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haresfur

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Everything posted by haresfur

  1. I've been using the fine-grit ceramic rods on my SpyderCo sharpener as a hone. I reckon the grit is the same and I'm an incompetent sharpener so a few passes at a consistent angle work well.
  2. I would absolutely go with panko crusted and baked that has become my go-to for chicken katsu and parma.
  3. Shun seem to be a decent, widely available brand from what I have read. I have a really cheap nakiri that has served well for decades. I think there are advantages to a softer, easy to sharpen steel that isn't as prone to chipping for people who don't want to faff around with their knives. That being said, I am learning more about hard Japanese steel. I guess because I'm willing to faff around.
  4. Just burned leeks, too. And I'm sure my stove is wimpier than yours. Maybe they are particularly prone to burning? Luckily I was able to salvage most.
  5. Yes you definitely need the acid, like for braised red cabbage. Mine has been sitting in the fridge for a while and is slightly blue. Needs some lemon to freshen up.
  6. Aka Shiso Juice makes a nice refreshing drink and growing the red shiso isn't too hard. Well, getting the right amount of sun can be a bit tricky - mine needs full sun in spring and partial shade later. I grow it in pots and it self-seeds for the next year. If you want booze, it makes a nice sub for simple in a Tom Collins
  7. I don't have induction any more but kind of wish I did. It looks like the auto-size only has a couple of settings so you don't get the spreading effect you might from gas as you crank the burners. An option is to lower the heat so the pan has time to spread the temperature out to keep from scorching. One thing about induction is that it is very efficient so the pot heats up very fast so you are really depending on the pot bottom to keep things even. High quality pans with copper in the bottom might help. You could also try putting a griddle on the burner beneath the pan to help spread the heat. Unfortunately, this might be a place where a more expensive unit might be better. The other thing I didn't like about my induction was that the temperature control wasn't fine enough. That could also be a problem in getting the whole pot to the exact temperature you want.
  8. $35/750 mL retail. I've never seen small bottles, which is one reason I don't generally keep it around - don't drink it fast enough.
  9. We went to a local cocktail bar/restaurant for a couple of drinks for a bit of a celebration with partial success. We started with gin cocktails of their menu and then I started going through other classic cocktails I wanted to have someone make for me. No success. They had quite a few gins on the shelf so I thought maybe a martini. They didn't have any dry vermouth. Sigh, didn't even get to the specifying ratios part. I wish them success, and I suppose I understand given the cost of Noilly Prat here if no one orders it, but really?
  10. The Roma tomatoes and basil are doing ok. So there is this: But we have had a cool summer so far and I fear they are going to suffer with this week's heat. The warrigal greens look nice but the leaves are quite small. Do you think they should be thinned? The volunteer in the yard looks good so I've been watering it to see if it will take over. The red shiso was doing very well in spring but seems to need shade but not too much shade so I moved it behind the red gum tree. Finally, my bullhorn pepper didn't make it another year so I planted some sort of capsicum in there. Then multiple other seedlings sprouted along with some green shiso. It looks lush so I just left it to do what it wants. Probably won't get any peppers.
  11. I'll never again put the lunch leftovers in a container then forget to put the container in the fridge
  12. @kayb looks like you are ready in case there's another wave. Good job
  13. Murray Stenson does (or did - not sure what he's up to) free pour. He's pretty well regarded.
  14. I mean consistency in getting the right pour then go from there on getting the right dilution. I don't care how the bartender measures the volume as long as they get it right.
  15. Interesting. Here souvlaki is skewered chunks of meat, often sold by fish and chip shops that may or may not have a rotisserie gathering dust in the corner. I think it must be a law that all chippies sell it but learned that it is worth the extra steps to walk 30 metres to the Turkish run shop rather than going to the Chinese shop. However, since a kabab shop opened up across the street, I usually go there for a halal snack pack.
  16. In Nova Scotia it would be Donair and made with beef. Here in my part of Australia it officially depends on the country of origin and kind of meat doner kebab, gyros, and, shawarma. But locally at least, no one calls it any of those: The menus just say "meat" and you usually get your choice of lamb, chicken, or mixed. You might say kebab meat and that is what you will get unless you say shish kabab or souvlaki. To add to the ambiguity, sometimes you will see souvlaki gyros offered.
  17. I recently cut a chicken in half that way and roasted one half. It turns out to be a nice way of doing it imo. I could see doing it even if cooking the whole bird. The other half was split up more for a tagine.
  18. I think the idea is to get the consistency in the pour and then dilute appropriately. There is still some bartender skill left in the equation.
  19. I had to get petrol and go by the office feeling peckish. So I present to you the dubious cultural institution, the Servo pie. Fresh from the rewarming case. I splashed out and got a chunky beef and mushroom from the Tradie range. I don't know why that's a selling point. Maybe because tradies make good money here and can afford the best? I'll spare you a photo of the standard brown goo inside but will note that the meat was truly horrible.
  20. I think the bad idea is that it comes from pizza hut. Looks like it would be pretty good on a better crust.
  21. With respect to my friends' mostly lovely Boxing Day lunch, I couldn't think of another place to post the Asparagus Rollups they served. Basically you take a slice of wholemeal bread, trim off the crusts and squash it flat with a rolling pin. Then butter it place a spear of canned asparagus on and roll it up into something resembling a vegetable pig in a blanket. Serve chilled. From the conversation at the table it appears that it was a nostalgia thing for people who grew up in small town Australia in the 1950s and 1960s. A quick internet search shows some people rolling several spears together, using mayonnaise instead of butter, adding a few spices, or getting really fancy and rolling with a slice of prosciutto. And the dish dates back to the 1920s. Any other Aussies partake of these?
  22. You can put a meat thermometer in the bag but there is usually no need to. The Sous Vide circulator/controller sets the temperature and then you just need to make sure you leave it in for long enough for the interior of the roast to reach that temperature and a bit longer to be sure the meat is pasteurized. You set the controller to the internal temperature you want when the meat is done. If you are cooking a tough cut of meat you will want to leave it in much longer until it becomes tender. The time will depend on the temperature you set and how big a piece of meat. But for a small roast beef you can probably go somewhere in the 4 to 8 hour range at medium rare temperature. One great thing about sous vide is that it is very forgiving if you leave the meat longer than necessary. If you give us an idea on what cut of meat you want to cook, the size, and the doneness you like, people here can give suggestions for the cooking. Don't worry if there are some differences, You will still get an amazing result.
  23. haresfur

