fifi

What jmcgrath said. I have had an offset and now have a WSM. I think I am in love with the WSM. Once I get it going with a full load of charcoal, it will perk along at the ideal temperature for at least 12 hours with little tending. I might have to add some water is about all. The off-set did a fine job but really did require more tending. There are two shelves in the WSM and it holds all that I typically need to do.

I made chicken and sausage gumbo with some smoked chicken and turkey stock one time. It was really, really good. I just used the bones to make the stock. I didn't use the mahogany colored skin at all so it wasn't too smokey, but just right.

When I was a kid and my great-aunt Minnie would come to visit, her apple pie was always afoot. She served it with a slice of good sharp cheddar melted on top. That is one of my favorite combinations. That being said, I have a real problem with that recipe. The taste combination may be there but the imagined texture really bothers me. ICK!

What the bags have is a catalyst as part of the plastic that absorbs ethylene gas. Ethylene is the compund given off by fruits and leaves and triggers ripening, ripening being on the way to rotting. That ethylene is why you put some apple in a paper bag with peaches or pears to ripen them. Apples are prodigous ethylene producers. Those bags really work. I have kept rinsed baby greens for almost two weeks. Bed Bath & Beyond also has some little green discs that you put in the veggie drawer that does the same thing.

I store it in the fridge in a glass jar so that it doesn't smell up the rest of the fridge. It keeps a long time, sort of like the Thai curry pastes. I have thrown some out after a few months because it finally developed some moldy spots. I really rather like the Dona Maria. I don't feel any more guilt than I do about using the Thai premade curry pastes. Given what a PITA they are to make, the choice is usually mole/no mole or curry/no curry so guess which way I go. Yes, I have made them from scratch when I wanted a project for a rainy day. Homemade is very good but not good enough to do all the time. I certainly wouldn't make it myself on a Tuesday evening when I am trying to figure out what to do with the left over chicken.

Oh Good Grief. Yet another project for the WSM. Thanks for that report. IMHO, any piece of meat can benefit from the low and slow treatment of a smoker. Who would have thought of breast of veal. That is clearly inspired.

I am a maybe. (Some obligations may pop up that interfere.) If I can, I will be shopping at Sam's and cook on Saturday. fifi - Houston TX

Actually, my mind is a complete blank so I wasn't thinking of anything, much less tatuma. No, what I saw was not tatuma. What I am thinking of is probably smaller, lighter green and with no neck. Damn... I can't think of it. The first time I ever saw these was from a volunteer vine in my mother's compost heap several years ago. Where the "mystery squash" had come from, we didn't have a clue. I later figured out that mother's memory was starting to fail and she must have bought some out of curiosity, never got to cook them and threw them out. Or... a birdie could have dropped it. Anyway, the mystery squash was just that when, low and behold, a few years later, they showed up at Fiesta. *Back to googling because this is driving me nuts.* edit to add: This is close but think a little rounder.

That squash looks sort of like a "Mexican" squash that I have seen at HEB and Fiesta. But I will be damned if I can remember the name they used. They looked like what your picture shows but were maybe a little rounder.

I have never been a big fan of squid. But, then, I have usually had it either as the fried calamari or buried in some other seafood concoction where it was lost and inevitably got rubbery. Then I had a dish at a Tepanyaki place in Kemah, TX that blew me away. It was opened up, sliced into squares, then quickly griddled with god-knows-what and was sublime. I am now a fan of the lowly squid.

Sooo... Why did you wish you had cooked it? What was groundbreaking about it? DETAILS, man.

I am adding a link here for those who have never seen it. Bright Lights Chard I have grown it, sowing directly in the garden in the fall for SE Texas. I positioned it so that the low evening sun would backlight it. It was lovely to sit on the back porch in the evening and enjoy the view. However, for eating and for really big lush plants, my favorites are still Vulcan (deep red) and an Italian white wide ribbed variety.

What size plane? 747? (Sorry, that slipped out.) Did any coconut taste come through?

Maybe not all that much if you have decided that at least one time in your life you are going to go whole hog... er... whole cow?... and make some frites in beef fat. I would love to try that.

Thanks for bumping this up helenas. I can't wait to try NulloModo's recipe. I could put it on the WSM. The smokiness was made for mushrooms. I have a really rich mushroom soup recipe that I developed using smoked gouda cheese. I serve it in small cups as a starter or, if alone and hiding, I will scarf down a big bowl and go to confession. It basically has lots of shallots, sweated mushrooms, milk, cream and cheese. I will put it in RecipeGullet. edit: And here it is: Mushroom Cheese Soup Edited by snowangel to reflect new link to recipe.

Grated potato hash browns are devine cooked in beef fat (or dripping for our UK friends... I love that word). I can't stand the thought of throwing out something as lovely as beef fat. It will keep practically forever in the freezer.

