jamesglu

So I finally broke down and bought a new vacuum sealer recently, only the thing is from China and has the world's worst user's manual. I have done a bit of searching online and have found some YouTube videos about using these types of machines for sealing electronics, but none for sealing salmon, racks of lamb, etc. So, can someone provide some advice on what settings are suitable? I don't seem to be getting the very tight package that I used to get with my FoodSaver machine, so perhaps I am setting it incorrectly, or my expectations are wrong. Anyway, I am currently using the following settings: 15 seconds vacuum process 4 seconds "gas" (not sure what this is...) 2 seconds sealing 3 seconds release of pressure Any help is welcome! If it's useful, the vacuum sealer is a model DZQ-260, and it looks like this:

My copy of this book just arrived today, and since its arrival more-or-less coincided with my acquisition of a new chamber vacuum sealer, I am giving the salmon with bois boudran sauce a go. Unfortunately, it seems that what I thought was tarragon in my garden is actually summer savory (I should point out I'm in New Zealand, where it's summer now), but I don't think that will be too much of a problem. Also, since this is the first time I'm using the vacuum sealer with uncooked food in it, it'll be a bit of an experiment to see how the salmon turns out.

I'm in the same boat as Loki; I live in New Zealand and am trying to make feijoada. When I lived in the US and even China I could either buy carne seca locally, or arrange to bring it to China with me, but NZ is a different story. If it can be made at home, I'd love to try it! And if I cannot get it, what's a good substitute, or should I just leave it out (the latter is what I've done in the past, and it seemed OK to me).

Yes, thanks, I'm aware that you can Google these dishes' names and come up with a raft of results. But what I was hoping for was for someone to say "this is the recipe that I use, and it works great for me" rather than relying on a sort of guessing game picking out a recipe at random from a Google search. And besides, I find that very often recipes that turn up in a Google search from unknown sites are of very questionable reliability, especially ones from Chinese sites, which have a recipe-writing style that leaves a lot to be desired.

Here's my report: the mocha filling for the tiramisu ice cream came out just great using golden syrup in lieu of light corn syrup. In fact, I could happily have just eaten spoonfuls of the stuff alone. But I withheld the urge to do that and instead put it in the ice cream, which is extremely good. Too coffee-y for my SO to eat, so it will be reserved for myself and our guests. I also made the pear-caramel ice cream (including the addition of minced candied ginger), using pears from the trees on our property. Perhaps the pears were not of the right variety, or perhaps they were not ripe enough, or perhaps I used too coarse a sieve to press the pear-caramel puree through, but whatever the reason the texture of the finished ice cream is a bit gritty for my taste, though the flavour is right-on. The SO declared that it would be great with chocolate sauce, though in my plan it will be served alongside the banana-mocha cake from David's "Ready for Dessert" book, which I think will pair with it nicely.

During my time in China, a dish became very popular in Beijing called 麻辣香锅 or "Ma La Xiang Guo", which I translate as "hot and numbing fragrant pot". It's basically a dry version of Sichuan hot pot, in which the diner generally picks out an array of meats, vegetables, fungi, etc that they want to have in their pot, along with the degree of spiciness they can tolerate, and then the kitchen puts it all together and serves it in a big wok on the table. The flavour is incredible, and if you put together an interesting combination of ingredients to go in the pot, it can be a fantastic dish. I would love to prepare it now that I'm no longer living in China; does anyone know how to make it? Searches on the internet have been rather unhelpful, I've found. Thanks!

I recently left China after living for four years in Beijing. I now live in New Zealand, where I have a small restaurant/lodge, and where I prepare all sorts of international cuisines for our guests (and ourselves). One thing I find I miss a lot, and that I'd love to make here, are some of the "small eats" (小吃) we'd enjoy in China, some from the street and some from restaurants. I wonder if anyone has a source for these, or if they could share some recipes they have for these sorts of dishes. In particular, I'd like to make the following: Hot and numbing peanuts (麻辣花生米) Old vinegar peanuts (老陈化生病米) Egg crepes (鸡蛋饼) Smashed marinated cucumber (拍黄瓜) Thanks!

I have been using this book rather a lot since I got it a few months ago. In particular, the "My Go To Beef Daube", "French Onion Soup" and "Beef Diable" (the last is a "bonne idée" based on the "Chicken Breasts Diable" have been hugely popular around here. The thing that I like about this book in particular is that all the steps are laid out very clearly, and in a sensible manner, so that there is not much left to chance. So far only one recipe from this book has failed to live up to expectations, and that was the Osso Buco. I suppose that I am too accustomed to the Italian preparation of this dish to be able to appreciate the French interpretation. Still, I imagine I'll be using a lot more of these recipes in the not-too-distant future.

So I just took a look at the Tiramisu recipe. Living in New Zealand as I do, there is no way to get "light corn syrup" here. In general I have replaced light corn syrup with golden syrup in things like pecan pie that I would normally have used LCS in back in the US; does anyone know if there is a reason NOT to do that with this recipe?

