rustwood

I don't know how long this will last, but I just grabbed the Kindle version of All Under Heaven: Recipes from the 35 Cuisines of China by Carolyn Phillips for $1.99. Quite a bargain, IMO.

Wow. I did say one could never be too safe (with such things), but some people might experience significant distress over a situation like this - even after they have cancelled their card. I thought I might minimize some potentially undue worry, but in the future I won't bother to try.

I just saw this and immediately remembered this 'deal'. FWIW, one can never be too safe, but my understanding is that the hackers break into the seller's Amazon account and redirect the payments from Amazon to their own bank accounts. As such, theoretically the transaction between the buyer and Amazon should still be secure. The hackers probably have access to your name and address though.

The specs on one site include "Application: Domestic/Light Commercial", but I doubt many homeowners will go for it @ $1900 plus $200 shipping: http://www.webstaurantstore.com/orved-evox30-chamber-vacuum-packaging-machine-with-12-seal-bar/980EVOX30.html It would be a nice to have though.

Since we are talking about malt here, I recently purchased some malt powder which is described as " Malt Powder, aka Malted Milk Powder, is perfect for making old fashioned milkshakes. Also great in homemade ice creams, cookie doughs, cake batters, and more." I used a 1/4 cup per 1.5 cups of flour as per a King Arthur pancake recipe. I thought they would have great malt flavor, but they didn't seem any different than any other pancakes I've made with sugar. I am wondering if that was a less than ideal use for it or if, perhaps, I have less than ideal malt powder. Of course I could just have less than ideal taste buds that can't appreciate the nuance of it.

Olivenation.com has free shipping on orders over $50 and 15% off with coupon code 152017. I just placed my first order, but @DiggingDogFarm recommended them here and their prices seem very fair. I bought dried porcini and shiitake mushrooms, crushed aleppo and urfa biber chiles, cinnamon sticks, and a few other odds and ends.

I felt compelled to revive this thread after reading the reviews and comments about Taste and Technique in this year's Piglet over at Food52. It is getting a lot more love over there. Admittedly I started to skim a bit, but I didn't see any of the issues raised in this thread mentioned there. I think it has an uphill battle ahead of it, but it could win. Go figure.

Vulto Creamery in New York state is recalling some of its cheeses after an outbreak of listeria caused two deaths. That is a link to a google search for an interesting NYT article. A couple of years ago I was doubly frustrated by Vulto when I vacationed not far from Walton. First I learned their creamery isn't open to the public (no store), then I managed to buy some of their cheese, but our puppy got it before I had a chance to try it (a somewhat expensive mistake on my part). I kind of feel a little better about that now, but of course it almost certainly would have been safe and delicious. There were three things in the article that caught my eye. First is that "only" 15% of cheese made in France is made from unpasteurized milk. That is followed by the statement that half of the artisanal cheese made in the US is made from unpasteurized milk. I don't know how US cheese is classified as artisanal, but I imagine it represents a very small percentage of all cheese production. Finally, considering that the sale of raw milk restricted in states near me, I was surprised to read that there is only one national standard governing the production of raw milk cheese - that it be aged for 60 days to block E. coli from developing. I'll be interested to learn whether there are any additional state regulations in my area. I don't know if I will be less likely to purchase local raw milk cheese in the future, but I suspect I will recall this incident the next time I see it.

For anyone who is browsing and now thinking about making brownies, I recently made these and they were quite good. They may not be for you if you like a super gooey/chewy brownie. Mine came out with a very nice middle of the road texture. I added walnuts - who eats brownies without nuts?

I don't know what to make of it either. Very odd.

It is probably a very good hoagie for FL, it is just OK/fine for Philly IMO. They sell a ton of them here though and many love them. Just remember, the Italian hoagie should have oil and oregano, not mayo

There is no doubt many people *love* Wawa. They do inspire loyalty like Wegmans does. Not to stray too far off topic, but I think Wawa loyalty is the basis of one of our local food dichotomies - as in, do you love Wawa or not? My favorite was always do you eat at food trucks or not? That was much more of thing 10+ years ago - before food trucks became fashionable. At the time food safety and cleanliness issues seemed to keep many people away, but not so much today. As for me, I've been eating truck food on a regular basis for 25 years so my hope is that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

