What's the best thing you've made lately?

[Jenise]

So am I the only person alive who just doesn't like the taste of pumpkin??

Yes. Next question, nature boy?

This past weekend, PUMPKIN SOUP from scratch! It was the first time I had made this soup and it was very good.

Nice! I ended up with a really weird pumpkin from my CSA box. It was a big ugly weird green thing called a "Marina di Choggia". The woman who provides our CSA stuff sent a link to a gnocchi recipe based on these. So far, I've only gotten as far as roasting the pumpkin, scraping out the flesh, and pureeing it. Haven't had time to make the gnocchi yet but I'll post when I do.

Welcome, Barb!

Edit: Link to the gnocchi recipe is here.

So am I the only person alive who just doesn't like the taste of pumpkin??

No, I have a friend who hates pumpkin, squash and an encyclopedia of other things. I sometimes wonder how he can eat.

I live with a "difficult" eater -- no onions, asparagus, green beans, uncooked tomatoes, artichokes, beets, hearts of palm, etc. -- but he adores pumpkin. (He gets called that, too.)

Tonight, it was risotto with onion, carrots, celery, Italian sausage, and Swiss chard. The first three veggies were cooked in the sausage drippings prior to adding the rice while the chard was sauteed with garlic and added at the end of the proceedings. Threw in the celery leaves but I don't think that made any difference. Great one-pot meal for a chilly autumn weeknight.

Duck fat sweet potato fries.

I previously mentioned a turkey soup I made a week ago. It was so good, we now call it my "magic soup." My friend called me about it and raved about it for two days. I made another batch that was very good, but it didn't reach the magic status. And I don't know what I did differently.

I made a double batch of Paul Prudhomme's Chicken and Tasso Jambalaya tonight. Except I didn't have tasso, so I substituted Italian hot cappicola. It came out delicious. No, it's not quite the same as if I'd used tasso--it came out hammier and less smoky. But it was equally delectable.

-Paul W.

We had about 6 pounds of pork shoulder in the freezer so on Sunday I fired up my Weber bullet smoker. And once the smoker is going, time to fill up the both racks with meat!

The pork shoulder was on the lower rack, painted with a mustard slather and dusted heavily with a spice rub. On the upper rack, we decided to try a beer can chicken. After brining the chicken for an hour, applied Penzey's Rib and Poultry rub on the skin, under the skin, and inside the cavity. Fitted the bird over the stand with a partial can of beer ending up inside the cavity. Also dusted a bunch of chicken wings with the same rub. After two hours, the wings were done and wow!!! Moist, tender, falling off the bone, with just enough kick from the rub to make things interesting. A little over an hour later, the chicken was done. It too was moist and tender.

Several hours later the pork shoulder got up to temp. Removed from the smoker and shredded it for sandwiches at a later date. But did manage to snarf some tastes and it was good as usual.

Marinated some previously-discussed flap meat (steak tip) in orange, lime, lemon juices, garlic, s/p, olive oil and a whole sliced onion and a whole slice poblano pepper for almost two days.
While grilling the meat, sauteed the pepper and onion to accompany it.
Served it with Mike F's "splats." Oh it was a good dinner. Definitely a "do again" soon.

[Jenise]

YUM! We do something a bit similar, or at least using a similar cut and similar ingredients where I make a blender good of fresh garlic, fresh jalapenos and EVOO and smooosh it down into the cracks of the meat (I stretch the meat to make sure as much gets in there as possible). That marinates overnight and gets a dusting of salt and lime juice when it comes off the grill. Basically a carne asada with major attitude.

YUM! We do something a bit similar, or at least using a similar cut and similar ingredients where I make a blender good of fresh garlic, fresh jalapenos and EVOO and smooosh it down into the cracks of the meat (I stretch the meat to make sure as much gets in there as possible). That marinates overnight and gets a dusting of salt and lime juice when it comes off the grill. Basically a carne asada with major attitude.

Ooh, that sounds even better. With mine, I didn't know if I wanted it to be Cuban or Mexican. Seeing the stuff about your pending trip to Florida got me in the mood for those Cuban citrus flavors. When are you going?

[Jenise]

I can't take credit for the recipe. It was something that appeared in the L.A. Times years ago called, I think, Garlipeno. It was a table condiment at, I think, a Latin American roach coach of some kind. What I described to you is what has evolved as my favorite use for it.

We're going to Florida in December. Any plans to be there?

We're going to Florida in December. Any plans to be there?

I probably should, but no. We've been traveling so much, it feels good to be staying put for a while. Tell my family hello for me!

As the farmer's market season winds down here in Mass, I've been trying a few new dishes to keep myself excited.

