JoNorvelleWalker

I hope you have a Roomba.

So who won?

My first thought was dinner at a Polish KFC.

Except, according to David McCullough, at the dining table of the American embassy during the siege of Paris.

Mukoita is the first of the five techniques. @Anna N may be assured that each potential viand (at least those of the animal kingdom) is identified by gorgeous photographs, transliteration, common English name, and Linnaean taxonomy. Hence: Sazae, Horned Turban, Batillus cornutus. (Should you need one from your local Shoprite.) In truth I question the practicality of this volume for the average North American homemaker. I regret I shall never see, let alone cut and cook the majority of these creatures. But if I do I shall be prepared! Particularly when dinner is carved alive, has "dagger-like teeth, which can inflict serious injury", and strenuously objects to being eaten. More scary are the vegetarian cuts -- speaking as someone who once Modernistly butchered her left thumb. The techniques leave nothing to imagination. Every step is photographed and explained down to proper knife choice, sharpening, and grip. The recipes are inclusive. Including bits that one is advised not to eat. I thought of @rotuts while reading the technique of removing tendons from chicken breast. The previous volume, Mukoita I from The Japanese Culinary Academy's Complete Japanese Cuisine, deals with butchering large fish.

Seven cookbooks for me so far this week.

You might as well give in now.

A friend of Italian ancestry from Trenton New Jersey, a town noted for its pizza, maintains that his family's favorite when he was growing up was German American. They put mustard in the dough.

Thanks @heidih I had missed that list. Several titles appeal and the library is buying The Nordic Baking Book for me. However I must resist as I've already purchased five cookbook titles this week.

On the subject of Japanese cookbooks: Mukoita II, thanks to amazon release day delivery! (I preordered my copy a year and a half ago.)

I went for Brindisa and also made the mistake of clicking on the preview of The Egg Shop. So, sorry Smithy, I'm reading Egg Shop first. I confess I gravitated to the bread section. I wanted to see how they made their baguettes. Lots of pictures and detailed instruction, but I had a couple of good laughs: The ingredients call for 15 grams of Kosher salt but the recipe never says to add the salt. Then they suggest cold proofing the formed dough: "This is a little truth bomb that will give you fish-eye blisters, the little round bubbles that appear on the crust of really well-made breads of all kinds." Never mind in The Taste of Bread Raymond Calvel calls the crust bubbles on baguettes baked from retarded dough a defect. Speaking of The Taste of Bread I see there is now a Kindle version! At $69.42 it is a bargain, but whether $69.42 is a crazy good bargain I will leave to other's judgement. I have the hardcover of The Taste of Bread and I see it is now going for $199.90.

And while we are on the subject, at 450F the steam vents of the CSO get rather warm. Ask how my knuckles know this.

I shall never again spill my wild rice on the floor. Unlike with my pork chop the other night, five second rule does not apply.

Not sous vide per se -- but as pertains to drying chicken: I let tonight's half hen rest on a rack in the refrigerator for several hours. The bird was not visibly less damp than when I put it in, except that some liquid had pooled in the pan below the rack. Perchance next time I'll have the patience to try for 24 or 48. But anyhow the chicken is currently getting a blowout.

Couldn't help but notice Ottolenghi's Plenty is $1.80 at the moment. Standard disclaimers apply.

Is the pastry sweet or savory?

Button mushrooms -- good.

I will ask her again when I see her. She is not an eGullet person but she proselytizes your beans.

I googled them a bit. Russula are rarely fatal. At least if they are cooked.

My replacement beans arrived unspilled and very well packed.

She's not reported back...that's not a good sign.

As I was broiling tonight's pizza the oven shut itself off with an over-heat error message.

Beautiful, beautiful @chefmd but I hope you put them down again. Or have your liver donor lined up. I love mushrooms as much as the next girl but I'd be scared, very scared. (And selfishly I'd like to get a ride again from you someday.)

Not only do these pieces look impractical, they don't exactly scream "Ozarks" at me. Isn't there some traditional regional pattern that you could emulate? My own stainless is Oneida but I no longer remember the name of the pattern. The design is colonial but simple, and I would not trade it for the finest silver. (I used to have the finest silver from when I was married and I gave it all away.) My main concern about flatware in a restaurant is "Is it clean?" Edit: my Oneida pattern seems no longer available. (Not to worry, I have lots.) The closest current pattern I could find was Paul Revere: https://www.oneida.com/flatware/fine-flatware/paul-revere.html Very similar. I think I should be most happy with Paul Revere if I found it in a restaurant. Even if that patriot and rum bibber never made it to the Ozarks.

Granted the relative humidity in my refrigerator is too low for me to measure with my hygrometer. However unless you own a fancy refrigerator that circulates dry air I'm not sure refrigerator drying will be that rapid -- besides, low humidity or not, water condenses on most everything in my refrigerator. Last night I did a boneless pork chop sous vide, 58C. That seems to have been a good temperature for me but there were problems.* This particular package of boneless rib chops were pre-brined. Then I salted again before bagging. After anovaing I dried with paper towels and the hair dryer on hot to see the difference from drying cool. Wasn't paying much attention (blame World of Warcraft) and the blow drier rendered the fat. Oops. After pan searing the pork was ham-like. Tender, juicy, and not bad at all, but the unmistakable somewhat rubbery texture of ham. Last time I buy expensive (granted, on sale) pre-brined fresh pork. I still think hair drying on cool has its place in my culinary repertoire. *dropping on the floor was one.