What did you have for dinner II?

Pork x2! So our pasture/ forest raised pig gave up some gorgeous bone in “porterhouse” chops that I sous vide to medium then seared, some of our collards with a bit of pork belly rendered then braised with apple cider and apple cider vinegar a baked sweet potato and the wife made cast iron skillet cornbread with a touch of honey in the batter. 149B3E4C-A4B7-4804-8D2A-8362B6E417BD.jpeg
This is what the inside of the chop looks like for Mrs bag (she likes me to cut up hers) since I love her a lot!
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A "baked potato" is baked, not microwaved. Baking occurs in an oven. Microwaved potatoes are cooked, cooked in a microwave. They're microwaved potatoes. They are NOT baked potatoes.

Fundamentals of baked russet potatoes: Place one rack low in the oven and put atop it a piece of aluminum foil. Place the other rack in the middle of the oven, nekkid. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash the potatoes under running water. Use a vegetable brush (or non-stick pan scrubber sponge). If you always remove the eyes, do so. Cut away any oogie bits. It you don't remove the eyes, stab your taters with a fork. If you do remove the eyes, forget stabbing the taters with a fork - you just cut plenty of steam holes. Place these minimally prepped potatoes directly onto the middle rack in the oven, spacing them so that they don't touch each other. Bake for one to two hours, undisturbed (factors include size of the potatoes and how crispy you want the skin to be). Note: Placing the potatoes directly on a rack allows even heating/cooking. There is no need to turn them during the baking process. The sheet of aluminum foil on a rack below them will catch any oozing, thus saving the bottom of your oven from burned on yucky stuff.

Brining the potatoes, making 1/4" cross shaped cuts, oiling and seasoning the potatoes before baking them - yeah, yeah, yeah. Some folks kneel to pray. Some folks don't. The basic method above provides baked potatoes that are uniformly cooked, fluffy on the insides without burned outsides.
 
Now, the above posted, cooking taters on the grill or in the firepit is a different thing altogether. Y'all wanna talk about how to, go right ahead and start the discussion.
 
It's true that we are overrun with IPAs around here. I can't bear them. I taste acetone or something in there - like fingernail polish remover. This may (or may not) be connected to my intolerance of cilantro. They're debating if it's on the same gene.

If an IPA is really hoppy and that is what gives that hint of citrus taste, then I like it to a degree. But, not over done. Just a bit. I don't get into buying all these IPA's off the shelf anyway. Figure most are junk. There's two local breweries that are really good. I prefer one over the other. I like there versions of hoppy, but I don't know enough about what constitutes an IPA to say that's what theirs are. I've never actually bought a brand off the shelf that has IPA on the label, but I have had some that do have a little extra hops to it. I have a wide palate range for beer, although I'm not a big drinker. Some of my likes are:

Magnolia Southern Pecan. Kinda nutty and slightly sweet. Really good. Especially on tap. One of the few on tap I tried and was also just as good bottled.
Smithwicks
Blue Moon (and the actual Belgian version of it)
Sam Adams Lager, Summer Ale, Winter White, Winter Ale
Longboard
Landshark (My Go To)
Miller Lite 12 oz Cans (I buy only to do Drunk Chickens, but why waste the rest)
Redd's
Lindeman's Peche Lambic
Stella
Peroni
An occasional Guiness. First impression wasn't good, which is how I got to trying Smithwicks. But, it has grown on me. I like a smooth darker ale for flavor.
My favorites for sipping are from Calfkiller Brewery and Red Silo here locally. They do supply local establishments and certain retailers, but neither bottle.
 
That's a new one on me. I'm not a sushi girl, although I loved saimin back in the day, toxic mercury and all.

Can she survive a trip to an Indian restaurant? The cilantro in the food and the Indian Pale Ale about did me in. I'm collecting Indian recipes in hopes of cooking my own from scratch without the Herb of Death.

edit to add: maybe "piney" is what I'm tasting, although I do still keep flashing on nail polish remover. I love pine trees, but I'm not interested in drinking pine sap.

