Sartain

Made the vanila rum-drenched cake this weekend, and the results were quite delightful. I do have a question about applying the rum syrup. After letting the cakes cool and unmolding them I skewered each loaf and brushed on the syrup over a period of time so the cake could theroretically soak the syrup up slowly, but it seems like only the top half of the cakes really got a "soak"? What am I doing wrong? Should I be flipping the cakes over to apply the syrup to the bottom?

I got a 12" Lodge cast iron skillet (just in time, my chicken fryer was damaged in a cleaning incident and now has rust spots), a wine aerator, copies of La Cucina: Regional Cooking of Italy, My Bombay Kitchen, and Hometown Appetites: The Story of Clementine Paddleford, and Andrea Nguyen's Asian Dumplings.

I've been holding off on this purchase and your cauliflower soup pictures pushed me over the edge! Amazon is out of stock until February so I've bought it from BN - won't get here till next week though. Ah well, spectator sport for now then - I'll just pull up a chair and say bring it on!

I believe that the Japanese udon finds its origin in the northern Chinese cu mian ("thick noodle"), which is a wheat flour noodle that was first steamed and then fried, and has pleasingly chewy mouthfeel. The lore is that Buddhist monks brought the cu mian back to Japan, which then evolved into the udon noodle. Not sure if Sakura uses cu mian or udon, but I'd be happy to sample the dish multiple times in the name of research!

Thanks! I'll crack that tin open this weekend and portion away.

That sounds great - is that home-made rosemary oil on top? I love soup garnishes. Yep, warming 1/2 C olive oil with several sprigs of rosemary, and then garnishing the soup with a teaspoon of the aromatic oil. Delicious and soul-satisfying.

Slightly off topic, but can someone tell me whether it is ok / advisable to freeze goose fat? I have this huge tin of it and would love to portion it off and freeze.

A couple of weeks ago I had to clean out the freezer so that my 1/8 of a grass-fed cow can find resting spots. After odd frozen waffle and ice-encursted sausage, I pulled out a whole pile of offal that must be, oh, two years old? I had a frosty tripe, a frozen heart, and a cold stiff tongue. Also a mess of chickens feet that was once meant for a long-consumed stock. No pictures though. Tossed the whole bunch after ocnsulting the great Internet and determining that the freezer suspended animation only lasts 3-4 months.

I have some of the Rancho Gordo Christmas beans - must find good recipe for them. In the meantime, I made David Tunis' Zuppa di Fagioli with Rosemary Oil. It's cooling in the fridge for supper tonight. Can't wait!

Last weekend I cut 2# of country style ribs into 1" cubes, marinated them in a cumin/ancho/grated orange peel/garlic paste with cognac and olive oil, browned and braised with mirepoix, bouquet garni, bay leaf, chicken stock and white wine. Halfway through I added some white navy beans and shredded napa cabbage. Very hearty one pot meal, and my guests enjoyed it over couscous very much.

We've had a second week of below 80 degree weather in Philly, and the braise has re-established itself. Two beef tongues this weekend and three pounds of pork shoulder and smoked hock. Good eating to welcome Fall!

Went to grab lunch today. The woman who took my order mentioned that they might be opening on weekends in the Fall. I guess there are plans, but nothing solid yet. The chicken culet sandwich lifted me right out of my work stupor. Although, having finished the entire sandwich, now I'm fighting lunch coma.

I recommend James Peterson's Sauces. Materials are clearly presented and covers a range of classical and modern sauces. There is also The Saucier's Apprentice by Raymond Sokolov. Old school. Have fun!

Around the World in 80 Dinners - Bill and Cheryl Jamison - fits the bill. Very enjoyable read.

Count me as one of those who enjoyed the Simon episodes. More than the "before" Irvine ones. I saw that he was back hosting and tried to watch - I couldn't even get through the first commercial break! I guess my memory isn't that short.

Can anyone recommend a caterer for a party for 40-50 of mixed ages near Pasadena? It's pretty short notice so the more suggestions the better! Thanks in advance!

I have recently developed doubts about my homemade fruitcake. To save myself from disaster on Chrismas day, I'm in need of a suitable back up. Can anyone point me to some place I can buy a Christmas pudding? Thanks!

This is a long shot but does any one have any suggestions about restaurants in Tamaqua that can accomodate 30-40 people for lunch after a church service? Thank you.

Have you tried the Sea Salt flavor? FWIW it is my current favorite - that sweet and salty dance is a beautiful thing. I've only had it at the 20th St. location though, not sure if they offer it at 13th St.

I've got a Polyscience immersion circulator, which I hook up to a lexan tub. I'm relying on good ol' Foodsaver for now - can't afford a chamber machine yet. I did some chicken breasts tonight with some herbs, carmelized onions, gelled stock and butter. Didn't do the finishing step because I wanted to get that pure SV taste and texture sensation. Not bad - pretty tasty actually, but I would probably have preferred a quick sear at the end.

Food Safety reasons was precisely what gave me pause. A prolonged "rest" didn't make sense to me and I thought that maybe it should be a combined time (cook time + rest time = total time in bath). I guess that's not it either.

Hi all: I'm just getting into sous vide and this thread is really informative. I have two questions that I need some help on: 1) I noticed that on Nathan's tables the rest times seem to vary from a few minutes to close to an hour. In conventional cooking, I would interpret rest time as the time out of the oven/skillet/grill etc. For example, For a 1.18 inch thick piece of meat cooked to a core temp of 60C, according to the table the cooking time is 54 minutes 28 seconds and the resting time is 54 minutes 29 sec. So, am I supposed to pull the bag out after an hour and let it rest for an hour? Or should I be doing something different? 2) In searching this thread I saw the recommended temp and time for lamb loin is 55C for 2-3 hours. Is that cook and serve? If I were to cook it for 3 hours, ice for an hour and refridgerate, how long can I hold the loin until I serve it? Thank you for any advice you can throw my way!

That was Heather of Season Two. She actually held it together and was still communicating with her team about what's on the line when she was taken out to be treated. This woman (sorry, already forgot her name - was it Vanessa?) is no Heather though.

Thanks Timh and HungryC for the suggestions. My family ended up trying to squeeze in as many plantation tours as we could in one day, and went from Nottoway to Houma House to Oak Alley. We had so much fun with the guide at Houma House that we stayed at Latil's Landing, the restaurant on site, for dinner. The food was very good. They served boudin balls for an amuse - which are very reminiscent of arancinos (fried risotto balls) for the uninitiated. I had the jack rabbit and andouille gumbo, a file gumbo stock full of the meaty ingredients and rice that had a deep, rounded flavor. That was followed by a rack of lamb marinated and crusted in Community coffee, mashed potatoes and asparagus. Dessert we chose the house specialty of Bananas Foster, flambed tableside. The kids (and I) loved it. But the crowning glory of the table goes to the Lobster and crawfish risotto, which was a bowl of savory/briny/creamy goodness. It's crawfish season, and they are succulent and beyond delicious. The lobsters were small in body but huge in flavor. Anyway, if anyone's heading out that way, enjoy the house tour, but don't miss the risotto!

Apologies in advance for barging in on this thread. Todd, I am in town for the French Quarter fest. If you wouldn't mind looking at the food vendors and giving me some pointers I'd really appreciate it. Thanks! Steph