KennethT

Do any of them pick when fully ripe? That's the biggest problem I have with some produce is that a lot of it is picked green and "ripened" in transit which never tastes the same. Just because it's red doesn't mean it's ripe!

I'd be curious as to what you think about greenhouse hydro tomatoes. Are there any local growers like this in your area? I've found that a proper cultivar grown in good indoor conditions can yield tomatoes as tasty as the best local summer tomatoes, even in winter - the only issue is that they're more expensive.

Many years ago (long before I heard of either Edge Pro or eGullet) I bought one of those two sided stones in a restaurant supply store - it came with a plastic holder/case with suction cup feet so it doesn't slide, and it is made to sit in a bath of mineral oil. it was really cheap and works well, as long as you try to maintain the knife's angle when you use it - that's where the Edge Pro shines - keeping the angle consistent. If you get one of those stones and it doesn't come with the plastic case/mineral oil bath, you can always soak it in water and then lay it on the counter on top of a folded damp towel, which will keep it from sliding. As you sharpen, keep putting some water on teh surface of the stone using your fingers so there is always a small "puddle" on top of the stone which will help lubricate and remove metal filings as you go.

I cut mine about an inch thick - they were the best french toast I'd ever had (texture wise) - fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside

@JoNorvelleWalker I understand that you may not want the chorizo french toast, but the methods are applicable to other flavors

Do you have the original Modernist Cuisine? In it is a great recipe for a french toast using the chamber vac. A few years ago, I did a savory chorizo flavored french toast (simmered a whole lot of minced chorizo in the cream before making the custard) - it was amazing....

Thoughts of Singapore.... Chicken in Black Nut curry (minus the black nuts!) I love this non-coconut based curry, but my neighbors probably hate it as our apartment (and hallway) will smell like shrimp paste for the next week...

When I do chicken rice, I use a master stock that I made years ago using a few silkys, garlic, ginger, etc. I'll put the chicken breast into a ziplock with a bunch of the master stock and cook at 145F until pasteurized. Bring the stock to a boil to coagulate the impurities, strain, then some is used to make the rice, while the rest is added back to the master and refrozen. Every once in a while I need to top up the master, and I'll then defrost the whole thing, add more garlic/ginger etc. and simmer for a while then refreeze.

Dinner tonight: Moulard duck breast with potato galette cooked in duck fat, and kumquat sauce... obligatory greens are spinach sauteed in duck fat. This concludes the fancy cooking for the rest of the year!

We started planning our summer vacation trip, then had a craving for: Roti prata Belacan kang kung Curry prawns Belacan whole fish

Wow, @Shelby that prime rib looks amazing! When I was a kid, my parents would make it for me for special occasions... brings back nice memories.

My wife and I don't celebrate Christmas, but since I have a day off from work, and many local restaurants are closed (gasp!) or have expensive fixed menus for the occasion, I decided to cook this year. Last year, we went down to our favorite place in Chinatown but it was a madhouse and the quality certainly suffered. I wanted a bit of time to relax and work on new projects, so I didn't want to make something that required tons of time, but it would be very different from what we normally have. Dry aged, prime, NY strip steak, potato galette, sauteed asparagus and sauteed pears. I asked the butcher to save the trimmings from the ridiculously marbled steak - what's cool is that this place, unlike others, only weighs for pricing purposes after trimming! So I got all this great beef fat for free. I made a nice fat-shake and then rendered on the stove top - got tons of great beef fat. Steak was put in the freezer for about 30 minutes just prior to pre-searing in copious beef fat and butter that surprisingly didn't set off the smoke alarm - although it definitely should have. It then went in the bag (along with the cooled fat used for the searing) and cooked sv for about 2 hours (it was almost 2 inches thick) to a core temp of 125F. Post searing done with propane torch. My wife and I agreed that this was the best steak we had ever had - even in a steakhouse. The beef was crazy tender, juicy, and ridiculously beefy. Even though it was cooked SV, it had a great grilled flavor, due to it being cooked in the smoky fat. At 125F, the beef did not lose even an eyedropper full of liquid - the only liquid in the bag was the fat. Potatoes were yukon gold sliced in the mandoline, cooked with beef fat and butter and some fresh thyme. Asparagus was the healthy part - just a little grapeseed oil. The pears are a nice thing I haven't done in a long time. Sliced thin, sauteed in better and copious black pepper, then flambeed with cognac. Is there anything better than the combo of butter and cognac? I wonder... Washed down with a glass of: which was incredible. I rarely drink alcohol anymore, so when I do, I want it to be worth it. We have lots of great wine in our wine fridge that was either gifted to us, or procured at great prices, and thanks to the Coravin, we don't have to worry about needing to drink a whole bottle when we only want a glass or two. This means that there will be more of this wine on another occasion!

