BaconFat

I have had the same issues with splatter when trying to break the oil out of the coconut milk. I also use "Chaokoh" brand and do the same rotation mentioned up thread. I have a set of Viking cookware that I normally use except when cooking green curry. Whenever I tried to use the Viking stuff, the coconut would seriously spatter before getting hot enough to break. Out of frustration I went back to an old Analon non-stick pan and the spattering issue was solved. I could get the heat up and break out the oil without wearing half of the coconut milk.

Curious. I frequently cook with this ingredient and have yet to rinse it as none of the recipes call for rinsing. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but I don't notice any adverse saltiness when I cook/use TPV's.

I fished out of Dutch for a time and have had many fun times while in town. I'd agree that the best you'll get is probably what you cook yourself. Unalaska/Dutch is a company town for the fishing industry. The best you can expect is low scale diner food. Fish and chips, burgers etc. Everything is expensive. A can of Bud costs the same as a full tumbler of call brand 80 proof. Cash is king, just don't wave it around.

Aloha, We just returned from spending two incredible weeks on Maui. We ate out at a bunch of different restaurants and it seemed the plate lunches (at several different places) had steamed rice that tasted kind of sweet and was a different kind of sticky compared to the steamed white rice we cook and eat in Seattle. Is the rice cooked with something besides water? Coconut milk, maybe? Is it a different kind of rice than what we use stateside? Maybe it was just being on vacation and everything tasted, looked and smelled better. Thanks

Thanks to this thread that I've been lurking in since it started, I've been slowly getting into meat and stuff and stuffing meat. I got the book a couple of months ago. I made the bacon first, and why wouldn't I? Thanks to Ranch 99 and fresh bellies cut to order. I did two five pound bellies, regular smoked and a black pepper/garlic. I really liked them both but will add more spice next time as the smoke overwhelmed the spices. Then my wife got me this nice electric grinder/stuffer from Northern Industrial Tool, thanks to a reference upthread. Next I ordered casings from Butcher-Packer. I swear they sent me a Gordian knot of hog middles. Is there a trick to getting the casings off without messing up the whole lot? I couldn't figure it out and ended up cutting what I couldn't untie. What I had was plenty long enough, but I would have like to save more for a later use. Next up was a recipe that my friend's Croatian family has made for over 50 years. We did 20 pounds of sausage, ate some for dinner and smoked two coils like you see in the photo. Smoked at 130 for four hours, about eight pounds per coil. The end product out of the smoker is very similar to kielbasa. The coils would normally hang in the attic and air dry ending up like pepperoni, but I'm not going to try that just yet. I cut my coil up into large chunks and used some for a nice pot of Red Beans and Rice on New Years Eve.

My wife and I had fun killing time in Anchorage before our return flight at both Club Paris for the cocktails (big, strong, cheap) and Humpy's for the Alaskan pub grub and beer. We found Club Paris just walking around downtown. They close early so the bartender recommended Humpy's as we had more time to kill. Humpy's is kind of divey, and has a great vibe. The place was packed with both locals and touristas.

As I understand it, Szechuan Chef in Bellevue is the new place opened by the origninal owners of Seven Stars Pepper in the ID.

I get a lot of meats from Cash & Carry; their prices are great. They have packers-cuts of brisket, pork butts/shoulders, beef clods, whole NY strips, Rib Eyes, etc. I'm pretty sure they'll order for you as well. If your brisket was tough, it didn't cook long enough. You also need to cut it against the grain to help with the tenderness. Have fun.

Checked out Anita's Bistro, the new Indian joint that took over the Sakura space in Mapleleaf off Lake City Way and 15th. We three arrived mid day on last Saturday and there were maybe three or four other tables. The owners were very nice and they've done a nice job with the decor in the dining area. The food was great for a buffet; very tender chicken curry, great veggie dishes. The spices were even and the food was hot. The tandoori chicken was a little o-d. I think holding the food was a problem and they'd do better with a little more volume, customer-wise. They didn't charge for our 6yr old which was nice and definitely not the norm compared to other Indian buffets that we frequent. They even comp'ed a nice coconut ice cream on the way out. Based on our experience, we'll go back for sure to try out the full dinner service.

I've been getting my smoke wood from barbecuewood.com. They are way cheaper than local (Seattle) sources and the quality is good. Wood should be dried covered for at least a year, so you're probably ok. I never soak smoke wood. I think it just delays the inevitable as the water needs to evaporate in order to smoke. I don't like wrestling small chunks of wood and losing, so I take the bark off if it looks like I can get it off easily.

I've been really happy with my Kamado #7. It's very versitile; I can smoke ribs, butts, brisket, fish, oysters, bacon, etc. I can sear steaks like nobody's business. I can do breads and pizza really well. It's basically a set it and forget machine. A single load of fuel (natural lump charcoal) will last >24 hrs for low and slow cooks. Once you get the hang of it, it is very easy to maintain temps from 120f - >1000f.

Costco has a great price for the Pro 5; $250 includes a $20 rebate. Costco has such a great return policy I couldn't pass it up. They have same deal both online and at their stores: KA Pro 5 at Costco

Farmed salmon is bad for you, bad for wild salmon and bad for the environment. I know this is somewhat off topic, but I think it relevant to make informed decisions when selecting what we use and consume. After reading through this topic and seeing that some others mentioned that farmed salmon is bad, I thought it would be helpfull to post some links to info that substantiates these claims. Here's some info on farmed salmon and it's impact: Farmed salmon info Farmed salmon and your health Farmed salmon threatens the long-term genetic integrity of wild salmon Here is a wild salmon supplier that ships overnight: Pike Place Fish Market - Seattle Don't get me wrong; I've used farmed salmon in the past. I enjoyed the availability and low prices. But after learning more about this product, I found it hard to justify its consumption by me and my family given all the issues that surround it.

I'm a huge fan of Family Doughnut in the Northgate area. I think Top Pot doughnuts are good, but they are too greasy for my tastes. Seattle Weekly - Family Doughnut Review edit: spelling

I've really enjoyed the dim sum at Jeem in the Overlake area in Bellevue. Excellent dumplings: Shark fin, Shu-mai, etc. They do fried squid like none I've ever had. Jeem