Aloha Steve

Side x Side Fridge/Freezer just got delivered. Not quite 'near' new. In fact since it was sitting in the appliance store warehouse it probably received a few fender benders. However, I know the owners of said store very well, for many moons and will believe that it is excellent new new mechanical condition. as they stated. AND the price was right ZERO

David the meal looks fabulous. Question are the Szechuan peppercorns, spicy hot ? If so, no can do in my home, do you have a suggestion for a replacement ?

Great idea. I ordered 100 8x10 and 100 10x14 to start and will see how that works.

Thanks dougal, I just ordered the Pro Vacuum Sealer after reading the thread from the link you so kindly sent. I asked there and will ask here for please, guidance in ordering freezer bags. I will use it to freeze: Porter house and Rib-bone in steaks, dough balls and discs, am not sure about liquids but probably so, and I'm not sure what else at this point.

Hi, I just ordered the Pro Vacuum Sealer and am requesting, please, guidance in ordering freezer bags. I will use it to freeze: Porter house and Rib-bone in steaks, dough balls and discs, am not sure about liquids but probably so, and I'm not sure what else at this point. Thanks

No water line. I could run a line as the washer/dryer are close but we use bottle water when we are there. Its a large garage and we also have the treadmill and weights all in the same space.

Thank you all for the advice and encouragement. Long story short, I've been given (as in zero cost except to pay for delivery) a nearly new side by side 25 inch freezer/fridge and a decent rated brand to boot. We will block up from the inside, the ice maker hole to not let any air escape nor hot air to enter. We will keep the freezer side full either with my cooking 'experiments' (I'm a newbie so I won't call them dishes LOL), frozen meat and ice water or the like. I have two questions, mgaretz you may want to wade in here SVP. What can I do to help keep Fridge side cooler, like filling up the Freezer side ? What vacuum sealer is the 'best' to get ?

Um, don't forget to make that reservation for two more when you do!

Planned on going to the Farmer's market on Sat which is a 10 minute ride from my house. Alan Wong's Restaurant is Hawaii's 2009 winner for the BEST. I think this makes the 3rd year in a row and 6 or 7 out of the last 10 that its won BEST in Hawaii. The Pres. ate there in Dec. I don't know if I should hold that against them or mark it as a accolade. Anyway the fact that they use their beef is a very good sign.

Follow up to prasantrin's excellent idea: They gave me the a list of ranch's in the State and lo and behold there is one in Oahu on the list! http://www.beefhawaii.com/ I wrote them asking questions using the information from the "BEEF" book and await there reply. Stay tuned.

So, slkinsey which restaurant(s) are the raining champ for the best Steak at this time would you say? I've eaten at Sparks, P.L. Brooklyn, Palm I, II & III(III the most recent about 6 months ago), Ben Bensen's. S. & W. and a few others, over the years. The one I liked the least was P.L. Brooklyn, it was about 15 years ago and it was Palm I on a New Years Eve that I enjoyed the most.

Great charts Chris. Thanks for the lead on the Hawaii Beef counsel PRAS. Glad you like coming here David. I love going home to Queens ! Your welcome L.

Now that I am a official 'foodie' or at lest I think I am: >Have 15+ cookbooks >Bought new cookware & the right gadgets >Rolled out my own 'pasta' dough and made lasagna noodles to go with from tomatoes; homemade sauce >Make my own chopped meat >Dry aged a roast for 8 days myself in the fridge---- VOILÀ I UNDERSTAND what dry aged means >Baked from scratch cheesecakes, brownies, apple pies, Lindsor tortes and consider mixes with the same distain as when my doggies have the runs. And most importantly; realize I know so much it would fit on a large pin head Living in HI is wonderful since the weather is gorgeous, I can afford to live here, my wife's family is here and I get to travel off Island a lot. Limitations with regard to availability of products is not insurmountable since there is the Internet and aforementioned traveling. Now on to what I am asking for help with in this post: I am reading the "The River Cottage Meat Book" and want to start my own herd of cattle, chicken coop, gaggle? of ducks, and have a pig stye on my property. My lot is approximately 40 feet wide by 120 feet long. If I tear down my house...wait then I'll need how to learn to cook with a real Dutch Oven NEVERMIND! Can anyone guide me in buying great meat over the INTERNET ? There are no butchers in Honolulu !!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've looked for meat framers on my Island to no avail. Called a Executive Chef who is a customer of mine and he gets his beef wholesale. Any help gratefully appreciated. PS: I've increased what little knowledge I had 20X in the last month since finding this site. THANKS

Hi, i am hoping you folks can help me decide if my plan is feasible, which is to have an additional freezer and refrigerator located in my GARAGE and if so, what configuration i.e two stand alone units or all in one side by side and any recommendations of a model to get. My needs go beyond the capacity of what is in the kitchen, which is a small sized kitchen and I have the largest capacity unit in the space now. My biggest concern is living in Honolulu, its hot August - Sept and my garage is usually closed. I'd say during this time of the year, the heat inside the garage goes up to about 95 for about 5 hours of the day. This would be the warmest it would get. Most of the year, during the day the range would be a chilly 70 to about 85. Never getting colder than 65 or warmer than 100. Are there units out there made for this type of climate ? Will I need to sell my children's body parts to pay the electricity bills ? Will the equipment hold up ? Please feel free to jump in with any thoughts on the above and to point out if I missed asking something, meaning I had not though about it. I will truly appreciate any guidance you can give.

Pawncrackers would you please be so kind and elaborate on the amounts of each ingredient and which cut of meat to get ? I'm a novice cook and have been looking for a char siu recipe that I can impress my Chinese in-laws with!

Gulp, Newbie Mistake not #101 but number 002 Yesterday I made fried chicken in my new pre-seasoned cast iron skillet. (Did this because of reading posts here) I was not sure if the Crisco (Are Jewish people supposed to use this stuff? ) was hot as the burner was only on a short while and I saw no movement in the liquid. There was a white spot on the cooking surface of the pan and I was worried it was a result of mistakenly washing it with a little soap (before I read the posts here) and I......YUP, stuck my pointer finger in the pan to see if I could rub in the Crisco. OUCH...... I won't do that again* *for at lest a year

Can anyone share a good recipe to make the Bar-B-Q roast pork? Anyone have a recipe for appetizer spare ribs? The type I am looking for is like the spare ribs I use to get in my NY-LI Chinese restaurant. Here in Hawaii they do not make spare ribs that way, neither at the restaurants nor at home. Nor do they make shrimp in lobster sauce the way I am use to getting it LOL Don't get me wrong the Chinese cooking here is great I just miss these two dishes.

Thanks Wholemeal Crank

Hi Everyone this is my first post, I have just been excepted as a posting member, thanks to the acceptance committee. I have been using a brownie recipe by the Barefoot Contessa which calls for instant coffee. I've cut down the amount called for by 2/3 and the result is a very rich chocolaty tasting brownie. Three questions please: I use Baker's chocolate which I purchase at my local supermarket. Would you folks recommend a 'better' chocolate to use ? I will cut out the coffee totally when trying your recommendations. My choices for shopping are limited as I live in Honolulu. How do I make the brownies more chewy ? As a general rule for baking, how do I make the result less crumbly ?