Smithy

I've had yogurt develop a grainy texture when frozen and thawed by itself. I can't remember whether the fat content mattered. I don't think I've ever tried freezing something that contained yogurt as an ingredient. This doesn't answer your questions, but may provide a workaround: could you, perhaps, freeze the rest of the gazpacho and then stir the yogurt in just before serving? Then you could carry the yogurt separately in a sealed container suitable for the refrigerator or an ice chest.

It's never occurred to me to use a pressure cooker on eggs. I don't own a pressure cooker, so even if I'd thought of it I couldn't have tested it. It does seem as though steamed eggs are easier to peel than boiled eggs, but I haven't done a careful study. This topic pops up occasionally; the most recent discussion about steaming vs. boiling is here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/148583-steaming-hard-cooked-eggs/ Thanks for bringing up this technique. I was going to suggest you'd come up with a new method, but in searching the forums I found some discussion about it in the Pressure Cookers topics. Laura Pazzaglia (Society member 'pazzaglia') posted a blog entry on the very topic, and a few people have tested it and included links. Here's another link to her blog entry: http://www.hippressurecooking.com/cracked-soft-medium-and-hard-boiled-eggs-in-the-pressure-cooker/ Of course, I still can't test it, but it would great to see some side by side testing of 'steam' vs. 'pressure cook' to see what difference the pressure makes.

Thanks very much for that recipe, CatPoet. I love gravlax; your procedure looks a little easier than mine, and I look forward to trying it. However, I think we may be missing a point here: your father says that if the juices are reabsorbed the fish will be salty; andrestorrubia says he vacuum seals the fish. He clearly isn't removing juice before serving. However, he may not be waiting as long. It's also possible that the brown sugar helps draw and hold the fish juices so they can't reabsorb. andrestorrubia, in addition to my earlier questions, I'll also ask these: How does your procedure and recipe compare to CatPoet's gravlax recipe? When your marinated salmon is done, does it have some coating that you rinse or wipe off before serving?

I'd like a bit more information about quantities and time, if you don't mind telling. When you normally do this, about how much brown sugar and how much salt do you use, on approximately what size piece of fish? Are you saying that you usually just sprinkle a little of each on the surface of the fish, then vacuum pack it? Or is it a small amount of seasoning sprinkled on one small patch of the fish? (That's what your salt-only photo looks like, to me.) Are you adding no liquid? Finally, for how long do you usually marinade, and at what temperatures? I don't know whether that information will help troubleshoot and offer ideas, but it may. Besides, I'm curious to try it myself. ;-)

Franci, you could invite me to your table any time, and I promise I wouldn't need a blindfold to enjoy it. Those look beautiful, and I'll bet they tasted even better than they look!

...and those both of strong Arab heritage! I got a kick out of their listing beef kababs as Egyptian; beef is expensive there, and lamb or chicken are far more common. Thanks for your translation of the contents; it's a lot of fun to read, and worth some giggles. I've had the idea that beef and mutton are expensive in China. Is that true? If so, do you think this cookbook makes heavy use of them to make the dishes seem more exotic? Giggles aside, I'd love to know about the Feta Cheese Salad (representing Greece) on page 118. That's a good question. I don't recall celery in any of the Middle Eastern dishes I've eaten, nor do I recall seeing it in the souks in Egypt. I'm no authority on the topic (I'm hoping Hassouni or FoodMan will pop in), so I checked with several of my Middle Eastern cookbooks, including my Egyptian cookbooks. No mention of celery in salads that I could see. There IS an Arabic word for celery, so it isn't a complete unknown. Still, I'm inclined to think this recipe writer has made use of artistic license.

I can't get very excited about the fiberglass in this context. Note that the discussion in the link above is all about fiberglass as an inhalation hazard. The exposure to the threads in the margin is very, very small, and very finite in quantity. (I do like rotut's trick of smoothing with a torch.) If I were a professional cook using these mats in large quantities all day, every work day, I might try to find a fiberglass-free mat to cut. For casual use my only concern would be the aesthetic displeasure of seeing an expensive, rather pretty piece of matting become disfigured and asymmetrical.

Wow...those are beautiful, Elizabeth! I'm very impressed.

Oh, c'mon, you can't leave us hanging like that! Anyway: I'll bet that even if it looked bad (which I doubt) the taste was irresistible, and there were no leftovers. :-)

It looks like you're starting the pickling process with sprinkles of salt. Do I have that right? And then what...and what do they taste like?

CatPoet: thanks for all the sharing, and happy Midsummer to you! I'm baffled by anyone who doesn't like tomatoes, but your husband must have other redeeming features. ;-) With regard to the china: good on you, as the Australians say, for using it. Sure, it's nice to have dishes that are pristine and more than a century old, but I think it's much better to use them, as they were intended to be used, even at the risk of breakage. mgaretz: I'm a sucker for tri-tip. Yours looks lovely. Thank you so much for that; I can almost taste it. Shelby, I love the fact that you use so much game. It looks great, as always! cyalexa: I can't get personally excited about anything involving sweet potatoes, but those ribs look to die for. :-) This is such a great topic: full of inspiration and outright food porn. Happy Midsummer, everyone!

I'm looking forward to that, Soba. I'm presently working on some of the leftovers of the root vegetable slaw about which I posted a couple of nights ago. The slaw isn't any softer than it was on the first night (translation: the beet matchsticks are more 'tough' than 'crisp'). I think this means that either younger roots or smaller pieces are needed. The flavors are better, now that the dressing and the vegetables have had a chance to mingle. nakji, take special note: I see I posted once that Greek yogurt might have been a poor substitute for labneh, and in the next post said it was fine. I'm using it now, and it's a fine substitute. Sour cream, on the other hand, takes the salad in the wrong direction IMO.

