Some queries on the side, which you may ignore if you like:

Why do you need to replace the handle? Is the picture of the kettle depicting your kettle as it now is?

Also, how did you melt a handle?

What form do you have it in presently? Is it recently sliced and in a new bag? Contained in some shrink-wrapped, pre-scliced form? In a chunk?

I'll second those who say eating the whole is great, but only when fried to crispness, at which point the shells take on a potato-chip-like quality. It's common to do this with the shrimps dusted with cornstarch and (if desired) seasonings.

Boiled or steamed shrimp shells will not attain an especially appetizing character, and the horn won't shatter, so that could be nasty. But the innards still taste good.

Another option is to remove the heads and shells and make a shrimp stock. You can cook the tails separately. Has great flavor, somewhat striking orange-ish color. Shrimp stock is a useful base for seafood risotto or perhaps some kind of chowder (or maybe even poaching?)

Bet it still smells... ;)

I put mine in a ziplock bag in the garage.

I also use more cumin in volume than anything else but salt and maybe pepper. Buy it in 1lb. bags at the Indian grocer to keep the cost in check.

I also really dislike tarragon, uniquely among herbs and spices in my experience...

Oh, and p.s. to janniecooks: I noticed you saying you were flouring your hands to keep wet dough from sticking to them. Oddly, it's more effective to drench your hands in water when working with sticky dough: gives you 5 or so seconds of non-stick hands. Same applies to wetted spoons, etc.

I've made English muffins simply using my standard sourdough recipe, which is a lot less wet than what you were trying. And the texture is nicely spongy. I agree with bcc that a drier mix is fine, which is what you found, too.

Actually, instead of worrying overmuch about exact measurements, I think you'll do well to experiment a bit and simply shoot for creating the wettest dough that you think you can work with.

I'll add that, for flavor, I hope you'll try using a long rise, perhaps with reduced yeast, if need be.

Not ammonia. I once had some not-so-fresh skate that really had a flat-out, no-holds-barred ammonia smell, so strong that I'm scared to try skate again. I guess I'm very sensitive to that smell.

This tripe just tasted like a so-so fish stock--not great but not funky either. It says something, though, that I found it unappealing enough to just abandon the dish after a few tastes.

I appreciate your sentiment, but I'm not easily grossed out, so no harm would have been done.

Is goat belly a muscle cut, like pork belly?

Anyway, I tend to like trying all kinds of unusual (for the USA) cuts and portions, where there's something special to be found food-wise.

I once made a chicken stock with typical loving attention, then put a colander in the sink and poured all the stock down the drain. I believe some inebriation was to blame for my forgetting to strain into a pot in the sink. That's rock bottom, no?

Updating my own query here: so far I googled a bit and found a passing remark on some page that tripe when not fully washed can taste fishy; also, I asked a Hispanic friend from Southern California, and he said no way should menudo taste fishy and don't go back to any place that served it.

Oddly, the rest of the food that we had there tasted genuinely great.

To luckyfatima: I have a hard time imagining that mere proximity to fish cooking could do this to a broth. But I do recall that fish tacos was one of the day's specials, as was the menudo itself.

I heartily agree with the point that avoiding prepared foods takes one a long way toward answering this thread's $10 challenge.

One thing that made me realize this point was 10 years ago when I used to live near and shop at a Whole Foods. Several friends thought it cost a fortune to buy there, made the "Whole Paycheck" point, etc. But I realized that I mainly bought produce, some meats, and got grains and legumes and spices from the bulk bins. Add to that the occasional bottle of olive oil or vinegar or the like. That actually cost much less than what my friends were doing--buying prepared foods, boxes of breakfast cereal, etc.

Of course, it will remain difficult or even impossible to work in certain proteins (good halibut, say, which is never less than $20 a pound around here in Indiana, USA). But there's always some worthy meats/poultry on sale.

I got Menudo for the first time a while back at a solid Mexican place here in northern Indiana--it was a little restaurant set-up within a Supermercado. Delicious. Definitely a powerful beefy broth with tripe and whatever else going on in there, with herbs and tortillas and condiments on the side.

Next, I try a different place a town or two away. Had good rap on Yelp for the town. SImilar supermercado and restaurant set-up, and the place was very busy, but admittedly not predominately with Hispanics. Anyway, the menudo tasted fishy--the broth, that is, tasted pretty much all the way to being like a fish stock. Is that normally one of the menudo styles? The protein seemed to be only tripe.

2.5lbs? That fish is so rich, I think you could feed 8 or so people with that amount.

Your advice here so far is great. But let me add a point of technique: when I cook whole fish, I usually score the flesh deeply, which allows aromatics, diced chiles, lemon or lime juice, all kinds of seasoning, into the fish. It also makes it easier to inspect the doneness of the fish, because you can see inside.

Another thing: I usually give the fish a half hour or forty-five minutes on the counter with the seasoning, to bring the internal temperature up a bit and let the flavors work in.

I had a 3-cup Rival for quite some time. Then I got a used 5.5 cup Zoji years ago (NS-RNC10) and am happier with it. It makes smaller or larger quantities just fine, but I also purposely make extra rice rather often, so I can use day-old leftover rice for fried-rice dishes or just reheating.

My comment would be much like jpc's, so I'll just second it. Watching the liquid content is especially important.

I'd consider adding pre-roasted red and/or yellow peppers, too (fresh-roasted, not bottled). Maybe some (modest amount of) diced pancetta?

My half-dozen or so experiences with caviar have all been nothing to write home about.

Of course, I've never tried the super-pricey varieties like Beluga.

I totally agree about their excellence.

Not sure I'd call them underrated, though--but then again, I do think they kind of get overlooked or forgotten a lot (in the USA at least).

It's rare for a non-Spanish themed restaurant to offer one, whereas, say, non-French themed places routinely offer quiche.

A great hot dog (various styles applicable).

Meat loaf.

Mashed potatoes

Thanks! I could never have found that out by searching myself! :)

But it is striking how many varieties of sumac there are. And the poisonous ones are on hand where I live.

What kind of sumac is poisonous, then?

Interesting! I wonder if liquid smoke would be worthwhile.

I wouldn't use cast iron with a balsamic glaze involved--a reactive combo and likely to ruin your CI seasoning.

Use sealed heat. Some people cook in foil. Also, brisket isn't something done medium rare: it needs to be cooked long and slowed and pulled at something like 190F internal temperature. Your chunk sounds a bit small. Is it the flat cut, do you know?

Good clarification. I didn't gather that the C.Ham's question implied putting the shrooms into the filter with the fluid.

My favorite is risotto with squid.

I briefly saute the squid in the risotto pot (but only parcooking it), then remove the squid to a bowl. Then I build the flavor base with garlic, onion and/or shallots, using chicken stock or (if I have it) a stock made from leftover shrimp shells, which I always freeze). Then when the risotto is about done, I stir the squid back in and let the pot sit covered off the heat for 5-10 minutes to finish the squid cooking without them overcooking. Then I might stir in some parsley and sometimes a bit of parmigiano (yeah, yeah, I know some say no cheese and seafood for Italian).

What I like about this is its relatively light and delicate character.

When I want something earthier, I go for risotto with porcini and plenty of parmigiano.

Yes, the filter is for saving the soaking fluid, which is great for broth. The shrooms themselves still need rinsing afterward,and if one wants to be careful, you can try straining again, to see if grit is still being captured.

I've only used dried porcini mushrooms, but I've done so very often. The rinsing process you describe sounds pretty good, but maybe your cheesecloth is not fine enough? I use a paper towel or two in a colander. That's adequate, I find. A coffee filter would be even more purifying, but maybe more than necessary.