jmcgrath

The A1 Diner is more than just a diner. It does have diner food, but also has some quite eclectic dishes. I've never eaten the standard diner fare there, but have always been impressed. Jim

I don't think I ever ran across a coffee shop as I was growing up in the '60s. Coffee houses were a different thing. A place to hang out with the alternate culture, drink coffee, and listen to folk songs. Diners were a place to eat; everything from omlettes to grapenut pudding. It wasn't until I moved to the Boston area in the mid-'80s that I ran across coffee shops, the Coffee Connection since replaced by Starbucks for example. I can't remember anything serving both coffee and burgers that was not a diner. Woolworths was a 5 & 10 that also served food. The local drugstore had a soda fountain but no grill. Horn & Hardarts was a quasi-restaurant. I guess I've never run across a coffee shop. Jim

Helen Willinsky in her cookbook "Jerk: Barbecue from Jamaica" says She provides recipies for jerk pastes, dry rubs and marinades. It's a good but very specialized book. Editded for cleaner quoting. Jim

Scotch Bonnets and Habaneros are essentially the same thing. Scotch Bonnets in the Caribbean and Habaneros in Central and South America. Both are C. chinense. Jim

No Scotch Bonnets? I can't imagine jerk without them. Jim

The Landis article I referenced above also complained about sweetness and recommended using only one third of the sugar called for. Jim

The link may be bad. It references egullet.com rather than egullet.org. Jim

The issue with cold smoking is food safety. Food targeted for cold smoking is normally cured first to prevent bacterial growth during the smoking process. If the meat starts out cold, e.g. 34F, smoking for 90 minutes should be safe. You need to experiment with a temperature probe to determine how long the meat spends above 40F, in the danger zone. I assume you will want to chill it again quickly for roasting in the future. You should be able to find guidelines on how long it is safe to hold meat above 40F. Include rechilling time. Jim

I would be concerned about driving surface bacteria into the interior of the meat which may not reach a high enough temperature to kill the bacteria. I don't see a problem with brisket, where the interior is going to reach close to 200F. A rare steak, on the other hand... Jim

You only have sex with yourself?

How about Andy Husband's tats? That's my Klose pit he's playing with. Jim

Crab Louis For some reason, Dungeness crab is showing up at Costco. A base of chopped Boston lettuce, slices of hard cooked eggs, and tomato chunks. Sprinkled with crab. Thousand Island dressing adapted from James Beard on the side. A cup of mayo, a half cup of heavy cream, a quarter cup of chili sauce, a quarter cup of finely minced green pepper, a quarter cup of finely minced green onion, juice from half a lemon. A wonderful, light, Summer dinner. Jim

I never thought about it before, but I eat from right to left, typewriter fashion, but moving up on the cob rather than down. Am I the only one who does this? Jim

Where ever you buy mineral oil, make sure it is labeled USP i.e. food grade if you are using it on a cutting board or anything else that comes into contact food. I suspect oil from a hardware store may not have that labeling. Jim

I see from further downstream that you have already started. I don't think cutting the brisket in half will shorten things much. The way a brisket is shaped, you don't really increase surface area much when you cut it in half. Jim

I can remember a bottle of olive oil in my parent's medicine cabinet back in the '40s and '50s. Nobody in suburbia used it for cooking back then. It was either Crisco or Wesson Oil. We've come a long way, folks! Jim

I've had a Spyderco Police Model for about 15 years now. The current version of it does not appear to be available with a hard rubber handle, which I much prefer. I originally purchased it for sailing, but carry it everywhere now. It clips to the inside of my jeans pocket and is available with a flick of the wrist. Jim

In Massachuestts, over the past few weeks, we have had three separate instances of waitstaff being infected with Hepatitis A. The nightly news has been covering long lines of patrons waiting for injections. I understand how you feel. Jim

They are a seasonal thing, not really softshell, but what I would call pliable shell. They are to be avoided. The meat is mushy, and the shell contains a lot of water. Jim

Brining poultry works for me. Perhaps your brine is too strong, you are brining too long, or you are brining poultry that has already been "flavor enhanced". I'm fairly sensitive to oversalted foods, but don't have a problem with a properly brined bird. Adding a good portion of sugar to your brine is important. Just because your chef screwed up doesn't make brining a bad thing. Jim

I cooked a half-assed Costco-A-Go-Go dinner today. Costco just isn't conducive for a dinner for two. The lamb and butter for the hollandaise sauce came from Costco. Everything else was purchased elsewhere. I started with asparagus pea tendrils and a rack of lamb I made a crust for the lamb with a half cup of Panko, three Tbsp of EVOO, three large cloves of garlic run through the garlic press, and the leaves of a large rosemary sprig, finely chopped. The lamb with crust looked like this I got the fire started, lump charcoal with a splint of cherry. and tossed on the lamb I made some Hollandaise sauce from a stick of frozen butter, a Tbsp of fresh lemon juice, a pinch of cayenne and two egg yolks. Only wimps use a double boiler The sauce is coming along nicely And now it's done I started the asparagus in a little water I steamed the pea tendrils for a few minutes and they ended up looking like this I tossed them with a bit of EVOO and raspberry vinegar. The lamb finished and I plated things up. We had a loaf of french bread with this butter Looking out into my backyard towards the Sudbury River I bought some raspberries and clotted cream for desert, but we were too full. I think it will make a good breakfast. It's the morning after and I'm still full. This was my breakfast Jim

Not jumping on you specifically, Jim, but if I had a truffle for every time I've heard Boyle invoked over pressure cookers or altitude variations in cooking time... Gay-Lussac's Law relates temperature and pressure at constant volume. ( P1/T1 = P2/T2 ) Bingo. That's the relationship we are trying to describe. You are correct, of course. I apologize for my sloppyness. I tried to pull something I learned in the '60s off the top of my head, and got it wrong. Jim

AKA Boyle's law. Jim

I should have mentioned that shipping and handling will about double your cost if you order online. If you can find one locally, do so. Jim

Contrary to what Fifi just said, it is the Brinkman charcoal pan that replaces the Weber water pan. You can order it here. Scroll down about two thirds of the page. Item #812-0002-0 Jim