Commonsense, Avoid the sea salt. It does contain minerals that can make the taste of a salt brine based pickle less than appealing. Pickling salt is mined and refined to be as pure salt, with no anti-caking additives or minerals etc. When I make a HALF SOUR, salt brine based, pickle, I do NOT boil anything. I add the dill weed and seed heads and garlic to the empty jars, pack the jars with cukes that have been washed and BOTH end tips removed. The mixture sits on the kitchen counter for up to two days, THEN a dash of vinegar (about 2 tablespoons per half gallon jar) is added and its placed in the fridge. Yes, you are way off with your technique, especially by not using the proper salt, no matter how pure it is still sea salt, which is just sea water that has been dried. If you want the flavor of dill, you should not add other spices. A pickling spice mix at best, is for use when you don't care too much about the combination of flavors, but are wanting a sweeter spicy pickle. Regular pickling spice mixes do poorly with a mostly water based brine, as many of the spices contain essential oils that 'bloom' when they get cooked or mixed with an acidic vinegar. For a truely dill flavored pickle, you can also try using a prepackaged mix from Ball and/or Mrs. Wages. These mixes contain the extracts and spices and salt alone, and usually need no additional spices. Here, I use them for my half sours and also do add fresh dill seed heads and dill weed, along with cut up fresh garlic cloves. Following the proper methods will give you a safer and more tasty product with no 'surprises'. Also, tasting the brines prior to adding to fresh cukes, when used as a fresh curing agent as opposed to a heat canned product, will give you a better insight as to the end result which is obviously the taste you want to get. I don't think they can be harmful if left out for a day or two, but because you may not have followed some, or all of the 'rules, its a 50:50 chance if left out unrefrigerated.

I was born in VT. Many of my mothers relatives lived there too. A couple of years ago, I was in Burlington VT visiting an uncle, and found a shop that sells cheese ends. Basically, they are bits, chunks, and all shapes and sizes of Cabot cheeses. The cost per pound was only about $2, but that was because they had several different cheddar chunks all clumped together. I bought about 8 pounds and it took a while to use it all up. I make a 'mean' mac and cheese, and use a bit of mustard powder as well as onions, and some Velveta to get it to be a bit more creamy. I mix in some no fat milk, along with a big dollop of margerine. Its mostly Cabot chedddars though, and is a real 'comfort' food. Mixed with some bits of cooked hamburg, you now have even more flavor and texture. There is a specific brand and type of pasta I use, which is a bit larger than regular elbows, and it gets cheese inside each elbow, its a 'casserole' type pasta.. Yum! An interesting thing about pepper, is that once its freshly ground and added as a meat rub and baked, the 'heat' will deminish. Tellicherry peppercorns are one of the best there is. I make an 'egg mcmuffin' with eggs, either homemade sausage patties, or slices of home made Canadian bacon. These are placed bewteen a split, toasted English muffin, with a slice of American cheese. I have a round metal ring form that I use to make the egg portion, and use both the 'Egg Beaters' product, but also add some powdered egg. It cooks up much firmer and holds up better to freezing. I use 6 inch wide FS bags and then freeze them. When I want one, its an easy thing to leave sealed, and allow it to heat in the microwave for about a minute. I flip it over and continue to thaw/heat it. The bag will expand and pop open due to steam buildup. Once that happens its usually done. The popping of the plastic bag can be heard, but doesn't seem to explode any of the contents inside the microwave. Only problem I see is that becaue of the intense heat, the muffins (which contain gluten) will firm up, making for a very chewy muffin, kind of like a bagel. If I want it to be a bit more tender, its removed from the plastic bag, and is wrapped in a paper towel and heated a bit slower, with about 40 second intervals while flipping it over a couple of times. A 1000 watt microwave is what I have, so your results may differ. Both the eggs and cheese are fine when frozen and thawed, and I even see a bit more moisture coming from the egg part, so thats a good sign.

