ROAD TRIP!

[Gourmet_Mom]

William agreed to take me on a road trip to the middle of nowhere so I could get my curing salt. We put the top down and headed North. We had a really nice morning! And I got some wonderful goodies in addition to my salt. Alas, the Asian store did NOT have the chocolate OR the syrup.

Here's a slideshow of the trip:

[luvnit]

I am off to look now!

Okay I saw the whole thing! Amazing! What a super fun trip! I would love to go there now. I hope William loved it too. I am sure you were in heaven dear.

[karyn]

What an awesome slide show!! Congratulations on the road trip. I just googled Well's. It is in the middle of nowhere, but looks like a great place to visit. Road trips can be so much fun, particularly when they include delicious food. The chili dogs looked incredible. I feel a craving coming on.

I picked up a pork belly yesterday at the Asian market, and began curing bacon for the first time today. I've got two pieces of belly in a maple cure, and one in a garlic/pepper/bay leaf cure. I can't wait to smoke them next weekend. What are you going to be curing?

No chocolate rice at my market, either. I'm thinking I'll be ordering from Amazon.

[Harborwitch]

Daphne that's a great slideshow! Wells looks like the kind of place we'd just love. I'm so ready for a roadtrip!!!!!

[Gourmet_Mom]

Karyn, I'm going to cure my pork belly, but I can't figure out what to put it in. I just double checked....nope, can't use the sheet pan. I'm also thinking I might do what you're doing and split it and make one regular and then add some smashed garlic, bay leaves, and black pepper to the other one. That way I can get it in zip lock. Or should I seal it in a FoodSaver bag (not vacuumed)? Overkill?

[Old Bay]

Great slide show--I love foodie road trips--one of the few shopping experiences I enjoy!!

[karyn]

I cut my belly into about 2 1/2 pound portions and used the foodsaver (double-sealed). It was a pretty dry mix initially, so it was easy to stop the vacuum before any liquid reached the seal. Since the pork has to cure for a week, I decided that I could avoid worrying about leaking that way.

By the way, it's already producing some liquid, so if you want to use the foodsaver, I'd do from the beginning.

[Guest]

Oh, my soul!! - that sweet onion sausage looked so good - well, everything did (except the eggs ) what a fun time!

[Gourmet_Mom]

And that sweet onion sausage is the reason dinner plans have changed.

Makin' bacon, makin' bacon, makin' bacon!!!!!

[DFen911]

Holy cow what a haul William just earned 10 brownie points!

I so what to do pork belly but my butcher is having a hard time finding what I need. I wanted an 8-10lb piece so I could also divide it up into 2 lb chunks and play with some different seasonings.

Hey Daphne do those folks *****?