Scoring chops

I learned a valuable technique today for avoiding cupping while cooking pork chops. Thanks  J. Kenji Lopez-Alt!  I've often wondered how to keep chops flat while subjecting them to a hot pan. The fat rind around the edge of the chop shrinks faster than the muscle and you end up with a potato chip shape that thwarts even-cooking.  If you cut a few scoremarks into the fat the chops will remain flat while cooking.  So simple and effective.

An Emoti-flan

.....is what you have when a failed custard conveys a state of amiable perplexity.

Bacon and hocks

While chiseling ice from the back porch, it's nice to remember some summertime projects like this slab of homemade bacon and these hocks fresh off the Webber.

The Scavenger Drools

What I wouldn't give to live close to this fine establishment:  http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/rising-market/Content?oid=2899029

There's nothing better than a market of this caliber.  Uwajimaya in Seattle is our "local" Asian market.  It's just nine hours away by car.  Our cupboard is running low on the bamboo shoots, fermented bean curd and dried shrimp I picked up there last year.  I'm looking forward to stocking up in St. Louis at Seafood City at the end of the month.  We're after dried squid, Chinese bacon and sausage, mi jiu, banana leaves and preserved duck eggs.