jmcgrath

A butt is the top half of a shoulder while a picnic shoulder or picnic is the bottom half. You will rarely find whole pork shoulders in New England. Picnics seem to be more common but either will work just fine. "Country Style" pork ribs are usually just sliced butt and this is an easily otbained alternative. Edited to add reference to country style ribs. Jim

I'm not a big fan of honey myself, but a few years ago a friend who is a bee keeper hobbbyst put a couple of hives in my backyard along the riverbank where there is a profusion of Purple Loosestrife. Now that was honey that will really rock your boat. Jim

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this. Jim

I suppose this was directed at me, so I will respond. I advocate it, if only for one reason: the potential rewards far outweigh the risks. What is the point of living one's life in fear? If I die before I reach 30, then so be it, at least I enjoyed some good rare burgers in my day. ← I don't think my comments were diriected at you. Certainly I would advise folks to be aware of their immunity constraints. Each person needs to decide for themselves the risk/reward paradigm. You may be pushing 30, while I'm piushing 62. Jim

Well, household bleach is a 4% of sodium hypochlorite solution to begin with. The other 96% is water. If water degraded bleach, it wouldn't be used as part of the solution. I'm a bit uncomfortable with those writing "I've been taking such and such health risks for years and nothing has happened to me". I'll be the first to admit that I order my burgers medium rare, but I'll be the last to suggest that others do so. Each person should decide for themselves what risks they want to take, whether it's crossing the street against a red light or eating a rare or medium rare burger. Promoting health risks is not on my agenda. Jim

I'm quite fond of grilled Kingfish. Being a member of the Mackeral family, it is strong tasting and oily. I guess it's a matter of preference. I also love Bluefish and many people don't. Jim

I'll take up SuperLuckyCat's offer on the New England Forum. I'll be visiting my son and grandkids at the end of this month for a long weekend and I'm looking for things to do and eat in the Houston area. Barbecue and Gulf shrimp are the first things that come to mind. My son and I are chile heads, but his wife is not. A visit to Dave Klose's BBQ pit factory is on the schedule. Maine shrimp season has just started and while I can't get enough of them, they are very different from the Gulf shrimp that I'm looking forward to. I'll probably skip fine dining this trip as I'd like to go places where the grandkids are welcome, but please no "family" restaurants. Any dive with good food will be fine. The Zip of where I'll be staying is 70027 to give an idea of where I'll be staying. Edited to add Zip. Thanks, Jim

Would this work with wild duck? My son just got back from a hunt with his daily limit of six ducks. There were different limits for different species, so he has a mix of species. I spoke to him on the phone and he already had the breasts parted out, but was unsure what to do with the legs. I emailed him the link to this thread, so he may chime in. Jim

My fishmonger, Twin Seafood in West Concord, MA said they would have them after the first of the year. Jim

I've been tasked with making Yorkshire pudding for Christmas Eve dinner at a friends house. They are making prime rib but I'm not sure I will have access to the drippings. Joy of Cooking lists butter as a substitute, but I think that may be lacking in flavor. I was thinking of rendering some beef suet and using that. Any opinions on either, or other suggestions? I have plenty of goose fat. Might that work? Also, muffin tins or baking dish? There will be seven adults. Can I make it in advance or will it collapse? Edited to add goose fat. Jim

Taquerio Mexicano has been a favorite of mine for what seems like a lifetime, but probably for only about 15 years. They started in a little hole in the wall place on, I think, Prospect Street, and then operated out of the kitchen of a biker bar on Waltham Street while their current place on Charles Street was being built out. Except for printing their menu in English, they seem to make no compromises for New Englanders. Even the Pepsi and Coke is the Mexican version made with cane sugar. This is not a fancy food place, but if you are not turned off by Formica, it is a place for good Mexican soul food. Jim

Costco was handing out free cookbooks, Easy Cooking The Costco Way, yesterday. 195 pages in paperback. It features recipies using ingredients from Costco suppliers. Jim

I assumed that warning people about Habaneros was akin to warning them about standing on the oven door. I suggested three Habs per liter of vodka. That seems about right for my non-suicidal chile-head friends. Habs do wander all over the heat spectrum and your milage will vary. What ratio of Habs to vodka did Herbacidal use? Jim

