I was in Barnes and Noble the other day, and came upon this fantastic little thing. It covers all the bits and bobs that we've come to know and love, from headcheese and offal to the more unusual or labor-intensive muscle cuts. I've already started cooking from it, and I love it. There's some delightfully weird stuff in it, including a recipe for chocolate ice cream made with pig's blood which I can't wait to try. If you're a fan of Chichi's recipes, I'd highly recommend checking this book out.

So while I was at the farmer's market today I picked up a pork jowl, pretty much on a whim. I've never prepared one before, so I'm not entirely sure what to do with it. I'd be quite grateful for any suggestions and advice anyone can offer; I'm not a picky eater (though I am allergic to nuts and extremely intolerant of dairy and grains).

Thanks to all in advance!

So I've recently developed an extremely severe dairy intolerance. Of course, this has to happen right after butter goes on sale and I stock up. My loss will be my friends' and co-workers' gain, however, as I'd like to use it up quickly (its presence is mocking me and I'm already sad enough about this - seriously, I can't even express in words how sad this makes me). Anyone have a good butter-bomb recipe? Bonus points if it uses unsweetened chocolate, as I also have a bunch of that I'm looking to use up.

Thanks in advance!

Happy Beltane, SE. 2011 is now four months old - how's everyone been doing with their food/culinary New Year's resolutions? I've been doing pretty well - my big one was to regularly try new produce, since I tend to eat the same vegetables over and over again. Since January, I've tried chard, parsnips, beets, bok choy, Napa cabbage, alfalfa sprouts and radishes, and liked them all. Mmm, variety.

Hope you've all been doing well, too.

So in an effort to take something bad and make it into something good, here's a thought that occurred to me last night after reading about the Ina Garten Make-A-Wish thing.

You've stumbled across a magic lamp that houses a genie. Unfortunately, he's a bit of a second-tier genie, so he's only able to grant you one wish, and it has to be related to food/cooking. What, oh dear reader, do you wish for?

Mine's a tossup between two options: a culinary hammerspace/bag of holding, so I'd never have to worry about kitchen storage space ever again - knives, bowls, pots, pans, ingredients, utensils all at my fingertips out of thin air - or a magic sous chef that I could summon at will to do all the stuff I hate, like chopping onions.

I know there's at least a few devotees in the audience. This one's for you: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/sriracha

:D

This might be a silly question, but I'm a complete cast iron noob. I managed to find a skillet at Goodwill today for four bucks (hooray!); it's in perfectly fine condition, but it's got some crud on it (understandable considering the source). I know enough about cast iron to know that soap and water is a no-no, but does that only apply after you've seasoned it? If I hand wash it and then re-season it, will it be good to go? Or is there some sort of esoteric stardust-and-unicorn-hair treatment I should use instead of dish soap and water?

My parents just got back from a trip to Greece, and my mom picked up some saffron as a present for me. (The phone conversation in which I was informed of this was apparently amusing; my boyfriend likened my reaction to a 13-year-old girl with the new Justin Bieber album.) I've never had a chance to get my hands on saffron before (it's always been out of my price range), I'm quite excited by the prospect and already have various dishes planned (starting with the lamb tagine from Around My French Table, which I've made sans saffron and loved).

Just so this post isn't only me crowing about my good fortune (which I totally am), what's the best food-related present you've ever received?

So I'm going to be providing dinner for a weekly get-together of my friends for at least the next couple months. The only problem is, the house we're meeting at is a little over an hour away from me, plus we won't be eating right away (we're gathering at four, so there'll be at least two hours between arrival and dinner). On top of that, I can't do much (if any) of the cooking on-site (due to constraints on my attention, not equipment limitations).

How do I deal with this? Keeping food cold on the way down isn't a problem right now (I live in Massachusetts, so the ambient temperature is colder than my fridge), and I'm planning on jury-rigging what my inner 13-year-old boy insists on calling a hot box (because I totally saw it on the squid episode of Good Eats), so I'm reasonably confident about the car ride. It's the down time before dinner that makes me a bit nervous; I don't want the food sitting around too long and getting tepid, but I also can't really give it a lot of attention once I'm there.

Any suggestions are quite appreciated. :)

For Thanksgiving, my family traditionally has goose rather than turkey. It is unbelievably delicious, and my favorite part has always been the liver. My dad has a recipe for it that's very simple but so very tasty (even if my mom never has any). However, I was wondering if there were anything I could do with the rest of the offal. Any suggestions for what to do with goose heart and kidneys?

After a rather messy episode yesterday involving making marinara sauce in a food processor, I've decided that it's time to give in and acquire an immersion blender. Does anyone have a recommendation for brands/models that are good, reliable, easy to clean and reasonably priced? I don't usually make gallons of soup at one time, but I tend to make it quite a bit in the winter, so it'll be put through its paces.

On a related note, does anyone have any recommendations for a cookbook that focuses on soups? I'd like to branch out a bit from the two or three that are in my usual repertoire; I'm not vegetarian or vegan, but I am lactose intolerant, so a book that's full of milk- and cream-based soups isn't really for me.

Thanks in advance!