Keith_W

huiray, I have been asked to make a yee sang for Chinese New Year this year. How do you dye your taro yams after deep frying?

This sounds interesting, but a search didn't help me find more details unfortunately. Could someone point me in the right direction please? That's because I invented it So far everyone whom i've served it to seems to want to know the recipe, which is a good sign!

Christmas eve dinner at my place. All set up with Christmas crackers. Jansson's Temptation - a Swedish potato gratin. The difference is that it is made with onions and sprats. Instead of using breadcrumbs, I used Gruyere. Sugar snap peas with anchovies and whiskey. The main course - tunnel boned Poussin stuffed with couscous and briefly smoked, shaved smoked ham, turkey jus.

Oops this post might be a little late for you now. Take all the guesswork out of whether your meat is done - use a meat thermometer and cook till your prime rib is 55C for medium rare. You might want to consider setting your oven to 60C, roasting for 4-5 hours, checking the temperature of the meat every 30 mins after 3 hours. Turn the oven off when it hits 53C. Before serving, panfry the entire roast to develop colour on the surface.

Did you manage to find pork nipples for Heston's pork scratchings?

Oh, so you did decide to spend Christmas with your parents! You poor thing My favourite cheap eats places in Sydney are Super Bowl in Chinatown (go there for breakfast or supper), and Golden Palace. Din Tai Fung is also quite good.

Yes i've made that Heston batter as well. I don't seem to have a picture of my last attempt, but it REALLY puffs up - my piece of fillet ended up three times the size, and really crunchy as well - almost too crunchy. I tend to prefer Flathead fillets - I buy it from the local fishmonger at Camberwell markets. OTOH there is no good F&C shop nearby

From Harold McGee, via NPR's Terry Gross: I hope that helps. Mrs. C used ice cubes in plastic baggies. That's the technique I use as well.

[]David Ross when I saw your pork confit I lost my breath too. May I ask which Keller book this is from? I don't seem to recall seeing the recipe.

sigma, that's interesting. Do you know the type of sutures that they use? Do they make interrupted or continuous stitches? I used 2-0 silk, interrupted. I normally use 3-0 or finer, but I couldn't get hold of that this time.

I made these couscous stuffed poussins for a friend's dinner party. This is why the plates are different to my standard plates (if anyone is keeping track!). To my knowledge, nobody is crazy enough to consider tunnel boning a poussin, then stuffing it, then suturing it so that it appears whole, and then injecting it with sauce and roasting it. It is a lot of work, I had to do 10 of these little bastards. I also forgot to bring my suture holder, which meant that I was MUCH slower at suturing and more wasteful of sutures than I normally am. I didn't take a picture of the tunnel boning process this time, but here is an older photo showing a tunnel boned poussin on the right. One completed bird. Cut in half to show that it is indeed deboned. The stuffing is couscous with shallots, a brunoise of mushroom, carrot, and celery, and speck. It was injected with stock to help keep the birds plump.

Ann_T that piece of Halibut is good enough for Jehovah!

Thanks for the discussion Martin and Chris. Chris, that quote from MC is interesting. When I used to baste, I basted with pan drippings, which is part oil and part escaped juices from the bird. Would you get a better result if you only basted with fresh oil? Or do you try to grab only the oil in the drippings to baste with?

Can someone comment on the effect of basting? Most old school turkey recipes call for frequent basting of the turkey. I am under the impression that basting slows cooking by (1) increasing evaporation from the skin thus slowing heat absorption, and (2) heat loss through opening the oven door. Does basting actually help the skin crisp up by adding proteins and sugar to the skin?

In Australia, a boiler chicken is a retired egg hen. When you cut into the cavity, you can sometimes (well, quite often) find egg embryos. It is not a substitute for rooster.