Habanero vodka! Quarter three or so peppers and stuff them into a liter bottle of decent vodka. After about three months, store the bottle in your freezer. They make great shots. Jim

Many years ago I was stationed on a missile submarine. There wasn't much to do, just sitting around waiting for a war to start... Patrols were two months long with no resupply. We spent a lot of time thinking of original ways to play with each others heads. One brilliant young man thought it would be interesting if people were forced to eat with their hands. So, tableware started disappearing. There are not too many places to hide things on a sub, but once something is flushed overboard via the trash compactor, it is gone forever. It took a while before anyone noticed, and after a while guards were posted in the mess room. With a 110 people on board, three meals and midnight snack daily, and guards who were annoyed with having to stand tableware guard, it was impossible to guard everything. Things got progressivly worse. After a while, other crew members picked up on the humor of the situation and began to participate in the theft. Threats were made, but no one was ever caught. Towards the end of patrol, a lot of meals were eaten with shared tableware. Jim

The mechanism for tempering chocolate is well known, as is the taste preference for the form V crystalline polymorph of cocoa butter. But, what is special about that polymorph when compared to the other five? Jim

A lot of turkeys are already brined or "flavor enhanced" by injecting broth or saline solution. Brining one of them will make things worse, not better. Check the wrapping before proceding further. I brine and finds it adds a lot of moistness, especially to the white meat which tends to dry out before the dark meat is done if no brining is performed. You need to keep the turkey below 40F during the brining process. This will be difficult in most refrigerators. A food grade plastic bag or stock pot large enough to hold the turkey can be used in a cooler packed with ice. If the plastic bag ruptures or leaks, spillage will be contained within the cooler rather than your refrigerator. I brine overnight, rinse the turkey thoroughly, and start cooking in the morning. I use one cup of kosher salt and three quarters of a cup of sweetener per gallon of water. The most straight forward sweetener is white sugar, but you could also use brown sugar, honey, molasses, or maple syrup. I don't add spices to my brine. Jim

The East Coast Grill is still around and going strong. It's in Inman Sq., Cambridge and easily accessable via the Red Line. The focus has shifted from grilled meat to grilled seafood, but both are done very well. Since you are not driving, I'll recommend their fine selection of martinis. Jim

You can make the sandwiches in advance and serve cut in half. I assume you will have several varieties of meat and perhaps tuna or seafood salad. This way, they can mix or match or just a half for the light eaters. Let people add their own lettuce and tomato toppings. Mustard and mayonnaise are inexpensive necessities, and perhaps some pickles if you are running under budget. Jim

I estimate 1/3 lb. combination of meat and cheese for a decent sandwich, heavier on the meat than the cheese. Will you need a vegetarian option? Home made pasta salad is easy to make and inexpensive. Lettuce, tomato and sprouts not only make good sandwich toppings but can also make a sandwich by themselves to satisfy the vegetarians. Jim

There have been a few comments about lack of participation in this thread. I have been reading it with great interest, but just don't feel qualified to comment. I am a male in a totally different profession. I'm a software engineer, and I think women are really treasured in that field. A lot of engineers, not me in particular, are introverted and a bit geeky. Just having a woman in the same room brightens up the day. I hope that last sentence doesn't come across as the least bit sexist, because it is absolutely not intended that way. Ability is a combination of aptitude and intellect. Programming in gender neutral. This is way off topic, but I wanted to comment on why I haven't commented. Jim

Electric ovens have a reputation for being more accurate. My ovens are electric and my cooktop is gas. The only reason that I can think of for a gas oven would be if you wanted an infrared broiler. Jim

QUOTE(jackal10 @ Oct 8 2004, 07:28 AM) Hedonism resort? Although I'm not sure its the food one goes for...) I'm 61 and it's one of my favorite places. Lots of fresh fruit and eggs cooked to order for breakfast. Snacks at the hot tub food shack. Jerk fish late afternoon at the food shack. I guess I don't wander far from the hot tub. Who knows what you might find to eat later in the evening.

Cheese steaks with lettuce and tomato. A perfectly balanced meal: beef, dairy, vegetables, and grain. Jim

Cross pollination as described here is a myth. Pepper plants will grow true to their seeds. The next generation of seeds are where the problem will occur. Cross pollination may be evident if you save seeds for planting next year. I would bet on mislabeling. Jim