I grew up not far from Wawa #1 and my spouse grew up within walking distance of Sheetz #1, but we aren't huge fans of either of them. I am happy to get gas and I occasionally grab a not especially good Wawa coffee in the early morning; however, that is the time when I most loathe stopping at a Sheetz. I don't think I've ever been in a more visually and aurally irritating store - except maybe Spencer Gifts in the late 70s. The colors and lights are way too bright and flashy early in the AM. There also always seems to be some sort of annoying music playing way too loud. I have no idea what demographic they are shooting for, but it clearly hasn't ever been mine. They must be doing something right though because they seem to be doing just fine. As for the food, I don't mind Wawa in a pinch, but I very rarely eat there - at least not since they made the sausage eggs and cheese breakfast muffins "healthier" several years ago They were getting bad press about the huge number of calories in them. I am kind of glad they changed them though because not eating them at all is saving me loads of calories. They have improved their soft pretzels though. For years and years it would have been difficult to find soft pretzels that were consistently worse anywhere else in the greater Philadelphia area. Even the "armpit" pretzels were tastier.

I don't think I've seen it for physical books, but I can do that when searching the Overdrive books. As far as I know, none of the ones I've recommended have been purchased. On the plus side, I recalled that I am eligible to use the library where I work and they do have it. It is currently checked out and I am second on the hold list so it will be a while yet.

I looked but it isn't in my library system. I also looked for the chicken with walnut sauce (?) recipe the other day and found things that seemed to be similar, but nothing that said it was from the book. Like Anna, I would prefer to buy a Kindle version. Perhaps in time. I have plenty of books to keep me occupied in the interim.

ChefSteps is sending out referral codes for $20 off on Joule ($199 - $20). Each code is good for 5 uses. Message me if you would like to use the code I received.

I am not going to disagree with that and I understand why you called me on it. I think it would be more accurate to say that many believe that it doesn't need more smoke after about 2 hours. In addition, I think there is also a widely held belief (which may or may not be accurate) that compared to the first 2 hours, relatively little smokiness is added later in the cook. In my experience (which is surely not authoritative) those who are cooking with charcoal (as opposed to stick burners) rarely add wood for smoke after 2 hours. Often they add enough at the beginning of the cook to last a couple of hours and don't add more during the cook. About the only thing that everyone can agree on in BBQ is that there is no one true way. People do all sorts of things with BBQ. Some things are rooted in regional differences, some in personal/family traditions and preferences. Certainly science has made inroads, but I personally doubt it is going to significantly change how the "art" of BBQ is typically practiced.

There is a lot of good advice in this thread. In part due to logistical necessity, I've been using my smoker for big holiday meals for the past few years. I've also been competing in a number of KCBS events each season for a few years so I have been somewhat immersed in this stuff. With ribs, brisket and pork butts, the general rule of thumb is that they aren't going to pick up additional smoke after about 2 hours. With chicken most competitors don't use any wood because it takes smoke very easily and thus quickly gets plenty just from the charcoal and drippings. I am not sure where rabbit would fall on that spectrum, but I would guess it is more like chicken. I also believe any braising liquid could easily pick up too much smoke if it isn't covered for at least most of the cook (if not all of it). While I like smoke, some of my holiday guests are not nearly as enamored with it. Even I think some of my turkeys have been too smokey so I have been working to reduce the amount of smoke they get. What I have learned is that when cooking on a smoker or grill, not getting smoke is much harder than getting enough smoke. I even tried cleaning out my smoker and using extruded coconut shell charcoal, which produces very little smoke (some people/brands claim none), but there was still some smokey flavor - perhaps from the remaining buildup on the surfaces in my smoker. That is why competitors who cook those dishes typically have a cooker that is only used for the "dessert" category (it usually isn't actually a dessert category, but that is almost always what wins it). I also find that a dish might not seem too smokey to me after tending the smoker all day, but it comes though clearly when I get to the leftovers a day or two later -- and even after pulling them out of the freezer months later.

Mine must be defective because because I've been munching on it and not getting anything of the sort. Have you made champurrado? Of course it is basically just more chocolate milk, but it is very good. I initially intended to make mole, but then I bought a pint of prepared mole paste that that has lasted me a long time. I think at this point I need to toss that paste though so perhaps I will get around to making some - unless I decide to use my last couple of discs to try for the Aztec experience.

I just finished Real Food/Fake Food by Larry Olmsted. I am glad I read it, but I ended up skimming through many sections. It may be a bit too thorough to maintain my full attention. I often felt the same point was being made over and over again for a given product. Plus, I don't need to be presented with multiple lines of evidence to believe that there are a lot of scams and shady deals out there. I am happy to have the info on which designations and sources are trustworthy though. I just started Alton Brown's EveryDayCook. I have only read the equipment and pantry sections, but so far it seems like it is going to be a light/easy read. I am am ready for a bit of a break so that is just fine with me.

