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I have a followup question: is there a correlation between the mooncakes and the lunar year? For instance, we're in the Year of the Snake right now. Are the mooncakes different than they would be during the Year of the Horse?

If I recall correctly from past years, you aren't generally impressed with moon cakes. Do I have that right? And are these particularly outlandish? I think the mulberry sounds good, but I've no idea about how compatible the sticky rice would be.

October 6th this year sees China’s Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival. This is when people give gifts of mooncakes and traditionally eat them. So, already the stores are stocking up. Every year brings more and more types, from the more traditional to the outlandish. My plan is to post some of the most unusual I see this year. I start with 桑葚米月饼 (sāng shèn mǐ yuè bǐng), black mulberry and sticky rice. I’ll pass.

Recently I saw an article, probably in the NYT, on using this stuff to for want of a better term, speed-age meat. The story is that it is fermented rice extract and has enzymes. Any experience out in the eG universe?

A friend came over for dinner so we cooked a "special occasion" meal. Friend brought raspberries and whipped cream for dessert. Chicken in fried masala (Talae masala ka murgh): Fry onion, black cardamom, canela, cloves, bay leaves, ginger, garlic, almonds, cashews, peanuts, coriander seed, cumin seed, white poppy seed, and nutmeg, then puree with coconut milk. Brown skinless chicken thighs and them simmer with half of the paste and water. Add in the rest of the paste, simmer some more, and then finish with chopped cilantro. Quite decadent. Spicy green peas with onion and ginger (Muttar-pyaz masala): Saute ginger, serrano chile, cumin seed, and an onion, then mix in ground coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, and frozen peas. Simmer until done, then finish with amchur (mango powder), lemon juice, and garam masala. Basmati rice with whole spices (Khadha masala chaval): Rinse and soak rice so the grains lengthen. Fry cumin seed, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, green and black cardamom pods, cloves, and black pepper, add the rice and soaking water, and finish with chopped cilantro.

I would show you a picture of the ones I bought 2 days ago if they weren't eaten already!

I'm never seen them that long anywhere. More like 15 to 60 cm / 6" to to 2 feet long. Those I see most often are about 46cm / 2 feet.

I agree about the feel. In 1983 my DW gave me chef's knife for Christmas. The sales person told her that if I didn't like the feel I could bring it back and pick out another knife. I didn't care for how the knife felt in my hand so we took it back and I picked a 9.5" that felt right. That knife is still my go-to for heavier cutting. I have a 10" with a thinner spine that I love for prepping onions. It's balance is better for that task.

Monday: spicy bucatini with olives Tuesday: haddock baked with sweet peppers and fennel, rice pilaf and spinach

They are usually like 1 m / 3 feet ish tall.

@Paul Bacino Congratulations . A Kudos your way. Perfectly done. Perfect .

Wagyu Arm Roast-SV @129 20 hrs. Hit on charcoal grill--so tender ( You didn't need a against grain cut )

Thanks @lindag. Please let us know when you find it!

I put yesterday’s smoked salmon and dill waffles from Waffles from Morning to Midnight by Dorie Greenspan over in the topic dedicated to that book but I’ll go ahead and add the photo here, too. The waffles have diced onion, fresh dill and smoked salmon in the waffle, topped with sour cream, salmon roe and scallions Today, I thawed and reheated one of the onion and dill waffles from yesterday. For the toppings, I stuck close to what I had at a local waffle place last week. I made whipped goat cheese with capers, fresh thyme and oregano and spread that on the waffle. Then a pile of arugula, julienne cut smoked salmon, pickled red onion, caramelized lemon and salmon roe.

After checking this out I decided it looks like the perfect knife for me. And, it's now back in stock! Update: woops., the 90mm is still out of stock.

