Chris Hennes

I'm at about the once per week level: it has greatly increased the usefulness of my torch (particularly for melting cheese), but not so much that it's an every-day affair.

Yep, still running (though it's actually between cures right now). I haven't had any problems with any of the setup. I still haven't bothered making a real circuit, it's still living on the breadboard as in the original photo. I did add a humidifier, but haven't yet added a heat lamp (though I will for my next cure, I think). Then I need to tweak the code to have an incubation stage.

Any idea what they were judging on? It doesn't really even look that unique to me. It's got that sterile "modern" look going on, maybe just taken to the extreme. It doesn't seem any more or less functional than many other kitchen designs I've seen.

Did your tasters find the "egginess" objectionable? Since I made the comment you quote I've made stuffing both ways, with and without eggs, and while I prefer it without, I didn't find anything terribly objectionable about the eggs. I add them to the stock and blend, so I've never had an issue with chunks of egg white.

Continuing discussion, reviews, and analysis of Mekelburg's can be found in the New York: Dining forum. Or send BKEats a PM to congratulate him.

Neat. Makes me wonder about adding one of their little "on-air" indicators to either signatures or profiles here. It would make it easier to catch people when they are actively broadcasting. It looks like I'm too late to the party to see your broadcast.

Over in the test forums we are discussing possible improvements to our recipe database, RecipeGullet. (Members can see one possible implementation here). One of the things we are discussing is a provision for members to rate recipes, but a point of contention is whether it makes any sense to rate recipes, considering the widely varying cultural standards. What do you all think? Does a rating make sense for a recipe? Would you pay attention to them? Would you rate a dish from a cuisine you weren't that familiar with? Is this a feature we should add?

I've got a very large potted Hoja Santa plant that I'd like to nurse through the winter to give it a good headstart next year. Winters here in Oklahoma are generally pretty mild, so I was thinking I might give one of those plastic collapsible greenhouses a shot. Does anyone have any experience with these? I was looking at the Homewell Mini Walk-In Greenhouse because I think it would actually be big enough for both the Hoja Santa as well as my rosemary and thyme plants.

I received an email the other day I thought I'd ask for your input on (I am far from an expert in Cajun Crystals!) -- Does anyone have any of these recipes laying around?

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My recollection from your tests is that while the temperature was steady, it was also way off from the indicated temperature, and took a long time to get there, particularly with the lid off. I wonder what time-to-temp is going to be with the Oliso unit.

Just because it's got ten power levels doesn't mean it can't hit a precise temperature. It means it will have to fluctuate between those power levels to maintain it.

I was disappointed that this wasn't in one of the rewards tiers, I'm really looking forward to it. I was quite annoyed when the Meld Kickstarter was cancelled, and am hoping this will be an even better solution.

Only matters if you live someplace with a "cold season"!

What about allowing arbitrary temps when using your own cookware? I don't really want to deep fry in your bath, I want to use my Le Creuset.

What do you expect the max temperature to be? Can I use it for deep-frying?

Sure enough, listed right there in the sidebar. I am actually finding the use of the top as more of a "precision crock pot" intriguing. And it does say it will work with your other induction-compatible cookware. Pricey for a crockpot, but it does have a lot of bells and whistles. Has anyone used their Sous Vide Supreme as a slow cooker?

Here are the basic product images from their Kickstarter page: The specs say that it's about a foot square, but I can't find a reference to the liquid capacity for sous vide, or the internal dimensions of the bath.

Yeah, I agree, I prefer 140F for chicken breast, but that's obviously not going to get the bacon to a reasonable doneness. How dedicated are you to cooking the chicken and the bacon at the same time?

I was recently contacted about the Kickstarter for the Oliso SmartHub induction hob. It looks basically like an induction hob with some sous vide temperature control baked in and an interchangeable cooking area (flat top or water bath). They are currently about halfway funded. I think the big question is, does the world need this thing? One of their staff members joined this morning to answer any questions you may have about the device and/or the Kickstarter.

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There are lots of techniques that will work, but the one in that video is one of the most foolproof, I think. I don't think there's anything magic about using Chinese chives except that they are cheap and a good shape for pushing around the wok without developing any residue.

Maybe, but sometimes in the interests of food safety home recipes are over-conservative with the amount of curing agents included, so the reverse might also be true.

Ars Technica has a good summary here. The gist is that a meta-analysis of peer-reviewed studies indicates that consumption of cured meats such as bacon, hot dogs, and sausages significantly increases the risk of colorectal cancer. The evidence is also significant, but not quite as compelling, that red meat poses a risk as well. Original source: Lancet Oncology, 2015. DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(15)00444-1