OliverB

never ate a lamp, so I had to google "lights", never heard that word used for lungs, LOL Some day I'd love to find a whole set of these books, but I'm not going to walk into the "one at a time" trap (again), haha!

this is kind of timely, I just today thought of an octopus I have in the freezer, and recently read about cooking them Sous Vide! I'm sure I ate octopus sometime somewhere, but honestly can't remember, I don't go out to eat much (big part of fun with food to me is making it, if I go out I pay somebody else to have fun, no fair! ;-) Anybody got a great recipe/technique to share for a whole octopus cooked SV and then - don't know a quick fry, bbq, nothing? Was an impulse buy at the farmers market fish monger last year. Vac sealed and frozen that day, I'm sure it's just fine. Ready to play with it!

I cook steak SV all the time, the torch doesn't work for me either, only to brown some spots here and there. But I can get a great sear, what do you use? I use a cast iron skillet that I heat up to where the patina turns silvery, I drop a bit of canola oil in and spread around, then the steak goes in. I do dab the steaks off a bit if they got too moist with juices in the bag. Between 30-60sec/side gives me a really nice sear and no grey at all underneath. It's not an almost black crust, but a real nice (well, to me anyways) dark brown sear. I might torch the sides a bit. I do also cook them on a very hot bbq and just in the pan, either with the high temp sear one side, flip and stick in low oven method (with a thermometer probe inserted) or I flip the steak often to get a nice sear but slow down the heat transfer to the center a bit, thus less to no grey.

I'd probably clean them, half them and roast them all, then vac pack and freeze in 4 or 6 or so each bag portions. You can buy them frozen like that, which would indicate that that's an option. Something else might be a soup or some sort (I'd guess there's an artichoke soup recipe around?) and freeze that or at least the base (leave out cream for example). Maybe also play around with a couple, see if a salsa or a pesto of some sort is possible? If good, freeze portions. We just had some "frost bitten" ones this week, they did not look pretty, but once cooked were delicious!

I tried pre-peeled garlic a couple times, not impressed. The kind I had was in a box, sealed in a couple vac sealed bags. I had to use a lot more garlic than using fresh. I won't go back, not even if I need a lot of garlic. Smack with knife, remove peel, chop. As for roasted, I've seen it in glass jars, and the larger Safeways here also have it at their olive bar where you can buy as much or little as you need. Not the same as fresh roasted, I think a lot of the aroma is volatile and gets lost, but good in a pinch. As for storage, in the fridge I'd give it a week or so, then throw it out. If you have a food saver or something like that, seal in small portions and freeze, that should easy keep for half a year if not longer I'd guess. Never tried it though, roasted garlic has a very short survival rate in my house :-) Oh, once I bought a jar of minced garlic and that was just plain terrible. Bitter overtones, no real garlic flavor, I threw it out.

I'm pretty sure if I brought a setup like that into the house my wife would burn it down :-) I have the Sous Vide Demi and love it. Exactly the right size for me (family of 4). If we have guest I usually use my bbq or the oven, so it's 98% home use only. It might be too small for say a group of 10. Then their regular machine would be my choice. I just can't have cables and controllers and pumps and tubes all over. As much as I'd personally be quite happy with a kitchen that looks like I'm making meth or gold or curing cancer. I'd be very happy with that and thanks for sharing the photos! I might get a 2nd outfit someday, then I'd go with a controller/heater/pump thing I can use in any pot or cooler of different sizes. Upside with those is that they store smaller, the Demi and it's big brother don't change size once you're done cooking.

I use silpat and other brands for cookies, the only thing I ever bake. Works great, I prefer it over paper. Cleaning isn't that hard, sink with warm water and soap, then a rinse. They don't crinkle and crumble up like paper. I don't use them for anything else, if I roast something I line my sheet with aluminum in most cases or just use the sort of non stick sheet as is. I only ever used the paper from the roll in a box, a pain to get flat and fiddle with, the pads are easy. I'd get the precut paper if I'd bake a lot, but it's a once a year thing for xmas and I don't have room to store sheet size paper. If I had or baked more, laziness would probably take over and I'd use the paper all the time. Not for roasting though, I roast veg at 400 degree and the paper gets semi burnt and I don't want that around my food. Foil it is, and nothing leaks underneath that either. They used to sell non stick foil too, not sure that still exists? Could be an other option to explore

The Berkeley/Oakland border has a lot of great new and newer places and there are a lot of great ethnic places from all over the world. Check yelp.com for some ideas. Have a great stay, if the weather plays nice March is a wonderful time at Pt Reyes!

maybe accidentally added an other cup water? If there was extra liquid after you cooked it, that's pretty much the only thing I can imagine. Certainly could happen to me sometimes, kids pulling this way, phone ringing that way.... Something was different from normal, extra liquid is really the only thing I can imagine.

I think eventually equipment just gets into play, but you certainly don't need it. I had a stove and pots to start with, but would not want to give up my SousVide Demi, my pressure cookers, my Big Green Egg or my food dehydrator now :-) I have not gotten into molecular things yet...

