mgaretz

Here's what appears to be the same machine from Wayfair for even less: https://www.wayfair.com/kitchen-tabletop/pdp/velivi-ice-cream-maker-soft-ice-cream-machine-makers-slushy-machine-for-home-for-smoothies-milkshakes-cocktails-and-various-flavors-of-ice-cream-vliv1056.html However this one claims almost double the capacity, but I am not sure I believe it since the outside dimensions of both machines are the same. Geenpan also has a version for $399 but with a less pretty display.

The machines are supposed to be available on Amazon soon, but while looking I found the identical machine with a different brand name, and it's less than I paid on a super early bird kickstarter! https://amzn.to/426n8Tg

Got a new toy yesterday - a soft serve machine (also does slushies and other frozen things like milkshakes, but I bought mainly to make soft serve). It's a HiCozy F3 and I ordered it a few months ago on Kickstarter. There a few other mainly similar machines starting to come out, GreenPan is one I have noticed. I fired it up last night and made a simple soft serve vanilla using Frostline mix and Fairlife lactose-free whole milk. I used 2/3 cup of the mix and 20 ozs of mix, which gave me 25 ounces of base (the max for soft serve). It chills and agitates the mix and in about 20 minutes it was ready. Then the machine goes into what they call insulation mode and it keeps the mix churning and cool for two hours. (At the end of two hours you can simply restart the cycle to keep it cool and continue to serve.) It tastes very good, but was a little too soft. You can adjust the firmness (which I assume is just the temperature) which they call gears. Next time I will try a higher gear. With the added air from the process it expanded to about 40 ozs of product. That's a lot for two people! But I did dispense all the leftovers into a container and froze it. We had some tonight and it was just a tad icier, but still very good. The minimum base volume is stated at 22 ozs which is a lot and the biggest downside. I want to try a smaller batch and see what the effect is. It also has a self-cleaning cycle that seems to work, but you have to fill and empty it several times. I will post more as I experiment more. A few pictures, taken hastily.

Just liked the look of this pork chop enough to take a picture, with corn.

They are about 1.5 miles from my house.

Flemings, Vic Stewart’s, Ruth’s Chris

Been lurking but not posting any dinners lately as I am basically just making the same things as always. But here's another "same old same old". Filet, cooked SV then seared, served with steamed Brussels sprouts.

I have bought avocado oil in an aerosol spray at Costco. I gave up on misters some time ago. These days I simply pour a little avocado oil in the baking pan and spread it around with a paper towel. A lot less mess than a spray (which I usually had to spread around with a paper towel anyway). For something like a grate, I put the oil on the paper and then spread.

Doesn't seem to make a significant difference. That's both from others and my own experience. So I just let it go to keep warm and don't worry.

I think it comes down to pricing. When we go out I used to almost always order a glass of wine (red). Now with restaurants charging $15-$18 for a 5-6 oz pour of a wine that retails for $7-9 a bottle, I'm passing.

Thanks!

No SV. Cooked at 225F in the Breville Smart Oven Pro to 120F internal then seared on the Napoleon IR Sear Burner. Latkes were air fried in the Speedi for 8 minutes.

Hanukkah dinner: Prime rib, served with TJ's latkes and steamed broccoli.

Cornstarch for sure. I struggled with lumps for years until I found the secret to making the slurry. 1 to 1 ratio of cornstarch to water, stir until liquid. When the stew is done, bring to a boil and stir in the slurry until you get the thickness you want - actually stop a bit before as it will thicken a bit more.

An unusual (for me) stir fry. No noodles and the wife didn't want any onion or garlic or much sauce. So char siu, baby bok choy, carrots, celery, snap peas and mushrooms. Sauce was some cream sherry, a bit of soy and the water from the veggies, thickened with cornstarch.