dcarch

I know this is OT, but sometimes OT can be very interesting. Liuzhou, speaking of strange squashes, demons and pumpkins, Halloween is upon in the USA. I remember when I was in China sometime ago, it happened to be in the "Ghost Festival" holiday. Can you tell us something about that festival tradition? Food? dcarch

I can see this method can achieve interesting results that you can't get the normal way. Various stuffed tofu recipes. For instance, seafood stuffed tofu. You don't get totally overcooked seafood stuffing. Medium rare beef tenderloin with truffles, stuffed tofu---WOW! dcarch

I am not sure why you want to take the trouble of doing that. What end result are you trying to get? Medium, medium rare, rare tofu? What kind of tofu? silken, soft? firm? extra firm? dcarch

What's wrong with cloudy stock? Does clear stock taste better? dcarch

"Heat retention" is kind of a confusing term. Not very scientific IMHO. 1. Good heat retention can mean poor conductivity, not a very good quality for a cookware. It means slow heat recovery and uneven heat distribution. 2. Good heat retention can mean high specific heat. It mean it can store a lot of heat. Very good quality for a cookware. For instance, Aluminum is a better heat retention metal than cast iron. Cast iron is a good "heat retention" cookware because it is very heavy. It is heavy because cast iron has to be made thick otherwise it will fall apart. It makes no sense to me to have a light cast iron wok. Why would you want a cookware that can crack and has less heat retention capability? dcarch

A 12" flat bottom wok is what I called a regular skillet. LOL! dcarch

Made a block of clear ice. I tried to wash away the frost on the surface and ended up with a crack inside. dcarch

"------- with a flat bottom.----" Why? dcarch

Where would I buy this? You can use regular pure silicone glue to try out. All silicone compounds can take very high temperature (450F?) I would use at least 1/8" high speed drill bit. It will give you better control. 1/16" may break on you. Go very slow and use oil to lubricate. Best if you have a drill press. Best if you can use a solid carbide drill bit. dcarch

Here is what I think will be the most popular appliance in the home kitchen ever: A cooker that can be PID thermally controlled and which can actually circulate water and oil. It comes with a lid that can make it a pressure cooker. The electric heater can get it to roaster oven temperature (450F) It would be a pressure cooker, slow cooker, crock pot, deep fryer (the best), rice maker, roaster oven, candy maker, and a sous vide cooker. I believe such a cooker can be made around $120.00, if a roaster oven can be made under $60.00 and a digital pressure cooker can be made around $100.00. dcarch

Sorry!!! The turkey, I don't remember exactly. I think all day. I did check with a probe thermometer just in case. dcarch

So how do you pick the temp? Temperature is not much of an issue. I have found that the result is quite pleasing at 140F. The problem for many people doing it this way, sous vide from frozen, no thawing, is the giblets will be cooked at the same time inside the bird. dcarch

Smart oven, "The 1800 watt countertop oven that does the thinking for you. ----" I find that insulting. On, off, bake, roast, boil. Why do I need the appliance to do the thinking for me? I use mine for all kinds of baking, including making French fries, and pork skin cracklins. Sometime as a dehydrator. dcarch

I sous vide the entire turkey, from frozen. No thawing. dcarch

"----The walls on the inside of the oven feature a non-stick coating for easy cleaning.----" I am a little superstitious. A lot of the cooking in an electric oven is done by infrared radiation, therefore I like very shiny reflective surfaces. I think it gives better and more even cooking. On a different note: Some toaster ovens can get very hot on the top. Make sure your cabinet above is not too close. dcarch

It's good to have stainless steel interior. You can use "Easy Off" to dissolve toughest burnt on built-ups. You cannot do that with aluminum interior. dcarch

There is a Goodwill store near me. The shelves are full with all brands of bread makers and various kinds of coffee machines. Will sous vide cookers be just another impulse buying kitchen gadget? Not for me. Unless I plan to deep fry, I sous vide all meats, even before they go in my smoker or on my BBQ grill. dcarch

The way SV appliances can be popularized: 1. As I said, under $100. 2. With food prices go up and up, let people know that meat cooked SV at low temperature is 5% cheaper (5% less shrinkage). 3. You can enjoy cheaper cuts of meat. You can recoup $100 investment in no time. dcarch

In your case, unless you have a large family, get the smallest which will serve 85% of your toaster oven needs. The other 15% use your regular oven. Because your electrical outlets are limited by Code in how much power (+- 1,800 watts) it can deliver, the bigger the toaster oven, the longer it takes to get up to temperature. dcarch

Most of the time restaurants don't make their own desserts. They buy desserts from the same places as you. You will be paying a lot more ordering in a restaurant. dcarch

"------dcarch, I've never been served or driven by a President. Sounds like a pretty neat guy.----" He was. He bought the hotel and the land around it to create a nature reserve. We kept in touch by e. mail until he passed away a few years ago. dcarch

"Suction" is incorrect. There is no suction involved. It is all water pressure as I said. The problem with rubber is that it ages and hardens due to ozone in air and will not give a proper seal. Silicone lasts much longer and remains flexible. dcarch

Sous vide cooking will never be popular for home cooking until: 1. People understand that it has nothing to do with "under pressure" or "under vacuum". 2. It is easier than regular cooking because you never have to check temperature with a thermometer and you can't overcook or under cook. 3. You don't need a vacuum machine. 4. When it comes to food safety, it is no more complicated than regular cooking. 5. It has to be plug & Play in one single unit for under $100 that can be used for regular cooking like a slow cooker. Just MHO. dcarch

I am totally dazzled by the two hundred amazing dishes since I last posted mine. I think I will be dreaming about food tonight when I go to bed. A few recent dishes. dcarch -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - Smoked chicken ($0.79 a lb), beet stems ($0.00 from farmers market) Still getting Tomatoes from the garden ($0.00 a lb) Sous Vide chicken ($0.59 a lb) and delicata squash ($0.90 each)

One year I traveled to Costa Rica around Christmas New Year Holidays. Stayed in Villa Blanca, a nice hotel in the cloud forest. Not too many staff in the hotel because of the holidays. The manager toke care of most of our needs. Wake up calls, travel arrangements, laundry, dinner, breakfast, etc. I complained and complained about the disappointing food in Costa Rica. I even offer to advise him on changing the hotel's menu. Near the end, I asked around how much I should tip him. I was told, "I don't think you should tip him. He is Carazo Odio Rodrigo, former president of Costa Rica. He owns the hotel." There was no Taxi at that time, so The former president of Costa Rica drove us to the airport. A two hour drive, because it was in the cloud forest, you could not see more then 10 feet in front of you. I discovered later that he deducted all the food charges on our bill. dcarch