dcarch

Seasoning, if done correctly, is somewhat similar to tempering steel after hardening, it can relief some internal stress, therefore minimizes cracking. dcarch

"---I'm using it tomorrow night for a steak so here is hoping it doesn't crack." I have cooked many steaks, none of them cracked. :-) Don't forget to season it yourself. Factor seasoning may not be very good. dcarch

I wonder why they are called crackers. :-) I always turn the box and eat cracker and potato chips upside down. This way you finish the broken ones first. dcarch

Very interesting! I grind all kinds of stuff, including sticky stuff, oily stuff, smelly stuff, And here I have been using just hot water with a few drops of dishwasher detergent, run the grinder then rinse and dry. dcarch

When I make ramen noodles, I use real stock, not the flavor package that comes with the noodle, but I save the flavor packages to use when I don't have stock for a recipe. Those packages taste better than canned stock. dcarch

I will be doing a sous vided BBback rib this weekend. Sous vided, then smoked, than broiled. I can do this all indoors because my smoker is an indoor smoker, and my broiler has a rotisserie. I don't see anything wrong with Liquid Smoke in your case. I don't see using it will stink up the house. dcarch

I was making coconut ice cream using fresh coconuts. I decided I shouldn't waste the shell. So I made the shell into ladles. dcarch

If you are not interested in the skin and fat: Pork belly - $3.90 a lb Pork shoulder - $0.89 a lb. dcarch :-)

Now I know you have been deceiving us. :-) Looking at that wonderfulness piece of perfect crispy pork, you got to have done this a hundred times before. dcarch

And you can use a 1/2" variable speed drill set at low speed and high torque setting to drive a rotisserie. Very simple to do. dcarch

If you have a table saw or band saw, Wrap the large bones in plastic and freeze. Cut them open for marrow. Not much mess. dcarch

I never seasoned my cast iron cookware. If you cook with cast iron, seasoning will develop all by itself, unavoidable. I also scrub with steel wool, soap, detergent, dishwasher, ----- I can't get rib of seasoning on cast iron. dcarch

"---Pity what you got appears to have no skin---" I think I see skin tucked under. I am not sure I agree with many. Perfect pork belly is not easy. There is the meat, fat and skin. Each requires drastically way of cooking. So if you fail to end up with a "restaurant ready" dish, don't blame yourself, just try again. Sometimes you succeed in achieving the most incredible dish, then you can fail the next time using the identical method. It all depends on your preference, what kind of texture you would like to end up with, do you like crispy skin? Do you eat fat? How chewy you want the meat to be? Of course, you can always make bacon. dcarch I got lucky this time:

Thanks for the tips Simon. I'm a perfectionist, so at 171F 12 hours MOST of the meat is meltingly tender. What I'm talking about is the meat at the bottom part. Usually there is 3 or 4 layers of meat, and I'm talking about the very bottom layer that is dark colored. That's the part that is dry and stringy. Have you had issues with this bottom part? Based on the fact that (in my limited experience) I have never heard about this, and had never encountered the same situation in my pork belly cooking, I think it might not have anything to do with your cooking. It is possible that when the meat was packaged, it got dried out. Once the meat is dried out like jerky, it is not easy to make tender again. dcarch

Chocolnut? Sexy names may totally confuse people. dcarch

I think J. Pepin is the only TV chef who suggest everyone to use broccoli stems. Broccoli stem is never tough. Sometimes the skin can be very tough, sometimes not. The thing to do is just cut a small part, add water, and microwave to find out. 1/4 of the time the skin is tender, peeling is not necessary. It makes me mad to see people throw away delicious broccoli stems. dcarch

Thanks! Oh yeah, Super Mario. But we need more violence in video games. :-) dcarch

What a display of wonderful meals since I last posted !!!. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In another food forum, someone talked about vegetable dishes. I thought it would be a good idea to do a few meat-less ones. dcarch

I have not seen baked tofu. There are many fried tofu in the stores. dcarch

Recently, J. Pepin did looked like an oaf to me. I was on a train. He got in after me. Then he rushed out the next stop. "Everything OK? Mr. Pepin?" "Stupid me! Wrong train!" I strongly suggest everyone to Google "J. Pepin paintings". You will agree he is a museum class artist. It really does not matter what he does in the kitchen, his work, everything, is art. dcarch

What is 1.5 kilos? 3.3 lbs? That doesn't sound too big to me. Do the best you can and find a way to do a 72 hour SV. It will be beautiful. dcarch

It will be worst. You are creating more starch. dcarch

Speaking of knife skills. The story told to me for this classic dish. The dish was prepared for the Emperor. If the Emperor was not pleased with the outcome, "Off with the head". Which was a very good incentive for acquiring good knife skills. This dish is quite popular today. Try making it without good knife skills. dcarch

CUTTING-UP IN THE KITCHEN BY ELLIS? dcarch Posted at the same time :-)

Perhaps this is indeed a very simple reason; force of adhesion v.s. weight. As partially answered by PV above. For a given weight the pasta orzo has more surface area per weight than other pastas. True. There are three forces of adhesion operating on wet pastas surfaces, namely water surface tension, gluey starch and 14 lbs/ sq. in. atmospheric pressure. dcarch