Smithy

Was the sous vide treatment too brief to pasteurize the duck breasts?

Hmm, it might fit in our Princess-mobile.

Why must the seeds be removed? Heat control, appearance, texture, something else? I ask because I'm dealing with a ristra of dried chilis from New Mexico, one at a time. I'm not very careful about seed removal and haven't noticed any problems, but they're a different type of chili than yours. Incidentally, your finished dish looks well worth eating.

@rotuts, those knives are gorgeous, and I wish you many years of enjoyment! I have a question, however. Above, you indicate that the handles are horn. They look like wood in the photos. Is that fine, tight grain an artifact of the photos, or did your eccentric keypad mistype the word? I didn't know horn could look like that.

Let us know what you find out, please.

My copy arrived today, sort of. By "sort of" I mean I got a revised and updated version: Unfortunately, among the revisions she dropped the Cornell Barbecue Sauce. I know I can get that recipe elsewhere; I have it bookmarked and can print it and add it to this book. Nonetheless I'm disappointed that the revisions involved removing at least one recipe. Another interesting point is that the revisions involve changed proportions, at least in one case. Compare the recipe in rotuts' book for Florida Barbecue Sauce, above, to that of my book, below: All that said, it looks as though it will be an entertaining and informative book. Thanks for the recommendation, rotuts.

Add me to the list of admirers. The photography is lovely, and you're showing me a place I've never been, from the viewpoint of someone who can compare what it was to what it is now. The food looks glorious, and like kayb, I WANT those prawns, now! The crabs with the coriander provide a beautiful color contrast. I keep trying to sneak what we call cilantro into my family meals; sometimes my DH approves; this scattering of the stuff over a finished dish might be another thing he'd like. The prawns and fish both look like they have a crisp crust; the prawns look almost like tempura. Can you describe in more detail how they are cooked? Is there a batter? Would it have the same spices you've named above? Would it have a starch of some sort? I predict messy kitchen experiments in my future....

Welcome, Manav. It's clear you're interested in Modernist cuisine; are you just getting into it, or have you been working at it for a while? We don't have a dedicated Modernist forum. Equipment is discussed in the Kitchen Consumer forum; specific cookery is discussed in the Cooking forum, or the Pasty & Baking forum. Tags can help in the Search function; there is a tag for "Modernist Cuisine Forums" (for those topics that were migrated from those forums to ours) as well as for the more current "Modernist" topics that originated here. The Cooking forum has an index titled Modernist Discussions at the eGullet Forums that should help get you started. In addition, if you open one topic you'll often find "similar" topics at the bottom of the page; as long as they're tagged with the "Modernist" tag you should be able to find them. We have a great deal of active discussion about Sous Vide, and there are folks around here who are playing with gels and fantasizing about centrifuges and distillation.

Here is one link to a red relish discussion, with a recipe link by FauxPas. It may not be the discussion Kerry is thinking of, but she's probably busy packing.

Thank you very much for this virtual tour, @Duvel. It's been grand.

I too would like more information, as you find time to post it. Tell me more about the combination of curried prawns (or chicken) and rice, please. It may just be the photos, but I don't see sauce with the prawns (or chicken) that could be added to the rice. Is there extra sauce, or is the rice relatively dry in this combination? Was that the purpose of the yoghurt in your tiffin? I love rice but am inclined to include sauces with it. It may be because my mother, a U.S. Southerner, considered "rice'n'gravy" to be a single word.

That is a very good question. What do people do about lifting those springform pans when they're hot? @ElsieD, thank you for that recipe. I now have a plan for one dinner, when our family wood-splitting party comes up in a couple of months.

I'm slightly farther along than you, but not much. I have learned that if I subscribe to a particular YouTube series I'll get a notification every time a new video comes out. The notification comes by email and as a notification to my Android devices. The notification methods can be adjusted, just as they can be adjusted for eGullet. AFAIK the business of "following" someone benefits that person, but not you. The more followers someone has, the better their cachet. @gfron1 referred to this when he was looking to get his book published. He, @Franci and any number of other star members can asked more light on this aspect if they wish.

This is an excellent idea. I'll tuck it away to try, and be grateful that Anna N asked the question.

The IP lasagna sounds like just the sort of thing to get my husband's daughter more interested in learnig to work her electric cooker - I think it's a Cuisinart version of the IP. (Impulse buy; I'm not sure whether she or her MIL bought it, but she's leery of it.) @ElsieD, the more information you give us, the more grateful @rotuts and I will be.

I went through a phase like that, then lapsed back into my beloved lemon vinaigrette. While I was experimenting, I discovered that (for my tastes) walnut oil and balsamic dressing were downright magical. How about you? What favorite oil/vinegar combinations have you discovered? What might you do with a smoked oil?

Welcome, @LivingMCM! Is your user name a reference to the century you prefer? I had to look up George Nelson clock; I didn't get the reference until I read more. Then it all came clear, and very familiar to me. If you like road trips and finding those old good diners along Route 66 (or elsewhere) I'm sure you'll have a lot of avid followers. If you're looking to recreate some of those experiences and recipes, you'll also get good support. The main thing is to jump in, join the conversations and have fun!

I picked up an updated copy of it - a 1990 or so version. It looks like it'll be good. Thanks for the recommendation.

I've had a couple of email exchanges with Mary from the Tasty folks so far. Here's what she wrote about setting the temperature manually if you don't have the app: In a later exchange, she clarified that she's talking about the temperature at the base of the pot. There's no way to monitor and control to the temperature of the contents, as measured by the included thermometer, without the app. Incidentally, she said that another good email address for contacting them is pr@tastyshop.com.

I also never think of poblanos as being hot, but they have inevitably been the hottest of the peppers I've picked up for stuffing or for addition to grilled peppers relishes. Go figure.

I *want* that gecko hose. Anything that cute - with even a hint of being useful - is a must-have. Before you labeled it, I thought the garlic thing was a rotary cheese grater. Please show it in more detail - what it looks like and how it works. I have a different edition of Sandor Katz's Wild Fermentation. I find it engaging and educational. Did you pick it up for a specific project, or on general principles? Thanks for the vicarious retail therapy!

Background: we live in a 3-floor house, with our bedroom at the top. I sleep later than my darling. His office is on the bottom floor, where he can read the news without disturbing me. This morning as I was beginning to pry my eyes open, my darling came up to the middle floor and shouted, "You awake yet?!" I grumbled to the affirmative. "Good," he called. "I've brought something up for you to read." 'Oh great - more political news,' I grumbled to myself, and pulled the covers over my head. When I came downstairs later, he allowed that he'd been afraid to read the rest of it. This is what he'd seen: Explosions! Oh, my! What was I contemplating??! It was the second page of the recipe for the blueberry barbecue sauce, printed back-to-front as our printer does.

Please tell us more about what this is, and how it's to be used. My (admittedly cursory) Google search came up with rock groups and a Wheel of Time reference.

I suspect Shelby is asking about this stuff in the right foreground: ...and if she isn't, I am!

Thank you, and thanks also to Thanks for the Crepes for that information. I'll start watching for it in the stores, especially when we travel to Florida.