fifi

Yeah . . . But you have that sonar and the fish noises. (I have read all of the Clancy novels. ) I will bet that they know if the fishies are munching the garbage.

Some of those kinds of accidents make for the very best chili. Damn, that sounds good. What a fitting end for the noble beasties.

I just want to report, I am currently making your "Butter Braised Beef" for lack of a better term. I am absolutely following your directions and the aroma is amazing. I was able to get a really nice chuck (beef shoulder) steak at the market that looks pretty much like what you cooked. Yes, it was very hard to not mess with the seasoning but I refrained. Two bay leaves and two cloves. The smell is amazing. I will probably eat this tomorrow and I see some mashed potatoes in my future. Many thanks for a unique recipe. (Uh . . . And can you put that one in RecipeGullet? ) (Why am I thinking that there is a cook book somewhere in here? I certainly never found anything like this when I went on my search over the course of several years.)

Thank you for my GulleyLaugh of the day. During my past career, I spent a bit of time on offshore oil production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. They had a very similar trash sorting regime. Of course, all but the "fish food" went back to shore on the supply boats since that was an option. If you were out far enough to be in the blue water, barracuda of impressive size would hang around. Some even got names. We are talking BIG. I am sure the critters look forward to your offerings. I wonder, if you are just slowly cruising along, if you get any "camp followers."

Hmmm . . . Not noisy. Good food and service . . . Sounds like an ideal business lunch place to me. Those are pretty hard to find. I will pass it on. And, that is on my must do list next time I am in town for lunch. Thanks for the report. I probably would have never tried it otherwise.

Somebody fill me in as I have obviously been hanging out under my rock. I just googled and got an Amazon link to this book. Is this the author you are referring to? Tell me more.

I am going to dinner with you, Steven. It isn't that I like early dinner for all of the advantages in a restaurant, it is because of the digestion. I have very good digestion. But I do like to have some time for digestion before I go to bed. When outside of the US where the custom is to dine late, I just about don't eat at that meal. I may have an appetizer and a salad. I just can't eat a big rich meal and hit the sack, even within a couple of hours. Now, if there is a custom of a long, leasurely and late lunch, I'm in there.

It -Literally- is The Hunt for Red October. The next boat Bubbleheadchef is going to is the Los Angeles-class USS Dallas, SSN 700, which was the "good guy" sub prominently featured in the movie. The Dallas, which recently underwent a technology upgrade along with its 15-year nuclear refuelling, is one of the oldest boats serving in the sub fleet. http://www.csg2.navy.mil/Dallas/dallas.htm ← Oh, wow! That's right - Dallas was the boat that jumped out of the water near the end...I do love that movie. Sigh. ← Oh Yeah! And if Sean Connery is still around, I am gonna enlist. Another question BubbleheadChef . . . I saw a TV program some years ago, I think back when FoodTV was still interesting, about a Navy Chef competition. That is about all I know about it. But I do remember that they used the normal supply. The dishes looked fabulous. Is there such a thing or did I dream this? If so, have you ever participated?

Just thought of another question. I notice that you have worked the kitchen on an aircraft carrier and now submarines. It occurs to me that you have seen the absolute extremes as to size and limitations that would occur in Navy cooking. Does anything really stand out for you as to the differences?

I love the ramble. And, first I want to thank you for your service. Now a question . . . I noticed earlier that you mentioned doing several things with one cut of beef, for example. Seeing how much you might have to make do without a purveyor down the street, what do you consider your most versatile cuts of meat or other ingredients?

Absolutely brilliant! Why didn't I think of that? The tailors' measure is another good one. I know I have one somewhere from way back when I used to sew. It will be liberated from the solitary confinement of the sewing box and given a warmer home in the kitchen.

It has been a few years since I have done it. I remember at one time, you could buy it in jars. I don't know about now. Before that, I begged a lot and the manager would fill a jar or two for me. Click here for a copy cat recipe. I have no idea if it is close. There is definitely clove in there somewhere. Perhaps this recipe gets that from the Lea & Perrins.

I just found this topic and thought I would add the elderberry flower fritters from my foraging foodblog last May.