I was sorting through photos on my hard drive and came across pictures of the hand made, hand painted celadon tea pot and tea cups that my wife and I got on our honeymoon in Thailand - we visited a celadon factory in Chiang Mai, watched the artisans hand craft everything and then toured their shop. Their quality is amazing - but we have only used the tea set once or twice because I'm so afraid of damaging them while washing them....

I'm not trying to be snide or snippy but can someone please explain why dungeness crabs are supposed to be so great? I think I've only had it once and my memory says that it was a lot of effort for little yield... What am I missing?

I used to do duck in a cherry sauce and the sauce was based on a brown sauce. I was trying to recreate the sauce for duck they used to do at La Cote Basque (now closed). It came out very close. I think that would work well for an orange sauce as well.

I saw the watermelon radish quite a bit in Beijing - it was always an accompaniment to Peking Duck (in addition to green onion and carrot).

I think it is disgusting that these guys have gotten away with this kind of behavior for as long as they have - and, I hope that those who do that kind of thing now recognize that it is not acceptable behavior and stop it. With that being said, I don't agree with boycotting the establishments run (or formerly run) by them. I understand that they are still profiting from these places, but by boycotting them, you are also hurting hundreds of innocent employees - some of whom are the ones who have been harassed in the past. Also, rather than patronizing these places, chances are you would patronize a different place (as opposed to not going out at all) - but, how can you be sure that the replacement establishment isn't being run by one of the sh*theads who do this stuff also, but just hasn't become public yet?

Sorry - yes, the first picture, center-right... are they similar to the first picture, center-left?

@liuzhou What are those hot dog like things? I saw them all over Beijing. When my wife and I were in a nice park, we stopped in a tea house (which turned out to be extremely overpriced for the mediocre quality) and they had some food options. Since we were starving and had little other option, we ate there, which was the worst meal on that trip - and possibly the worst meal of the last several years... Accompanying the horrible "stir-fry" (which we think came from a can), was one of those hot dogs - but it was cold in the center. I tried it and it had a very odd flavor - I couldn't really place it. But we saw those hot dog things being sold all over the city - and they all looked like they were made in the same factory. I'd love more info on them if you know anything about it.

I almost never post on this forum, mostly because I forget to take a pic before eating... Salmon in a tamarind/shrimp paste sauce. Served with the last remnants of my yu choi harvested yesterday.

It's vegetative growth has been slowing for a couple weeks... time to move on and plant another!

My final yu choi harvest... they're starting to go to flower... The plants...

I'll echo others' sentiments - thank you again! I love being able to see things most tourists would never get to see - even better with your commentary and knowledge of the area. Out of curiosity, what should the translation of that hotel sign be?

@chefmdThat's a great idea - but I think they'd have a pretty long lunch.... I've never seen even a close relative of the Viet banh mi outside of Vietnam! I've tried just about every banh mi place in NYC, and no one comes close - they're all just french baguettes that they warm in the oven or salamander to try to crisp and lighten them... but it's still all wrong. I've talked with some of teh Viet owners of these places and they say that they just can't get a supply of the bread - seems like no commercial bakery in NY makes them - and don't necessarily deliver all day, forget a few times a day!

I wonder if it would be possible to par-bake and freeze, or freeze the proofed product just before baking? That way you could make a batch, but only bake 1 at a time so it's fresh...