Martin Fisher

I was interested in the VP215 until I read some of the nightmare reviews. This one in particular....... http://www.amazon.com/review/R2RAONONP0WEX4/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R2RAONONP0WEX4 Three machines went bad in in just over 12 months??? The $999 PolyScience 300 Series chamber looks interesting, hopefully it's a good machine. http://cuisinetechnology.com/chamber-vacuum-sealer-300.php FWIW, VacuumSealersUnlimited.com offers a monthly 10% discount code..... http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/125236/another-vacuumsealersunlimited-thread-plus-vacmaster-review#post_1067316

Mugaritz – back from the brink..... "The new design and setting of the kitchen allows us now to work from the beginning to the end [of service] without interrupting the 'heat chain' that begins on the stove and finishes on the plate. It sounds obvious, but it is a very complex issue in a kitchen producing 600 dishes each day for lunch and dinner."

Delicata squash is good. I love it simply roasted with some fresh chopped rosemary, olive oil and salt and pepper. The cultivar Honey Boat is very good but Candystick is even better with a flavor somewhat reminiscent of medjool dates.

My guess is that it means there should be no pause between the smoker and the salamander.

Trompette des Morts?

Most local winemaking/beermaking shops should have one gallon glass growlers in stock.

Here's the all-purpose cleaner formula I've used for years..... http://www.food.com/recipe/the-best-all-purpose-cleaner-26191 It's cheap and works very well. A gallon of it costs $1.00-$1.25

I have lots of seasonal favorites but there's one in particular that I must be sure to have at least once a year, this time of year, for nostalgic reasons. Stewed Tomatoes and Dumplings was one of my Grandmother Brown's favorites and it brings back lots of good memories.

Hens don't commence ovulation until they're at least 4-5 months old. Most commercial hens are far too young to produce oocytes. This morning I spoke with a French friend about the use of stewing hens in coq au vin. She insists that when coq au vin is viewed as a farmhouse dish of necessity or comfort-food, quality stewing hens are an acceptable replacement for cocks. Look for the larger breeds with ample flesh such as Jersey Giants, Australorps, Orpingtons, Delawares and the like. Avoid the scrawny breeds, especially leghorns, but also Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks and the like.

Looks like harmless tartaric acid crystals from here. It happens.

FWIW, these fellers gave a stewing hen a go in coq au vin, served it up too soon and didn't like the results.

In that case, yeah, I certainly wouldn't use a "boiler" chicken for coq au vin. Around here they're typically called "stewing hens." They do make good soup, broth or stock. I get them free. These, Freedom Ranger Broilers, are the cocks I grow for coq au vin.

You'll just have to give it a try and see if you like it...... Here, the common classifications (which were updated by the USDA not too long ago) of chicken are......... Rock Cornish game hen or Cornish game hen: an immature chicken younger than five weeks old (previously five to six weeks), of either sex, with a ready-to-cook carcass weight of two pounds or less. Broiler or fryer: a chicken younger than 10 weeks old (previously younger than 13 weeks), of either sex, that is tender-meated with soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin and flexible breastbone cartilage. Roaster or roasting chicken: a young chicken between eight and 12 weeks old (previously three to five months old), of either sex, with a ready-to-cook carcass weight of five pounds or more, that is tender-meated with soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin and breastbone cartilage that is somewhat less flexible than that of a broiler or fryer. Capon: a castrated male chicken.

I also should have noted that the food processor likely contributed to the wateriness by freeing up excess water. I like to use the tater ricer or food mill because I prefer that consistency.

In my opinion, it should be prepped at least to the point where it doesn't easily weep. I prefer to whack the 'pumkins' in half and roast the halves open-face down on a roasting pan. When soft, I run the meat through a tater ricer or food mill. It's almost never too loose that way. If need be, you can firm it up but spreading it out on a baking sheet and in a slow oven stir the 'pumpkin' every 10-15 minutes until it firms up to the desired consistency. "Cheese pumpkins" are c. moschata and the moschatas do make the best pumpkin pie. Nearly all commercial pumpkin is made from c. moschata and not c. pepo - which are most generally recognized as the 'true' pumpkins. While the Seminole pumpkin (a c. moschata) arguably makes the best pumpkin pie, there's really no need to go out of your the way to source C. moschata.....common butternut squashes are c.moschata and they make a good pumpkin pie. I have for many years made my pumpkin pies with 75-80% c. moschata and 20-25% carrot....the carrot adds a nice flavor, natural sweetness and bright orange color.

Fried or gumbo. Hmmmmm....The Ann Venderhoof "poppers" sound real good, I'll have to look into that.

Is it true, as one reviewer said, that after 30 minutes it can only be set in 5 minute increments? Yes, that is correct but it's never been an issue because I find that I very rarely have to set it at anything other than 5 minute intervals beyond 30 minutes. On the rare occasion that I need to set it at something like 48 minutes, I set it at 45 minutes and when the time is up, the timer will count up from zero at the point the alarm goes off- so in this case - you're done after the additional 3 minutes. No big deal.

This is what I have.... Chef's Quad-Time Professional It works great.

The 2005 Canyon Country Concord from Oregon Hill Winery coalesces cruel vinyl essences and a titillating acetone bouquet with a cantankerous kerosene finish.

For 3 pounds of potato salad, I think that a 2 quart bowl should fit the bill with a bit of space left over. A 3 quart may be best if you want extra mixing room. I favor deep stainless steel mixing bowls. Rosle makes a nice one, but I don't have experience with their lids which are available separately. They may be priced lower on Amazon.

Here in the US, home canning in oil or fat (or even adding oil or fat beyond what's specifically called for in a tested recipe) isn't recommended (as per the extension services mostly...Cornell and Penn State in my area) in any thing other than recipes that are officially tested for safety because added fats and oils have a tendency to insulate pathogens from the heat of a home canner. The rule applies to both pressure canning - which is essential when canning low-acid foods such as fish and seafood - and boiling water bath canning. Having said that, there are some folks who ignore the warnings and take the risk. IIRC, there is a tested recipe for tuna canned in oil in the USDA's Complete Guide to Home Canning.

Anticipated release date: November 18, 2013. Current draft of the Sansaire user manual.

Whether they compete or not depends on what specifically you're trying to accomplish. Regardless, I categorized them differently. A timer or clock is potentially only an indicator of how long the unit was off. What really matters is the temperature of the bath during the down time. Guessing that the bath temp remained at safe levels during the timer or clock indicated down time doesn't seem like a good idea to me, unless said down time was very short.

With auto resume how does one know that when unattended (and short of using a recording thermometer which can be expensive) the unit wasn't off and the food in the 'danger-zone' for an extended period of time creating a serious safety risk?

I think that the race is definitely on between the Anova and the Sansaire. So far I favor the Anova by a mile. I don't see the Nomiku or PolyScience DISCOVERY taking much more than a nibble of the market. On the non-immersion circulator front, the Codlo and DorkFood DSV are nothing to get excited about compared to the Sous Vide Magic.