Margo

Collards, collards, collards. With smoked turkey wings: when I lived in Vermont, the smoked pork hocks at the grocery store were expensive and virtually meatless. Now that I'm in the land of smoked pork products... Yum. I've found some amazing smoked pork shanks. I love beans. I've used smoked pig tails and neck bones in the absence of good hocks. Both were just fine. And cornbread. Yellow and a little on the sweet side. I'm a Yankee, I can't help it.

So the smarty-pants old lady didn't offer any advice? I'd be wary of fishing fruit out of boxes if they'd been pre-packed for sale, in pints say, for fear of having my hand slapped. In that case, I've looked for fruits without blemishes, splits, fuzz, or oozing, as far as I could see, and crossed my fingers.

I have, and it worked for me. And beyond that, I'm afraid I'm not much help. I made the recipe several weekends in a row after it was published, and then we moved off waffles to omelets for Sunday breakfast.... But to solve the "flabbiness" problem, maybe keep them in a warm oven, unwrapped and unstacked, as I believe the recipe suggests? They were almost too crisp for my taste that way.

Yes, please. This sounds so great. I love Rick Bayless.

How about this: Earth Room It even gives the specs for the dirt! Now I'm tempted to bring a packet of basil seeds when I visit... Edit: Oh, and grow lights. You can't grow stuff in a dark room.

Hmm, I think I have a pork shank in the freezer. Could someone give an anatomy lesson: is that the same as the trotter? And where does the hock fit into things?

A bag of Garden of Eatin' natural tortilla chips. Party-size. Party of one! At least I resisted dipping them in sour cream.

How many is "some"? The crumbled bacon is brilliant. Me, a whole box of Cheezits. Because salt and bloat go together.

I made Chris's recipe from the Saveur article, too, and since I don't have a digital camera you'll just have to believe they looked as good as Mitch's. They were amazing! While wolfing down the ribs, my husband and I had a nostalgic discussion about Polynesian restaurants in our pasts. I remain disappointed that my parents never stopped at the Kowloon on Rte. 1 north of Boston on our way to New Hampshire. Once, briefly, I worked as a waitress in a Chinese restaurant in Annapolis, MD where pupu presentation was a significant part of our training. But I have question. Is there a recipe for the clear, pinkish, sweet and sour dipping sauce that my husband remembers going with the spareribs?

And then what? And then what? Don't hesitate to throw in some alpine scenery with the food porn! I've only been to Munich a couple of times, as a vegetarian. (I've come to my senses. That roast pork--did it have the skin on?--looked amazing.)

What a beautiful day and teaser pix. So when does the show air?

CaliPoutine, PM me your mailing address and I'll send you a xerox of the page with all three recipes.

Oh my, yes, the granola recipes. These switched me from a long-time breakfast habit of cream of wheat, to granola and yogurt. I've tweaked the honey/almond recipe by adding a cup of shredded unsweetened coconut, wheat germ rather than oat bran, and subbing some sunflower seeds for some of the almonds. I freeze half the batch because otherwise it goes stale before I can finish it.

I've subscribed since the beginning--my husband has been a fan of Taunton magazines (Fine Woodworking) forever, and picked up Fine Cooking #1 at a newsstand, thinking it would be a quality mag. I love it--there were some dark years, where they seemed to lose focus, but it's the most consistent source of good recipes and inspiration for me. Recently, I've been cooking tilapia alot. The peanut-crusted tilapia with frizzled ginger and scallions (I use sesame seeds, not peanuts), and herb-lemon coated tilapia from #78 are winners. Also love the cod with mushrooms, garlic, and vermouth (#90, quick & delicious section). The chicken paprikash from #43 is my favorite version of that dish. And I like their menu ideas--the Northeast Spain menu with roasted chicken thighs, sauteed spinach, mushrooms with parsley and garlic, salad with romesco sauce was a great success for a dinner party a few years ago. I try to make a few recipes out of each issue, and rarely have found one that failed. Looking forward to hearing others' favorites.

Lawrence, right. Where's the wistful sigh emoticon? I'll point them to these recs, and any others forthcoming. I'll try to get a report back. Thanks so much!

My sister-in-law and her partner are headed to Chicago next weekend to celebrate her birthday. She's especially interested to try Korean food--and while I've lived in Chicago and remember there was a street with a plethora of Korean restaurants, it was so long ago as to be useless. Like I don't even remember the street name. Feel free to point me to the thread if this has been discussed. And thanks! (And this is off-topic, so you can PM me: is Andersonville still girls' town? And is there a decent hotel in the area?)

Yeah, there was an idiotic AP story picked up by our useless local paper on this. It trumpeted that in these days of belt-tightening, consumers are looking for smaller sizes so that their weekly grocery bill can shrink. The 3/4 gallon milk jug was specifically mentioned. The reporter reported that the smaller-sized milk jug was one example of a response by a manufacturer to satisfy consumer demand. Um, no. I'll wager that the 3/4 gallon milk will cost the same as the gallon size. There is already a smaller size for the thrifty consumer to choose: the half gallon. I'm basing my cynical projection on the fact that my orange juice of choice, Tropicana, has just downsized their jug from 94 to 86 ounces. And the price remained the same.

I think these are your sausages. We can only order them from Zingermans. I envy your easy access to them! Loving your blog. Thanks so much for doing so much!

Pre-salting the cabbage for slaw: must be another CI recipe? That's my favorite cole slaw recipe. Great blog, let me add my voice to the awed chorus. And grad school: so hellish in so many ways, so heavenly in others. I never made so much bread as when I was writing my diss. The kneading really helped the word flow...

Bravo, Rob. Acknowledging and trying to sort through your complex emotions goes some way towards honoring your bison, I would think. I do hope you have a chance to meet him. For me, that would be more difficult. But it seems that for you it is almost essential. Following this thread with rapt attention.

Fine Cooking ran this a while back: smashed red potatoes, with Boursin (plus a little cream) and scallions. Yum. If you have any leftovers, they make great potato patties (or pucks, if you're eating at my house), fried in butter in a non-stick pan.

So glad that I have the Odd Couple theme in my head now, all day long. And I love that you *have* to get to the Frida Kahlo show. As an art historian, that warms my heart! So is it business or pleasure that draws you there? Blog on, Brooklyn!

Ammonia, and lots of it, like Maggie says. Simple Green is good, too--you can find it at the hardware store more likely than the grocery store.

I'm sorry, why does Maine not have an enormous reputation as a culinary destination? Is Portland not the San Francisco (or whatever) of the East Coast? Johnnyd, you are hard core. And recovered so quickly to post pictures! When's the next deathmatch?

My friend "discovered" Ross Avenue last night, but had disappointing Mexican. (Don't know the name of the place.) Any recommendations in that direction? I, on the other hand, went to the Blue Fin (on Greenville, I believe) by taxi with a couple of people. While the food wasn't bad--actually, quite good--the atmosphere was chaotic for trying to converse. And I'd rather not spring for a $40 round-trip cab ride again. Welcome to the world of junior humanities faculty. Our taste and self-image far exceeds our salary.