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@Pfooti Because a pizza stone will only get as hot as the oven goes -- usually around 500 degrees. But a cast iron skillet pre-heated on the stove reaches much higher temps. When the pizza slides on there, you get brick-oven-style blistering on the bottom, and it cooks quickly.

CHICKEN STUFFED WITH REUBEN! That's brilliant.

@ferris - not very sauerkraut-y, in fact you'd hardly notice the tablespoon or so. Really it's there to balance out the richness of the other ingredients.

@Kitchenista - Greek yogurt would be perfect -- it would keep the sauce a little thicker.

@MonkBoy - That's a serious ingredients list.

@bimintwst - I'm guess glad about that, too!

@ohmygod - That's a reference to American chili powder, which is usually a mix of chilis, cumin, garlic salt, and other things. Cayenne would be great, too, but I'd use it more carefully or things could get spicy!

@gwenkern - Thanks for catching that -- the onion should be maybe a medium dice. You want it to almost melt into the sauce and take on good color in the first stage of the recipe.

@laurbelle2 - Ah, Franny's! That was the restaurant that made me fall in desperate love with pasta. Unbelievably good. I used to live down the street and go there way more than I could afford to. I bet that pasta you had was wondrous.

In an outstanding series of articles, this may be your best.

I've long wondered what makes some ground meat get that dense, compact look, which I associate with meatloaf or meatballs. I always hypothesized that it was because the meat was more massaged and handled, which is why so many burger recipes caution you to handle the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it. I had no idea it had to so with salt -- but in hindsight, it's perfectly logically. Both of those preparations involve seasoning the meat beforehand.

@piccola Chipotle chilis would give this a whole different flavor and a lot more spiciness, but it might be brilliant. But careful, they can be spicy.

Poblanos are a pretty mild chile, almost as large as bell peppers, and while jalapenos would be similar in taste, it would be a big hassle to char, skin, deseed, and chop them all up.

They important thing is to use fresh chilis rather than dried, unless you're going the chipotles in adobo route, in which case you wouldn't roast them beforehand.

@mookie I used whole milk, but I supposed you could get away with a 2% or using some stock while sacrificing a little mouth feel. Maybe experiment with using a little more cornstarch, and keep tasting until it is thick enough to your liking.

@mookie - Yeah, panko would be swell. Use less, since dried absorbs more than fresh -- say 3/4 cup or so.

@Carioca Paneer is easy. I'm planning on writing a full post about it at The Paupered Chef, but for now:

1/2 gallon whole milk + 2 cups nonfat plain yogurt
Bring milk to just under a boil and whisk in yogurt. Continue heating and stirring until the curds separate from the whey completely (be patient). Strain through cheesecloth-lined colander into a large bowl, reserve the whey for cooking rice or other use. Hang curds in cheesecloth from kitchen faucet to drain about 10 minutes, then press between two plates with weight for another 10. Slice and saute as needed.

@capricornpig: The ingredients list calls for French green lentils, and that's what I used.

@Snackwell Broccoli rabe should work well, I love the gentle bitterness it brings.

@auntcy1 Sorry for the confusion -- the lentils should go in with the water.

Hey all -- I'm glad to have brought so many closeted fried-egg-sandwich-for-dinner types together! It really is a great dinner once in awhile.

@betteirene: I did have a glass of OJ, that's part of the memory.

@NotAmerican: I pray you don't have a heart attack.

BigGirlPhoebz: Great question. emgroff has the right idea: plenty of lubrication on the grill or the salmon itself. Also, start skin-side down, and don't turn it too early. Sometimes it's easy to turn it after the skin crisps up and releases from the grill, and other times the skin will stay on the grill when you flip it--but either way you'll have a whole piece of salmon that hasn't disintegrated.

@simplysw1130 It depends on the size of the pot, I think. It shouldn't be necessary with a snug pot, but it won't hurt to add water, since you can always cook it off later when you reduce the sauce.