Hassouni

The clip-on mechanism for that directional cap. It's not as secure as I'd like, but it's not a huge complaint.

How does it compare to St Elizabeth?

I should note the connection for that cap is a bit flimsy, and you have to make sure it's really twisted on securely if you don't want it to come off while running. That said, I used mine for the first time last night, to make what the Japanese would call onsen tamago, and others might call poached-in-the-shell eggs. Brilliant! 149ºF for 45 minutes, VERY soft white and yolk. I might play with temps and time for a more "traditionally" textured poached egg, but that doesn't mean what I had last night wasn't awesome. Time to defrost those short ribs from my 1/16th cow purchase...

Where the HELL did you get the pimento dram??

Ah, I see, thanks for the clarification. Yes, their main version is pork, though they might have a beef or lamb one too, if I remember right.

Looks great. How many of the buns does your recipe make? A local Shaanxi-style restaurant offers something called rou ga mou http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/panda-gourmet-washington#3Y-f1fbGDx774W-GLUNw7g - I was wondering if there's any difference?

The Mai Tai is actually one of the more simple and accessible Tiki drinks, in my opinion. Crushed ice for a crowd may be difficult, but I absolutely agree with Elise. Tiki was by far the only good thing happening in mixology in that era.

Interesting. So in other words, if you were starting from scratch, you'd go with grapeseed?

Nearly 5 oz of full-strength or overproof booze in one pop will do that

I think it's pretty commonly packaged like that, too

Well, the secret's out of the bag now!

My Griswold pan arrived. It's basically identical to the one Porthos got, but looks brand new. Totally flawless, and I see what people mean when they talk about the glasslike interior. It has a coat of mineral oil on it to prevent rust, the seller said to remove that with soap and water then season as normal. Two questions (not sure if this is the right thread, but whatever): 1. Will it rust immediately after i wash off the oil coating? I figure even if I towel-dry it, it will still be a bit moist....and seasoning is supposed to be put on cold, right? So maybe heat it up un-coated after washing the oil off and then let it cool back down before seasoning? 2. What's the verdict on flaxseed oil? I re-did my lodge with it seems to be working better than anything I tried before, but obviously the Griswold's surface is nothing like that, and I've heard flaxseed oil can flake eventually, even if applied very sparingly. I do have over a pint of bacon grease sitting around....might that work for seasoning?

Something tea based, with sage and smoke flavors

Anyone got suggestions for a rum suitable for hot drinks? Pusser's is a bit too assertive...maybe Appleton?

I'm actually in the process of experimenting with just that. I think it's a great idea, if people like smoky whisky, then smoky tea is a natural partner.

I dunno, I'm pretty happy with Cortas, it's the standard in Arab kitchens for a reason

White tea is good, it's a Chinese thing, and it's just regular camellia sinensis prepared differently than green, black, etc. I would not trust a damn thing Dr Oz says about anything without several pages of citations backing him up, however.

Oh, good to know, I've seen those at my local (DC's only) German bakery. Might get a box!

Where doth one acquire said teabag?

Toliver, I must add that as good as Chad's class is, having a ton of videos now (11 years later) is just as, if not more helpful - at least to get a basic understanding of what's going on - Chad's class might be better read after seeing a few videos by people that know what they're doing - to provide further detail and background.

Oh. Snap.

I've actually seen it before, though perhaps not all the way through. I didn't see or read the part where he's done 66 pans like that, that assuages my worries considerably! I can't remember where I read the bit about warping and cracking, but I spent (wasted?) many, many hours reading about vintage cast iron and restoring it, and some of the things I read mentioned it.

in addition to the usual year-round stuff, masala chai and lapsang feature in my winter drinking

I just picked up a pretty clean Griswold 8 pan of that same vintage on eBay, but since it was pretty clean I paid a lot more. I've read that self-cleaning cycles can warp or crack older cast iron, as they're thinner and relatively more delicate than the modern heavier-than-hell Lodge stuff (which I have put through a self-cleaning cycle). Good to know yours came out OK, Porthos. Can anyone else here speak on that issue? If it's not a problem I may pick up some quite junky ones and have it!

That's pretty helpful, thanks. The thing about watching too many Youtube videos is true to an extent - there seem to be a few prevailing styles and at this point I'm just confused on which way to go!