Kohlrabi is my new "discovery" since a booth owned by - I believe - Korean farmers now carries it. Nice little small ones. I haven't eaten it in decades, have to ask my mom how she made it (cooked somehow with some sauce). So far I've bought nice small ones and peeled them and julienned them (with a mandolin), did the same with a green apple. Sprinkle with good vinegar (sherry or something nice and fruity) to keep the apple from going brown, then just add what ever I have in salad leaves. Makes for a great crunchy salad! Add blue or other cheese, nuts, croutons. Really a nice fresh crunchy salad! I rarely go out for dinner - cooking is way more fun to me than going out and I don't have to get a sitter for the kids, so I can't chime in on what's new and hot in the Bay Area right now, but if there were a dish with kohlrabi I'd give it a shot for sure!

all these shows are scripted, every one of them. Not word for word like a movie, but in who goes on and what goes on. They'd be a lot more boring otherwise. I had a fun conversation with a guy who creates these "reality" shows a while ago, there's nothing left to chance. And if something goes off script they just redo the sequence. You have to have drama, the person everybody loves to hate, the quiet one, the sexy girl, and so on. Just look at the panel, got the "controversial" AB, the goofball, the sexy lady and the french guy/outlaw full of tats and with a probably heavier accent than he really has. Same in all these shows. You'll never find one where teams of boring non-drama people compete, people would tune out. It's all about ratings, if you don't have viewers you don't get ads, if you don't get ads you can't produce the show. Watch them as entertainment, but not as reality or real battles or real competitions.

next time I'm at the French Laundry I'll bring two off camera flashes and a tripod

still not sure about this one, I'll watch one more, but I think this is going to be a one season thing. Why they love a dish but don't hit yes is still a mystery to me. No obvious strategy here that I can figure out. And way scripted, I bet they have the producer in their ear, "let this one go, he's too nice, get that one, she's a *itch, good for ratings". All these shows are scripted and edited down from hours of filming, so that's not really a surprise. They just don't make it very interesting. There is no reality in reality TV shows, every one of them is scripted to keep you hooked. The hook is just a bit rusty in this one.

what are you using as a vessel? This little machine can't replicate a $1000 equipment, try to insulate what ever you use and don't use something too big (like a giant cooler) 1.5 degree F is not that much of a deviation and for most SV it makes little difference. My Demi fluctuates a bit up and down as well, it's all home use equipment, not lab or commercial. Doesn't even have a pump to circulate the water. I don't know if the SK can be calibrated? And most consumer grate thermometers fluctuate somewhere between freezing and boiling too. And accuracy around 32 degree is not important here. Try the boiling, try setting it to something like 130 and test with an other thermometer (meat thermometer, maybe a fever thermometer goes that high? Or what you might have available or can borrow. But I'd really not be too concerned some very special things aside, a degree F more or less won't do much damage I believe. At least not with meat/fish/poultry and veggies. Just my thoughts. If it's pretty accurate between 100-160 or so, it'll be fine. If it's all over the place, exchange it. And maybe contact the manufacturer too for their input.

very strange show, not sure I'll stick with it. Very scripted, but every "reality" show nowadays is. I like the main idea of just a taste and "blind" so they can't just pick the hot girls, LOL. I was surprised by the odd dishes people made, only towards the end things came that I'd consider as a spoon taster option, a bit seared tuna, some greens, etc. tappas or Asian style. And only one sweet thing? A great icecream or sorbet with something crunchy. Maybe I missed it, somebody bought pork belly during one of the shopping segments, but I didn't see it served yet? That would also be something I'd consider. Or something ethnic, especially with Bourdain being there. Asian street food, a soup. People really overthought things and tried to cram too much stuff on one spoon. I'll watch it some more, but I have the feeling that I won't care who wins (but then I generally don't in these shows) and the format will get old quick. And yes, I also did not get the "I already pressed my button but I made a mistake, so sorry to say no" part at all. You suddenly liked it so much better once you saw the person or heard them speak? Hu? In general I'm getting tired of these "competitions" on TV, be it cooking or singing or making a fool of oneself. All so overproduced and scripted it almost hurts. It'll be interesting to see if that trash talking lady that ended up on AB's team will clash with him though, she's already made out to be the *itch on this show. (as usual with these shows, they have to have a selection of different characters, especially the lovable dofus and the *itch or *ss everybody loves to hate, and who stays on much longer than they should since only one thing counts, ratings. so, overall I was very much NOT impressed with this "revolutionary cooking competition". And I think they should have a dunk tank for those that got rejected, that would add a certain fun twist :-)

I'd also use a bowl that just fits the boat. If the event is relatively simple (not sure what fancy for the region might mean) you could probably even use simple paper or plastic ones, otherwise some small nicer (reusable) plastic dishes might do the trick or go online for some nice ceramic bowls (think Asian store). I'm not sure about the cottage cheese, adding something that's not really part of the food seems a bit odd. You could also experiment with some kind of ring, metal or plastic, something that's obviously not to be eaten and has little incentive to be "taken home". PVC pipe cut into thin rings or something like that? But I'd go for a bowl that just holds the boat.

use older eggs, they tend to peel easier than fresh ones. make sure they're fully cooled (if you want them warm you can put them in a baggie and let them swim a bit more in the SV to get them warm again), crack the shell all over on the counter and roll them a bit under your hand, carefully just to loosen the membrane. As for a tool, I sometimes use a teaspoon to slide under the membrane carefully. a completely other option is to crack them in a baggie (one per) and SV in the baggie, but you won't get a nice egg shape.

