lemniscate

A4 Box has another online special, better than black Friday one (25%), now 30% off for next few hours. Snip from email. Christmas is coming and the best gift is presence of family wrapped with love. So to celebrate Christmas with your friends and family we are offering 30% discount on A4Box. Enjoy cooking your and families favorite food this holiday and spread happiness with A4Box. If you've been waiting to get it, now is the best time. Use code- CHRISTMAS at checkout to get 30% OFF. Only lasts for next 48 hours. You can do so here: https://afourbox.com/products/a4box

I finally opened my A4 and put it to use recently. I decided to use it on the patio, I'm kind of a feral cook, felt like the most fun environment for it. One night we did cod and scallops with sauteed tomatoes, the next we did Tiger shrimp and fried rice. So far have just used the griddle part. I really, really like this tool. I can definitely travel with it. The dial control is simple. Not sure what the next insert to be used is, either the pancake one for potato pancakes or the takoyaki one for meatballs. Also, I'm seriously considering a shabu shabu night on the patio with the deeper insert. Never had that possible outside of a shabu shabu restaurant until now.

Costco is running some online specials on D'artagnan meats also!

Get there early for the cheese though. I went in the afternoon for I think Humboldt Fog and it was gone and the associate said it was sold out almost immediately in the morning. Some cheeses are more sought after than others.

@Shelby Do you use any of the venison bones to make bone broth in the IP? I was planning that if we had been fortunate to take a deer this year, but that didn't work out. I make copious amounts of bone broth from all the bones leftover from all proteins. I've never had venison bone broth, so I don't know if it is worth doing.

These are amazing. Can I ask where you got them? Asking for a friend 😁 (who looks a lot like me).

Here is relatively simple idea of what to do with bag juices from steaks. I've even used beer instead of red wine to make a sauce this way with the bag juices. Just a thought.

I have been a fan of Chefsteps since before the Joule. I had bought a premium membership years ago for classes and special videos, et al. Then Chefsteps kind of stalled with the Joule and the cool innovation went away. But I still used the site for the existing recipes, I didn't feel particularly abandoned. Then the announcement of Breville buying Joule/Chefsteps came. Wasn't looking good for the Chefsteps site. But I have to say Chefsteps seems to have been reborn and is vibrant again. New recipes, not just sous vide based. They are using BSO and Breville microwaves, but also IP and Control Freaks and freeze driers....etc. Fun stuff, like an entire turkey turned into separate yakitori and grilling it. They created another pay level above the Premium called Studio Pass, they offered a deal to existing Premiums to upgrade at a quite discounted price. I went for it. Some of the legacy Chefsteps followers were unhappy about another pay level, can't argue with that. But the company leadership did change. So far I feel I'm getting quite my money's worth in watching the new videos (they come out at the first of the month and some are added as the month goes on). Grant Crilly is relatable, enthusiastic and easy to watch. The video quality is very good and the write ups are excellent. All the old Chefsteps content is still available too. Just my 2 cents review and experience with the new Chefsteps concept.

I cook mine as is, in fact, I don't even thaw them before sous vide. I just toss them in the water and add a bit of time to the anticipated cook. Also, I use the juices for a sauce or dipping jus; or even collect them for a future gravy. Those bag juices are fantastic. I don't have any belief drying the meat of all juices before sous vide-ing has any effect to the texture/flavor of the meat. Are you planning to sear after debagging? That is when I have seen people dry the meat. But again, don't fear the bag juices!

Oh yeah, I forgot to add that part, I did use the saute function on the meat. Then switched to slow cook. I had previously tried to do a Sunday Sauce using the pressure function, but stuff just stuck to the bottom something fierce. I had the time and used slow cook and no sticking happened at all.

I threw together a pasta sauce with a little over a pound of sweet italian pork sausage, 2 cans of Mutti cherry tomatoes, a can of La Fiamma diced tomatoes ( I got a *bunch* of canned Italian tomatoes at Cost Plus World Market for super cheap, so I have lots of canned tomatoes), some stored up cheese ends, a little pork broth and a couple glugs of a homemade Worcestershire-style sauce. I used the slow cook setting on the IP to cook this sauce a long long time. It's really good and served it over radiatorre pasta from TJ's. It's rare I use the slow cook setting, but I think its great for a long pasta sauce cook.

I'll think about it. You and I are in the same Metro area. I just bought the A4 induction so I might have reached my 2020 limit on kitchen stuff already!

The A4 Box that @Anna N has been showcasing is 25% off with a code of BLACKFRIDAY at checkout. The 25% off is not applied on the extra cooking surfaces ($89 extra) only to the A4 Box itself. Free Shipping. I now own the white North American model with the extras. Get 25% Discount On A4Box. Use Code - BLACKFRIDAY

The Paragon is still ~$70 on the RCWilley site, BUT no longer available for online orders, in-store purchase only. Shame, I had been kicking around grabbing another one. I am no where near an RCWilley store.

