from Fresh Direct. So it arrives this morning, at the bottom of a bag of stuff, and the pasta package is all wet. Idiots.

Indeed - the Fertile Crescent.

I do find it deep enough (almost 3") for braising - a whole chicken for scarpariello, for instance. The chicken cut into pieces, that is. When I want to braise a whole 3 or 4 lb. chicken, it's time for the 4 qt. Dutch oven. And indeed - it appears to be their sauté with different handles. For risotto, I really like the saucier shape - it's so nice to have that curved (?) bottom with nowhere for the rice to get stuck. Don't tell anyone, but I'll also use that Calphalon hard-anodized aluminum for risotto - it's nonstick properties make the risotto practically foolproof, but it's a much lighter pan, so more care has to be taken when stirring. P.S. @JoNorvelleWalker - that Rondeau might even fit in your APO?

Every time I see this, I get a little jealous! Just under the light switch, is that the secret ingredient?

A friend sent me a box (5 lbs.) of organic California avocados - the Bacon avocado. This was one of the 2 or 3 suffering the indignities of our postal service (with priority mail still taking 6 days to get here), yet still worked for guac. Which we had with chips for dinner, along with... Cream of Romanesco soup. Again, the Romanesco I had was past (for me) its prime to use as a distinct veg, but served its purpose admirably as a soup base. With leeks, homemade chicken stock and a little rice for creaminess. (Okay, there was a little cream in there too). The Green Dinner.

Those - the OG MC were very much used in restaurants back in their day.