btbyrd

I use Hi-Soft boards from Korin, but Hasegawas are excellent as well. And they can go in the dishwasher, unlike the HI-Softs. But I don't have a dishwasher, so... Our main Hi-Soft board is item number TK-201-H40, which is a pretty good general size, but we also use a smaller model TK-205 that will sit next to the large one and function as a seamless "extender" board. They are *extremely* kind to edges of very hard and brittle steels. They're heavy enough and "sticky" enough that they won't slide around on a hard countertop. This means that if you plunk the small one down next to the larger one, they'll basically function as a single seamless unit. Here's a photo of them with two of my largest knives -- a very large 300mm Takeda gyuto and a 270mm Sukenari:

Isn't the problem not with what non-sugar is being used and rather with ice crystal growth? Add some stabilizers. Gelatin, pectin, locust bean gum, carrageenan, guar...

Unless the induction element is perfectly sized to match your pan, you will always need to do a slow-ish preheat to get more even temperatures across the pan -- even with heavier All Clad stuff like the copper core and D7. Even then, there is a sizable hot spot (or hotter spot) directly over the induction element. I'd avoid turning a cold pan to high immediately, since this runs the risk of warping the pan.

Looks great.

If it's fat that is going to be rendered, it will eventually get hot enough to kill off any potential nasties (or their toxins, in the case of botulism). Especially if you render it in a pressure cooker. But even if you don't, you can always bring the rendered fat up to 300F for a few minutes and hold it there when you're done. Ain't nothin' gonna survive that kind of treatment.

Boiling is the problem. You can cook them sous vide, but will want to use a strong bag since you’ll be using higher temps. ChefSteps has a mashed potato recipe where you cook the potatoes in a bag with milk and butter and I’ve had zero problems with it.

Thanks for pointing that out; I misspoke. What I meant to say was that citric acid isn't an especially powerful antioxidant in the context of controlling enzymatic browning. The primary mechanism by which it inhibits browning is by shifting the pH (since polyphenol oxidases don't like acid) but to do this enough to appreciably slow browning will alter the flavor significantly. Citric acid also can function as a chelator, but gram for gram, ascorbic acid is much more effective at preventing oxidation and enzymatic browning and it has very little impact on flavor.

Strip steak with blue cheese. Also a massive arugula/parm salad and the better part of a bottle of Malbec. Maybe I’m watching the Eurovision Song Contest… maybe I’m not…

Citric acid isn’t an antioxidant. You want to add ascorbic acid to prevent browning. Its much less acidic tasting than citric acid, so it impacts the flavor of your dish much less.

Apparently you can dunk it in LN and deep fry it. More detailed specs: I may finally give cryofrying a try this summer, but I'll just use a circulator so the Combustion thermometer won't be especially useful there. But for frying chicken? Maybe!

Speaking of, all colors of the MK4 Thermapen are only $69 right now. And I've been loving my recently acquired Timestick Trio.

There are times I wish I baked or made pizza. This is one of those times.

Grilled skirt steak with sesame ginger scallion noodles.

It's sauce.

I use a wooden spatula or a Foley fork.

This was apparently done in the name of sustainability. Know what's not sustainable? $300 3-star 10-course dinners. This makes no sense. I think it's a fun idea for a pop-up or for a long-ish change (like a quarter of a year like Next in Chicago). But for a restaurant of this caliber to pivot to full-time vegan for sustainability reasons is laughable. There's nothing sustainable about that extravagant style of dining. And for the record, I've had some wonderful vegan meals so it's not like I'm against fully plant-based cuisine. But if I was in the mood for something like that in NYC, I'd rather spend my money at Dirt Candy.

It's an old school steakhouse thing (e.g, Peter Luger's) typically done on cuts that are big/thick enough to be shared (which this was, even though I was the only person eating it). It also helps distribute the sauce evenly. And it lets you eat the meat from the rib bone whenever you please instead of waiting until the end.

Found two tomahawk pork chops from Niman Ranch on markdown. Pre-seared on the grill. One had a barbecue rub and the other garam masala. The BBQ one went in the bag alone, while the masala was cooked with spiced yogurt and jarred tikka masala sauce. Haven’t had the second one yet, but the bbq one was great with a honey glaze.

Grilled chicken nachos in my Darto No. 34.

DHL is spooky fast. A few days from Argentina to the US. Same with knives I've ordered from Australia and Japan (though all of this was pre-pandemic).

I store mine in a shrine.

Cobb salad. Cornbread on the side.

The peas are quite nice, but I'm with you on the rice.

Beans and cornbread (and greens). Jalapeño cheddar cornbread with local cornmeal from The Old Mill at Guilford. Anson Mills sea island red peas cooked in ham stock. Collards cooked the same.

I wish those little keychain pans were magnetic.