Smithy

Welcome! You live in a wonderful place for food and drink! You wrote: Do you mean your government job is related to food? If so, I'm sure a lot of us will be pleased to pepper you with questions about your work, the regulations, and so on... ...hmm... ...maybe you won't want such attention? I look forward to learning some of your ways with fish and forage.

@pastryani, those look like idealized views of Earth from orbit. Beautiful!

...er...sorry to hear the news, and glad the diet seems to be working, but...how is ghee not dairy? Or are you just ignoring a restriction, as no doubt I would?

@HungryChris: in this context, what is "tajin"? This looks like a good way to disguise zucchini, maybe even make DH think it's worth eating.

@Chris Ward, while you're at it: if you can post about differences between using the steel molds or the silicone molds (adjustments necessary, for instance) I would appreciate it. Not that I've ever made madeleines, mind, but I have both types of mold and keep intending to try.

You know how ads keep popping up on random web pages for things you've looked at on Amazon and other sites? Suddenly this is all that seems to be coming up on DH's computer even though I rarely use that one. He commented that we now have ways to hint quietly for each other's Christmas and birthday presents.

So, let's hear a comparison, please. Standard toaster: I put in the number of slices I want, check the setting in case DH changed it, push the lever down. A minute or so later the toast pops up, toasted more or less the way I wish. Obviously I don't have toasties out of this deal. It's just toast, destined to receive butter. CSB: how much more elaborate is the procedure for plain toast in the CSB? Is there a preheat required? Steam? How much time does the process take?

@ElsieD, pursuant to your previous question: did you go by weight or by volume for the proportions? Are the powders' density so similar that it doesn't matter?

I read this tip some years ago here on eGullet. I have to admit I've never been able to feel a comparison (maybe the temperature difference between the meat and my hand confuses my senses) but a number of experienced cooks swore by it at the time.

I'd never heard of wosun before now. Does it have a mild taste, like celery? Is it pleasantly crunchy uncooked, or does it need to be cooked?

Lovely, @kayb! Did you keep to the 3T salt: 5lbs cabbage recipe you mentioned above? Any vinegar or spices added?

Norm, do you have a link to a previous discussion about your convection heat diffuser? A photo of the setup, perhaps? I'm having trouble getting my smoker to burn hot enough to generate smoke without being too hot for the meat I cook. You might have the answer to my problem. Beautiful ribs, by the way.

I have rhubarb. I have dates. I now have a new recipe, and people for whom to make this. Thanks!

We're visiting family and helping them settle into their new place. Food always flows in flavorful excess with this gang. Given the ham, potatoes (cheesy and otherwise), shrimp dip, fruit, burgers, fresh bread, and colossal pans of cookies, bars and cupcakes we've already consumed this weekend, it looks like it's staying simple: brats, beans and beer so we won't be tired to waddle up the hill to watch fireworks.

Rhubarb date cake? Please tell more about that.

If your friend needs even more of push, point out the energy-ineffiency of older applances. I don't suppose her power company is giving out rebates right now for such projects?

Mine came in a box earlier this month. It's the wifi version (and includes Bluetooth, which I haven't tried yet). @HungryChris and @rotuts, what about yours?

Welcome! There are bread bakers of all levels here. It's nice to see another; feel free to jump in and participate!

Ah, thanks!

Thanks for that suggestion, @shain. I understood that good oven spring required an initial high heat. Is 230F hot enough to get the necessary expansion of gases?

CSB = Cuisinart Combination Steam/Convection Oven. It's spurred its own topic(s) (start here) in the last couple of years. A few of its devotees have taken to calling it the Cuisi Steam Boy (CSB) or the Cuisi Steam Girl.

Very pretty, sir. How was the texture of the beef? Was doneness the way you gauged when the braise was finished?

My latest sourdough bread. I'm very pleased with the taste, and I'm getting the hang of shaping - not as quickly as I'd like, but I'm pretty happy with today's batch. I'm trying to figure out how to get the crust right. My last loaves had a softish crust - not terrible, but not as crackly as I'd like. This time I ran the heat higher (around 450F before steam added) and then lowered the temperature to 400F to finish. The crumb is good, but look at the whitish ring around the edge, just inside the golden crust: (The gold flecks in the interior holes are surface crumbs that were picked up from the bread board.) This crust is hard. It looks from the cross-sectional ring as though there's a tough, dry ring around the perimeter. Does this mean I cooked it for too long at high heat before turning the oven down? If not, what? What should I try next?

I've been using the Android app. It includes good-looking recipes that I plan to try, although I admit I'm still at the data-collection and -logging stage. It's a shame the Anova can't be programmed to stop when the time is up, but I can use the app to turn the machine on or off, change temperature, and monitor the time without having to walk back into the kitchen.

That's what I have been doing, but I am the newest of the newbies and may have been doing it wrong. As long as the temperature is constant (water circulating), why would it matter?