Living in America 2015

[rootypig]

New thread. In honour of:

1. allegedly Irish bangers discovered I saw in Trader Joe's today, which made me think of you lot and especially you Want2b, you pork fanatic - I will report back; and

2. taxes bloody argh! do I have to do this? NOW??? My green card was granted in August last year and I didn't earn a bloody penny. What am I supposed to put on a tax return

How else is everyone's American odyssey going?

yours chaotically, as ever,

rooty

Sounds brilliant , thanks Want2

I like them, but they are quite salty, but then I find a lot of American food salty. I still can't eat Lay's potato chips.

kickass I soak mine in water the night before. Gets rid of most of the brine.

US pork producers use a 15%+ bribe whereas European and Canadian producers tend to use brines that are 5-10%. Most of what DH does is about 5%.

Do you buy yours uncooked? Where from? I would live to bake my own and make it like a gammon at home.

Has anyone ever soaked a turkey!

My kids had Intruder Drills in the UK in the exact same way they happen here, and we've lived in the US since 2007!

Yes it's uncooked. I get the smithfield one.

Also I brine my turkey. Tastes great!

can you tell us the exact name to order all I can see is cooked ham. thanks

FYI Lousiville is awesome

*louisville

Whatever, it's 2:28am, I'm going to bed. In Louisville. Which is awesome

^^drank a LOT of bourbon

How's your head this morning, AmericasTorturedBrow?

actually it's ok - because I am on a childfree trip so was able to lie in through the worst of it. Joy!

Louisville is still awesome...but chilly, my SoCal body temperature is a bit cross. Joining DH&DC in NOLA tomorrow though, very excited!

Envious!

Have a fabulous time.

ATB glad you're having a good time, tbh LA is like a furnace, you're best off out of it! Nice to cool off before summer (ahem) sets in in earnest.

Thanks rooty, have a good week!

Omg a child free weekend. Sounds like bliss.

Kickass - I found the ham at the bottom of the pork section in the supermarket about 5 years ago. Now I just go ask the butcher where the uncooked spiral hams are. If they don't have them they order one in for me.

Hello everyone! Nice to have a new thread.

Rooty -- commiserations.

'Unseasonably cold' here in the upper midwest. Spring is teasing us every now and then but we relapse. At this rate I will be digging out the car again at Easter.

Thanks Want2B.

Yes, there has been snow and frost here this weekend. Last night the temp was 10F but by Thu it should be 70F.

That's more variation in a week than the UK has in a year!

It was like that in Louisville kickass

DD4 had a real life lockdown and take cover incident earlier this year as there was a robbery and standoff at a bank three blocks away and the police were combing the area for one suspect. DD texted me in great excitement from a big locked anteroom/closet off the Art room where her class were all packed together busily texting friends and families. 'We're all locked in the artroom closet and there are police everywhere outside but don't worry!!!' is not a text you want to get.. They weren't supposed to use their phones while they were locked in of course.

Want2be, you are right about texting and banking being behind.

Ok, had my first fairway market experience last night. Am jealous of NYCers who can get to it easily! Went a little mad (mi wadi! Club Orange! Crunchies! Hula hoops! Ballymaloe relish! Local milk and grass fed beef at non-wholefoods prices!). Glad we'll have buttons eggs for the kids tomorrow . And flakes for me and my husband (who doesn't like milk chocolate...meaning more for me!).

Plus the easter ham thing. I cannot get my head around it. People look at me funny when I say it should be about roast lamb...ham is for Christmas!

Lamb all the way here. I get a nice frozen boneless half leg from New Zealand at my local Aldi of all places.

I don't even do ham at Christmas. It's nice smoked in the summer.

Math I must check out our nearest aldi. If it could provide me with frozen lamb I would be very happy indeed! I've made my peace with christmas at the inlaws involving anything but the turkey/ham/spiced beef holy trinity I grew up on in Cork...

What do they do at Christmas if turkey/ham and beef are off the menu?

I score the lamb and stick garlic cloves and sprigs of rosemary into the cuts, then sprinkle it with S&P and roast it, fat side up. I have seen some lovely Greek style wine and herb marinades for lamb on cooking shows but I never remember to defrost the joint in time for marinating. Same goes for brining my turkey at Christmas.

My Dsis does a Nigella recipe for slow-cooked lamb overnight at low temp but I think she gets a bone-in joint. The original recipe may be for a shoulder of pork but it works for a large leg of lamb too.