AlaMoi

there are "oven roasting bags" - they will take the temp - squeeze out the air and close as best you can. the world will not end if it is not a brand name approved SV bag

oh, it's funnier than that. a recent resto chain was advertising... "All white meat boneless wings!" I'm wondering if we can survive this 'new generation' . . . .

I am very fond of the dark meat thighs.... legs "solo" are a tricky bit to manage. with 15 legs in the package, you'll likely get something close to a pound of 'decent meat' I cook them, cool, just using fingers strip out the meaty bits. some tendons/etc will come with the finger-mechanical-separation technique - but it's not difficult to knife them out. I use the separated meat bits in a mix with white meat - waste not, want not.... in a 4:1 / 3:1 white:dark, it is not at all 'noticeable' once the meat is stripped, one can carry on into the stock/gelatin route . . .

well, the big one got away . . .

done lots and lots of flying. domestic and international. I have one single inviolate rule: never ever get on an airplane hungry, and always have some killer snacks in your carry-on. airline food can at best / most kindly be described as "spotty to horrible" - altho some foreign carriers on Pacific routes have a much better reputation. the company paid business class for international; often got free upgrades to business class - and yes, the vittles in business class tended to be 'more better' - but I never boarded hungry and always had a stash of snacks . . . there was one fellow on cheftalk who claimed to be the biggest muckity-muck (/retired/) in a NY airline food service org. there are only two biggie int'l there - flown out/in of both - both equally as bad . . . so I never put much faith in his postings . . . because my personal experiences were seriously different that what he claimed. got curious . . just did a gander of multiple domestic/Euro vacations/trips . . . oddly! no food photos. for an early AM flight out of (old) Munich . . . stopped by a local bakery and got snacks for me, and 'to go'

follow-up on the Blue Diamond pan . . . I noticed a film build up on the sides and various spots on the floor - broke out the Bar Keeper's Friend and gave it a good scour. lots of brown stuff came off - I've only used butter and olive oil in the pan - so it's no emulsifiers building up.... I have tried Bar Keepers Friend on "real Telflon pans" - the brown film (?lecithin?) did not come off - never used sprays on them ala PAM . . but once burnt on, the Teflon pan is scrap. in contrast, this (ceramic?) Blue Diamond pan did come clean of the film, and subsequent use I'd say is about 85-90% of "new out of the box" non-stickiness. how many scrubbings will it tolerate? dunno.

cut it into quarters. doing the whole thing "intact" likely to result in way overcooked outer and raw inner....

hmmm. sometimes the quest 'to be different' doesn't work . . .

I've always heard the "tear the Romaine, not cut / chop it" . . . someone using whole, intact leaves?

or just keep your recipes in a .txt file - or copy/paste a website recipe into a Word/(other) document. learn how to back up your computer. that way only you can decide when to make you obsolete . . . my recipe folder - on a 2TB solid state drive - is 7.96 GB in size contains 2,635 files in 166 folders. using xcopy, takes about 20 seconds to back up via usb to an external (solid state) drive.

ya press the button on the smartphone and you get a pix. some good, some bad, some soso. fortunately, this is not a photo contest site . . . becuz' the subject matter is almost always lusciously edible!

the 'as written' directions are abysmal - but the recipe is a winner . . .

my pet peeve . . . bad 'instructions' . . . making a pate sucree for an almond plum tart . . . step 1. Put all the flour in the bowl and combine with almond flour & powdered sugar . . . step 3. add the flour [to the creamed butter...] in two batches . . . . arrgh! pots and pans all over the kitchen . . .

definitely on the griddle method - that's the classic they do look good, tho. I always use cat food cans.....

blueberry pancakes from scratch, and bacon. old photo - still are just as luscious . . .

the wire bail type stopper is integral to the bottle itself. was absolutely standard for German beer bottles in the 60's - 70's before the "bottle cap" took over. it's a ceramic plug, with a rubber gasket, the wire bail rotates and clamps/seals it firmly back on the opening. SOP for just about all liquid stuff (except wine..) - all the glass bottles were re-used. washed/etc, rubber gasket replaced, re-used. "one way bottles" and "cans" were near-non-existent. here's a wire bail bottle I bought some months back. the vodka was terrible, but I kept the bottle.... pushing the loop down (at the front in the pix) "reseals" the bottle -

the 75cl & 1.5L bottles come with a wire bail stopper - that's a good start. not sure why an opened 33cl = 12 fluid oz needs storage tho . . .

table place card holder

using chuck maybe more cost effect and more flavor effective . . . any beef will need to be heavily browned - just simmering raw beef will not get you anything close.

I/we prefer the slightly browned aka 'country style' - just about everyone is a favorite . . . - just cheese - western/Denver - mushroom & onion - tomato & scallion - ham&cheese. I save&freeze diced spiral ham (Easter thing . . . ) for later use - cheese&sausage oddly, no "beef" stuff in the mix . . . might have to play with that.... btw, my "Blue Diamond" ceramic pan has officially transitioned from "non-stick" to "stick" so I'm having to revert back to real Teflon for eggs & crepes....

. . . and here comes the luddite . . . beans classically are not fast food. flavors, in oh so many circumstances,,,, take time to develop. InstaPot/pressure cooking/etc make things go faster but . . . . maybe not so tasty. I do (most) bean dishes from dry - soaked overnight - cooked in an open pot. it takes longer - but the flavors added in the cook-phase have time and opportunity to have the desired effect on the beans proper. all manner of chili - all manner of stuff peppers - all manner of casseroles . . . . now - not everyone has the "time" possibility - or the "desire" - to do 'long preps' - but if you're looking for flavor, I'd recommend the low&slow approach vs: "instant beans"

well, here's the first attempt - classic no-knead proportions, baked in the Baparoma with steam.... good bread, nothing close to a baguette tho . . . next up AP and cold proof . . .

Host's note: This post and several responses were moved from the topic Worst Kitchen Product Ideas - v.2024, which is the source of references to blinking lights and computer codes. hee-hee! I don't "stock" per se "mixes/blends" - DW has been known to buy stuff like "Italian seasoning" - but I prefer to portion out the individual 'stuff' meself. 86 is a good number! I like it! spice on! we're not fans of highly spiced/hot spiced dishes, hence many of the 20-alarm bottles don't get a bed in my cabinet. but, , , , we survive . . . . some special stuff get purchased 'per dish' - shichimi togarashi is one. little vial.... used lately "post original need" in a stir fry . . . oh boy.... it is really hot - future use will be only in mini-pinches! I have a vial of saffron for "Amish Chicken Corn Chowder" - now . . . . that's a contradiction in existence, because the Amish are very thrifty and would never be buying saffron threads . . . . for anything . . .

it'll take longer to input the recipe (i.e. what spices you need . . . ) than it takes to find them. . . . . just counted . . . 45 dry spices in my cabinet + liquid stuff (stored separate area) I suppose it could work if you only cook by QR codes. my cabinet . . . left is "newly installed" . . . right is reality . . .