There's pannetone and then there's pannetone LOL. We went to Boston at the end of November and stayed in the North End (swoon...Little Italy). One of the outings we took was a culinary walking tour (Michelle Topor) which included stopping at a salumeria, bakery, coffee purveyor, liquor store and produce market. At one of the stops we were introduced to an imported pannetone that cost a small fortune, but mama mia! Heaven! Although I admit my pannetone is excellent, it wasn't as good as this one. I think the difference is in the raisins. I use golden raisins because that's what is readily available. "Authentic" pannetone uses sultanas, which are raisins that are the product of the Sultana grape, which grows in Turkey. The package was small and cost around $23.00. (She who is on the hunt for sultanas...I will make a pannetone to rival the one in Boston)

Ann t.......Our Peameal Bacon and Canadian Bacon are our home cure. I got interested in curing and smoking the pork loins from a post last summer from annie 1992. Quite a lengthy thread it was. I really doubt that "our Peameal Bacon" is anything close to yours in Canada. We tried tho and are pleased. The canadian bacon and peameal verison reminded me of the pork my grandparents cured way back when I was a kid about a hundred years ago. I have thought if I could find on the internet I would order, have never pursued that yet. Any suggestions? I too droll over all the posted pics of all breads baked and unbaked. Shirl

This is overwhelming. I've read through the recipes - wow - so many yummy burgers to try - esp. Mexican burger, chicken, tuna, and a good old-fashioned classic cheeseburger has never looked as good as many of the ones right here. Here are the recipes for the Pacific Rim Burger and Warm Potato Salad with Cilantro. My motto is "you can never be too rich, or have too much cilantro." By the way, this is my third time trying to post this - the internet has disconnected midway. So third time's the charm: Pacific Rim Chicken Burgers With Ginger Mayonnaise Recipe #65297 This recipe came from Kristine Snyder, Kihei, Hawaii, and was the $25,000 grand prize winner in the National Chicken Cooking Contest. by Sharon123 4 servings 25 min 15 min prep 1 1/4 lbs ground chicken 2/3 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs) 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 green onions, thinly sliced 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro 1 clove garlic, minced 1 teaspoon asian hot chili sauce 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1/2 cup bottled teriyaki sauce 4 teaspoons honey 4 hamburger buns with sesame seeds, split and toasted 4 leaves red leaf lettuce 1 cucumber, peeled,seeded,halved and thinly sliced lengthwise Ginger Mayonnaise 1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger 2 teaspoons lime juice 1 clove garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoon salt MIX chicken, panko, egg, onions, cilantro, garlic, chili sauce and salt in a large bowl. With oiled hands, form into 4 patties. Mix together teriyaki glaze and honey in a small bowl. In large nonstick fry pan over medium high heat, place 1 tablespoon oil. Add chicken and cook, turning and brushing with teriyaki glaze, about 10 minutes or until done. PLACE burgers on toasted buns and top with lettuce, cucumber and Ginger Mayonnaise (recipe follows). Garnish with additional cilantro and cucumber slices. Ginger Mayonnaise: MIX 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish, 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger, 2 teaspoons lime juice, 1 clove garlic, minced and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. My notes: omit the salt. The teriyaki sauce already has plenty. And one cup of teriyaki/honey mixture is way more than you need. I used less than half. The recipe also makes more ginger mayo than you need, but it's delicious on fish and other things. Warm Potato Salad with Cilantro: 2 lbs. waxy potatoes (like red bliss) scrubbed kosher salt 1/2 cup evoo 1/2 tsp. fine grated lemon zest 3 tBS. lemon juice fresh ground pepper 1/2 cup lightly packed chopped cilantro 2 scallions (white and green parts) thinly sliced (or 1 shallot minced) Bring potatoes to boil in large pot of salted water. Then lower to simmer. Cook, partially covered, until tender when piecered with a fork - about 25 minutes. Drain and let cook slightly. While the potatoes are warm, slice them about 1/4 inch thick (no need to peel, but discard pieces of skin that come off on their own). Put half the potatoes ina large serving bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, lemon zest and juice, 1 tsp kosher salt, and several grinds of pper. Drizzle half the dressing over the potatoes. Add the remaining potatoes to the bowl, drizzle the rest of the dressing, and toss gently with a large rubber spatula to combine well. Add teh cilantro and scallions and toss gently again. Taste and add more salt as needed. serve warm or at room temperature. I better submit this before it disappears. Thanks Michelle for putting this together. Lynn. PS okay I'm tempting fate by continuing to type, but I have to mention that the idea of having oil on your hands when forming the chicken patties was fabulous. It gave the patties just enough oil to bind them and protect them in cooking. Anyone else ever heard of this technique?

Love a mustard sauce on pork. The last pork gravy I made was shallot, apple, leek, capers and pickled mustard seed. (I'll pull up and post the pickle recipe...I need to make some more tomorrow) Fridge pickles. I leapt up and made a quick batch last night. The Persian cukes in the crisper were still good....they often get slimy in a few days. A few hundred bloggers all have the same recipe. Most just copy each other over and over, lol. ( and give their life story along with recipes, : ) I like NY deli half sours. Some can be a bit acrid. Might be the left on stem ends or the skins or the variety. End of the growing season pickles are much different than the early season. NYC picklers only offer fresh fermented pickles once a year. One spear is usually enough for me. Fresh non-fermented I could eat the whole jar. Try a test batch. You can taste in an hour, after two hours and again the next day. If I have a half jar left after 24hours, I top off with a bit of fresh water. Dilutes the vinegar a bit and great on sandwiches and salads all week. Often I don't make a dressing. Just pickles, splash of evoo, lemon and feta or crumbled blue, goat cheese, etc. Basic recipe, 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup water, bay leaf, whole black peppercorns, mustard seed, fresh or dried dill, celery seed, pepper flakes, clove of garlic smashed. Pinch of sweet, pinch of salt. *I use ac vinegar, maple syrup or honey. Lots of variations. Use what you have, less or more. We hate sweet so I often don't use it. Here is one of many, (zip through the life story to the recipe) I just picked link random but the method is similar. PICKLES Baby Persian cukes work great and any other root veg like beets, radish, onion, carrot. (peel carrots)