dcarch

Do you remember, "Set-It-And-Forget-It" rotisserie oven? Ergonomics. Any cheap microwave nowadays has many preprogrammed features. When was the last time you go thru them all? I consider myself very tech savvy, yet I only use the timer and the power setting. Too much trouble to read and use all the other features. The reason the Showtime rotisserie sells a lot is because it is simple to use. With a sophisticated multi-featured cooking appliance with all kinds of cooking options may not be what the public wants. dcarch

"------Lastly, I would suspect that, while there is a wonderful trend in updating and building top-of-the-line kitchens, not enough Americans use their kitchen to justify spending even more money on appliances. Brand name and stainless steel are enough for the facade-consumed consumer. " People who can afford fancy kitchens mostly eat out. dcarch

There is no reason why normal 110vac/220vac cannot be used for any properly designed home appliance. It shouldn't take significantly more BTUs to cook a chicken evenly by any method. dcarch

Where is the dividing line between tipping and bribery? dcarch

"----women order the vast majority of salads and men order the most steaks. It's not like these things are counterintuitive either. It is easy to posit why men would have evolutionary pressures to eat foods with higher caloric densities. " That could be because women are more concious of counting calories. dcarch

That sounds great! But I guess your 220V/2000W heater will heat with 500W at 110V (P = U²/R). You are correct. I was thinking about the other 2,000 watt heater that I have which runs at 110v, I connected it to a diode, which is a halfwave rectifier, that cuts the wattage in half. dcarch

I built mine with a $20.00 aquarium controller, $10.00 aquarium pump, and a $10.00 1,000 watt heater. The whole set up is portable, so I can use it in a big beer cooler or a small container just for a few eggs. The system can keep one degree F accuracy. dcarch BTW, The heater is a 2,000 watt 220vac heater which I am powering with 110vac. It should last forever. :-)

"------ is there any way I can I use a regular meat or cooking thermometer to check the pan temperature? ---" No. Get an IR remote read thermometer. It's not that expensive. dcarch

Bacon cones filled with some kind of avocado recipe? dcarch

Kim, Oh my! Those ribs! Worth going back for seconds, thirds ----- But leaving room for the strawberry cheese cake. I don’t blame you for repeating the cucumber salad. I probably would have it every night. So pretty! rarerollingobject, The magic of sous vide, rare duck breast but crispy skin! Very nice. Annm_t, even though I have not had it before, I can tell black bean and chicken tacos is an excellent combination. Robirdstx, Your Porcupine Meatballs got my curiosity. They look wonderful. I will have to try to make them. Also, very beautiful salad. ------------------------------------ ---- Leftover corned beef and fresh strawberries with freeze dried apple chips. dcarch

Does it mean that those who tip get better cuts of meat? dcarch

That is entirely possible. Sodium bicarbonate is chemically basic, and it can neutralize acidic chemicals, or react and alter other chemicals, rendering them less odious. But that is not deodorizing the air. dcarch

robirdstx, How many meatballs can you make with just one Porcupine? dcarch :-)

Baking soda definitely works as a deodorizer. What are you doing wrong? Snorting it? You can "deodorize" by masking with another scent. Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) cannot. You can deodorize by absorption of air molecules, such as activated charcoal; Sodium bicarbonate has no ability to absorb. It can, however, possibly deodorize stinky shoes by direct application to neutralize the offending source if it is of acid based. dcarch

Baking soda as deodorizer. The biggest scam ever. dcarch

"--Except for microwaves, because they penetrate and can deposit energy faster/deeper than conduction. In fact, microwaves will penetrate deeper into frozen foods than thawed - if you stuff a frozen turkey with moist dressing and nuke it, you can overcook the dressing before the turkey thaws. --" Microwave can penetrate deeper, but not all the way. It is not true that microwave cook from the inside out. Microwave doesn't heat up frozen water very well because the molecules cannot reverse polarities as well. Microwave energy therefore is not used and passes thru frozen part of the food and heats up the moist dressing inside. dcarch

The TurboChef has some ridiculous claims. There are physical limitations as to how fast food can be cooked. 15 times faster? Faster than what? Cooking you food in a refrigerator? The water content of food limits the exterior temperature to no more than 212 degrees F, and the conductivity of the food limits how fast the 212 degree heat can travel to the interior of the food. Have you tried to cook food with a blow torch? Does it cook food faster? It can only burn the outside faster. The Microwave assist feature of the upper cavity (why “cavity” and not oven?) is questionable without a turntable. Microwave, with a wave frequency of 2.45 GHz, most likely generates standing wave patterns which results in uneven cooking. We all know that even with a turntable, microwave still cannot cook evenly. dcarch

Your are in NYC? As you know many Chinese restaurants have fish tanks serving live seafood. Is that seasonal? I would guess many veggies come form green houses. Is that seasonal? I have not seen any ethnic organic restaurants either. dcarch

I think you need to define "Manly" more. One late night with a few other couples after a show, we ended up in a restaruant in lower Westside (NYC). it was truly a manly place, no females. It was a gay man's hang out. dcarch

There are probably more cooking done on youtube than anywhere else. dcarch

Emily_R, Those are pretty good photo-compositions, just color hues are a little off. Very nice home-made pancetta. Ann_t, again, your dishes remind me why I am an admirer of your cooking. rarerollingobject, I can just imagine how wonderful it would be to bite into those wagyu wrapped around asparagus and enoki mushrooms. I love the plate they are on. And I like wrapping things :-). ----------------------------------------- Napa cabbage wrapped ground turkey meatloaves on chunky mashed potatoes. dcarch

"----wok hei----" Thanks! That's it! That's what I have been told. That's what makes "stir fry" The red-hot wok temperature instantly caramelizes many ingredients and gives the smoky flavor of stir frying. "Saute" I thought I heard Jacques Pépin once said came from stir frying, that the ingredients jump in the pan. Indeed, the ingredients do jump in a hot wok if you watch one in action. dcarch

"Stir" is not part of the Chinese word. You have "deep fry", "stir fy" is kind of "shallow fry", frying with very little oil. With a hot wok, you have no choice but to stir otherwise food will burn and part of the food will not be cooked. A hot wok is also to burn off water quickly. Sogginess is a sign of bad cook in stir frying. dcarch

A used vacuum pump is not very expensive. Vacuum pump is not noisy. You can probably use dry ice in a can and let air from the vacuum chamber pass by the cold can before the vaccum pump. moisture will be condensed on the can surface. Refrigeration is one of the methods to extract water from air. dcarch

Freeze dried and dehydrated, as you know, are completely different. Also, when you vacuum water, it starts to boil and then it gets frozen. dcarch