I use to brine until I found out about Judy Roger's presalting method. I've been using the presalting method for the last five years or so and for me, I find it superior to brining. And it certainly is much easier. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Pre-Salting =========== Judy Rogers' Zuni Cafe Method Servings: 11 to 15 Note: This is more a technique than a recipe. It makes a bird that has concentrated turkey flavor and fine, firm flesh and that is delicious as it is. But you can add other flavors as you wish. Minced rosemary would be a nice finishing addition. Or brush the bird lightly with butter before roasting. ADVERTISEMENT 1 (12- to 16-pound) turkey Kosher salt 1 Wash the turkey inside and out, pat it dry and weigh it. Measure 1 tablespoon of salt into a bowl for every 5 pounds the turkey weighs (for a 15-pound turkey, you'd have 3 tablespoons). 2 Sprinkle the inside of the turkey lightly with salt. Place the turkey on its back and salt the breasts, concentrating the salt in the center, where the meat is thickest. You'll probably use a little more than a tablespoon. It should look liberally seasoned, but not over-salted. 3 Turn the turkey on one side and sprinkle the entire side with salt, concentrating on the thigh. You should use a little less than a tablespoon. Flip the turkey over and do the same with the opposite side. 4 Place the turkey in a 2 1/2 -gallon sealable plastic bag, press out the air and seal tightly. Place the turkey breast-side up in the refrigerator. Chill for 3 days, turning it onto its breast for the last day. 5 Remove the turkey from the bag. There should be no salt visible on the surface and the skin should be moist but not wet. Place the turkey breast-side up on a plate and refrigerate uncovered for at least 8 hours. 6 On the day it is to be cooked, remove the turkey from the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 7 Place the turkey breast-side down on a roasting rack in a roasting pan; put it in the oven. After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and carefully turn the turkey over so the breast is facing up (it's easiest to do this by hand, using kitchen towels or oven mitts). 8 Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees, return the turkey to the oven and roast until a thermometer inserted in the deepest part of the thigh, but not touching the bone, reads 165 degrees, about 2 3/4 hours total roasting. 9 Remove the turkey from the oven, transfer it to a warm platter or carving board; tent loosely with foil. Let stand at least 30 minutes to let the juices redistribute through the meat. Carve and serve. My NOtes: This same method can be used for chicken, chicken pieces, pork roasts, ribs, chops, etc.. With the smaller cuts just pre-salt 4 or five hours in advance. Even this short period of presalting makes an amazing difference. Don't cover, just refrigerate and then remove from the fridge in time for the meat to come to room temperature before cooking.

Word of caution: check your turkey before brining. Make sure it hasn't already had salt added in some form. We always brine our turkey and this year we are using the following recipe, minus the star anise pods. Cider-Brined Turkey with Star Anise and Cinnamon "Brining the turkey overnight keeps it moist and seasons the interior of the meat," says Lo. "The ingredients, except the cider, are classic 'red-cooking' flavorings used in Chinese cooking to braise and glaze meats like pork or duck." Tent the turkey�especially the wings�with foil if it darkens too quickly while roasting. For carving tips, see How to Carve a Turkey. 10�12 Servings Recipe by Anita Lo November 2011 Bon Appetit Ingredients 2 quarts plus 1 cup apple cider 1 cup kosher salt plus more 1 cup soy sauce 1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar 16 whole black peppercorns 8 whole star anise pods plus more for garnish 6 garlic cloves, smashed 6 scallions, white parts only, trimmed, split lengthwise 6 1/4"-thick slices unpeeled ginger 5 dried shitake mushrooms 2 3"-4" cinnamon sticks plus more for garnish 2 sprigs cilantro 1 12 to 14-lb. turkey Freshly ground black pepper 2 Granny Smith apples, cut into sixths Melted unsalted butter or vegetable oil (for basting) Preparation �Bring 2 quarts cider, 1 cup salt, and the next 10 ingredients to a boil in a very large (16-qt.) pot, stirring to dissolve salt and sugar. Let cool to room temperature. Stir in 1 1/2 gallons cold water. Add turkey to brine and press down to submerge. Cover; refrigerate overnight. �Remove turkey from brine and pat dry with paper towels; discard brine. Season lightly inside and out with salt and pepper. Place turkey, breast side up, on a rack set in a large heavy roasting pan and tie legs together with kitchen twine. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375�. Combine the remaining 1 cup of cider and 3 cups water in roasting pan. Scatter apples around. Brush turkey with butter. Flip breast side down. Roast turkey, breast side down, basting occasionally, for 1 hour. Using paper towels, flip turkey. Roast, basting occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165�, 1�1 1/2 hours longer. Transfer turkey to a platter. Let rest for at least 20 minutes before carving. Meanwhile, strain the juices from the roasting pan into a saucepan, reserving apples. Simmer over medium heat until juices have thickened, about 10 minutes. Serve the cider jus alongside the turkey and apples and garnish with extra star anise pods and cinnamon sticks. Nancy