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thanks for the comments everyone! and just in the nick of time...I just finished browning the pork like 15 minutes ago.

@jerzee....hm...think you're right about the sugar. got the bay leaf in there already.

also, carroway is a great idea. thanks!

Asian-inspired slaw dressed in a ginger, sriracha, lime, scallion, nam pla, sugar and sesame oil dressing. Served with udon noodles, topped with more scallions and cashews.

When you say sugar free, are you referring to sucrose or fructose?...because all fruit has a high sugar (fructose) content.

But you could make apple butter, maybe, since no sugar is added in that procedure.

While restaurants don't always go the ganache route, it's certainly the easiest; when I worked pastry at the four star restaurant Suzanna Foo, that's what we did.

FYI ganache is a simple mixture of milk and chocolate, and you can make it quite easily in your microwave -- just be sure to heat the chocolate (with milk added) in small time increments. Chocolate burns easily! Also, bear in mind that chocolate melts at very low temperatures, so you don't need to heat the milk terribly much.

Generally, my ganache is 50/50 chocolate/milk, but ganache ain't rocket science -- have fun experimenting with it!

Udder was eaten in ancient Rome. I've heard it described as faintly milky tasting, big surprise!

Kettner's Book of the Table, published in 1877, lists this recipe for a croquette wrapped in veal udder and oddly dubbed the Kromeski:

Croquettes are made of chicken, game, sweetbreads, fat livers, oysters, shrimps--and generally the lighter kinds of meat. The meat (most commonly chicken) is finely minced; it is mixed with a seasoning of minced truffles, mushrooms, shallots or chives, as also of nutmeg, pepper and salt; it is bound together with a stiff Allemande sauce; it is turned into shapes of cork or ball; it is dipped into egg and rolled in breadcrumbs; it is fried crisp of a golden hue; it is sprinkled with salt, and served on a napkin with a garnish of fried parsley. It is also served in a dish with a surrounding of tomato sauce. When the croquette if finished differently--that is, when, instead of being dipped in egg and rolled in breadcrumb, it is wrapped in a thin puff paste,-it is called a Rissole; and when it is wrapped in a thin sheet of veal udder or of bacon fat, it is called a Kromeski."

Here's another recipe, this one for roast tongue and udder, also published in the 19th century: http://www.foodreference.com/html/r-tongue-udder-1209.html

You might want to invest in an electric blanket if you're doing this on a regular basis.

I've never actually done this, so I'll defer to the more practiced Seriouseaters out there, but I've been assured that yoghurt can be made using any live culture yoghurt.

When you've eaten most of a container, add to it a quart or so of milk heated to body temperature and maintain the started yoghurt at that temperature or at least room temperature for about ten hours, and voila, you've got more yoghurt.

@resolutejc: you're absolutely right that for truly in-depth critiques and comparisons of liquor, online is often better. That being said, it's common, in Brooklyn at least, to find truly knowledgeable employees. If my salesperson can describe a grouping of wines by taste, region, and personal preference succinctly and intelligently, then I'm comfortable trusting their choice.

i don't personally care to delve more deeply into the world of wins and sprits at this point – and I'm not entirely sure that it's tarahot's intention either – but all things considered, point taken.

@larikatz: good point! I was just on a course of antibiotics and things have been tasting strange for days.

I know this is a very, very long shot, but how humid is it where you live? I'm just thinking it's possible that your baking soda or salt, depending on humidity and the length of time you've had them, could be picking up moisture, and hence, odor, just like baking powder does in the refrigerator.

Probably the best option is to go to the best liquor or wine store you can find and just ask one of the employees to go over the sakes with you. I just did that at the liquor store in my neighborhood; the advice was clear, succinct, and more helpful than an online forum.

Wish I could remember what he the store clerk said now; I have no short term memory! whoops!

Also, if you don't like it, you don't like it. I'm not sure that sake is necessarily an acquired taste. I don't know too many die-hard sake fans -- why bother cultivating taste in sake if you can't share your passion with others?...I know this point is debatable, but drinking is a social activity, after all.

Why not stick with something you can appreciate with others, like good wine, or scotch, or small-batch whiskey?

Oops! Potatoes, not tomatoes.

Hot Italian sausage roasted in the oven with peppers, onions and tomatoes. Cheap -- under five dollars when sausage is on sale – filling, and warming on a cold winter's day. Think I'll make some tonight!