Peruse the 1989 classic cookbook Manifold Destiny (which I believe has been updated. I first heard about it on "Car Talk" (how I miss that show). A search shows it's been mentioned every so often since the inception of eGullet. I do not own it though.

I also mistakenly put this in the old Prime Day thread. I'll put it here too. Prime Pantry deal on King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour if you want to stock up. 5 lb. priced @ $3.68. Cheaper than local Walmart price in my area Then there's a 20% coupon to clip. It looks like this is only applied to 1 bag of flour per order. Then if you buy 5 you get additional 5% off, buy 10 get additional 10%, buy 15 get additional 15%. You can buy 5,10, or 15 of various and assorted things and get the discounts, This stepped discount ends 11/30/19 Caveat: for free shipping you must have a minimum of $35 in your Pantry box. I tested all the max discounts with a qty of 15 bags in my cart and it looks like it came out to $3.13 per bag, delivered. Not a bad price for bread flour to the door. Edit: It looks like all the King Arthur flours on Prime Pantry have a 20% coupon, ie, organic, cake, gluten free...... Double Edit: US based Prime Pantry, I should add for clarification.

Prime Pantry deal on King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour if you want to stock up. 5 lb. priced @ $3.68. Cheaper than local Walmart price in my area Then there's a 20% coupon to clip. It looks like this is only applied to 1 bag of flour per order. Then if you buy 5 you get additional 5% off, buy 10 get additional 10%, buy 15 get additional 15%. You can buy 5,10, or 15 of various and assorted things and get the discounts, This stepped discount ends 11/30/19 Caveat: for free shipping you must have a minimum of $35 in your Pantry box. I tested all the max discounts with a qty of 15 bags in my cart and it looks like it came out to $3.13 per bag, delivered. Not a bad price for bread flour to the door. Edit: It looks like all the King Arthur flours on Prime Pantry have a 20% coupon, ie, organic, cake, gluten free......

I believe, if it works out, it will be a turkey-free Thanksgiving this year. A relative relocated here and brought a locomotive-sized smoker with them. Smoked prime rib is what I think is going to happen, the details are sketchy so far. I was assigned dessert. I am doing Chefsteps Pumpkin Pie in Jars which I tested a month or so back and it was excellent. I am also doing the Chefsteps corn pie, pumpkin style (Recipe is behind a paywall, sorry) for something a little different, yet familiar. And for the first time in my cooking life, the real deal Campbell cream of mushroom, French's fried onion, green bean casserole. It's been asked for and I am obliging. The streak is over.

Mine had the mat. But the instructions really didn't show the use of the mat, just the external controller.

I have several small aloes that are many many years old outside in old cutoff plastic bottles filled with hydroponic clay pebbles. They are under a patio roof year round. I just top them off with water now and then. I pretty much ignore them and they stay alive.

I have never found prickly pear juice to be tart, quite the opposite, it's been flatly barely sweet. I would say it mostly has a cucumber; zucchini-ish squash flavor with a touch of strawberry sweet, but definitely no tartness. At least the variety of the fruit around here. The bitter note you found, I'm not sure, could be the age, could be the varietal. There are quite a few different types of prickly pear varietals scattered around the country. The best version of drinkable prickly pear juice for me is a touch of agave syrup with a touch of lime. Or lemon. It adds a beautiful color and tones down the tequila edges in a margarita, but you still need the sweet and citrus note there. Blending it with a touch of pomegranate juice is also quite nice. Pom juice can be too sweet and tart, the prickly pear tames it. I personally did not find my steam juiced result any better or worse than the fresh pureed and strained. I also have peeled and sliced the fruit into slivers. I took a big pan of them to a potluck. I had a sign saying what they were, it was a local pig pit bbq gathering. Strictly as a unusual offering, I didn't think anyone would touch them. The sign got lost somehow and everyone thought they were eating slivered beets because of the color. The power of suggestion................................................................................

Wow, I was thinking Walla Walla. 😉

I'd steam.

@kayb This shop is run by a family member of a Brazilian coffee farm, so the Peixoto beans come from a known source. It's a bit out of the price range you stated, but worth a look.

also, never set down the collection bag or box anywhere near the plant. The glochids are also on the ground around the plant and will ride along on the bottom of the bag/box. You will hold the bag/box by the bottom and grab glochids. Ask me how I know, LOL. Also a good practice to wash the bottoms of the shoes you wore to collect before entering a living space, to avoid future barefoot surprises. Prickly pear is not designed to make harvest and consuming easy for humans. edit, I am related to someone not local who decided on a hike to try "these desert pears" growing out there. Apparently picking glochids out of your tongue is a memorable experience. If you do get them in your finger, Preparation H will ease the skin inflammation around the glochid and help it out faster. Who knew Prep H was so versatile. Every serious mountain biker in the area carries some due to run-ins with cholla and all other spiky things.