MatthewB

Sinclair Lewis would have been mighty proud!

No disagreement here. The best aspect of this recovery is a fridge full of wonderful wonderful food. Alas, I need to go mop. I'll note more about our cooking project tomorrow or Tuesday!

Round three coming up . . . Brunch at Alex's at 10:30 AM EST. Reports to follow.

We're winding down, down to myself, Michele, & Maggie. More tomorrow, but . . . Power to my people! I wish more of you had been here. I think we did it right.

If we're looking for "versioning," Think Like a Chef comes to mind. (I have the Bittman/Vongerichten book. It *is* very good.)

You're here people! We raised glasses to you several times last evening. A group is trekking to the Farmer's Market at 9:30 this morning. Klink & I will be smoking meat. Guajolote brought along a few stocks--veal, etc. Aurora will be baking a cake. Chef Joe will probably be showing up. Many other events will notably occur. We'll keep you posted.

We're about wrapped up here for the evening. (Pictures coming.) I'm ready for a bit of sleep as Klink will be schooling me in meat smoking tomorrow. Thanks eGullet for introducing such wonderful friends.

Countdown begins . . . Festivities officially commence in a bit less than one hour--dinner from Chef Joe Pagano at 7 PM EST.

I'm willing to work with that. I need to purchase it though.

Seth, I like your ideas. With our group here, I'm not too concerned about having to have a recipe book to guide us. I think we'll come up with a solid recipe via our dialogue or we'll devise one (or more or variations, etc.). (When I've planning time--as we'll have here--I tend to meander through my cookbooks & come up with a hybrid "recipe.") For me, I'm looking to move out of my cooking comfort-zone and to stretch myself more than I would working solo. As I noted starting this thread, I've pretty taught myself--via reading & solo doing--until this point. I'm excited about working with others on this! Thoughts?

Dave, you're a peach. Varmint, we'll make sure to have a drink in your honor this weekend!

I think pulling at 115-120 would be best. Maybe get 3-5 more degrees during the rest. Prudhomme's method sounds delicious!

Dave, I think you're spot-on. I'd even tend to go with 215 degrees. Don't think I'd want to go over 225. Edit to add: My kettle is the 22.5 inch.

Here's a smoked prime rib roast. Checked Schlesinger & Willoughby. Their latest has a recipe that's just the beef, salted & peppered, & smoked. According to the top recipe, I may not have to start smoking as early as I'd planned. But Klink, Guajolote, & I may need an excuse to start imbibing right after morning coffee.

Hmmmm....17 pounds will require some very big rolling papers =R= I think we'll be forced to halve it. The WSM will probably only handle some sausages after that. I'm already planning to say to Klink: "See that Weber kettle? Please start smoking on that, too. I'll go get you another Maker's."

I'm thinking about doing my own prime rib in parallel. So: how are you gonna to smoke that sucker? Have you done this before? If not, let's decide quick before Klink arrives and tells us we don't have the slightest idea of what we're doing. Yeah, let's go. I talked with Dean a bit ago. He & Klink already have all the meat preparation planned. I've never smoked a prime rib. (They're also bringing a freshly-slaughtered duck, a rack of lamb, various sausages, & white bacon. And I don't know what else.) WWDD: What Would Dave Do?

Please start suggesting! (I'll not have access to either book until Tuesday.)

Thanks, Tammy. I knew that I'd forget something. (We do have soda water & some various sodas though. )

Heather, Might it work to use both CT & Cookwise as our primary texts & supplement as needed? I like your idea here. Just wondering how to work it out. (One of the primary aspects of CT that I like are the step-by-step pictures.)

Just back from running about. Dean informs me via PM that our prime rib weighs in at 17 pounds! We've ~5 liters of bourbon. 3 fifths of cognac for mixing Sidecars. 2 fifths of Cointreau. 2 bags of lemons. Sugar for glass-rimming. Vermouth, cherries, & bitters for Manhattans. An assorted case of beer--Bell's pale ale, porter, & some other stuff. (If anyone would like to bring Coors Lite, go for it. I'll happily allow it in the house; I just won't pay for it. ) A wine box full of CDs. A clean house. Most importantly, *fine people* are on the road & approaching Grand Rapids! Ummm, anyone feel like drinking & eating this weekend???

Rather than you dragging chairs from Chicago, might not it be better for me to rent some folding chairs? It's quite inexpensive to do so. (I think I just answered my own question. )

A brief break in our programming . . . We think we're set on glassware. This afternoon, I rented two dozen each of the following: -- 8 oz. old-fashioned glasses -- 16 oz. wine glasses -- 7.5 oz stemmed cocktail glasses Also picked up a bunch of plastic cups, etc. I've now tables for seating 22 people. But only about 12 chairs. One or two more cardtables might be good. And, obviously, a few more chairs. Sound right, my mighty party people?

Goat shit is more appropriate (Cubs collapse) . The Goat Shit Walk

Do not worry about a dress code. Seriously. Serious or not serious? = Will I be wearing shorts, a yellow polo shirt, & work boots covered in pig shit?

All of which you are. Now Katie has me thinking about these. Lovely stuff but oh so sticky counters when mixing at a party.