haresfur

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.

I think the bad idea is that it comes from pizza hut. Looks like it would be pretty good on a better crust.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

They sponsor soccer teams in Mexico and now apparently in Philadelphia. Nice to see blokes run around in shirts that say Bimbo.

My curry tree has been looking kind of sad for a few years, since the apprentice servicing the evaporative cooler on the roof dropped his ladder on it. I'm letting a couple of suckers grow up in case I decide to chop it off and start over. But the Eastern Rosellas love it as is. I've pretty much maxed out the possible pot size.

Helps hide the real blood

Nice. I started a little pomegranate growing in a pot after I saw a beautiful one like that at our local Stupa. The last couple of years have had a single flower but no fruit.

Made some red cabbage sauerkraut that turned out pretty good. My last sauerkraut batch turned out kind of limp because I bashed it pretty well to get brine out of the cabbage so this time I didn't do that and just made-up more brine with salt. Nice and crunchy. I was going to add juniper berries but couldn't find them in the pantry so it wasn't spiced at all. Nice red colour.

Late to the party but it has been a cool enough early summer to turn on the oven and turkeys pretty much show up this time of year and disappear after Christmas. So I cooked a "Banquet turkey" Which is basically just the breast on the bone and one joint of the wing to help it stand up. Small birds by N. American standards but large by two person family standard. And ovens here are European-size so there was barely room for a tray of smashed rosemary and olive oil potatoes. Asparagus and homemade red cabbage sauerkraut on the side. First time trying dry brining and it worked really well. 205 C for 35 minutes then 175 C until done. Fan-forced setting. The dogs were very happy with the scraps. eta: gravy

This is something that many people don't realise. Most of the cooling comes from heat of melting, not merely from the initial cold temperature of the ice. That's why whisky stones don't do much. You would be better off keeping the bottles in the fridge.

It sounds good to me. Personally, I'd leave out the cream. There is one way to find out! I usually just do garlic, parsley and white wine

Although HoJo did have a somewhat more limited influence on American culture

First you say you know the etymology then argue about the description of an American Diner, based on etymology. Don't think I can help you with that. But anyway hauling a rail car, horse cart, or streetcar onto a lot is as prefab as it gets. No I'm not going to dig up original sources but they were apparently manufacturing Lunch wagons by 1891. I don't think you can fix a cultural phenomenon to a point in time when it obviously is a concept that grew through the ages. The comparison to British caffs is merely in terms of cultural setting. They are clearly not the same thing. But you did ask what defines a diner, not what the earliest representation was.

I haven't seen any evidence that American diners were originally railroad dining cars. Some apparently were repurposed horse-drawn streetcars. However, there clearly were companies who specialised in making diners for transport and installation on site. Did you read the Smithsonian article I linked above? "This 1956 photograph was taken during the short time that two Nite Owls sat cheek-by-jowl in Fall River, MA. Soon the old lunch wagon was carted away and demolished, replaced by the gleaming diner." Of course the whole internet could have it wrong, "The concept of the diner began when Water Scott, a Rhode Island entrepreneur, repurposed a horse-pulled wagon into a car that served sandwiches, coffee, pies, and eggs to people late at night. He quit his job as a printer to sell food from the wagon. Soon other companies followed to produce lunch wagons or early diners." Weak coffee - yes really.

Diners originated from horse-drawn food carts catering to the working class at a time in America when restaurants catered to the wealthy (although I think working class bars often served food at the time; need to check Imbibe by David Wondrich for the timelines). Started in the northeast but can be found across the country. They morphed into a uniquely American form of sit-in dining and are embedded in the cultural DNA. Diners were originally (generally, anyway) pre-fabricated and moved to the site. This defined the classic diner architecture. They were often added onto later. The Wikipedia article has some pictures and decent info. Also check out an article from the Smithsonian Magazine. So characteristic features (not all have to be present) include Metal wall construction, often with rounded corners and ceilings Dining counter with stools Booths and possibly tables Short-order cook often works in the open behind the counter. Serve breakfast all day Frequently open 24 hours so become a focus for night workers and partiers Typical breakfasts: Eggs any style (except usually not poached!), bacon, sausage, hash browns, weak coffee with free refills, pancakes, waffles Classic lunch/dinner: Soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, club sandwiches, chili, burgers, French fries, hot roast beef with mash, and of course pie. I think the closest British equivalent would be a caff.

I understand they had to move the Tastee Diner in Silver Spring MD a few blocks to make way for development. Probably a bigger deal than it should be because diners were originally meant to be dropped into place. Shame that Ye Olde College Diner in State College PA is no more. For me the prerequisite for a diner is a waitress who calls you "Hun"

Down here I only hear "sanga"

Those are beautiful. Are they all single bevel? I'm left handed so am wary of Japanese knives.

I was about to start a topic like this but always love to revive an old one. I don't have a great knife collection but in any case will dole out any additional entries slowly to prolong the fun. In light of prolonging the fun I just received this "Dingo" utility knife from a kickstarter by 2 South Australia blokes. So I got to follow the progress through the end of the campaign, manufacture, and covid-slow delivery. The makers designed a set of "Aussie-inspired" knives that are kind of a highbred in terms of manufacturing. Quoting specs from their website: Specs: Collection: Big Red Knives Manufacturer: Koi Knives Made in Australia Blade steel: VG-10 Japanese hard steel core with Stainless Steel cladding Blade length: 200mm (7.75 inches) Handle wood: All local but varies from wood of olive trees, Shiraz grapevines from McLaren Vale (wine region of South Australia) to specially sourced wood Australian deserts. Handle length: 136mm Feels nice in the hand. I have a huge chunk of pork shoulder that I'll try it out on for carnitas this weekend

Yeah I have a wok burner on my cooktop (not the highest end one they make) and the filters on the exhaust fan get disgusting.

You can also use the Hawthorne strainer (with the prongs) for stirred drinks like martinis. If you want less stuff like ice shards and citrus gunk in your shaken cocktails pour from the cap through a mesh strainer.