@gfweb good question . I rarely work w dark meat chicken. ' traditional ' thought is that dark meat chicken // turkey is cooked to an internal temperature [ at equilibrium ? ] to a higher temp than white meat. reason : its unclear , but probably because 1 ) its always done that way 2 ) dark meat is tougher 3 ) who knows why the value of carefully managed SV is that you get tenderness w time and temp is ' doneness ' i.e. rare , medium , etc picking a higher temp will further contract the meat , leaving more jus in the bag , not the meat . so I picked a ' white meat ' temp , added more time for the ' dark-ness ' just to see what happens . lets say a reasonable time to get tenderness is ( pick your time HERE ) I added a few hours , which I don't think will ruin the CkLegs. ( reviews of this time // temp pending ) I'll be happy w underdone-ish ( rare , etc ) as the meat is going to be used in future dishes where it might further cook . so that's the story , so far. temps for dark meat , via the internet ( variable signal // noise ) are Ill take a pic of the meat when I use some , and comment on the results F.D.: no copy and paste was used , then claimed as my own original work, for any of the above work .

@rotuts Is this a favorite SV condition? Does chicken need 8 hours?

Senior Breakfast

A real estate office in a nearby township, which positions itself as a vendor of upscale properties, has the perhaps-incongruous habit of putting silly "dad jokes" on its sign. When I drove by yesterday, it read: "Nothing tops a plain pizza."

@Honkman, I wouldn't have thought of apples and beans together, but now that I've seen it, I can't wait to try it. BST (spinach instead of lettuce) for me. Served with salt & vinegar chips.

A note that the Indian restaurant has moved out of the British and American, into the centre of town where there was a pizza place. They continue to run both menus, which is a bit strange. But they have a southern Indian cook and have been trialling dosa on the menu. Tasty There is a lot of competition - it seems like almost every new restaurant is typical Indian restaurant food

Kassler (cured, smoked pork chops) with Beans and Apples - a very German dinner. After searing the kassler you cook it in the oven with onions and thyme in some beef broth. In parallel, you sauté some sliced apples and mix with cider. Afterwards, add the apple mixture and navy beans to the meat in the oven and cook at bit more.

Decided early afternoon that I would make bagels. Added both a sourdough mini biga and yeast to this batch because I wanted a quick rise so I could get them baked in time to have some for dinner. We had bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon for dinner. Platter for two.

Basmati pilaf with caramelized onions and broccolini: Soak baskmati rice to lengthen the grains. Saute sliced onions, green cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon stick in ghee with sugar and salt, then remove half of the onions for garnish. Steam rice with the sauteed spices and onion. When the rice is resting, saute black mustard and cumin seeds, then add the broccolini. Toss everything together and garnish with the fried onion. Keema matar: Chop onion, garlic, and ginger in a food processor and saute until browned. Add cayenne, cumin seed, coriander seed, and turmeric, then stir with tomato puree and yogurt. Add ground lamb, salt, and garam masala, then simmer with a cup of water for a half hour or so. Finish with peas, lemon juice, chopped serrano chile, cilantro, and some Thai basil we had laying around. One of my absolute favorite keemas.

So, I don't have a band saw. One of the packages of oxtail was properly cut. For the second, I did successfully separate one piece containing most of the small parts of the tail. Unbeknownst to me, that was my last successful cut. Spice mixture from Bruce Aidells: onions, rehydrated mushrooms, lotta salt, some pepper, dried thyme and sage. Spice mixture shaken over oxtail. Oxtail broiled about 10 minutes per side (2) at 450ºF in regular oven. I was able to jimmy the big part of the connected tail so it sorta fit into a 7 quart pot, along with the smaller part, and all the individual parts of the second tail. More from Bruce Aidells: 2 cups each red wine/commercial beef stock, Brought to a boil, then turned low. I then moved the pot to the Anova steam combi oven and set the temp to 265ºF for 30 minutes and turned down to 240ºF, then after 60 more minutes, down to 225ºF. I'm going to pull it out 'round the 3 hour mark (total). Plan to refrigerate then, in a couple days, scoop off the fat.