alanz

My V2 upgrade unit arrived today... Very nice. Now it matches my Thermapen and Fluke thermometers. Thanks go to Anova for their great customer service.

Jeff, Could you take a look at the cooking times/temperatures on the anovaculinary.com web site? Particularly the section about eggs... Everything is at 134 degrees... Seems odd (possibly an ambitious copy/paste) Thanks

I am picturing large herds of free range ghee, quietly munching away on the local grasses. Be careful, they are easily startled, and we don't want a ghee stampede. Had I seen grass fed ghee in a recipe, I would have quickly looked elsewhere.

It's amazing just how much insulation the Reflectix provides. I cut it so it comes up under the lip of the container (that insures the shape), it just wraps somewhat loosely around (an air gap is important) and fastens with a piece of tape. I might replace the tape with a piece of Velcro. I am expecting my Anova V2 upgraded unit to arrive this week, they shipped a new unit the same day they received my V1... can't ask for better customer service than that. I will make some new photos soon.

Ok, I've been away from eGullet way way too long. Thinking about years past and dinners at China 46 or Silver Pond... but I digress. I got my Anova in late August, and have been pretty happy with it. A few observations: It's beautifully built (black and silver... much like my hair)Mine was apparently miscalibrated it doesn't match any of my thermometers (Thermapen, Fluke, etc.) Silly me, it took me a while to figure out that the time was in hours:minutes (in 15 minute increments) not minutes:secondsLike some others, if I touch the bottom of the display when the display is dark, it stops the unitI suspect the miscalibration and touch issue will be resolved with the V2 update (I filled out the survey form today) We have been having great fun cooking with this setup. Eggs, steaks, fish, short ribs (72 hours)... the adventure is just beginning. Also been playing with a Smoking Gun and butane torch as finishing tools. I made a short video a couple of days after I got the unit, and have made minor tweaks to the setup since then that don't appear in this video I use a small cooling rack in the bottom to keep the bags from resting on the bottom of the container, assuring good water flow around the bagsI notched the rim of the container to make it easier to orient/fasten the tightening screwI added some Sugru to the rim of the container, making a repeatable mounting point, so I don't have to guess where to put the Anova so it will align with the cutout in the lid. The mount also keeps the unit totally vertical, rather than the tilt I was getting when simply resting on the rim.I have wrapped some Reflectix (reflective bubble insulation, acquired at HomeDepot) around the base of the container, and lay a sheet on the lid. It does a wonderful job of containing the heatHere's the quick video I made two months ago, I promise to make some detailed videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxhtLa2mq94 I don't know how to display the video in this message, so hopefully the link will suffice/. Nice to be back!

Christine, let me know if you want some company. I live about half way between your shop and the restaurant, and it looks like I'll take about any excuse to go back to Green Papaya. My wife and other son were there on Friday night... I'll let Lauren write a review of the lovely meal we had there. Of course, now Dumpling and I should go... she's not been there yet. Hmm, maybe she and I should go today for a late lunch.

This restaurant opened a couple of weeks ago, and I finally got a chance to have lunch there today there with one of my sons. It is located on the site of a restaurant that we used to frequent years ago "China Tea House". I've missed China Tea House, and the people that owned it. The restaurant is billed as Asian fusion cuisine, drawing from Thailand, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore. For this first visit (and there will be MANY more visits as we work through their menu) we ate light. Scott and I each had the Tom Yum soup, a zesty tomato lemongrass broth with shrimp, okra and pineapple... lovely. Then we split a lunch platter of shrimp with mango in a citrus sauce. The shrimp and fruit was served in skins of the two mango halves, along with a bit of salad and some jasmine rice. At first I thought the shrimp was a bit oversauced, but I was wrong, it was the perfect amount of sauce when eaten with the rice. The fruit was tender, and the sauce/shrimp combination was great. Then we had a real treat... for dessert, we had their pineapple spring roll. It's a deep fried roll with pineapple (and we think raisins) inside. It was sort of like a fruit blintz, the filling was soft (bananna-like texture) and quite delicious, a perfect way to end the meal. I was delighted on a couple of levels. First the food... very fresh ingredients, prepared with care. The service was very attentive. Only as we were preparing to leave did I talk to one of the owners, and said that she looked familiar. It turns out that Mary (and her sister) were the owners of China Tea House, and own the building. I'm VERY happy to have this place so close to home, and very happy that they decided to come out of retirement. So now the decision... do I bring Lauren there tonight, or wait until the weekend?< s > Here are the details 110 Kinderkamack Road (corner of Main St, across from Total Wine) River Edge, NJ 07661 201-678-1888 http://greenpapaya.weebly.com

Christine, that sounds like great fun, let me know when you want us to sign up for the classes. Best regards... Alan Z. (the guy with the Kamados and BBQ Gurus), eating your lobster rolls whenever Dumpling brings them by...

