KootenayCook

Damn - I just took delivery of a "backup" CSO, but this looks more interesting (and more expensive...).

Beat me to it!

Amazon.ca has the Cuisinart Steam-Convection Oven for $198.99 +tax. LINK

OK, here is the result. The CSO was set to 500 steam broil. The rack was set to its highest position. The first pic is before they went into the CSO. The second pic is at the end of 10-12 min. (Sorry, I didn't keep proper track of time.) In the middle, I transferred them all to the oil/salt/pepper bowl and drained the liquid from the CSO tray. When I put them back in the tray, I made sure that the pieces were flipped so that any browning was on the bottom. The carrots were fine: firm in parts, but cooked. The parsnips could probably have done with a minute or two longer. They were OK, but a little crunchy at the core. Ms Kootenay thought they were underdone.

Gonna try this tonight with carrots and parsnips

I like the hybrid method. Mine's similar but differs in the details: smallish skin-on bone-in thighs steam-baked at 275 for 25 min (probably a bit too long), then broiled (rather than steam-broiled) for however long it took. Result was crispy skin, flesh fairly moist (but red near the bone on one). Method and times need perfecting. Chicken thighs vary in size, so ideally the instructions would say steam bake at X temp until the internal temp is Y, then broil.

My wife and I were doing the annual freezer inventory when she came upon a too-familiar piece of pork belly. This time she tossed it at me, "Do something with this, will you?" (Her recollection of the interaction differs.) So I looked up this thread as well as looking for other ideas on the net. I decided to basically follow this recipe for crispy Chinese pork belly. The basic steps are as follows: Prick many holes in the skin without piercing the meat. This is not as easy as it sounds. Pork skin is tough! I ended up using my electric drill, which worked well. Cover the meaty side with sherry, salt and 5-spice powder. Leave to marinate, skin side up for up to 24 hr. I also brushed the skin with vodka, which seems to be a common practice. My pork belly sat in the fridge for 2 days because of scheduling problems, but the extra time doesn't seem to have done it any harm. Wrap in foil, leaving the top open with the sides built up above the level of the skin. Brush the skin with vinegar and cover in rock salt. I used coarse kosher salt. Bake one hour at 350. This thread suggested that it needed longer cooking at a lower temp or it would be tough. I opted for 3 hr. at 275, following @Margaret Pilgrim's suggestion above. Brush off salt. Place on a baking sheet and broil (at least 12" from the element) for around 30 min. You have to watch carefully, as with most things under the broiler. I caught mine just in time. Pix: Following stages 3 and 4 After step 5 Step 7 - (1) after brushing off the salt, but before going under the broiler and (2) following broiling Sliced and on the table with steamed buns and some (mostly non traditional) accompaniments. It was difficult to slice through the crispy crackling without smashing the tender meat underneath. The crackling was crisp, though perhaps not as deep as I expected. The meat was very tender. It was heavenly, and I will certainly make it again. Next time we'll invite people over (after the Covid crisis subsides), so that we don't devour it all ourselves. lves.

Brisket. Mainly following this recipe. I didn't start until after dinner one night, so it went into the spa @133 F after 10 p.m. I wasn't sure whether I would smoke it afterwards, but in the end I decided not to; so it was in the water for 66 hr. total. The recipe says 48 is enough & I think that's probably true. After half an hour rest in the bag it came out & looked like this: Then I grilled it on high for 5 min (BBQ lid open) on the meaty side side & a minute or so on the fatty side (Yes, there was a fire). The recipe says longer, but everything else was close to ready, and we were hungry. I sliced it thin. It was very tender - not falling apart, but I would have liked it a bit firmer. I was aiming for a flank steak texture. I might try 131 next time, and no more than 48 hr. The fat was delicious

Don't cook pappadums in your air fryer! They are light and if the air circulates from below, it blows them up onto the element.

No, not at all, as I drained off all the liquid. I also forgot to mention in my original post that I was meticulous about getting the cooked pulp out without any ash or burnt bits of skin. So the acrid flavour wasn't through contamination. @kayb Thanks for the suggestion. Will try that. I actually put the eggplant in the glowing coals, which is what I've done with the bbq and had good results. Our fireplace has a grate - I can make sure all the ash is down below and the coals are not touching the eggplant; so no need for a special contraption. I'm thinking it might be the type of wood & will try it again with maple, when the pile in my woodshed gets down that far.

I like to make roasted eggplant/aubergine for baba gahanouj, bharta (etc.) on coals that impart a wonderful smoky flavour. I've had good success doing it in a barbecue (actually a Big Green Egg). So, now that it's winter, I thought "why not try it in the fireplace, after the fire has burnt down to glowing coals?" I cut a few slits in the eggplant so that it wouldn't explode, did NOT wrap it in foil, thinking that would just seal out the smoky flavour, and popped it into the fireplace (with glass doors) for 15 min. It came out looking good, perhaps a little under-cooked, but basically OK. The taste was TERRIBLE - very strong flavour of fire place ash. I only had a couple of bites, despite my Methodist ancestors looking disapprovingly over my shoulder, because it really was bad. So has anyone else tried this? I'd like to make it work. Should the eggplant be wrapped in foil? Should I wait until the coals have died down further? Does it depend on the type of wood? This was mainly aspen - crappy firewood at best, but it was free (Methodist ancestors won this time.).

The gourds are snake gourds, I think. I don't know what the little green things are. My wife and I lived in Sri Lanka in the early seventies, when the country was economically depressed, and no foreign products were available. We were students and living on a shoestring. We did splurge on a jar of Polish cherries at Xmas. They weren't very good, but they seemed like something special. I remember going to the market one day and seeing a barrow piled high with huge green things, not quite the size of unhusked coconuts, but getting there. I asked the vendor what they were, and received the unintelligible reply "bataprut". Not knowing what that meant or what to do with them I passed them by. Years later we were talking about local fruits to a friend in India & we were surprised to learn that avocados were grown there. We LOVE avocados. Our friend told us that they have them for dessert with cream and they called them "Butter Fruit".

I would say the one above is betel nuts. Cf. http://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/Betel_Nut_10564.php

Done, but I'm not sure my answers will be helpful. I never have a membership with any cooking sites (Egullet excepted!). I use the net to find recipe ideas for ingredients that I found at the market or have on hand (e.g., I would google "chicken, mushrooms recipe," or "lamb leg recipe"), or occasionally to find recipes for something I want to make (e.g., I would google "chicken confit"). I do like to see what the finished recipe looks like and to see the ingredients and method quickly, and the rest I don't care about much. I definitely don't have time (or patience) for videos. Often I combine ideas from different sites or substitute ingredients or change the method slightly. (This drives my sister crazy.) Anyway, if you get enough people responding, I'm sure it will all come out in the wash. Good luck with the dissertation!

The article Anna linked to suggests buying a second, different coloured, gasket, using one for savoury, the other for sweet.