KennethT

My rice cooker is actually a 15 year old Krups rice cooker / slow cooker combo but I dont' see how my epxeriences with it wouldn't translate. I've made Hainanese chicken rice in there with no issues - just cook the garlic/ginger in a pan on the stove first, add the rice, then put that combo in the cooker along with the chicken stock. Worked great.

There are actually 2 bags in the large sack. The outer woven one is really just to protect the inner one. The inner bag is a translucent plastic bag. We keep a large glass jar in the pantry which is what we go to on a regular basis. Once it gets low, we refill it from the big bag, and then reclose the big bag's inner bag tightly with a twist tie. The big bag actually sits on the floor in the middle of the living room, right up against the tent where it's out of the way.

Pre-pandemic, we started buying larger quantities of jasmine rice - the type we use most commonly... Not only do we not run out as fast, but I find the large sack is different than the jasmine available in the smaller 5# bags - it cooks up fluffier using the same technique. My theory is that the smaller bags sit around longer while most of the sacks we've gotten lately are labeled "new crop". We keep smaller quantities of basmati, sticky and carnaroli which I've used (in a pinch) as a replacement for bomba.

an angle grinder using a metal cutting disk - it cut like butter, even easier than cutting aluminum

It's relatively new (less than a year) - and I probably only use it for anything that spatters once in a while (that may change now that I have the new pan). I also run the steam clean function practically after every time I use it as soon as I take out what I'm cooking (so it steams while we're eating) - I let it cool down a bit when it finishes, then give it a wipe with some paper towels.

oooh, I could really go for some spiny lobster... too bad it's only available frozen here, and super expensive.

It's just the two of us (as it is every year) but our normal plans of Peking duck in Chinatown are not going to happen.... I'm thinking about making the 2nd round of duck birria tacos that were so good last time.

I got in my lodge 11"griddle, removed the handles and reseasoned (so the newly exposed metal won't rust). Fits perfectly!!!

@FranciI've never had king fish. What is it like?

LGD?

Whoops! I didn't realize that they weren't the same place with different anglicised spellings.

Thai-ish noodle soup concoction. This is the last of my Thai chicken stock (I'm planning to make more on the long weekend), made into soup with Shaanxi knife cut noodles, duck confit meat and some little choy; pile of herbs for adding in the background - mint (it is overgrowing the garden, even though it is theoretically contained in its own pot), rau ram, thai basil and sawtooth coriander. Duck skin crisped in the CSO - 275F convection bake for about a half hour.

I definitely think location is a part of it. That and cleanup. My smoker is buried underneath a bunch of other stuff, so it's a real pita to dig it out. That, and after it's done, cleaning up the gunky residue is a pita also. Since I currently have about 6 sq ft. of countertop space, very little is actually left out and ready to use. I'll be happy when we move - I'll basically double my countertop space!!!

I haven't bought anything in the last few years that I don't use a lot, just because I've been so choosy about what to get.... With that said, I have made quite a few purchases in the past that I barely use - like my stovetop smoker - it works really well, but I almost never use it. Stick blender - if it's used 5x a year, it's a miracle. That being said, it came in handy last night when I was making a puree of grated coconut and raw shrimp to put in a goan shrimp curry. 4 more to go.

Wow - I didn't realize it was that thick. In that case, if you like it rare/medium rare, I'd put it in a 115F bath for maybe a half hour before serving just to bring it up to temp a bit. Then dry it off and sear and that should take it the rest of the way.