Best Of

saluki2007 said:

Where does your state rank?

https://vinepair.com/articles/map-states-drink-alcohol-america-2022/

I’m representing IL. well. With crime, high taxes, and bad winters we need some outlet. Lol

@lousubcap and @GrateEggspectations To be clear, I didn't take the photo.  I saw that on Facebook and thought this group would appreciate it.

This is more in line with @SGH 's friends, or something @nolaegghead would cook up.

Hearty lentil soup with applewood smoke bacon. 

Not bad for me for hardware.  An Ooni pizza oven, Anova and a few other specialty pans and things.  I'm under $1000 there.  Solo was influenced by reviews here, but not introduced here.

Not liquor, knives, flashlights, bass boats, spendy lawnmowers or vehicles.

It's the quality of the proteins for me and I don't even order SRF or anything like that.  This forum has educated me on all types of cooking and as a result the quality and variety of ingredients that I buy has gone up.

Edit - charcoal.  Definitely spendy charcoal.

Cant beat homemade bacon and yours looks great!. I highly recommend drying for a a few days ,I  go at least a week , after the cure before smoking....or don't smoke at all and dry a bit longer for Pancetta 

johnmitchell said:

@Acn. Would you mind sharing the deets on that.I think we would like that, no rush just when you get a minute 

No problem.  It is crazy easy comfort food; we fill a 9x13 baking dish about 2/3-3/4 of the way up the sides with sliced cabbage (that could be a full smaller cabbage, or 1/2 of a large).  In a skillet, we saute 1-1.5 lbs ground meat (last night was some ground turkey and some bulk breakfast sausage that we wanted to get out of the fridge), and add a diced onion, 2-3 celery stalks, and 4-6 garlic cloves.  Once the meat is mostly done and the veg is soft we pour in a 24 oz jar of a decent store bought salsa and stir to combine and warm through.  Then pour that over the cabbage, cover the baking dish with foil and stick in a 350 oven for 45 minutes.  After that, remove the foil, add 1.5 -2 cups grated cheese (last night was just cheddar, but this is also a great way to use up little bits of cheese in your fridge, as long as it melts well, it'll work) and put back in the oven for about 10 mintues to melt the cheese.  I didn't do it last night because it was getting late, but more often than not I'll crank the broiler on to brown the top of the cheese too.