scubadoo97

Tonight I didn't have a lot of time to prepare for the usual crowd. I have a big pot of chili, corn cooked with shallots and diced red peppers, white rice and cornbread. My daughter loves to dip challah in her chili. Shabbat shalom

Pretty cool you mentioned this. I was breaking down several terderloins the other day and did this. I scrape along the under side of the silver skin and other trimmings. I made steak tartar with one little burger. Last month while again cleaning terderloins I ended up with a large patty of meat that made a interesting burger. Even with no fat it was still soft and moist as long as it was cooked rare.

I know the fat content can vary significantly from one brisket to another. This may also cause a change the outcome of the dish.

I use mine for the usual things like baked potatoes or even oven fries if there are not too many to fit on the little tray. Roasted garlic I always do in the toster oven. When making a frittata the other day I placed the pan in the toaster oven even though I couldn't close the door to frim up the top before flipping. I could have left it in the oven and not flipped it but I was impatient.

I use my KA grinder attachment as well. It doesn't do as nice of a job as a commercial grinder but it works. I have asked the butcher at the grocery store to grind my meat if I just don't have time. The guy at Publix uses a smaller grinder than the monster one next to it for custom grinding. I appreciate that but still know the first meat out of the grinder is not mine. I need to get a better grinder with a wider finer die for home use. Back to the burger issue. I get the best texture for my burgers when the meat is right from the grinder so it's still a little loose and hand form the burger gently.

Outstanding job Dave.

Looks like Jerusalem artichokes to me

My large extended family just started cooking for the holidays. We get together 3 Sundays and knock out a bunch of dishes that are frozen until Rosh Hashanna lunches. We do this for Passover as well. We don't have to think about having something unique or different each year. It is always the traditional fare. We knocked out several hundred stuffed grape leaves that we call cigars. Must be a Tampa thing. We also did a large batch of stuffed yellow and zucchini squash, kibbeh hamda and stuffed veal breasts. Next week we will tackle keftes and a spicy meatball that is cooked in a tomato sauce as well as frying diced potatoes that will go around the veal roast. Other dishes and mezze will be made just before. We have made cooking for the holidays a family affair. It use to be my grandmother would cook for all of us. Since she passed away it has been a half dozen that has gotten together to put this big meal together. Now we get 10-15 people that show up. It's a good time to connect with cousins that you haven't seen in a few months. We usually have around 60-80 family members at our holiday meals so we have to start early.

While reading the article, Hamburger Rules by Coleman Andrews, Saveur article I certainly thought of the number of hamburgers that were cooked on Labor Day and any given day here in the US. With the vast array of possible methods of preparing and topping a hamburger I want to find out what's your favorite way to make a burger. In preparing my burgers I always grind my meat at home using beef chuck roast primarily. Sometimes I like a combination of chuck/brisket. This gives me a 80/20 to 70/30 ratio of lean to fat which is essential to a good burger in my book. I like to use around 1/3 lb of meat per burger so these aren't little by any means. I usually cook them on the outside grill but cooked inside in a cast iron skillet or grill pan works very well for me. I prefer mine pink in the middle. I have become fond of doing stuffed burgers recently. Stuffing with a blue type cheese, goat or fontina is decadent. I have yet to try a foie gras stuffed burger since there is little chance of finding foie locally. I like mine topped with the usual catsup, mustard, tomato and pickle but at times like some spice like chipotle in adobo or other peppers to give it some real kick but not so much that it takes away the flavor of the burger itself. I usually surround my burger in a large soft bun that has been toasted lightly. To me the best is having juice squirt out of the burger on first bite. This doesn't happen with 90/10 lean meat. So how do you do yours?

Living in the central west coast of Florida you would think that fresh fish would be abundant but a lot of it goes up your way. We don't have large fish markets with incredibly fresh fish. Most of our fish houses, where fisherman can unload their catch, are leaving the area since the land is much more valuable for condos. We do have access to fresh fish but you have to search it out or catch it yourself.

Joesan, I hope I didn't make you feel that your post was in any way inappropriate. I am waiting with excitement on your results and didn't want the topic to get lost in the many pages of this thread. Nathan, thanks for letting us know there were previous threads on the topic. Here's one I found. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=81201&hl=

I'm following this thread with interest. I have yet to try sous vide because of the difficulty in maintaining a low temperature for such a long time. It would be great if sous vide equipment was it's own thread. In reviewing the types of commercial equipment I find that they are very similar to a lens tinting tank I have at my office. Still too expensive and large for home use. From what I know about PID it would work well in this application. Joesan, I look forward to seeing pictures of how you set this up. Jmolinari, I think the crock pot idea is great, the only problem being the limitation of vessel size, although you could probably do most things in the cock pot.

We had, BBQ chicken with home made BBQ sauce, pureed cauliflower, corn on the cob and salad. Too busy at the grill to get any pictures. Shabbat Shalom

On a trip to Belgium in '72 I had mayo on fries and have loved it ever since. I don't eat a lot of fries but most often it is nada or catsup with some hot sauce. Chipotle mixed with catsup or mayo is wonderful.

What a great statement. I too am very impressed. Wonderful job Steve!

I always beat the eggs in a bowl, season and then into a pan with melted butter or somtimes olive oil. I have learned to cook them slowly on low heat for best results. The curds are soft somewhat wet and fluffy. My daughter hates them that way and likes them cooked at a higher temp resulting in a more firm dry texture.

Can you generalize about the types of foods you think are undersalted? Robyn ← Grains, vegetables, meats, soups, stews... On steamed vegetable I use little salt and I'll take fresh corn unadulterated but building flavors in many dishes, salt is essential. I have no doubt some restaurants use more salt than necessary or healthy. I don't eat out often so have not become immune to the salt level of restaurant food. I can't say I've had noticeably salty food except in some chain like for example Applebee's boneless Buffalo wings. My daughter loves these and I find them similar to licking a salt block.

One of my employees who was born in Thailand brought me a bag of lychees that her dad grew in his backyard here in Florida. They were very good.

Our local grocery chain had 8/$1.00 this week so I picked up 16 ears yesterday. I always try to first look at the overall condition and see if the silk is turning black but I also pick ears that are heavy and full. The heavy ones are usually full of plump kernels. I do the pull back but I will try the technique mentioned above.

I feel your pain. We left for a one week Colorado trip after totally cleaning out the kitchen and they were to start the day after we got back. They started 2 weeks after we got back since they started a new job while we were gone. Even though we had appliances, all kitchen supplies and pantry items were packed away. The cupboard's were bare Ain't that the truth!

Compartive anatomy lesson 101 The hard center is the lens, the hard outer coating is the sclera or tough white of the eye and the gooey would be the congealed or cooked vitreous of the eye. Kind of like eating a lychee nut I guess.

I understand where you are coming from but BSCB do not have to be dry and tasteless. One very simple method of preperation which results in a juicy, tender and somewhat flavorful result is to just salt and pepper and brown quickly in a cast iron skillet with olive oil, then pan roast in a hot oven to finish 5-10 min. Do not over cook! I let them rest and slice.

Kent, how do you prepare them?

While restauarants may be guilty of over salting the home cook is often guilty of under salting. I have eaten at many peoples homes and they are afraid to use salt.

No question there. Great job, I love the overall look and the details.