kayb

Thank God. I'm not the only one. At a minimum, it wants a big handful of fresh basil.

Lord, how I miss sushi in Japan. Preferably at Tsukiji at 6 a.m. I need to work on going back.

I'm ok with marshmallows in hot chocolate, (I'm also fine without them), impaled on a straightened-out coat hanger and toasted over an open fire, and of course, in Rice Krispy treats. I cannot abide them in or atop sweet potatoes, or fruit salads. And God preserve me from the "green stuff" and "pink stuff" congealed salads of my childhood, packed full of the multicolored mini-marshmallows! (I'm fine with both green stuff and pink stuff w/o said marshmallows.) I have to confess I have never had a homemade marshmallow. Might change my tune; I dunno.

Faced with early notice of an unexpected guest tonight, I pulled a pork steak that had been bagged with Vivian Howard's blueberry barbecue sauce and then frozen out and tossed it into the SV. frozen. I think it's been going since about 11 a.m. at 145F. My plan is to pull it about 6 p.m., then throw it in the smoker for 40 minutes or so. I've never SV'd pork steak (slices from the shoulder) before. If it were a shoulder or or butt portion roast, I'd want to go at least 12. Think it'll have time to get tender in the time I have for it? It's good home-grown, farm-raised pork from just up the road. and is about 1/2 inch thick. Will have with baked beans and potato salad. Also thinking about tossing some sliced peaches and cubed cantaloupe with a yogurt dressing as a fruit salad.

Welcome! Great variety of cooks, cooking styles, and great info here!

Do you slice first, or just freeze whole? And do you just let it thaw on the counter? Steam bake, 400 degrees, 25 minutes. It was about a 1 1/2 pound piece of tenderloin. Warning, pink pork aficionados; there was no pink in this. It was JUST past the point of pink.

It is my understanding that Best Foods is West Coast for Hellman's, with different labeling.

That is absolutely lovely.

The more chicken horror stories I read, the happier I am I haven't cooked anything other than local, farm-raised chicken for the past 10 years. Girl! Come on down here! My garden needs weeding in the worst way. .Will put you straight to work! But I'll feed you Hellman's mayo.

@Kim Shook, I'd generally go with convection for most anything that's breaded. I cooked perhaps the best pork tenderloin I've ever cooked in my life tonight. Marinated it about six hours in bulgogi marinade, let the marinade reduce while I popped the tenderloin in the CSO, on the rack over a foil-lined pan, for 25 minutes. Took it out, glazed with reduced marinade, flipped it over and glazed that side, and gave it another 10. Rested it for 10. Tenderloin was the most moist and best texture of any I've ever cooked. Marinade was just a tad too sweet. @Smithy, yes, Convection w/o steam, although I think there's still some steam involved.

For list-making, I use two apps -- the "tasks" list on my Google Calendar (without which I don't know when to breathe) for to-do stuff, and the "Out o f Milk" app on my phone., which I cal also access on my laptop, as can my daughter. Out of Milk lets me keep separate lists for different stores I frequent., which is very handy, and as my phone is generally close to hand, it's easy and quick to note something down when I think of it.

I use this recipe, but I just put a couple of whole garlic cloves in the bottom of each jar, and I add a quarter-teaspoon of red pepper flakes to each jar, or drop in a jalapeno. Let them ferment about two weeks, then put on the lids and water bath process for 10 minutes. And I usually cut my cucumbers in half. I have the fermenting lids, so I just make mine in quart jars, and then sub out the regular ring-and-flat lids for processing. About two weeks' fermentation makes them about right.

I will eat Chick-Fil-A food only when (a) starvng, and (b) the grandchildren insist on going. Nasty stuff. Lemonade's good, though.

Indeed.

SOS!

I sold my kitchen-phobic eldest child on it. Of course, it does a phenomenal job, on convection, of cooking that frozen convenience garbage on which she lives.

Butterfly it, pound it thin, dredge in flour, then dip in a milk/egg mixture, then dredge again in panko. Fry in a medium hot skillet. Wonderful schnitzel. I also like to take those pounded thin filets, spread them with fresh ricotta mixed with a little basil pesto, roll them up and bake them in the CSO. Then I let them cool, slice them, and layer them with sliced tomatoes. Caprese-ish entree for a hot day. Or poach it and make chicken salad.

I can see that DeSpana may wind up costing me money. Wonder if their paella pans are any good? Of course, I do have one coming from Darto, eventually.

I can testify the CSO does not make toast worth a damn when you butter your bread, set it to toast, and then walk away and forget to push "start."

Ahh, Hasselback potatoes! Never thought about the bacon; nice addition. . Tip of the day; lay wooden chopsticks down on either side of the potato. They'll keep you from cutting all the way through.

Well, the offer stands. Hope you find them in Syracuse, though I'd be surprised if you do, as they're generally a Southern staple but less common "up North."

Think "rabbits."

Zucchini: @HungryChris's zucchini pickles are the bomb. I dehydrate zucchini slices, too. Cucumbers: Make you some half sours! I forgot my first batch, let them go too long, and they molded. Have to do another batch, and I'll be through with pickles for the year.

Being on vacation helped me avoid Prime Day for the most part. I did look, once, at the price on hand mixers, the only thing I was really in the market for. No big deals, so I passed.

I grew up in a county which was, for a time, the largest sorghum molasses producing county in the country. We can get it in gallon jugs, but usually it's in quart pails that look like paint buckets.