Shel_B

Nice recipe idea ... what's self raising flour, and do I need it?

Very enticing article ... it has a few advantages compared to the oven or stovetop, and one very great disadvantage: space I'd have to do some careful planning and measuring to store a beer cooler in my small apartment, but I suspect it is doable. How large a cooler would be advisable, or, perhaps a better question, how small a cooler can I get by with, assuming for now that fish and chicken would be the most cooked items and for no more than two people.

Thanks for your comments. Very helpful. I don't know how low my oven can go, but I do know that my Breville toaster oven can get down around 120-degrees, and I do have a container that will hold water that can fit inside the oven. How much water can I minimally use ... the container I have in mind holds but two quarts, less, of course, the amount taken up by the item being cooked. Doing it on the stovetop seems like a lot of work, but the water, because of the quantity, might be able to hold a pretty steady temperature, and I do have a few very heavy, thick pots that should help maintain an even temp. Does that sound about right for stovetop SV?

Thanks so much. The article gives me a starting point. I imagine that temp control wouldn't (couldn't?) be as precise as a dedicated setup, but it might be OK for a few first, rough experiments. It seems that I have most of the needed items.

Could something approximating sous vide be done with a properly sealed bag and a water bath in the oven?

Thanks for all the help. Right now my use of eggs is limited, but should I get more adventurous with my oven, your help will be even more valuable. Thanks! I recently acquired a small, digital kitchen scale, and there will surely be some egg weighing experiments coming up.

Earlier today I made popovers, and the first egg that was broken into the bowl was a double-yolker. It's been years since I've seen a double-yolk egg (I once saw a triple!), and I suspect that, with my new egg supplier, I may see more of these puppies. How do I deal with them, especially in recipes that call for multiple eggs or eggs that have been separated? Thanks!

Having recently been gifted with a few nice, thick, grass fed rib eye steaks, I thought I'd review some ideas about cooking them, and found this thread. The issue of butter is interesting, in that I think it does add some nice flavor, but it also has a tendency to burn. With that in mind, how might ghee or clarified butter work in place of plain butter? It seems like a good idea, but might I be missing any downside? Thanks!

Probably not much more than a quart at a time, if that much. For example, a head of broccoli, a couple of diced zucchini, two medium chicken breasts, 1/2 to 1 small head of cauliflower ... like that.

Bingo! I have a strainer that fits perfectly inside my 4-quart All-Clad saucepan, and the lid covers it quite nicely. I bet that will work just fine as a steamer basket, and eliminate the need to buy any additional vegetable steaming gear. I can also set a small plate inside the strainer, allowing me to steam fish or poultry, albeit not large amounts. Thanks for mentioning your steamer basket.

Because I don't know about the quality, and the diameter is a bit less than I would prefer. A lot of the steamers I looked at had quality issues, such as fins coming loose or falling off, legs that weren't well secured, and poor quality stainless steel that rusted. Some had design flaws that were unacceptable to me, such as handles that were too long to fit inside the pots I'd be using. That's why I asked here, where people do a lot of cooking and may have had a lot more experience with these things than I. I subscribe to the idea that "the more you know, the better your luck."

Nor I, with any of the metal steamers I've used ....

Lemon Pepper Pappardelle: Don't know if this has been mentioned before ... it's great stuff! http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-lemon-pe-32147

What is the name of the organic Italian spread?

I already have a stock pot with a steamer insert. It's nice for many reasons, but it's sometimes a PITA to use. The little steamer basket should be a good, quick alternative in many instances.

What I'm looking for is something like this, of this general style: https://www.google.com/search?q=vegetable+steamer+basket&biw=1079&bih=502&tbm=isch&imgil=xaoYN5ew1HKfXM%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcQ7n6O-olTsVZvtnpP-wOQNXpKeOEknCwUpWFlpFvFRyuFldcnX%253B406%253B235%253B2z18_Cq1MBG8ZM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.texmex.net%25252Fproducts%25252Fcooking.htm&source=iu&usg=__XZRSuLKBnFrghCMnTHBG-x9LhCo%3D&sa=X&ei=QNYpU9aCNYXB0AG35oGQBA&ved=0CF4Q9QEwAg#facrc=_&imgrc=xaoYN5ew1HKfXM%253A%3B2z18_Cq1MBG8ZM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.texmex.net%252FGraphics%252Fsteamerbasket.gif%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.texmex.net%252Fproducts%252Fcooking.htm%3B406%3B235 I wasn't clear in my original post - sorry.

Looking for recommendations for a well-built, well-designed, stainless steel vegetable steamer. Thanks!

I checked at JoAnn's site, and the muslin they have is perfect for my needs. The description addressed all my questions. Thanks so much for the suggestion. BTW, JoAnn has a 40% off coupon thru Saturday, March 22nd. It can be used in store or on line ... those interested should check the website: http://www.joann.com/coupon/?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=30Off1RegPricedItem+sitelinks&utm_campaign=Brand&002=2365735&006=35023798683&007=Search&008=&012=joann%20fabric&010=30Off1RegPricedItem&gclid=CJzCk7P7nr0CFY1xOgodfSsA9w

That sounds great! I was planning a trip to TJ's today to get, amongst other items, those lemon pepper pappardelle - which are a great noodle - and I'll grab some shrimp as well. And I'll check my broccoli supply, too. Thanks for the dinner suggestion.

Where do you get the unbleached muslin, and what should I look for (thickness, size, thread count, material) when buying such towels?

And for us ignorant dolts, what's the "Sharpie trick?"

I had a couple of my German knives sharpened on a CC, and while my friend did a good job using the machine, I ran into some dissatisfaction with the way the knives were sharpened near the bolster. Here's somewhat of an example of what I encountered, but not to so great a degree, as the knives were only sharpened once with the CC: http://www.niceandsharp.com/Bolster_Adj/Bolster_Adj.htm

The chocolate pudding recipe I use is http://forums.egullet.org/topic/147199-shel’s-simple-old-fashioned-low-fat-chocolate-pudding/#entry1955865. Been thinking of swapping out some of the regular, granulated sugar for brown sugar. Any thoughts on proportions or ideas on how to best make the substitution? My first thought was to replace 1 Tbs of granulated sugar with a Tbs of brown, and then reduce the remaining granulated sugar by 25% (1/2 Tbs). Good starting point? Got a better suggestion? Would love to hear it. Thanks!

Just wanted to let you know that I've been very pleased with your suggestion about making a lemon-garlic sauce. I've played with your technique three times since you posted your info, and each time the results are improved over the previous try. Since I don't have a mortar and pestle, after my first try I started grating the garlic on the Microplane and crushing the lemon zest and garlic together. Works pretty well. The latest iteration used the Microplane and I used three styles of garlic: cooked as you described plus some added roasted garlic, and some 'planed raw garlic. The sauce had a wonderful depth and flavor to it. And Toots has been enjoying the results quite a bit, too. Thanks again for your suggestion.

I've already signed up to be notified of classes and events. Thanks for the pointer ...