I love Indian. We have 2 good ones in cookeville. I have to order the dishes as mild as they will make it, cause even then it has a kick. Khorma is the best dish I think I've had period. But, I'm a curry guy too. Persi's has mild/medium, hot, and Indian Hot. I dare not go there.
 
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I love Indian. We have 2 good ones in cookeville. I have to order the dishes as mild as they will make it, cause even then it has a kick. Khorma is the best dish I think I've had period. But, I'm a curry guy too. Persi's has mild/medium, hot, and Indian Hot. I dare not go there.
Heat I can handle (getting better at it!), as long as there’s no cilantro. It’s that very specific taste that ruins it for me. Note: coriander (the seed) is fine. But not the leaf of the plant. No big deal.
 
Now, the above posted, cooking taters on the grill or in the firepit is a different thing altogether. Y'all wanna talk about how to, go right ahead and start the discussion.

Been there done that. No complaints. I've rolled in foil and thrown in the coals. I've rolled in foil and put on the smoker with the meat and just waited.
 
Heat I can handle (getting better at it!), as long as there’s no cilantro. It’s that very specific taste that ruins it for me. Note: coriander (the seed) is fine. But not the leaf of the plant. No big deal.

I used to eat more heat than I do now. At one point, I would not eat mac and cheese without a heavy dose of black pepper. My roomie was from New Mexico, and he cooked it up that way, and made salsa up hot. That was the beginning of my eating spicey. Last few years I've kinda scaled back. mostly because of wife. Which is odd, cause they are from Lower LA, and got cajun blood. But, I love cilantro as well. If you try the Khorma without cilantro it would still be good, but not sure it would be the same.
 
I used to eat more heat than I do now. At one point, I would not eat mac and cheese without a heavy dose of black pepper. My roomie was from New Mexico, and he cooked it up that way, and made salsa up hot. That was the beginning of my eating spicey. Last few years I've kinda scaled back. mostly because of wife. Which is odd, cause they are from Lower LA, and got cajun blood. But, I love cilantro as well. If you try the Khorma without cilantro it would still be good, but not sure it would be the same.
Definitely different - would be worse for many but better for a few, lol!
 
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I love Indian. We have 2 good ones in cookeville. I have to order the dishes as mild as they will make it, cause even then it has a kick. Khorma is the best dish I think I've had period. But, I'm a curry guy too. Persi's has mild/medium, hot, and Indian Hot. I dare not go there.

Was it you that enjoyed the pics of my baking sheets? I need to post you some more. I discovered my secret to get them aged like they look. I had a brand new one and used butter cooking spray for some reason with the biscuits one morning. It started turning and is now on its journey.
 
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In 1970, the community engagement cop managing the youth center took some teens camping in the mountains, including me. He washed his taters. Big cut longways, but not all the way through. Couple of diagonal cuts. Seasoned these with salt & pepper, filled 'em with pats of butter, then double rolled them in foil. These were cooked in the coals of the campfire and on the rocks around it. Periodically, the taters were turned or moved using long-handled tongs. Best campfire taters I've ever had.
 
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I don’t trust shiny cooking sheets ! 😁

I’ve discovered this guy’s recipe blog indian (Indian guy living in Ottawa), and I’m getting ready to start trying some out. I have an order in at Spicewalla Brand for some specific spices, like Kashmiri chili powder. They only roast and grind once they get the order, and then I can pick them up a couple miles away
 
I don’t trust shiny cooking sheets ! 😁

I’ve discovered this guy’s recipe blog indian (Indian guy living in Ottawa), and I’m getting ready to start trying some out. I have an order in at Spicewalla Brand for some specific spices, like Kashmiri chili powder. They only roast and grind once they get the order, and then I can pick them up a couple miles away

Wow. What a way to get quality spices.
 
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