dcarch

Now I remember! Medical people always tell you that do not drink alcohol to keep warm in the winter. It is a big myth of that husky rescue dog with the wine barrel. Alcohol increases blood circulation to your skin and cools your whole body down. Cold beer!!!! dcarch

If you suck on and drink one pound of ice at 24 degrees F it will remove 215 BTUs from your body. dcarch

Thanks Blether. Your kitchen was a mess after the quake. dcarch

djyee100, Thank you for the asparagus bread inspiration. Genkinaonna, Fascinating food blog. Thank you for taking the time. Kim, missed your cooking. Nice steak with that fancy topping. C. sapidus, What a nice combination for your shrimp curry. rarerollingobject, Chinese-Japanese fusion of chicken breast, Veryimaginative and I know it tasted super. I Have duck liver in my freezer. I thinkl I may try your creation out. Dakki, WoW! That is one super Machito! (Nice knife, BTW). kayb, A classic surf and turf is made memorable by that balsamic truffle cream potatos. SobaAddict70, I always look forward to your wonderful plating skills. I was not disappointed. David Ross, You are making me angry. My order of morel mushrooms arrived yesterday completely rotten because of the warm weather. Blether, I am trying to picture how you were able to make those nice tandoori chickens in you kitchen. ---------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - My Memorial Day meal: Razor clam beet salad Kabocha squash, potatoes & mushrooms Grilled sous vide strip steak with roasted elephant garlic dcarch

There is a thread on how to make ribs moist. It got me thinking. What are we talking about? We all have heard plenty times, do this and do that, dip the meat in marinate, spray water on the meat, brush oil on the meat ------- and you can help made the meat moist and juicy. What in fact is going on? It seems to me that unless you burn the hell out of meat to evaporate the water in meat, there is not much you can do to change the water and protein composition. Of course, I am not talking about brining, pickling, or using tenderizer type of cooking methods. Aren’t we really talking about textural changes mostly? If you weight the meat before and after, can you actually increase the water in meat to make it more moist and juicier? If that’s in fact what we are talking about, wouldn’t it be true that it is mostly about temperature control and not what you put on the meat that would make the biggest difference? dcarch

While having a converation with your friends, "I am sorry to interupt you, but how's everything?" I automatically take off 2% from the tip. dcarch

Possible. Depending on the manufacturer. I don't have a brand in mind. I believe some restaurants use them and many hospitals use them. dcarch

All forms of filter impose restriction to air flow, all except electrostatic filters. It traps particle by electric charge. The only consideration is capacity. You need to find one with good enough CFM volume. BTW, once you have trapped lots of dust, grease, etc, you just take the filter out and put it in the dishwasher. Nothing new to buy. dcarch

There is a way. Use an electrostatic air cleaner nearby. An electrostatic cleaner will trap over 95% of air borne (smoke) particles. An electrostatic air cleaner with an activated charcoal filter can trap smell ( cigar) in the air as well. dcarch

My sous-vide setup Bread maker Pasta maker dcarch

Here is how I take the whole duck apart: Two more way to render duck fat: 1. Same a cooking bacon in a microwave. 2. After you pressure cook duck parts to make stock, all the fat goes to the surface. You get all the fat after you refrigerate the stock. dcarch

OK, I got this from a friend: 菱粉 = WATER CALTROP starch. 馬蹄粉 = Water chestnut flour dcarch

I did this long time ago (Yes, long time ago there was a thing called Whiteout) Whiteout bottle for the body, little brush inside the bottle for the tail, and #2 pencil for the legs. water caltrops can be enjoyed cooked or raw. dcarch

I don't know how indigenous corn is to China, I know corn silk has been in use in Chinese herbal medicine for many centuries. dcarch

Is that similar to the arrowroot mentioned earlier? I have used it and it is a much more delicate starch No, It has nothing to do with arrowroot. It is a very strange looking fruit. http://amylamsg.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/1271189917_e32f06054d.jpg I think you can still buy the flour in a large Chinese store. dcarch

Water chestnut (WATER CALTROP, not typical water chestnut) flour I believe was more traditional. dcarch

"---What are the drawbacks of installing such a system at home? Increased gas bills? " I think they are all electric, not gas. "---Much prefer the Zojirushi water boilers but hubby has an issue with leaving them plugged in overnight. " Touch the outside of the container, if it is warm, then the unit is not insulated well. If it is cool, then plugging in overnight will not use much power. They will not start a fire. There are safety thermostats built-in. dcarch

"You have almost got me thinking of poaching from the neighbor who has masses of the day lilies. At what stage are they best?" They need to be very young. I cover them with fallen leaves from last fall before spring to kind of blanch them. What vegetables you can grow in the shade that is so delicious? dcarch

Harvest of Daylily stems from my garden. dcarch

Jenni, yes, very delicious Kerala meal. rarerollingobject, thanks for posting the recipe for the Crispy Thai pork belly. That is a dish I will have to make soon, after looking at your picture. ChrisTaylor, that roast, rolled lamb shoulder sure looks well roasted. SobaAddict70, That Bento box lunch makes lunch something to look forward to, and the dinner is not so boring as you indicated. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I still have some duck in the freezer. Sous vide duck breast medium, on beet green with wild rice stuffed pepper. Duck goes well with wild rice, and wild rice goes well with bell peppers. dcarch

If you are really going to have your last meal-------- Try Googling "last meals death row" dcarch

I would use the set for "mise en place" in the kitchen. They take up less room on the counter then round dishes and you can stack them. dcarch

Some how that just doesn't look like it is a good design for bones next to a dinner plate. I have two sets. I normally use them for nuts and dips. dcarch

Looks good. I bought a pack of frozen scallops from Trader Joe's. It was labeled "Sashimi Quality". But I sous vided them instead. You may want to grow some Perilla. While not a perennial herb, it re-seeds readily. You get so much every year. dcarch

I'd like to think that it does, indeed, offer better release, but... no. That's very disappointing to hear. So purely for aesthetics then? To begin with, damascus blades are decorative, functionally it is not meaningful in kitchen uses. You pay a high price for having that. Damascus is meant for battle field combat situations. dcarch