radtek

Hi everybody! Have a question... I have a vacuum-sealed batch of shredded duck confit in the fridge. I confited it sous vide at 160F back in January of 2009 for many hours in a lot of fat and stored it below 39F for all this time. For some reason I just have never used the confit or threw it away. As time has gone by my inclination to open the package has shrivelled to near zero... The appearance is as good as when it was made. No swelling or bubbles so I think one can almost rule the risk of botulism out. I want to open it. Or toss the confit out. Wondering if it is still any good? Any ideas or advice in this extreme situation.

I make my bagels with 25% Kamut (Khorasan wheat), so a non-traditional grain, and I still get great browning using lye. Loving your blog. I have spent a little time in Ecuador (as well as several other places in Central and South America) and lived in Panama for a year, so I'm getting the travel bug reading your blog. I believe it to be the starch reacting with the lye that causes it to gelatinize and turn color, which becomes a nice golden brown while baking- almost like a pretzl.

OMG those dishes look fabulous and healthy. If they were as cheap and plentiful here I'd probably eat out everyday! I own a pasta maker and make fresh pasta from time to time but its just too convenient to use dry pasta. Even the professionals say the quality is so high it makes sense to do so. There's some big differences in culture though: in the States cooking a meal is considered traditional, and eating out a special occasion. Despite that we are a nation of restaurants! Every house is expected to have a fully functioning kitchen- whereas in Asia space constraints may preclude cooking at home for many people. My opinion is that there is a growing backlash to eating out all the time and while it is costly- an indication that a person is disadvantaged, particularly if they eat a lot of unhealthy fast-food from chain restaurants. I have the blades that cut either 1mm or 10mm noodles. Anything wider I pull out the pizza cutter or the knife and see little need to buy extra equipment. There's an Asian market close to my house where any quantity of a wide variety of dried and fresh noodles are available. I recommend achieving "a healthy balance"- make what you can't get, save time with what you can, depending on the dish.

I'm a big fan of Jamie's. He cooks exciting food that features complex flavors with simple preparations and fresh ingredients. Unfortunately, the videos aren't available in my area- probably due to being outside the UK and certain copyright restrictions. Well I'll be waiting for the Cooking Channel or BBC America to bring these episodes to me. Without seeing any footage I can image any 15 minute experience in the kitchen requires coordination and preparedness. Most pasta dishes take less than 15 minutes if you have the water ready- and Jamie's heavy on the pasta at times.

I've been eating pho for 20 years but only recently have been trying to approximate it. As a convenience I'll get the pho base in the jar and simmer it with beef neck bones. Comes out a lot darker but my purist friend after having a bowl asked me how I got so close. He has since gone my convenience route minus the meat and bones. He's a vegitarian... Now, I've heard that some places have one of those "endless stock-pots" of broth that they have kept going for years, and this is their "secret" to the fabulous flavor they have. Somehow I doubt this. To get clear broth/stock one needs to barely simmer the pot. Simmer too hard up to boiling gets you cloudy broth- which I've never had in a Vietnamese pho but have had in all Thai versions. Thanks guys, I'm gonna read this more thoroughly and try making it from scratch. Adding the spices in the last 10 minutes may be the key. I'll do it in a bouquet garni so they can be removed easily.

Is the oven's thermostat accurate? What a slippery slope that is... That's an informative thread. I need something with a longer probe so might use that info to make a decision. Currently I have a Thermoworks superfast themapen that is as accurate and reliable as the day it arrived. NIST traceable. It can be callibrated but I've never had to do this (will occasionally check boiling vs icewater and is spot on). I use it constantly for many things including taking my 105.4 temp when I had the flu... I did note some issues when the batteries needed changing.

Hi! This has been an awesome pictorial. You have me drooling with the Arepa con Camarones Hoga'o! Shoot I'm due for a walkabout. Ecuador looks totally cool. BTW a trick to bagels is to add add about a tsp or so of sodium hydroxide (lye) to the boiling solution. This creates that wonderful golden brown crust.

Yes you must salt your beans once they are in the pot! How else will you introduce the salt into the bean? Tough skins are most likely a result from cooking dried beans. I soak my beans for 24 hours usually and change the water at least three times. You won't get much flatulence this way in contrast to cooking dried beans which will cause a great deal of discomfortable gas. For large and hard beans I add a bit of baking soda to RO water and this speeds things up while they are soaking. Works like a charm for chickpeas. IMO for baked beans and more specifically "Boston baked beans" you need to use small white ones like Great Northern or Navy beans. Probaby the same bean anyway. Mustard, ketchup, molasses or brown sugar and salt pork are signature. A crockpot or slowly baking will develop complexity.

Interesting to read the progression over the years on this thread... Liberty bar has moved from Josephine St to south of downtown. La Reve is no more. There are a lot of great places and many many average restaurants in San Antonio. Haha I thought everyone knew what a "puffy" was! If you want great Mexican you need to hit a hole in the wall not a big overpriced place like Mi Tierra. But in their defence the location is great for tourists, are open 24 hours, have a bakery and a bar. Most mom and pop joints are open early and are closed by 3pm. I mostly cook at home and avoid paying at restaurants. What I will drive for is Vietnamese. Large population and you can get a decent bowl of Pho just about anywhere though there are a couple exceptional places: Vietnam and Pho Cong Ly. As far as I'm concerned both of these restaurants set the bar for ethnic Pho and fried spring rolls- not the puny finger-sized but the big crispy rolls that are served cut into large bite-sized portions with lettuce, basil, cilantro and nam plah. Every one forgets about poor old San Antonio- but it's in the top ten for size and in the top 5 for ethnic diversity for the nation. I do think our plentiful BBQ is not up to par, but I guess Rudy's "Worst BBQ in Texas" is worth a trip out north of town. Mine is better.

I went to a funeral in Giddings last week and on the way back was tentatively considering (trying to convince myself) making the detour through Lockhart to hit at least one of the joints there. I was close but it was about 6:30 PM- even though all 4 places say they are open till 8 PM I was leary of hitting a BBQ joint that late in the day. It was a Monday so Austin was out of the question. Not about to hit that traffic nightmare after a long sad day. So I went home and made chili instead. Would it have been worth it to go Lockhart that late in the day? I hear Franklin's and Mueller's are both phenomenal. Rico- Real Ale Pale Ale is a great choice in beer. Pairs nicely with que. I like their Rye even better.

I say get an education. In the industry you will be expected to know most of the fundamental aspects of traditional recipes and profession of cooking. Sure you can follow direction at a restaurant and learn/parrot their methods and recipes but you will have a hard time without knowing the "Why" and rationale of what you are doing and accomplishing. Your confidence may be high; however, I've spent a lot of time around restaurant kitchens and it's very apparent who is educated and who was just a line cook. Even those with many years of experience. And it will say something about you to a potential employer. There's a world of difference between those that have chosen this lifestyle and those that have little choice.

Found this on the web. Hope it doesn't violate any rules but this should help.

Peanut butter huh? Toasted peanut butter sandwich with bacon and mayonaise. A sure fire hangover cure. Fat on fat action. Try it with ripe sliced tomato...