Yesterday I finished "reading" Culinary Artistry. It has pages and pages of lists, so I skimmed a lot. I had recently been tempted by a sale on the Kindle version of the Flavor Bible, but learned that Culinary Artistry was very similar and I happened to have it my pile of unread books. I am now glad I didn't buy the Flavor Bible. I don't think I am within the primary audience for Culinary Artistry as I am generally not building menus or creating new dishes from scratch. There are a lot of somewhat interesting quotes in it, but I think they might be more appreciated more by culinary professionals (and those who aspire to be a professional). At first I thought perhaps the many lists would be a handy reference, but now I am not so sure. I thought if I had an abundance of an ingredient or seasoning it might give me some ideas on what to do with them; or perhaps if I grow tired of a recipe it might give me some ideas on how to change it up. Then I realized in either of those cases I am far more likely to browse the wealth of examples on the internet than to pull out the book. I wonder if that is a sign of the times or just my own inclination. It also occurred to me that while the lists of seasonings that go together seem accurate and potentially useful, I am not sure I would make use of them without learning more about the traditional recipes and preparations they are used in. I think the flavor themes would become obvious in that process. I recently had that experience with Fuchsia Dunlop's Land of Plenty. Many of the same flavor themes were repeating in recipe after recipe. I found myself seeking out the recipes that seemed to break new ground in some way. That probably doesn't sound like an endorsement, but I think it was good in that perhaps it means I am starting to get a feel for the cuisine. I eventually found myself throwing together tasty Sichuan-ish lunches out of whatever bits I needed to clean out of the fridge. While I was reading Land of Plenty I found myself browsing a lot of related material on the internet - and often making those versions of things for one reason or another. I am glad I read the book though. It was useful and guided my explorations, but I do wonder how often I will use it as a reference from this point forward. I think that is even less likely with Culinary Artistry.

Clearly the whole pig-wing thing is all marketing, but pork shanks can be a tasty treat. I have purchased the pre-cooked frozen pork shank "wings" at Restaurant Depot and each one is hefty - and nearly all meat. I don't recall the exact weight (or brand), but 2 of them with some rice could easily be eaten as an entree. This site shows them as being available in both 2 ounce and 5 ounce portions. 5 ounce seems about right for the ones I had. I have never made them fresh, but my understanding is that they are cooked slowly like short ribs and like short ribs, as they render the bone will be exposed creating the "wing" bone handle. I remember being amazed at how much of the shank was exposed on the ones I had. I wondered if they had been partially trimmed. They could have been, but it wasn't obvious. I think I read or was told that part of the reason they were pre-cooked was that there was some sort "special"/proprietary cooking process. That sounds dubious, but I suppose there could be some sort of utility patent involved. The ones pictured on the site I linked to don't seem to have as much shank exposed - perhaps for a reason. I have grilled the pre-cooked pig wings to get some smoke and color on them - as well as to set a glaze. They can easily dry out if you aren't careful though. If I were going to cook fresh shanks, I would treat them like short ribs. If I were smoking them I would be shooting for ~225-250. Cooking them SV and then slapping them on a hot grill could work well - if they will render enough in the bath. @TdeV, I will be interested to hear how you make out with them.

I just retrieved my old school rice cooker from the garage and was reacquainted with the crusty mess that is left in the pot. I don't know if that is just my cooker or if that is typical, but I am hoping that an IP would be relatively easy to clean up after making rice. Can anyone comment? I have read that some don't think the IP is an especially good rice cooker, but I am not very fussy about my rice so that doesn't concern me.

I totally agree - so many of the photos here are great and I sometimes wish I could take better pictures, but then I realize I want/need to get dinner on the table. I suppose one could hold food in a warmer - either the portion for the photo or the rest of the meal. I would be interested to know more about the the logistics of the more elaborately staged photos. Perhaps if you have the right setup in place and are practiced enough you can do a good job as quickly as I can snap a picture of a plate with my phone (usually of the entree only, often because that is the only dish I made!).

Not to bash Vitamix in any way, but it seems like Blendtec may have an advantage for this application. Late last year I picked up a Blendtec twister jar and it has worked well for thick stuff like hummus. Of course it does add cost and storage bulk to the equation. It is a smaller jar so it generally wouldn't be suitable as a complete replacement for a wildside or fourside jar (I have for latter). @IEATRIO unfortunately this obviously isn't going to help you, but I wanted to share it as something to consider for anyone who is deciding which blender to buy - as well as for the Blendtec owners who haven't tried the twister jar. FWIW, I originally went with the Blendtec mainly because at the time I was able to get it for relatively reasonable price.