mgaretz

Today I made another batch of char siu. Marinated the pork tenderloin for 36 hours then roasted over a water bath, turning once, then glazed with honey under the broiler on both sides. It will become dinner Tuesday. Whole. Sliced.

mgaretz, how thick was th steak? I usually put a 1.5 to 2 inch thick ribeye for about 45 min at that temp (55C or 132F). Also, how did you control the temp at 132F for 2.5 hrs on the stove (I use a immersion circulator which holds the temp within 0.1C)? The steak was thin - about 1/2 an inch. I controlled the temperature manually by small burner adjustments, being my own circulator by stirring ocassionally with a wooden spoon and using a digital thermometer. It was a very large pot of water to keep the variation to a minimum. For a few hours I played with the pot of water to find the right settings, then put in the meat. I was able to keep it within 1F - holding between 131 and 132. Not something I would want to do all the time - but I figured if it came out amazing I'd consider the investment in a Sous Vide Supreme or...

With all the buzz about sous vide, I thought I would give it a try. Not wanting to invest in equipment, I did the "poor man's sous vide" on the stovetop. Did a rib-eye at 132F for 2.5 hours, then about 45 seconds per side on the hot grill. The whole steak. Here is the steak cut. I can't say I was impressed. The steak appeared to be done correctly but was dry (which is evidenced in picture - note the tearing). Not sure what happened.

Baby back ribs with coleslaw. (The ribs are not as dark as the picture would have you believe.)

Some of the best Zin I have ever had was from Livermore Valley Cellars. A very small producer and one of the oldest wineries in the region. The death of the founder and the ensuing family dispute over the future of the winery caused them to lose their liquor license, and as far as I know, they still have not re-opened their doors. A shame really because they made some of the best wines and very reasonably priced. I still have a couple of cases and break out a bottle on special occasions.

Not real ice cream but non-dairy ice cream wannabes, yes!

Pizza - homemade whole wheat crust topped with chicken apple sausage and red peppers. The cheese was Trader Joe's Yogurt Cheese which is lactose free. First time I have tried it on pizza and it was very good - much better than "veggie" cheeses and very similar in flavor to mozarella.

I do a lot of things in my slow cooker - check my blog for some ideas. I also like the Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Slow Cooking book - looks like WS has a new book to replace it which I have not seen, but the one I mentioned is still available on Amazon. It has a lot of nice sounding recipes in it - I have only tried a few but they were enjoyable. The chicken with shallots and balsamic vinegar has been a family favorite. It has slow cooker and stove-top instructions.

Tonight I made Beef with Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan) in Oyster Sauce, served with white rice.

Stew meat that costs the same or more than steak.

Tonight I made baby bok choy with char siu in a soy-oyster-hoisin sauce with garlic, ginger and a touch of red pepper. The char siu was home made (made it ahead yesterday) from pork tenderloin and a packaged mix, marinated for 24 hours. Cooked in a 350 degree F oven over a water bath to an internal temp of 150F (turning three times) then basting with honey under the broiler for 10 minutes on a side. Very yummy! Sorry no pictures - I'm always trying to get things on the table while they're hot any never think of the camera until it's all eaten!

We also like Hoisin sauce on our mustard greens. Adds a nice sweet balance to the sharpness of the greens.

Give me a giant, jammy fruit forward Zin any day! Steve, you're just hanging out with the wrong folks!

One also has to remember that most people don't really "cook" - they just follow recipes. And if the recipe isn't written for one of the new appliances, they won't use it because they don't know how to adapt it.

My family likes pork shoulder (as pulled pork) too - but everyone likes it with different sauces. So I just make it plain(ish). Put the pork in the slow cooker and season with a bit of pepper, a sprinkle of an all-purpose seasoning mix (I use 21 seasoning salute from Trader Joes) and a dash of bourbon. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. No need for any other liquid as the pork will release plenty of its own.

I must have been at the same Trader Joes. Railroad Ave. in Danville? I also sampled the "uncured" corned beef and it was very similar to the way mine turns out with the overnight soak (with regular corned beef). Since tomorrow is St. Patty's day, I just now headed down to the kitchen to trim the beef and start the soak.

Since these machines can turn nuts into nut butter, I wonder if you could just add peanuts. Granted you won't get the hydrogenated oils found in most peanut butter. Yes they can turn nuts into butter but I wouldn't count on that level of pulverizing happening when you're making a smoothie at the same time.

For the BlendTec I have found that the magic smoothie ratio is 1 part by volume of frozen something (juice, ice, frozen fruit, etc.) to 1 part by volume of liquid (water, soy milk, etc.). I also use 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum for 16 ozs of the above (8 each). If you have banana in there or some other emulsifier, you don't need the xanthan. For frozen soft serve desserts change the ratio to 2 parts frozen something and 1 part liquid and 1 tsp xanthan if no banana. You're measuring bulky frozen stuff in a cup so this is not an exacting measurement. Just get in the ballpark. My favorite is chocolate/peanut butter/banana/coffee. I try to keep the carbs down so I make it with splenda and banana flavoring. It varies every time but try 1 cup of ice, 1 tbs peanut butter, 1 tsp instant coffee, 1 tbs cocoa powder, sugar or splenda to taste, 1/2 tsp xanthan gum and 1 cup of your choice of liquid (being lactose intolerant I will use soy or almond milk or 1/4 cup non-dairy creamer with 3/4 cup water). There is a trick to getting the xanthan to blend well: Add the liquid first, then add in any powdered ingredients and then sprinkle the xanthan on the surface. Put on the lid and pulse a few times to blend together. Next add the frozen ingredients and hit the smoothie or ice cream button depending.

Thanks. Exactly what I was looking for. It was $5.62/lb at Sam's vs. $13/lb at the Safeway! I thought of that too, but I had also just bought some other cheese from TJ's that also needs to be consumed. I am lactose intolerant and when I see lactose-free cheese on sale it's hard to pass up. (Cabot's cheddar and TJ's yogurt cheese are both lactose-free.)

I just bought a 2 lb block of Cabot 50% reduced fat cheddar at my local Sam's and I know it will mold before I can eat it all. I know that freezing cheddar will render it crumbly - but I primarily use it for making grilled cheese sandwiches and on burgers. So it would be nice to have slices when I want to use it. My question is - if I pre-slice it and then vacuum seal and freeze it, how will it emerge from the freezer? Will it crumble when being removed from the package or will it stay emough of slice to make it to the bread or burger?

I think it would be good instead of the star anise in this bread recipe:

I just noticed that our local TJs has Rebel Yell back in stock at $9.99.

wonder what your altitude is? recipe sounds really good,but water boils here at 202deg,so would have to make appropriate changes in times... Bud We're a couple of hundred feet above sea level.

I make my corned beef in the slow cooker. I start with commercial corned beef (usually Shenson's). The night before, open the package and remove and set the spice packet aside. Rinse all the goo off the meat, then I trim as much fat as I can from it. Next it goes into the pot with clear cold water and into the fridge for an overnight soak. This reduces the saltiness. In the morning pour off all the water and remove the beef. Sprinkle the spice packet contents on the bottom of the pot then put the beef back in, trapping most of the spice underneath. If I want carrots and/or potatoes with the corned beef these go in now and then fill the pot with cool water to just above the beef. Cook on low for 8 hours. For the last hour of the 8 I add in the cabbage. If the beef is good quality to start with, this method never fails to please.

I'm in Northern Cal (east bay) and the onions have been terrible here too. The bagged ones are the worst but I still keep buying them because it's the only way I know to get small to medium onions. The loose onions in my local markets are all HUGE!