Dave the Cook

That's not sublimation, is it? Sublimation is solid to gas, bypassing the liquid phase.

I think we're simply dealing with this: poach a chicken breast with aromatics in a water-tight container at 135F. So, to come back to my original concern: I believe you when you say that you've never made anyone sick. I think that is a testament to your skill -- and your luck. I'm not sure I'd want to give it to my kids. And I'm still wondering about the texture. Anybody know at what temperature chicken breast protein coagulates?

Chicken wrapped in plastic is not under any appreciable pressure. So nothing in the environment (short of a chemical reaction of a type not usually provoked by this ingredient list) ever gets hotter than 135F. Maybe Charlie's chickens are germ-free, and his kitchen is sterile, but 135 is in the "danger zone" that home cooks are always being warned about, and with good reason. And, though I'd be willing to try it, I'm not sure that chicken breast at 135 is going to have a very appetizing texture. I'm certain that the dark meat of chicken at that temperture would be considered inedible by most people.

Are you sure about this temperature, inventolux? I'd be wary of chicken cooked only to 135F, and especially wary if it was held there for a long time. It's a wonderful environment for growing bacteria.

So what should I have called them, Lily?

Not really. But, when I was growing up my father sat to my left at the head of the table and if I chanced to have my left elbow on the table I would soon receive the tines of his fork to remind me of proper manners. But did he use his left hand, or his right?

And of course, now when I see attractive, nubile and topless young things, I'm going to have yet another eGullet Moment. Thanks a lot, Adam. Even though they're a different clone, I assume they ripen off the tree like a Cavendish. Is this correct? They're still pretty firm right now. Thanks for the ideas, katherine, carswell and beans. I think for this first bunch, we'll just get acquainted and eat them out-of-hand. Those Chez Panisse tartlets sound good, though.

Archie, I was with you all the way, until this. 1/2" Curls? Were you being poetic describing the appearance of the red pepper cut in short thin strips or do you actually curl them, a la carrot curls? I use one of those eyelash curler thingies that looks like it escaped from the "cure" scene in A Clockwork Orange. Seriously, if you take thin slices (radially oriented with respect to the stem) from the shoulder of a bell pepper, they look like curls.

Crawdads in the gumbo, eh? That would make my great-grandmother wig! As you may guess, crawfish never made an appearance in our gumbo. Everyone has their way. We always did a combination of shirmp, crab, chicken, sausage, and oysters. I've never met an oyster that I could love, so my mother eases up on them for my consideration. Jimmy Banos only indluces chicken in his gumbo. It's good and all, but I think the omission is punishable by law. Who's on hot sauce and gumbo file (fee-lay) detail? I thought it would be fun just to heap the little red critters on a sheaf of newspaper in the middle of a picnic table, have people roll up their sleeves, and dig in. I've used them in etouffee, but not in a gumbo, though I have no objection -- I like your approach. I think the essence of gumbo is to celebrate what's plentiful at that time, in that place, so like many great soups, it's familial, seasonal and regional. After Thanksgiving, I make it with turkey. After Christmas, I use ham to give it some smoke and extra richness. But the truth is, I have yet to meet a gumbo I didn't like. My favorite combination is sausage and shrimp: rice in the bottom of a deep bowl, ladle on the soup, then float a tablespoon or two of snowy white crabmeat on top. Garnish with a sprinkling or chiffonade of an appropriate herb and 1/2" curls of red bell pepper.

Good point. I reserve that treatment for cucumbers:

There's somewhere else? This happens to me too! I shall have to make an effort to run to the 'puter (at home or at work) and post next time it does. Examples, people! (No offense, Katherine, but if I can't do better by my red bananas than your reassuring advice, I might as well give this thread over to "eG vu.")

On the way home today, I had what is becoming so common an occurence, i have given it a name: the eGullet Moment. An eGullet Moment is when something -- an ingredient, a name, a technique -- reminds me of something I read on the boards. Now, this in itself is not unusual. To qualify as an eG Moment, I must be struck with a particular type of memory lapse: one that allows me to remember that something is important, but not why. So I walk into the grocery store, and ther at the head of the produce section, is a heap o' red bananas. "Red bananas!" I say to myself. "I just read about them." Of course, this being an eGullet Moment, I couldn't remember what I had read, only that I had. But so great is my faith in the Mother of All Food Sites that I bought some anyway. I have faith in you, oh my eGulls. Don't let me down. Don't put the lie to my certitude. Don't dick around with my dogma. What do I do with these things?

If I spend more than eight bucks for a bottle, I have to present proof of a Special Occasion to the Keeper of the Checkbook. Thanks, Lady T. If you're agreeing with me, I must be starting to get the hang of this wine thing.

I'm sure you know that I wasn't entirely serious, Lily. With the chicken and sausage, it does seem like you've got an inland/Layfayette kinda thing going on. The crawfish, being from the bayou and all, let you maintain thematic consistency. But I would never pass up a nice plump shrimp.

I was hoping somebody would chime in on Spanish wines. I just don't know them that well. Thanks.

What I've found is that the spices in the gumbo tend to obliterate any attempt at subtlety on the part of the wine. Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your assistance. For something inexpensive, I like Rosemount Grenache-Shiraz. The grenache fruit is a nice contrast with the roux and file, and the Shiraz has some spice to it. Or something earthier (and a little more expensive): Yalumba Bush Vine Grenache Some Zins work, too. Maybe one of the less fancy Ravenswoods? I don't know whites for gumbo, but I'd try an Alsatian or Washington Gewurz. OTOH, this might be an occasion where some oak would be welcome, so maybe a Chardonnay? Edit to add: a slightly off-dry Riesling might work, too.

No one seems to be bringing crawfish.

Thanks for a great post, Zephyrus. The foie club does sound amazing. If I undestand correctly, you drank all the wine. But maybe you could remember some details about it?

And that works? Or does it only help with the frustration?

Mine are warped, too -- but just the anodized stuff. The non-stick is fine, and I don't treat it all that nice. I don't think temperature alone is responsible. My range probably has a little more than half the output of yours. Warping is caused by temperature differentials, I think.

Tom Collinses?

I'm pretty sure FG just said you get to decide. OK then I choose Big-Ass Mushroom. Perhaps the culogrande mushroom? Gets my vote.

I'm pretty sure FG just said you get to decide.

Why not set a small cake rack on top of the chimney, the way Alton Brown suggests searing tuna (recipe/technique here)? That way, we could char those suckers and get alacarte to take her finger off the Poison Control speed dial.

This also bears repeating. Say it five times fast.