Dave the Cook

Well, like you say, $50 isn't close to outrageous for a decent skillet. On the other hand, are you likely to put one in an oven hotter than 350°F? Or maybe under a broiler?

So much for my handle theory. But I'm seeing slightly different information in the links you gave (thanks, btw): the Prima and Domus are rated to 350°F; the third (and cheapest) one shows no rating at all.

It's difficult to find Tramontina items that aren't part of a set, so this is just a guess: the cheaper version probably has a handle made of some sort of plastic that's not rated for the higher temperature. As for seeing them in person -- no Walmarts near you?

I, for one, am very interested in your results.

Not really chowder, but I can vouch for the corn and leek soup here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128339700 You could easily turn it into a chowder with some diced potato, and I don't think it would affect the experience in a bad way. Maybe add a little more seasoning. (Full disclosure: Janet and I are domestic partners.)

We're closing this topic. If new, substantive, information comes to light, members are free to start a new topic based on that. Thanks.

Hmm. The MCAH formula applies to a French-style vinaigrette, where the ratio of oil to everything else is roughly 2:1. What you're describing is more of an Asian-style dressing, with a ratio of 3:14, way over on the other side of the balance. Another MCAH recipe might be more helpful: a sauce that combines chicken fat and jus, using liquid soy lecithin to form an emulsion and xanthan gum to stabilize it. That ratio is 2 (fat):5 (everything else) -- much closer to what you're proposing. In that case, the additives are scaled according to the "everything else": 0.8% for the lecithin, and 0.4% for the xanthan. On the other hand . . . the MCAH "Ultrastable Butter Sauce" calls for 100g everything else (+ 0.4g xanthan), with 120g melted butter (+ 2.4g liquid soy lecithin). What all this tells me (though I'm very willing to be corrected) is that 1) liquid soy lecithin provides a lot of leeway; 2) xanthan gum does not (in fact, I know from experimenting with it that this is quite true; it's a very powerful thickener). So, were I you, I'd start at 0.5% of lecithin, scaled according to your "everything else," and work my way up as needed. And I wouldn't be surprised if it took as much as 2 - 2.5%. Liquid soy lecithin is tasteless, so you don't have to worry about affecting flavor. It should be pointed out for the benefit of everyone considering using lecithin to emulsify dressings that the lecithin needs to be blended with the fat component before adding the fat to the "everything else."

According to Modernist Cuisine at Home, 1-2%, by weight, scaled according to the weight of the oil.

Do they not have enough acid to can with a water bath? I wouldn't think so. Raw onions are in the mid-5s on the pH scale. If memory serves, you want 4.5 or lower to use a water bath.

I don't have any experience with that particular machine, but it appears to be capable of making a LOT of noodles. Do you need noodles for a restaurant, or for home use? If the latter, there are less drastic solutions.

Are you using an oven designed for a home kitchen? When it comes to convection effects, they often over-promise.

"Heinz salad cream"? I don't think I've ever heard of it. What is it? Best way I can describe it is as a sort of a sweet-and-sour mayonnaise that's most popular in Great Britain. More details here.

We're planning on making John Besh's Stuffed Quail Gumbo (from his book My New Orleans, which I highly recommend). The recipe calls for semi-boneless quail, but all I can get is quail with all the bones. Easy enough, I figure, Google is my friend. Except that the search phrase "how do you bone a quail" returns a few dozen videos -- a mixed blessing. Some are probably good; some certainly awful. Can anyone offer some guidance -- either to a decent instructional video, or just direct advice on how to go about it?

Isn't cream (perhaps in the form of bechamel) and cheese the whole point of the "suizas" thing -- as in Switzerland?

I agree with the first paragraph; indeed, I seem to recall that Escoffier himself didn't consider wheat flour an ideal thickener. I have to take issue with the second paragraph, however. While you can use butter to make red brown or black Cajun rouxs, vegetable oil of some sort is more commonly called for, by far.

Yeah, but I think it's related to fashion only in the sense that the dishes -- London Broil and Fajitas -- have become popular dishes to cook at home. This creates pressure on the supply of the cut traditionally used for the dish. The price goes up (remember when flank was cheap, Jaymes?) and people start looking for substitutes. Butchers and supermarkets are happy to offer them up. Sometimes these are pretty good; flap meat subbing for skirt is a decent solution, as is something like tri-tip for London Broil. Often, they're not; if you're used to flank, a top-round London Broil is pretty disappointing.

The recipe is correct, as long as the roast is wider than it is thick. If you had a small -- say, two-bones' worth -- rib roast, it would take less time. Otherwise, FeChef has it right.

Chuck-eye is a great cut -- lots of flavor and versatile as to doneness -- but because it's a collection of several muscles, it won't yield the nice even slices that are characteristic of London Broil. ETA, shameless self-promotion department: more on the chuck-eye here.

Almost any cut has more flavor than round, so I'd go for the sirloin, and bite my tongue before suggesting other cuts.

All good points -- in fact, the reason I still have a food mill I hate is that 1) it was so expensive that I refuse to replace it; 2) the damn thing is too well-built to break. For what it's worth, I have a set of Oxo bowls that appear to be made the same way as the hopper on their food mill -- some sort of heavy-duty plastic bonded to a stainless steel interior. Despite repeated abuse on my part (like inadvertently trying to melt the plastic), they're holding up just fine.

It's probably no worse than leaving them on the kitchen counter for three hours -- something I'd do without a second thought. I'd just bring them to a good simmer for a few minutes before serving.

I wouldn't worry about the hour (looking at the time stamp on your post, I guess by now it's more like 90 minutes) at 120-125, but I'd take them out now and S-V immediately. 80C (seems kind of high to me, but to each his own) will take care of anything that might have 1) lived through the initial 3-4 hours at 149; 2) propagated during the temperature drop. I should add that I'm not a pathologist by any stretch of the imagination. On the other hand, I've cold-smoked (<100°F) pork ribs for four hours, then oven roasted them at 200°F many times, and never had a problem.

Here's a Society-friendly link for the Oxo: food mill. I've used this, and it's solid. The feet are a great idea, though they can make the milling setup (food mill on top of bowl to catch the milled food) a little top heavy, depending on what you're milling and how tall the receiver bowl is. But the alternative is either no feet at all, or a "helper" handle bent to catch the edge of the receiver bowl (it's a clumsy arrangement), so I'd go with feet. You can see the sort of handle I'm talking about on this Cuisipro model. Aside from the feet/no-feet issue, look for multiple disks, how easy it is to change the disks, and how strong the spring that holds the blade down is. A heavier spring is preferable, the better to hold the blade against the disk. On the other hand, you don't want it so strong that changing or removing disks becomes a (sometimes dangerous) chore. Also, you want comfortable grips on both the rotor and the main handles.

Maybe something like this? Looks like the same materials as the SLT item, but applied in a smarter way.

By "baby" do you mean "mini"? If it's meant to be finger food, you'll have to figure out how to make it a less messy affair. A cheese biscuit, split in half, might be a good base, and would let you skimp on the sauce without sacrificing the flavor profile. I like the idea of a confit, but -- and maybe it's just me -- I hate dealing with turkey legs. All those tendons. I'd go with thighs.