New to the forum so thought I'd add my 2 cents. I have had only one non-success with this book so far (the Lemon Ice Cream that DL attributes to Barbara Tropp). I am currently making the pear-caramel ice cream, using pears from my own tree, but which seems like it should be another winner. The tiramisu sounds like it could be next up on our must-make list. Incidentally, his salted caramel ice cream, which does not appear in the book but which was on his blog some time ago, is a tried and true performer that all our guests go gaga over.

I got this book not too long ago, after having had a tremendous time cooking from his "Perfect Scoop" (I have made a huge number of recipes from that book, with only one disappointment, and it was a recipe that he says he got from someone else). So far, I have had exceptional results from this book, with the two latest dishes--the Banana-Mocha Cake with Salted Caramel Peanuts and the Chocolate Crack Cookies--being particular standouts. This is a great book, and David is one of my go-to recipe writers.

The chef at this place, according to Fuchsia, was hired from one of the South Beauty restaurants in China, a hugely popular chain of Sichuan places that used to be among my favorite restaus in Beijing when I lived there. They tend to do inventive takes on traditional Sichuan dishes, and even in China it is quite a pricy restaurant. But 120 quid for dinner for four in a Chinese place does seem a bit steep to me....

I am also planning travel to Peru, including Machu Picchu, in May, and had the same questions. I met someone yesterday who just happened to have flown down to MP from NYC for the weekend (!) the previous week, and he and his fiancee had no ill effects from the altitude, and raved about the food, particularly the ceviche, which they said was uniformly excellent. Neither got the least bit ill, though it should be noted that the man was kosher, so he is probably a bit more careful about what he'll eat (i.e., no guinea pig or alpaca) than most.

Actually, "chaoshou" means "crossed arms", since to fold the dumplings properly you end up crossing your arms.

I would like to add a comment or two to Joe's post. As the diner in question who had the oyster po'boy (and I don't recall anyone else having had it) I did not say it reminded me of NOLA. What I said was that it was nearly worth the wait, referring to the unreasonably long wait we had to endure to be served. We arrived at the restaurant at 12, and while we did not place our order immediately, we were still waiting for our main courses to arrive at 1:30. This is probably why so many tables were still occupied at 2:30... It is worth giving this restaurant a second try, however, since the food was very good, and the prices I thought were reasonable, other than for the oysters, where "premium" oysters were $2.50 a piece (!).

I ate here a couple of weeks ago for lunch and was underwhelmed. The dishes were tasty enough, but they lacked any depth or style. In addition, the service was very amateurishly bad.

This is very irritating news!!! Several years ago, I had the idea to quit the rat race of the international consulting field and open a cheese shop in Alexandria, Arlington or Falls Church. I even talked to banks about financing and started to establish a relationship with Neals Yard Dairy in London (if you can call shopping there a lot whenever I was in London and buying a lot of cheese "establishing a relationship...), but my friends all poo-pooed the idea, saying that DC was not the right kind of town for such a shop. I hope that this place does well, though, so perhaps I can open a branch for them!!

I have been to Asia Nora a couple of times and each time I have left disappointed. I tend to find that the descriptions of the dishes sound very tempting, but then find that the execution does not do them justice. I also have been to TenPenh a number of times and prefer it, though I am a bit tired of the menu, which seems never to change.

I made the trek to Springfield yesterday (Sat, Apr 6) and found that they do have boar! I did not buy any, since I have NO idea how to cook it, though I did buy some beautiful looking boneless beef short ribs, some skirt steak (though I found later on that the nearer-to-my-house Super H Korean Supermarket had just as nice looking skirt steak for a little less per pound), and two venison filets wrapped in bacon (which will be dinner tonight). Quite a find!

Steve, do you know if the new chef at Elysium will be maintaining the same approach as Gian Piero did? Though I had some 'misses' there, on the whole I really liked the idea.

I could easily be tempted; I hate schlepping in from Clifton/Centreville and just milling about on my own. Having a 'purpose' would be great.

Oh, great. Looks like I'm going to have to break my "no going to Springfield until the construction work is finished" promise to myself.

That's a shame that Mazzi is leaving Elysium. I have eaten there twice in the past 6 months or so and quite enjoyed it, though there is the slight problem that they don't pay much attention (it seems) to particular quirks of their diners. E.g., we told him one time that one of our party ate no shellfish, yet he was given scallops as one of the entr'actes anyway, and another time we asked him no brains (not thinking they would be served) and again no shellfish for that one diner and were given sweetbreads and shrimp...

It's a bit late now, perhaps, but B.S. is a nice place and they certainly had ramps when I was there about 8 years ago this time of year. But if you get there and there are no ramps, don't come yelling at me!

I was fortunate to be in Berkeley Springs one year during the ramp season and was amazed by the flavor of those things! I to this day recall the wonderful flavor of a ramp-infused vinegar that this one guy was selling (I bought a bottle, which quickly got used up). I would happily drive to WV to get some, but unfortunately am just swamped now!!