haresfur

It seems to me that the SV gives me a less done chicken and a softer texture. I suppose it depends on how thin you pound it. Next time I'll do a side-by-side comparison. The oil is mainly to help get the air out of the bag with water displacement. I think it might help the herbs flavour the meat, too. Thanks, another thing to research.

Oh I totally agree. I love a good chicken parma and with our lack of a national dish it's much more deserving than a silly pie dropped in a bowl of soup. Although I'd suggest that chicken parmas are slightly more prevalent in the southern states. I make them a lot and it's a good way of using up leftover pasta sauce. I don't worry too much about the ham as I don't think it adds much overall, but it is useful to stop the sauce from making the chicken soggy. Half the point of crumbing and frying the chicken is to add texture, and if you dump the tomato sauce straight on the chicken it tends to go soggy. So if nothing else, a slice of ham can prevent that and help keep the chicken crispy... I don't have a favourite cheese, but while you want a cheese with flavour I always like to add a bit of mozzarella too to get some stretch. I generally use a mix of parmesan (or grana padano) and mozzarella simply because they're the two cheeses we always have in the fridge. But I wouldn't say no to gruyere or jarlsberg, which would also go well. And I always add a smear of basil pesto on the top as well - that's the one variation I always make. Yum! Looks great. I'll have to try mixing cheeses. The pesto looks interesting and worth a try next summer when I have some basil.

Chicken parma could be the Australian national dish - available at pretty much every Hotel bar and of widely varying quality. One of the travel shows makes a point of grading the parma in each town they visit (Bendigo's Shamrock Hotel rated highly and I agree). Comfort food, and I decided to try my hand, not that I'm a great cook but I'm having fun. So here is where I'm at. Comments and suggestions are welcome and feel free to play along & post your parma. First starting with some free range chicken breasts from Costco. Slick down the middle to make a nice relatively flat heart shape: Cover top and bottom with plastic wrap and pound flatter with the bottom of a fry pan. EMP saw a talk show where Lady Gaga did a cooking demo using this method so in our house it is called, "going all Gaga on its ass." Put in zip lock bags with herb sprigs and some olive oil. I usually use sage but I had a lot of oregano so I used both. French tarragon is nice for other dishes but doesn't suit me here. Into the sous vide at 58 C for at least 30 minutes or until you are ready. You could probably use a temperature anywhere down to 55 C if you want but 58 seems good so far. Now, the photos get sparse but here are some more ingredients. I confess to cheating on the tomato sauce and using a jar of organic sauce from Aldi suplemented with a can of crushed tomatoes, some more fresh oregano, and a bit of Shiraz made by a coworker. Make bread crumbs. I really like this blender. Even soft bread feeds through the blades well. Take the chicken out of the sous vide and dry with paper towel then bread. This is a step where I've had some trouble - flour with salt and pepper, beaten egg, then bread crumbs to coat. Getting the egg and bread to stick has been a problem. This time I tried 'gravy flour' and that seemed to help some as did making sure the chicken was dried off thoroughly. Into the fry pan at as hot a temperature as my poor gas range can get to for about a minute per side until crisp and golden. Hot tomato sauce on top, then grated mozzarella, then cured ham product of your choice. Under the broiler until the cheese is melted and just turning brown. Garnish with fried sage leaves and, what the heck fried oregano. Did I mention I have a lot of oregano? Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did making and eating it!

An exercise in design so measurements aren't dialed in. 2 oz reposado tequila 1 oz Stones ginger wine 1/2 small lime a little Murray River pink salt shake strain. and a late addition of a small splash maybe 1/4 tsp pimento dram. The dram made all the difference.

We have a discussion on Australian fish here. But I agree it is all about freshness and how well it is cooked. We usually get butterfish, flounder, and maybe hake these days. Whiting and flathead are nice if we can get them. On the other side of the world I have a fondness for halibut and plaice. For freshwater N. American fish you can't beat pickerel/walleye.

Thanks for this. I was thinking it was time to use up my Bulleit and Aperol. It's quite nice but we thought it needed something. I added a splash of Averna (somewhere between 1/4 - 1/2 oz). I don't think it made it too sweet given the 2 oz of rye and it added another dimension. It would be interesting to see what another amaro does.

Sounds like it will be worth checking out.

I think the majority of cocktails everywhere tend to be on the sweet side. Of course that applies to a lot of the early recipes, too. Luckily I'm not as anti-sweet as some people, although there is a line between rich and gag. I don't tend to go out for cocktails here given the driving laws, the prices, and the unlikelihood of finding quality. Although there is a place in Bendigo that sounds promising.

Glissant on the Beach?