    Dinner 2021

    Christmas lunch. Clockwise from top left: Quick fried prawns. Not traditional big tiger prawns but not as messy. Cocktail sauce. Leftover puy lentil salad. Cheap sangria from Aldi (guilty pleasure). Steamed asparagus with blood orange balsamic. Brie, Havarti, smoked salmon. Quince paste, fig bisquits, ham. Fancy pants terrine from the expensive deli in town, garlic fennel salami, bresaola. Micro-greens, home-made red cabbage sauerkraut, stuffed little pepper things, artichoke hearts, Sicilian green olives, cherry tomatoes, kalamata, sun-dried tomato and feta. The terrine was the stand-out. It was enough for two. Happy holidays, may you eat yourselves into an altered state of consciousness.
  24. I think they don't eat the fruit. They nest in a hole in my brickwork and tend to disappear when the young ones fledge before the fruit forms. I'm not sure the fruit is good for anything. I pinch off most of the flowers to try to encourage leaf growth.
  25. haresfur

    Dinner 2021

    Last week the supermarket apparently thawed some pre-cooked Western Australian lobster too soon. Between that and the Chinese import restrictions, I picked this one up for $24. I found it good but very rich so ate all but the tail with a little blood orange balsamic, then had the tail in a salad the next day. Apologies for starting the dismemberment before I snapped a photo.
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