Mushroom Cheese Soup This soup was developed using a combination of recipes. I was "gifted" with a whole lot of really lovely plain button mushrooms. It is really good that way but I have also added other types of mushrooms and it just gets more interesting. The addition of the chicken base and the Maggi seasoning reflects the Mexican origin of one of the recipes. And, this is one recipe that does not suffer from the addition of dried herbs. I have used fresh and didn't notice any addition to the final product. For the cheese, please do try the smoked gouda. Other melting cheeses make for interesting variations but the smoked gouda is the family favorite. This is a very rich soup that is best served in small cups as a starter. (But I have been known to devour a large bowl in secret.) 4 T Butter 1 c Minced shallots 4 Large garlic cloves, minced 2 lb Mushrooms, sliced 4 tsp Chicken base 1 T Flour - Wondra is recommended 1 tsp Oregano, dried is acceptable 1 tsp Basil, dried is acceptable 4 Dashes of Maggi seasoning 2 c Whole milk 1 c Heavy cream 6 oz Cheese - smoked gouda, gouda, brie, jack, or any melting cheese you prefer In a heavy pot, saute shallots and garlic in the butter until soft, adding the garlic later in the process. Add the mushrooms to the pot, stirring to coat with the butter mixture. Cover and cook on low until the mushrooms are tender and have released all of their juice. Add the chicken base, flour, herbs and Maggi and stir in. Continue to cook for about five minutes to infuse flavors. Add the milk, cream and cheese and heat while stirring until the cheese is melted. Do not boil. Check for seasoning and add salt if necessary. Keywords: Soup, Easy ( RG1055 )

Mushroom Cheese Soup This soup was developed using a combination of recipes. I was "gifted" with a whole lot of really lovely plain button mushrooms. It is really good that way but I have also added other types of mushrooms and it just gets more interesting. The addition of the chicken base and the Maggi seasoning reflects the Mexican origin of one of the recipes. And, this is one recipe that does not suffer from the addition of dried herbs. I have used fresh and didn't notice any addition to the final product. For the cheese, please do try the smoked gouda. Other melting cheeses make for interesting variations but the smoked gouda is the family favorite. This is a very rich soup that is best served in small cups as a starter. (But I have been known to devour a large bowl in secret.) 4 T Butter 1 c Minced shallots 4 Large garlic cloves, minced 2 lb Mushrooms, sliced 4 tsp Chicken base 1 T Flour - Wondra is recommended 1 tsp Oregano, dried is acceptable 1 tsp Basil, dried is acceptable 4 Dashes of Maggi seasoning 2 c Whole milk 1 c Heavy cream 6 oz Cheese - smoked gouda, gouda, brie, jack, or any melting cheese you prefer In a heavy pot, saute shallots and garlic in the butter until soft, adding the garlic later in the process. Add the mushrooms to the pot, stirring to coat with the butter mixture. Cover and cook on low until the mushrooms are tender and have released all of their juice. Add the chicken base, flour, herbs and Maggi and stir in. Continue to cook for about five minutes to infuse flavors. Add the milk, cream and cheese and heat while stirring until the cheese is melted. Do not boil. Check for seasoning and add salt if necessary. Keywords: Soup, Easy ( RG1055 )

Yeah... These were like cranberry beans on steroids. Each bean was a bit over 3/4 inch on the long side. They were quite mealy in the first one and a half hous of the parsons cooking method (when pintos and red beans are usually perfect) and had to go for two and a half hours to get good. Flavor was nothing special.

Barbeque Posole It is really really really good. I have been known to smoke a hunk of pork or beef and hide it from the hungry hoards just to have some to make this later.

I took one for "the team". Do not bother with pork brisket. Too much "junk" to deal with. I posted the details here. It was really tasty, though.

Here are the "big red beans" that I mentioned. I didn't take a picture of them done. They were unremarkable in my book. The texture was just ok and there was no definitive flavor. Back to pintos. Doctored up with some of my magic ancho paste they were passable. And now to the pork brisket. There are four on the top grate and four on the bottom. They took longer than I had guessed. The temperature stall was right at 170F and lasted forever. I think it was because of the high amount of connective tissue that had to convert. And here we are all chopped up and ready to go. The verdict on "pork brisket": Don't bother. The meat itself was very succulent and tasty. What there was of it. And, boy was it a pain to pull. Well, I wouldn't really call it pulling. Think about picking the most stubborn and tight shelled crab you ever got into. There is just so much junk in there to work around that it was a real chore. The junk to meat ratio is just too high to bother with, even if some of the morsels are extraordinary. Even at 97 cents a pound it is not worth it. Back to butts. But, hey, someone had to try it. The unqualified success of the day was the peach cobbler. Mayhaw Man's pastry crust (well, actually, his mother's) is a wonder. That means that I can actually do it. This is my second time out with her crust and this one was wonderful, too. That means that the crust on the chicken pot pie wasn't just an accident of nature. Pastry crust has been my nemesis for many years. I just wish I had bought more peaches so it could have been a really big cobbler. I did remember how much I hate peeling and slicing peaches.

Probably not. It makes sense to me but I can't say that I have noticed any really big difference. But then, most of my experience is with basil pesto. Is greener a bad thing?

Ah... I have just the thing. Thanks.

That makes sense. Ok... I have this cute little stainless steel mushroom shaped thingy just for bashing garlic cloves. A-bashing I will go. If I can't find my bamboo skewers can I just put them into a little pan?