Smithy

Got a recipe, or a link, for this? It looks good.

It's a shame about the weather, but it looks as though what you cooked was good eating, anyway. (Well, maybe except for the flatbread. ) I especially liked the looks of that hash, and the way you had everything measured out and pre-packaged in reusable jars. Did you opt for the foil bowl to cook the hash so that it could be closed up like a foil packet? I'm wondering about using foil vs. using the cooking pan in the top photo (that looks like a very nice pan, btw) or the pannish thing holding your dinner in the next photo down.

Nor have I. Congratulations on a beautiful and creative masterwork, and a story well told. I particularly like the two dragon head pictures. In the sequence you've shown them (first without the eyes, then with) it looks like - well, it looks like the dragon just awakened to our presence. That's an impressive effect. Oh yes, and congratulations on the financial success of the project - at least for the dragonboat stall! eta and yes, that drum is also very clever.

What you're asking for, then, is a wireless sensor inside the oven that transmits to a receiver outside the oven, like the wireless indoor/outdoor thermometers so common these days. That's a lot of heat for a transmitter to withstand, and would probably be expensive if it exists at the consumer level. Even in the industrial applications I used to see, we'd run probes with long wires into the heat source, and keep the measurement device out in the relative cool. You're probably better off sticking with the old-fashioned needle-style oven thermometer.

I'm glad you just went through this exercise, @kayb. I've been thinking about what to bring to a weeklong family reunion / campout. I had already decided, for various times during week, on persimmon bread, your Jailhouse slaw and @Jaymes' cornbread salad. I'd forgotten the devilled eggs trick. Now devilled eggs are on the list as well.

How 'bout you, Nicole0x? What area do you call home? What do you like to cook and/or eat? Now's the chance to introduce yourself!

I guess the thing about asparagus is that if it's good (fresh, flavorful, ripe) then an elaborate preparation can seem like guilding the lily. So it was with our dinner tonight. These asparagus spears were larger around than my thumbs. We generally avoid the thick spears, expecting them to be woody, but they smelled fresh. I bought them. My darling gave me the fisheye. He thought nothing good could come of them. He then picked up the first ears of corn of the season. I was as skeptical of his choice. Corn, in northern Minnesota, in May? Ha! I used a trick picked up somewhere along in these pages, and peeled the bases of the asparagus spears. Lo and behold! That yielded far more length of tender and flavorful asparagus. Dinner was salmon cooked in brown butter, then removed to the oven to finish cooking. The asparagus went into the browned butter after the salmon was finished, and slivered almonds spent the last few seconds in the butter as well. Those who wished could add a squeeze of lemon at the table. The plating is disgraceful, but we were delighted with the flavors. I'll remember the peeling trick, and sauteeing in brown butter. It was a nice celebration of spring. We forgave each other our skepticisms.

@Okanagancook, I like the flavor of lovage but have trouble working out what to do with it, except use it occasionally as seasoning in a soup or stew. What do you do with yours?

Is that okra from this year's garden already? Or from last year's garden? That's high praise - and doubtless well-deserved!

I think I'm glad I never got a pasta insert. I've been using a pasta pot with a strainer in the lid and with locking handles. It was a Farberware deal some years ago, and has never failed me. The lid has two hole sizes. In this photo, I'm locking the left handle as a demonstration. Amazon isn't showing the same Farberware product any more, but there are plenty of other options out there, in multiple sizes. Here's one by Bialetti.

Wow, my peonies are just starting to put up little green shoots, and even the local wild asparagus hasn't put in an appearance yet! We're in the ramps stage at present.

That spaghetti looks wonderful. You inspire me to haul out my pasta maker - just as soon as I have time. As to this: ...well, you can do one today and another tomorrow and...maybe by then I can be there for the remainder of the building party!

All our car-camping gear is Coleman, so I tend to trust their stuff. Their little portable grills look nice. That said, I haven't investigated any of them closely and I don't have experience with any of them. The things I'd look for would be ease of assembly/disassembly, simplicity of cleaning, and whether there are mess-making design features like no grease trap. The BTU's could be an issue - if not now, then later. I hope someone with experience in the newer portable grills will pop up and help.

Heck, I think I'd volunteer for the building projects for food like that!

That looks like an excellent dinner! I especially like the way you put the broccoli and mushrooms on the potatoes. Makes 'em look more healthful, dontcha know. Is there also cheese on those mushrooms, or is that a sauce of some sort? I'm still trying to convince my darling that sous vide is a good start for steaks. What time and temp did you use for the steaks? Did you sear them afterward?

Thanks for bringing us along!

My early exposure to the Spear of Spring was as dismal. When I was growing up, my mother also only did canned asparagus. To complicate matters, she considered it a splurge-treat because she loved asparagus, we could only get it canned, and those cans were terribly expensive. Yecho! My sister and I detested it. Your comparison of canned vs. fresh is spot-on. Some time during my high school years, fresh asparagus would occasionally reach the local grocery stores at what my parents considered an affordable price. My mother occasionally splurged on it. Alas, as I recall it just wasn't something that she knew how to cook. I grew up thinking it was inevitably a bland or bitter, army-drab cylinder of mush. Sometime after I flew the coop, probably after "nouvelle cuisine" hit California, I learned that asparagus doesn't have to be cooked that way. Heck, it doesn't have to be cooked at all! Grilled, steamed, raw, blanched - yep, that's good stuff. Better still, we actually have the wild stuff growing around where we live. I've been keeping my eyes peeled for it, but it isn't up yet. Asparagus, ramps and pancetta with pasta, per Paula Wolferrt. Asparagus with smoked salmon in a pasta alfredo. Asparagus souffle. Asparagus with a lemon-caper sauce. Asparagus used as a conveyance for aioli. What's not to like about asparagus? I'll be joining this topic with photos soon. Keep the ideas coming, folks!

Those bowls really are gorgeous. They make me want to take up chocolate-making, just to buy one or three - or else figure out another dipping use. (Sauces for fondue, or tempura?) But I'd also have a terrible time choosing a color!

I agree with the others . I've never seen that amount of fluctuation with my Anova, and I can see the water circulating. Your new unit sounds defective.

Yes - like the Pillsbury flaky biscuits. I haven't made them in a long time, but it's fun to whomp that spiral-cut tube on the counter to get it to open.

I can't find the end date on their own web site, but when I Google Thermoworks the advert that comes up under the name says the sale ends May 20.

Thanks for the report. I note that your original plan had been 145F for 36 hours. Did you unintentionally extend the cook, as I so often do? If it was intentional, what was your basis for the extension? I'm asking because I bought some country-style ribs at our local meat market a couple of days ago and want to try carnitas with them. Sous vide looks like a better option than simmer-and-fry because of the low fat content of this particular meat.

My ramps haven't even started coming up yet.

Thermoworks announced a sitewide Spring Sale today: 15% off everything.

You picked the entrees at Bayona that I would have picked. They looked intriguing on the menu, and beautifully done in your photos. The creativity of the associated sauces is impressive. I'm looking forward to more of your visit!