Dry brine turkey for at least one day, uncovered, in the fridge. See http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-dry-brine-a-turkey-cooking-lesso... for guidance, we used:

• Salt (1/4 cup)
• sugar (1.5 Tbsp)
• sage
• ground rosemary
• thyme
• black pepper
• garlic powder
• Smoked paprika
• smoked salt

Rub all over and under breast skin.

Prepare bird:

1-2 hours before grilling, remove turkey from fridge to bring up towards room temperature
Place pats of butter under skin

Prepare grill:

We primarily used this extensive guide at Simply Recipes, with some tips from Bon Appetit and with consultations to the WaPo article, Julia Child, and my vintage Joy of Cooking from the 60s.

1 Goose (8-10 lbs, ours was 8.77)
salt, pepper, thyme and sage for rubbing
1 lemon
1 head of garlic, unpeeled, with the top cut off to expose cloves
1/2 medium onion, peeled and quartered

Dad tells the story of his first experience with Chiles Rellenos, with tears running down his face from the heat of the peppers, but loving every bite.  He worked long and hard to re-create that moment, and settled upon this recipe.

• 12 Anaheim peppers, skin removed (see note)
• 3 whole eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1 Tbsp Flour
• 1 dash salt
• Queso Chihuahua (or Monterrey Jack) cheese cut in long "fingers"

Notes for next cook: review the smoke ring guidance here: https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/more-cooking-...

Planning/Purchasing

• Brisket -- (give at least 60 minutes per pound, though thicker or larger non-point cuts might take as much as 90 mins / pound) 4 Pounds is a good base point.
• Mesquite chunks and chips
• Charcoal (duh)
• Mopping sauce (see below)
• Smoked salt
• dry rub

The night before

• Trim the fat off the brisket's exterior to improve smoke penetration

Having just returned from Mexico, we were craving Mexican food. We decided to take on the ultimate: Mole. We headed up to our local latin-american superstore market to pick up the necessary ingredients. Because we couldn't exactly get everything we needed, here's the record of what we actually did (and how it turned out). Our recipe is basically the ingredients list from Fonda San Miguel, a delicious Mexican restaurant in Austin, with the process taken from Nuevo Mexican guru Rick Bayless.

When I was a little kid, my mom and I once made dumplings/potstickers with this neat white foldy press (that helps crimp them together). There's a really cute picture of me at about 3 years old, standing on a step-stool, wearing an apron, and proudly holding up a potsticker.

Anyway, on a recent visit to Los Angeles, I saw the potsticker crimper sitting in a drawer (probably unused by my mother since that day in the photo), and asked if I could take it home. (I subsequently saw the exact same crimper for sale at Hill's Kitchen about a week later, but oh well.) With the proper implement in hand, and having just acquired a "Cook's Illustrated" recipe for perfect potstickers (compliments of Jon's mom), we went to making potstickers.

The recipe that follows is a combination of the Cook's recipe and the handwritten one my mom had from an Asian cooking class she took long ago. No doubt that is the recipe I followed at age 5.

Inspired by the best meal we had in Paris, at Un Jour a Peyrassol. Goes with the potato gnocchi.

Makes 2 12" round pizzas.

This was the first recipe Jon learned from his Mom, because, damn it's good pizza!

Dough

make about 2 1/2 hours before serving

• 1 package active dry yeast (2.25 tsp)
• About 4 1/2 c. all purpose flour (have 6 c available for kneading/rolling)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 c. water

In large bowl, combine yeast, 2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt. In small saucepan, heat water until very warm (120 to 130F.).