Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

bacon brussel sprouts!

yep, you guessed it, my name is kathy and I live in.......

Can't go wrong with a nice thick pot roast with loads of whole garlic cloves in the cooking liquid...that's about 2-3 hours of great smelling warmth.

Lately we've been hooked on this..it's a simple coconut custard baked in the hollow of an acorn or kabocha squash, but I think any hard winter squash with a large cavity would work beautifully. I made it for the first time for Thanksgiving dinner last year and have made it at least once a month since. The custard that bakes in the hollow is very, very good. Recipe and photo are here http://www.foodbuzz.com/recipes/1085803-thai-coconut-custard

The Japanese have a special sprinkling mixture called "Furikake" that's made from sesame seeds, ground nori and other seasonings that is often used like Westeners sprinkle salt on food for seasoning at the table. I've been able to purchase it at Whole Foods and even my local megamart in the Asian food section.

Don't worry, your roast will be fine. If you roast it till the internal temp is 150 degrees (probably 2-3 hours for the size you have there) you'll have meat that slices like a juicy roast pork. If you want meat that you can shred that falls off the bone you the next day or two finish it in a crock pot or covered in a slow oven or in a large covered dutch oven and cook it till it does that "falling off the bone" thing.......I always buy pork shoulders and fresh hams larger than I need for the first meal so I can cook the leftover part longer the next day for meat I can shred for BBQ pork sandwiches or Mexican recipes.

Some years ago I cooked in an English pub. They always had a shrimp spread on the bar that was very popular that I think I made a few hundred times while I was there. It's a pretty spread and actually very tasty.

Potted Shrimp
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 lb. fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
a pinch of ground mace
1/4 cup sherry
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Melt the butter in a large skillet until hot. Add the shrimp, salt, and black pepper and stir fry, until the shrimp are pink and cooked through. Do not brown.

Remove the shrimp to a plate lined with paper towels to drain & cool. When cool, place in a bowl of a food processor. Return the skillet to the stove and add the sherry, lemon juice, and cayenne. Cook over high heat until the liquid in the skillet is reduced to approximately 3 tbsp. and is quite syrupy. Immediately add this to the shrimp in the food processor and process until the shrimp are thoroughly puréed. With the motor running, add the remaining butter, a few pieces at a time, and process until thoroughly blended. Turn the food processor off and carefully taste the shrimp paste for seasoning, adding more salt, black pepper, sherry, lemon juice, or cayenne as needed. Transfer the shrimp paste to a ceramic crock and allow to cool completely.

Serve with crackers. Very good as a filling for stuffed celery or a filling for fancy tea sandwiches spread on white bread with the crusts removed & quartered.

It was actually a built in counter top grill of some sort. The surface appeared to be the same as the surface of the stove burners. When he was grilling the salmon the glow from the heat source under the dark surface was visible. What caught my eye was when he poured a little oil on the surface to prevent the salmon fron sticking I didn't see any edges that would prevent the oil from running over the edge on to the floor. Not sure if that was a ceramic or glass cooking surface, I haven't seen this anywhwere else yet-might be something new. It was very attractive. I'll have to try to catch a repeat of the episode or hope it's used in future episodes to get a closer look...thanks for the research!

I do this often and am convinced it greatly improves the overall quality of the standard grades of meat available in supermarkets. I do it for steaks and rib roasts. The meat doesn't actually 'rot' and in fact if you begin with a freshly cut piece of meat, dry it well and keep it uncovered on a rack in the coldest part of your refrigerator there will be less of a chance for bacterial growth on the surface than a piece of meat stored for the same period of time covered or in it's original wrapping. In this brief time of aging it's mostly a bit of dehydration and condensing of flavor that occurs. It's not long enough for the enzyme activity that you get with prime cuts aged in a commercial steakhouse environment. I haven't gone past 8 days for a large rib roast or 2 days for thick steaks. I've found that's sufficient to see an improvement in the taste which is what my goal is with this method. I've done this for years and absolutely swear by it. I have complete details including cooking method posted here http://www.foodbuzz.com/recipes/1071037-home-dry-aged-rib-roast

apples....crisp, juicy, fragrant apples like Winesaps.

Pictures for sure....line drawings and artists renditions of recipes don't inspire me. I've purchased cook books just for the photos even though I know I'd never make any of the recipes in it. On the other hand I have passed on some fine, very useful cookbooks because of the cheesy drawings and sadly those recipes will never have the chance to be tried in my kitchen.

LOL @jfitz!!