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Previously I had downloaded a manual for the Cuisinart Griddler. Not the same model as mine, and from Canada, but I thought it should work. Curiously there are no instructions for putting bread in the griddle. I would say that most of the pictures I've seen of eGullleters' usage of panini presses involves bread. Recently, my friend went to San Francisco and brought me back a sourdough boule with garlic and Asiago. Soon, nothing was left but the two round ends. Today I buttered up those boule-ends with mayo and tried to put a slice ham in between. They were almost impossible to hold onto, and the griddle had little interest in holding them steady. Nevertheless, I persisted. I tried medium heat for 7 minutes. The heat squished the bread flat! Too ugly for a photograph, but tasty.

My friend came to dinner last night bringing a Cuisinart Griddler Model GR-4NTK. 120V AC 60Hz 1500W Non stick coating looks in good shape; my friend thinks it's essentially new. $9 I found a Cuisinart user manual for CGR-4NWC. No cleaning tools that I've been able to find. What do you use to clean the griddle?

@JoNorvelleWalker, thanks for the laugh. Such a predictable world!

@AlaMoi, those muffins look tremendous! Do you have a recipe for them?

Deleted. Edited to add: I missed the second page of responses, and I see the problem has already been solved by @liuzhou.

@haresfur, Anova hasn't asked me for more money and I'm on my third APO. I did pay them to replace the cooking probe which I broke. I use the app on my phone to cook "Toast" in the Anova only; for everything else I use the front panel of the oven. I also use the app to run the Descale procedure a second time (with water only, to rinse it). On occasion I have written to support@anovaculinary.com about issues with Oven. I visit https://oven.anovaculinary.com/?query=reheat leftovers&page=1 to look up recipes. That's it. @FlashJack and @haresfur, can it be something you're doing that triggers Anova wanting you to pay? My blexxed opinion only: If Anova wanted me to pay for a subscription for access to the "Toast" recipe, I would spend $100 on a manual toaster.

I wrote to Anova to ask them how to clean the inside window of the oven. They sent me back their standard blurb from the manual. I wrote back and said that I was specifically asking about the inside window, and "I know how to clean the rest of the oven, so you don't have to tell me again." Their new reply: "To answer your question, you can use a dishwasher tablet to rub on the stain and then wipe it off with a damp cloth. Alternatively, if it's easier for you, you can apply warm water to the area, rub the tablet, and then wipe it with a damp cloth." Since I don't use dishwasher tablets, could someone explain what she's probably saying?

So, @Rickbern, seems like NO self clean! 😒

@dtremit, please say v 2.0 has a self clean!

Kerry, This looks like a good way to keep Anna N around. Do you keep self-raising flour around? I don't, should I? Do you have a "quick" rule for using AP flour in place of self-raising flour?

@pastrygirl, I have a quasi-professional Weston vacuum sealer which uses textured vacuum seal bags. When the machine is engaged to vacuum seal a bag, the air in the bag is vacuumed out. Anything soft might get crushed during that vacuuming. There is a Manual button which is supposed to stop the vacuum from sucking any more air out of the bag. It is, however, somewhat unreliable. For a long time I've been looking for an inexpensive non-chamber vacuum sealer which seals when the user wants it to.

How much flour to how much fat? Did you brown the flour? Thanks.

Yes, @rotuts, it seems all those long cook cheap meats are gone forever now. The university in my town has courses for farmers, breeders and butchers, so it's possible (but rare) to find good oxtail.

I have notes in my Sous Vide diary (copied from egullet @nickrey said 162ºF for 48 hours and @FeChef 160ºF for 24-30 hours). I started at noon on Saturday and was done by Sunday at 5 pm - 29 hours. But that cook was more than one year ago. I think I would move the oxtail to the Anova oven (APO). Perhaps this as a guide? Jamaican Style Sous Vide Oxtail Personally I am very annoyed by oxtail in the general grocery stores, the oxtail is sold now with an extra inch of fat around every piece. Which is a lot of money to toss out. Grrr!

@MaryIsobel, I recently made a Mushroom Olive Caper Tapenade which recipe came from Cooking with Mushrooms by Andrea Gentl. It was outstanding. Andrea Gentl is a famous food photographer (probably has done the photography of lots of your favourite cookbooks). I'm sending the recipe by PM. No anchovies though. P.S. Andrea Gentl says tapenade will keep in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

And how exactly do you cut them, @dcarch ?

Do these remnants go in the stock pot, @btbyrd ?

For those who sous vide beef short ribs low and slow ( @btbyrd does 130ºF for 72 hours), how do you deal with all the fat? Does it melt?

I have some not very meaty beef short ribs. Time and temp?

My favourite fish is cod, which I generally cook 30 minutes at 115ºF. From my notebook on sous vide salmon: The video below shows salmon cooked sous vide for 30 minutes at 5 different temperatures. "Notice the dramatic difference in texture between 40°C / 104°F and 60°C / 140°F. What’s the best temperature for sous vide salmon? Well, that’s a matter of personal taste. We prefer our salmon between 45-50°C, but some folks may prefer a higher degree of doneness." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pzcWShb1Uw Modernist Cuisine prefers 45 °C / 113 °F, which is rare. But (they say) you can go up as high as 52 °C / 126 °F for a firm texture. http://modernistcuisine.com/recipes/sous-vide-salmon-in-the-kitchen-sink/ The salmon video came from a discussion from Sansaire about How to Cook Fish Sous Vide https://sansaire.com/2014/04/cook-fish-sous-vide/ Because the salmon is barely lukewarm, make sure you heat the plate!

@Maison Rustique, the only thing I can think is to tell the givers how grateful you are, then tell them the problem. Could you ask them to discuss with you a day or two in advance?

@Kerala, the Anova Precision Oven can do many things, one of them is sous-vide (without the plastic bag).

Because of the Anova, for sous-vided fish, I'm no longer wrapping in vacuum sealed bags. 113ºF / 45ºC is my ideal temperature for the fish. Sometimes I heat up the oven to put a little crust on the fish, but mostly not. Usually I have sides with plenty of crunch or sizzle. Last weekend I had 3 bags sous-vide duck breast and 1 bag sous-vide duck leg. These got warmed from freezer to 130ºF in the Joule s.v., then popped into a really hot, hot pan skin side down for a few minutes. The meat was then sliced. Accompanied by @weinoo's baked beans with roasted garlic and parmesan and a few toast triangles. Also some roasted artichoke hearts. So most of my host time was spent with the guests.

@AlaMoi, aren't you one of the folks with Anova steam oven? If so, you've got sous vide without the bag already.

@liamsaunt, your photos are always delightful. And I get full just looking at the food. (kidding 😅). How many of the components of the menus in Bermuda are grown there? I'm guessing fish and seafood is local, lobster when in season. Chicken? Beef? Pork? How about vegetables and fruits?