It looks like you'll have to ask them, and let us know. Have fun!

I was glad to see on the "Your Daily Sweets" topic that you recovered yourself enough to make the cloud cake. ;-) If you're up to posting photos, we'd love to see the result, or at least hear how it came out. Either way, Happy Midsummer's Eve!

Welcome to eGullet, otzi. I have a couple of followup questions, while we wait for someone knowledgeable about sous vide to answer. 1. What particular meat (cut and type) are you working with? 2. What, exactly, is 'not so clean' about your old clothes tumbler? It sounds like oil, possibly? What else do you use it for? 3. Why do you tumble-marinate meat? This is a new technique to me; I'd like to learn more.

FrogPrincesse, thanks for that information, and in particular for the link. I really need to remember to read Russ Parsons' column on a regular basis. Our grocery store didn't have any apriums that looked like yours, but they had 3 varieties of pluots, so I decided to give them another try. (One problem with grocery store stone fruit is that they rarely leave the stuff in the original container, so the labeling is left to rudimentary information: white peach, white nectarine, red pluot, black pluot. 'Cot-n-Candy' won't show up unless it's actually on the fruit sticker.) Bless Russ Parsons for trying to keep the memory of Blenheim apricots alive. Further to that rustic tart: is there a preferred crust for that? I'm making dessert next week and may try one with nectarines. CatPoet, I'm glad to see you reached a decision on your midsummer dessert. :-) (I refer to this topic: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/148734-french-chocolate-cake-or-cloud-cake/) Happy Midsummer!

Franci, do you mean the ATK recipe calls for a 9 inch diameter (round) pan, or a 9x9 square pan? If 9x9 then your 7x11 pan will only be slightly smaller area, and the cheesecake only slightly thicker. If they're specifying a 9 inch diameter pan, that only has an area of 63.5 square inches, compared to your small pan's 77 square inches. Your cheesecake will be 21% thinner. Will that be acceptable? Sorry I'm coming up with fresh questions instead of answers. (And no, I don't know how to compensate for the differences.) :-)

That looks like a tasty cake, gfron, and I speak as someone who's never attempted (nor had reason to attempt) vegan. I'm curious about the orange juice and orange extract in the recipe. You noted that the flavors can be messed with, but as it's written do you get a distinct chocolate / orange flavor combination, or does the orange disappear? Next question: if different juice is selected, do you have to compensate for the different acidity?

Paxu, it sounds like you may be looking for something that you can tip over to fill a measuring cap, and then tip it a different way to empty the cap. I've seen that for liquid dispensers, and will be interested to know if something similar exists for seasonings. CatPoet, are you describing the same sort of thing I am, or something different? If it's different, could you post a link to the sort of thing you mean?

Welcome, Lisa. There are plenty of professional cooks around here who can probably give you some guidance if you decide you want to take the plunge. Meanwhile, the rest of us enthusiasts are always glad to have another cook in the mix. What kind of food do you like to cook? Given your job, do you find yourself looking for something quick when you get home? Do you manage more labor-intensive cookery on your days off?

Welcome to the eG Society, Linh! You'll find a lot of other passionate and curious cooks here, who enjoy sharing information and experiments. We hope you enjoy participating in the discussions here. Are you in New York City, or somewhere else in New York State? This is a great time of year for farmers' markets, and from what I read you should have access to a lot of them.

Take my advice: that little shredder blade will be a huge help! :-DAbout the yogurt: yes, the Greek yogurt was our fallback. We'd purchased labneh some time back, but when I opened the container this evening I discovered a new and unwelcome colony in the container. Fortunately, the Greek-style (Fage brand) yogurt was still good. It was a fine substitute. I think, given the sweetness of the dressing, that something like sour cream would also work.

My first recipe attempt was part of tonight's dinner: Root vegetable slaw with labneh (photo shot before labneh was added). It was / is very pretty: even prettier once something creamy and white is added. I didn't take a picture of the served salad with yogurt, but the vivid pink beet juices were turned into vivid creamy hot pink - almost magenta - with the addition of a milk product. Truly lovely. Having said that, I'll add the following notes: Given my knife skills - not bad, but not professional - if I make this again I'll use a food processor. Getting matchsticks out of raw beets and kolhrabi was a bit much for me, and at present I'm typing with only 9 fingers because of a miscalculation with a knife and a beet. It appears that getting truly small matchstick sizes - the recipe specifies 1/16" or smaller - is critical to getting the dressing to permeate and soften those root vegetables. Either that, or one needs to use much younger, more tender roots, or the whole thing needs to marinate overnight. (We'll know about that tomorrow.) We thought the dressing was too sweet and didn't meld with the ingredients properly. This assessment may also change after everything has a chance to marinate for a day or two. Unless the taste and texture change dramatically after a day or two in the refrigerator, I won't bother with this recipe again. It isn't worth the effort, and we'll be challenged (based on tonight's taste test) to finish what I made. Neither of us likes to throw away food, but there's a fine compost pile outside. Two other, probably relevant, points: this really, truly is not compatible with an oniony potatoey beef pot roast, which was very satisfying tonight; and our labneh was going bad and we had to substitute yogurt.

I can't shed any light on the chili question, but I love the name 'Lagrimas del Dragón'.

That's great news, Elie. Thanks for posting about the positive outcome.