Anzac day is tomorrow so I made Anzac biscuits while sipping on: 20 ml Inner Circle Rum (I used red but feel free to go with green) 20 ml brandy 10 ml coffee liqueur (I used Tia Maria) 3 dashes orange bitters (Scrappy's) Stir with ice and strain or build over ice. Garnish with a lemon peel (or a lime peel if you are going symbolic regarding the British Empire) Sticking with the theme I suppose this is called an Anzac cocktail. Tomorrow morning it will be Bundaburg rum in instant coffee after the dawn service.

I brew on occasion. I don't drink enough beer to get really good at it though Cleanliness is the key to brewing beer. Although you can brew in plastic, it is easier to keep glass clean IMO. A porter can cover a multitude of sins (this is true of brew pubs, too). But my number one tip for brewing is for bottling time: Set up your bottling bucket on the counter over the dish washer if you have one. Open the door and put your bottles on it as you fill them. Catch all the spills on the door and clean-up is no worries.

Get the Luxardo - it's the standard. You can always try the less expensive one once you know what you are aiming for. For rye I'd be happy to get Rittenhouse 100 proof for that price. You could also look for Wild Turkey rye - preferably 101. The higher proof spirits will give you more control over dilution.

Julep variation for 2: Start dissolving 2 tsp date syrup in 4 oz Wild Turkey 101 rye When you get bored stirring (my date syrup is very thick) go outside and harvest a few sprigs mint. Stir the drink some more then gently muddle the mint in. Add ice and stir some more. Strain over decent size ice cubes in 4 oz rocks glasses. Spank a couple of small tender mint sprig tips and float on top of the ice. I was thinking of naming this Oasis except I can't due to the musical association. So since I was making two I'll call it Date Night.

I find that a few fresh ginger coins balance that nicely. The star anise alone to me is reminiscent of grandma's cloves stuck in the unpeeled onion that were standard in her chicken or beef soup. Also nice.I'll try a little ginger, too. I'm trying to keep the "Asian" flavours flying under the radar.

That's half the fun in them - when you are a kid... or when you give them to your friends' kids.

Just sayin' a tiny piece of star anise is a great addition to chicken-noodle soup (I used roast turkey/raw chicken frames to make the stock).

That is indeed a great tip and one I will try to remember.I wonder if you could use this idea to help keep liqueur bottle caps from freezing up with sugar.

There is also a long tradition of borrowing from pop culture. I named a ginger wine cocktail after an Indie group, the Ginger Envelope, hoping they find it sometime when googling their name. This could have a negative effect of making your cocktail appear dated but doesn't a Bee's Knees or a Mary Pickford sound dreamy?

Right, I tried a reposado first and thought a blanco would probably fit better, even though I usually prefer reposado. Anyway, it's a winner.

Been playing with the Nolita from Christian Siglin via Kindred Cocktails Ingredients 1 oz Gin, Beefeater 1 oz Campari 1⁄2 oz Coffee liqueur, Cafe Lolita 1⁄2 oz Sweet vermouth, Carpano Antica Formula 1 ds Bitters 1 twst Lemon zest I used Cinzano instead of CAF and Tia Maria instead of Cafe Lolita. EMP liked it quite a bit but we found it a bit more to our taste by dialing down the Campari a bit and the Tia Maria up a bit. Used Scrappy's chocolate bitters (the only use I've found for them). But my favourite was doing that and substituting silver tequila for the gin, turning it into a sort of Brave Bull variation.

A timely topic because a couple of days ago I was thinking that I really should try a Manhattan again. Nope, still don't like it. I suppose it could be my lack of skill, but not even close to seeing the appeal. Maybe I should go to a snobby bar, order something with vodka and when they refuse have them make me a Manhattan, "...and if you don't like it I'll make you something else"

I've become fond of a 3:2:1 margarita with 1/2 bianco and 1/2 reposado tequila. Cointreau of course.

I'm not dismissing new drinks, just that a foundation in the classics can be valuable on both sides of the bar.

There is a corollary that we would be better off if the drinking public spent more time learning about, drinking, and appreciating the classic cocktails. If nothing else it would give bar tenders practice making them and consumers who would know when the new drinks just don't stack up.

I agree that your destination is important. When I moved to Australia I brought far too much stuff, but once I decided on a shipping container, it was hardly more money to get a bigger one ... You may consider how much it would cost to replace the things you really want. But I'm not sure if you have a question or just musing. So unsolicited advise: Take along the things that make you smile. If that's a special Dutch Oven, that's reason enough. And if you are going to curse every time you try to cook without some particular tool, then it's worth the effort to try and take along if possible. But yeah, I really wish I'd thrown in a couple of cases of Mason jars...