I'm most likely going induction once the old spiral coil stove burns out. Probably have to go with jenn air again, since it's all ducted for the down draft and the microwave hangs above (so no way I can get a hood in there w/o doing major surgery) and thought about gas, but I'd have to run a gas line and then I'm sure I'd set kitchen towels and who knows what on fire, since I never cooked with gas. Thanks for sharing some experiences!

I just "found" mine in the back of the fridge, put them up about 2 years ago, never used them, never even opened them. Figured I'll trash them, but tasted a bit, quite good! There's no way anything will grow in that much salt and acid, and it seems they are good indefinitely. Mine are very very soft, but I'm gonna use them soon now. Not sure I'll put up more, since I can buy small jars and don't seem to need them much, but maybe once I use them more... IMO there's very little danger for food poisoning, if something is bad you most likely will smell it and know it, nothing dangerous I'm aware of can grow in there. It's a simple technique that's been used for thousands of years by people w/o running water or much use of even the word "sanitary" :-)

if you can get in (some tables are walk in only, but you have to get in line by 5pm or so) or are lucky to snag a reservation, State Bird Provisions on Fillmore near Geary is supposed to be fantastic. Got a lot of coverage lately, including best restaurant 2012 in Bon Appetit (I think) and it's small, but from what I hear it's awesome. Bounce around North Beach a bit if you are with bar hopping people, always fun. Slanted Door is great, check out the Ferry Building in general, farmers market if you're in town (I think it's on Sat). Dive into Chinatown (check yelp.com for reviews), that's always fun too. I'm in the far east bay, rarely go to SF for food, too many places that are great and yet to be explored in between, but those are the things I'd like to do this year. Oh, Beach Chalet at the bottom of Golden Gate Park is neat. Nothing spectacular but good brewery, good brewery food, and a great view. And the beach is right there to walk it off afterwards. Zuni Cafe would also be on my list. Watch your wallet!

I agree, somewhere there's an end to the % scale where it gets stupid. No waiter on this planet is worth $80 for the couple min they wait on me. At high price venues like that I'd ask the maitre what the policy is, but 20% on top makes no sense there. We used to just double the tax here in CA, then I read that's not enough, should be 20% or more. But you know what? Why? So the waiter can live somewhere? Well, take it up with your boss if you don't make enough money. In Germany we tipped the change sometimes, or if somebody was really nice and attentive you tip some extra. But they had to earn it by being nice and attentive. Not buy just doing their job. I've given very little at times here in the US, if the wait staff was not up to my (not very high) standards. If I have to wait 15 min for a glass of water or a beer, the meter goes down. If my glass water gets refilled w/o me even noticing, it goes up. But yes, we're trapped in the 15-20% range of course. A stupid system.

try steaming them, or pressure cooking, if you have one. Did the pressure cooker recently, since I just got one. Best potatoes ever. Tasty, full of flavor, nice and waxy all through. Not sure if it was the cooker or the potatoes or both, have to repeat the experiment. But they were really good and could be sliced or cubed no problem.

No sane person should eat there, so it doesn't really matter. They don't sell food, they sell weird science experiments :-D

that should be interesting, never would expect a mother in balsamic! My uncle (Italian in Italy) used to make his own once the kids moved out, had a row of kegs in the attic. Turned out really good, but crazy expensive, he bought some kegs that were over 100 years old to use. (he has a lot more money than I can ever dream of, LOL) Now his daughter has a full aceteria and makes a variety of balsamic vinegars, from simple to crazy expensive in tiny bottles. I have yet to visit it, a bit far from California, but I've seen pictures and she won several awards (also married a guy with even more money so she could afford to set this up with the best of everything). We have some of her balsamic, it's thick and sweet and amazing. So, yes, you can make it at home, but you need a row of kegs, a good amount of money, and time. The kegs get smaller down the row, the smallest gets emptied by half or something like that, that's what you use or sell, then you fill it again from the next larger one and so on, until you reach the first and largest one which you fill with fresh must or what it is. Balsamic has an interesting history too, fun stuff to explore. But without the row of kegs you won't get anywhere. Some just use oak I think, the best ones use different wood kegs for each year's keg. I'll never forget the smell in my uncle's attic. Or in his basement, where the whole parma hams were hanging and large pieces of the best parmesan I've ever eaten anywhere. Regio Emilia, mi amore :-)