Actually, it is sometimes the most obvious tips that we tend to overlook. Here is one on reducing stock: I have my stock making + equipment all figured out. A typical eGCI type stock is made in my 16 quart stock pot. That reliably can be strained into my 12 quart with room to spare. That goes in the fridge for defatting, after cooling with a frozen water bottle or two. (Not my tip, I think we owe andiesenji for that one.) Now, if I am going to reduce I use my 8 1/2 quart saucier. After I have poured in the defatted stock, I take a chopstick or something similar and mark the depth with a pencil. Then I measure that depth on the stick and divide by 2 or 4. Then I start to gently reduce. When the depth gets to the half or quarter mark on my stick, I know what I have, 2:1 or 4:1. The perpendicular side and broad surface area of that pot works well for this operation.

Drat! You beat me to it! I was just thinking of that combo as I went into the kitchen and happened to check on the status of my salt preserved limes. If you could find a few red jalapenos to add to the mix, that would be really pretty. . . all of those bright red itty bitty cubes floating in a green sea of lime.

Warning on freezing dill. One of the frustrations here is that the dill and the cucumbers do not peak at the same time. My mother used to have a big gallon glass jar and would pick the best seed heads and fronds for the pickles later. (Dad made pickles every year.) Fast forward and my sister has inherited the house and garden. She picks the dill and finds a big plastic freezer container. Within about a week the freezer contents (big chest type kept below zero) smelled and tasted of dill. Ever tried dill flavored Haagen-Daz? I freeze herbs all the time . . . in glass canning jars. I agree on dried dill. It takes a lot to get any flavor at all.

I also find those plastic packages of herbs in the grocery at hijack prices an absolute last resort. Unless I am under extreme duress, I will usually just cook something else. I think they are "forced" in greenhouses and never really develop their chemical weapon arsenals to the fullest.

Thanks for the tip on the Contadina, Toliver. I didn't know it existed. I will have to give that stuff a try. I agree on the old grape jelly routine. That is what I did before I "discovered" the Arby's sauce. I still run into the old recipe at parties and it is oddly delicious. I also confess that for PB&J there is nothing like Welch's grape jelly. Must be a kid thing.

Amazing . . . That is exactly my tactic. I find that coleslaw and potato salad often need the help. Why is that? And . . . OMG . . . Can't anybody make anything other than sweet coleslaw? Uh . . . I consider pickled jalapeno a vegetable. And, if there is some carrot from an escabeche, so much the better.

We love digging up old threads. Thank you so much for this information. That is terrific background. I am just about sure that the hot links of my childhood are about as you describe Lockhart Rings. You do have to take into account that what I remember is 50 years ago! I did try the links at Luling City Market last May when I got disappointed with the brisket. I think they have dumbed them down and the texture wasn't coarse enough. Of course, that was from the batch on that particular day. Another day may be another story.

And another one here. There are some pictures in this topic. They are from the method used by Patricia Wells and it comes out about like what you describe. Yes, they are very salty. You rinse before using.

Hmmm . . . I never really thought about that. Maybe except for rosemary, fresh herbs have always disappointed in braises. And I braise a lot, pretty much year around. (If I didn't, I would only be able to enjoy my favorite dishes for, oh . . . maybe 2 months out of the year. )

There are two concentric rings of flame. How it actually functions, like when the outer ring kicks in, I am not sure. I do know that on simmer, only the inner ring is lit. The way I know that is I saw a close-up of the simmer thing in action in some ad.

Oh, I dunno. I got some rubbed sage from Penzey's that is pretty potent. And my son can't keep rosemary going during the Chicago winter.

I am with chappie on the raspberry/chipotle. I am also thinking that the green taste of jalepeno might work well with raspberry. My taster is just thinking aloud, though. I would do a few tablespoons to taste test before commiting a whole batch of jelly. Again, you can get a raspberry jelly from the store to experiment with. It won't be the same as what you have in your freezer but the flavor notes will be close enough. I had a wonderful dessert in Mexico one time that was basically a mango frozen mousse with finely diced habanero in it. That combo was dynamite. I have often thought of trying to make a mango jam like that when the mangos come in ripe and cheap here.