dcarch

EnriqueB"----A couple of questions: About how long do you boil the skin? And, what's the purpose of the pizza stone if it is cold and you put the meat side on it? To keep the meat cold so it does not overcook?" Thank you. You can boil the skin for a while to make sure it is well cooked. The fact that the meat is frozen, and for pork belly, which has a very thick layer of insulating fat under the skin prevents the meat from being overcooked. Yes, the pizza stone is for insulation the meat from the 400F heat. But it is not absolutely required. The baking time to puff up the skin is very short, and the aluminum foil acts as a heat reflector. dcarch

Franci, let me put it this way: If you use compressed air to increase pressure in your pressure cooker, but use no fire to change temperature, it will make no difference to the food, regardless how high the pressure is. When you have fire to increase pressure, it allows the boiling point of water to get higher, therefore higher temperature can be achieved. dcarch

Trust me, the method I mentioned above works. Works for nuts totally not cracked. Works for other nuts also, just adjust the jaws wider. dcarch

Pressure has nothing to do with cooking. Temperature does. Use a non-contact remote thermometer to check temperature when you vary the pressure. dcarch

I lived for a while not far from Katz's. Ate there regularly. They cut their massive sandwiches right in the middle. dcarch

Use a pair of locking pliers. The jaw opening of locking pliers is adjustable. This allows you to crack open the shell without crashing the nut inside. dcarch http://www.irwin.com/uploads/products/large/the-original-curved-jaw-locking-pliers-1126.jpg

Try a wok. 1. The large diameter of a wok minimizes splatter. 2. The round bottom allows large or small amount of frying. 3. The rack that sits on the wok allows draining of oil after frying. It works better than draining on paper towel because hot oil is more fluid. dcarch

An electric convection oven may not work as well. Electric ovens can only go up to 1,800 watts. So the oven's design is to seal as much as possible to conserve heat. That makes it not a good dehydrator. You can't leave the door a crack open because there is a switch to cut off power. I like pork belly sous vided at 150F, but that's a personal preference. Part of the fun is to hear that cracklin noise when you cut the skin. So don't cut it first. dcarch

This is true, not making it up. If you sneeze while eating spaghetti, there is a chance a strain of pasta can come out from your nose. So breaking it in half will make it less embarrassing if that happens. dcarch (watch the ending) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNhDGUGxEXI

Thanks rotus. The detailed method is posted on the Dinner thread. dcarch

another method would be here http://forums.egullet.org/topic/108508-siu-yook-roast-pork-belly/page-4 it has not failed me, and the discussions/experiments by prawncrackers and origamicrane were, IMO, very interesting. there are similarities between the methods in this thread and those of prawn..., like poking a zillion holes in the skin, and a jaccard is indispensable in this context. I have studied and tried those various methods. What I had intended to accomplish: 1. No skin treatment other than perforations. No vinegar, no salting, no vodka, etc. 2. When you buy roasted pork, they don't scrape the skin after roasting. 3. I want to have great cracklin pork skin, as well as meat that is not overcooked (sous vided). This method gives me all the above. dcarch

"darch! You can't just show us this and not tell us how you managed to make it so PERFECT! " Thanks Anna N. After many years of trying, finally perfect cracklin skin on perfectly juicy tender meat! Here are the steps: 1. Poke a million holes on the skin. Season and rub well all meat surfaces. 2. Use a flat tray and make the skin lay very flat, and freeze pork belly. 3. While it is still frozen, boil the skin side in shallow boiling water to cook the skin only. 4. After the skin has been well cooked, and the meat is still frozen because of the fat layer, sous vide the pork belly the normal way. I did 24 hours. 5. Take the pork belly out from sous vide bag and dry with paper towel. 6. Wrap Heavy duty alum foil all around, exposing only the skin. 7. Lay foiled pork belly (food safety) on a rack in a dehydrator set at 150F (food safety!) face down so the skin will be flat and fat can be drained away. Dehydrate overnight. 8. In a pre-heated 400F oven, bake the pork belly face up with the alum foil on a cold pizza stone. 9. Don't walk away. In a few minutes, the skin will puff up beautifully. 10. Let the pork belly get to room temperature and the skin will be unbelievable on the most amazing juicy tender sous vided (24 hours +12 hours) pink meat. 11. Find a way to divide the skin up equally or you will end up with big fights. :-) dcarch

I made this because on anther thread it was discussed if the skin on pork belly should be removed. What?! dcarch Sous vided pork belly with crispy skin

There should be a rule here. Whoever discards pork belly skin is to be banned in disgrace. dcarch :-) Sous Vide Pork Belly With Cracklin Skin

Meat glue? dcarch

There are lots of stuff that Zero filter cannot remove, including "The current system is meant to be used with municipally treated, potable water as the current filter will not remove microbiological contaminants." dcarch

Filters work with a few entirely different filtering systems. 1. Mechanical - filtering out suspended particles, like coffee filter. 2. Chemical - neutralizing toxic dissolved chemicals. 3. Reverse osmosis and activated charcoal - good but expensive. As I understand it, it takes one chemical to react and to neutralize another chemical. They don't tell you what chemicals they use to neutralize other toxic chemicals and their effects on your health. I use a water distiller, which is not technically a filter. 100 % pure water. No expensive filters to replace. dcarch

Miraklegirl, I am sorry to be disagreeable with your first post on the Dinner Thread. I thing the photo is beautiful. dcarch

Lots of infomercial stuff in the Goodwill Shop near me. dcarch

A quick tip: If you photograph your food with very dark or black background, it will cost you a fortune in using up ink when you print your photos. dcarch

Check these out then: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4osTuN8lzw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q7u1JCHAA4&list=PL57FF73004558E559 dcarch Interesting though they are, they do nothing to back up your claim that fresh Chinese rice noodles are sold coated in oil. The first isn't even in China and the second mentions no oil at all.. Two kinds I buy here in NYC, regular and with dried shrimps, both are oily. Not a claim, just an observation. Here is another video, showing rice noodle making in China, specifically mentioning oil is used to coat the noodles to prevent sticking. There are many other videos you can find. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY3n1Cx8jcQ dcarch

Check these out then: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4osTuN8lzw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q7u1JCHAA4&list=PL57FF73004558E559 dcarch

Er? No they aren't Sure they are. If you boil them you will see the oil come to the surface. Otherwise they will all stick together. I am talking about the flat lasagna noodles that come in the sheet form. dcarch http://perfecthealthdiet.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Lasagna-6.jpg

Thanks Anna. The pizza dough is made with Chinese scallion pan cake recipe, and the scallions are home-grown. The blossom is a scallion blossom. Yes, that is frico. dcarch

Ann_t – The grilled chicken looks delicious, I am equally impressed with the potato chips. David Ross – very nice plating. Huiray – that Shrimp wonton looks better than what I can get in a restaurant. Sapidus – That’s a nice combination of my favorite fish. Ptrickamory – You do have a way of making beans appetizing. Steve Irby – I would not mind having a big plate of your home made sauages. Kerry Beal – Not photogenic? Your Sopa de Lima can go on a magazine cover. Franci – different kitchen, still great meals. Nickrey – very delectable vegetarian dish. Anna N – Perfectly done striploin. ------------------------------------------------------------- Smoked chicken with sauteed cantalloupe Pizza with scallion dough ( Chinese scallion pancake dough) dcarch