Made some savory cashew and mustard seed muffins the other week. We initially ate them at dinner with baked fish but enjoyed the rest during the week for snacks with almond butter. Or just 'plain' butter. Or just plain.

I continue to be a big fan of shirred eggs, which is not necessarily revolutionary but is a new addition to our meals. This weekend I made a version with tomato sauce on the bottom and topped with aged sheep's milk cheese from Spain. Delightful.

And with the farmer's markets waning I have been looking for other markets and found an intriguing source of Asian herbs. This week I tried pac peo which was a great addition to noodle soups.

Trying to stay hungry!

We had about 6 pounds of pork shoulder in the freezer so on Sunday I fired up my Weber bullet smoker. And once the smoker is going, time to fill up the both racks with meat!

The pork shoulder was on the lower rack, painted with a mustard slather and dusted heavily with a spice rub. On the upper rack, we decided to try a beer can chicken. After brining the chicken for an hour, applied Penzey's Rib and Poultry rub on the skin, under the skin, and inside the cavity. Fitted the bird over the stand with a partial can of beer ending up inside the cavity. Also dusted a bunch of chicken wings with the same rub. After two hours, the wings were done and wow!!! Moist, tender, falling off the bone, with just enough kick from the rub to make things interesting. A little over an hour later, the chicken was done. It too was moist and tender.

Several hours later the pork shoulder got up to temp. Removed from the smoker and shredded it for sandwiches at a later date. But did manage to snarf some tastes and it was good as usual.

How many hours total cooking for the butt Mike. I usually give them 18-20 hours at 200-215F. I raise the interior of the meat to 195 degrees, and at 200F in the cooking chamber that takes a while. I did a roast chicken on my grill last Sunday too. I oiled the skin with olive oil, then sprinkled heavily with a commercial mix from Tones (a division of McCormick I believe) of a rosemary/garlic rub. I applied the rub on the skin and inside the cavity. I stopped and looked on the Tones web page for this particular seasoning, and can't find it at all, Funny that because I have the container in hand as I am typing.The chicken was excellent. The left over dark meat will be used in sandwiches, and the leftover white meat is sitting in a bowl of chicken salad!

How many hours total cooking for the butt Mike. I usually give them 18-20 hours at 200-215F. I raise the interior of the meat to 195 degrees, and at 200F in the cooking chamber that takes a while..........

Bob, I target 230 to 250 cook temp when I am smoking. The 6# piece, being smaller, was in the smoker for about 8 hours. I wanted to get it up to about 190 to 200 internal temp. But the last few hours showed miniscule progress, ambient temperature was dropping, and darkness had set in, so I took it off at 180 and shredded it.

[Jenise]

As the farmer's market season winds down here in Mass, I've been trying a few new dishes to keep myself excited.

Made some savory cashew and mustard seed muffins the other week....

And with the farmer's markets waning I have been looking for other markets and found an intriguing source of Asian herbs. This week I tried pac peo which was a great addition to noodle soups.

Trying to stay hungry!

Cashew and mustard seed? Now that sounds interesting. What kind of dough, corn meal possibly?

And what's pac peo? I have not heard of it and I'm sure many others haven't either.

Cashew and mustard seed? Now that sounds interesting. What kind of dough, corn meal possibly?

I just used regular all-purpose flour but will be trying other options soon. I always use corn meal in the pizza crust and it sounds like a good addition to muffins. My local cheese shop also just called and their 'special' Italian chestnut flour arrived so I'll be thinking of something to do with that as well.

And what's pac peo? I have not heard of it and I'm sure many others haven't either.

It's Vietnamese but I hadn't heard of it either. We've probably had it in Vietnamese restaurants because it tasted familiar, but I just figured I would try it, as I could only go so wrong with an herb! When I got home and googled some sites said it was an earthy version of basil or mint. But I actually found it closer to cilantro than either of those. But without the soapy broad elements of cilantro and with more depth/pungency/fragrance. It was fun, I'll buy more.

While renting a house in Sarlat, France... Foie gras stuffed quail sauteed in magret fat.
Here they are with potatoes sauteed in the duck fat. I wike the way the widdle birdies wook back at you.

Bernard -- add puff pastry to that and you are very close to Cailles en Sarcophage, the killer dish from Babette's feast.

The heads are left on so you can enjoy the bird brains...

The heads are left on so you can enjoy the bird brains...

I didn't know that. I thought it was a similar reason to why rabbits are sold with the fur still on one foot.

I live with a "difficult" eater -- no onions, asparagus, green beans, uncooked tomatoes, artichokes, beets, hearts of palm, etc. -- but he adores pumpkin. (He gets called that, too.)

LOL..love the "pumpkin" comment, but 'fess up..is it "pumpkin" or "punkin" ?


JB

. I wike the way the widdle birdies wook back at you.