Lauren and I were there with Dumpling... and I'll give my take on it. First, I'll preface this with a couple of points, to put my post into context. - I rather like Silver Oak, and had some high expectations for this place - I already knew of the growing pains - I like BBQ. I make BBQ. I've had some great BBQ. So, with a scholarly attitude we drove to Bourbon BBQ. There was only one person in line ahead of us, and we took a number from the machine. There were lots of folk behind the counter, seemingly pretty busy. As Dumpling said, the person taking the orders told us they were out of all chicken. So we figured that for the three of us, we'd try a bunch of things. My take on the food: Tried the brisket sandwich first (as we were all sharing everything, we just picked at the meat, didn't eat any of the bread until later on). My first bite was an explosion of flavor... had mostly "crust", heavily seasoned. Second bite yielded pretty moist meat. However, when returning for more, I did find that it was over seasoned, with the rub distracting from the meat. I"ll rate the brisket as good. The pork was shredded/cut into nice pieces, better than the fine chop I've had at some southern BBQ shacks, but not "pulled" the way I would with a couple of forks. The meat was a bit dry, nothing succulent about it. It was just ok, at best. The ribs were tender, pretty moist but nothing special. Once again, the rub was overpowering the meat. The collard greens were good, with a pickled flavor... I enjoyed that. The beans had nice flavor, but very thick. The cole slaw was tasty. The mac and cheese was a yawn (but was palatable with a bit of bbq sauce and salt) Which brings me to BBQ sauce. There were two kinds of squeeze bottles... one red, one clear. On most of the tables, the clear bottles had only 1/4" of sauce in them. I had to search for one that wasn't nearly empty. I'm still not sure if there's supposed to be much of a difference (if at all) in the sauce(s). One was a little spicier than the other, but the sauce was pretty much the same. Could be two batches of the same sauce, could be two similar tomato based sauces. I would have much prefered a single tomato based sauce and supplement it with one or two thin vinegar based sauces (north and or south carolina style). On a non-food note. The urinal in the bathroom was out of order. There was a bucket of (I assume) cleaning supplies across from the mens room door. Also, the only time I saw any of the staff come out from behind the counter was to empty a trash receptacle. To sum up this visit, I'll repeat myself: I like BBQ. I make BBQ. I've had some great BBQ. This was not great BBQ, not even close. The food was fair to OK commercial BBQ. Nothing special. Nothing where we said "oh boy, this is good". Nothing that made us close our eyes and savor the flavor. Nothing that I would travel for... and I'll travel for good BBQ < s > We determined that we'll give this another shot in the future, but I don't know what if anything will be different. However, given the Silver Oak heritage, the talent to do better is clearly there, so we have some hopes. Hmmm, maybe I'll make some pulled pork next weekend... or perhaps a brisket... or a smoked corned beef...

I was just searching the web for information about Joe & Tess. It's been a couple of years since we've been there. Tomorrow is Lauren's birthday, and now I have to break the news to her that we can't go there as she wanted. Now the last minute quest begins for a lobster dinner for four tomorrow night. I'm trying NOT to do the legal seafood, McCormick, etc. Joe and Tess would have been perfect <s> Oh, and as an aside, it was Josh's 17th birthday (and passing drivers test) celebration a week or so ago. Chalk one up for another great meal at Harvest restaurant in Bergen County. I forgot to mention that YummyDumpling brought over an extra one of Picnic's lobster rolls onf Friday for Lauren to eat pre-birthday... whet her appetite for more lobster. Thanks Yummy, and of course Christine!

Normally the briskets I get are 14 to 18 lbs.: Which when smoked starts looking like this (about 10 hours into an 18 hour cook): I often get brisket from our local prime butcher. Granted one of the joys of making BBQ is taking a really tough piece of meat and turning it into a delicious meal. However, starting with prime meat (or great ingredients of any kind) is a great leg up on the process and the results (and guests) benefit.

Yay potato rolls with "Q"... it certainly gets my vote.

More importantly, it's lovely to have pork fat (from the shoulder) dripping down onto beef ribs (or brisket). Great basting!

In an earlier messages, someone asked how long butts or shoulder take to cook for pulled pork. The length of time the meat needs to smoke is determined by the temperature of the cooker and the thickness of the meat. I typically cook 8 lb butts at 225-240 degrees for 16-18 hours. Also keep in mind that the meat stops absorbing smoke after the first few hours. One nice thing about cooking butts is that three cook in pretty much the same time as one does, and the resulting product freezes beautifully in foodsaver bags which can be defrosted as boiling bags.

It's been a while since Lauren and I have made gravlax... but when we do make it we follow a technique we read somewhere that makes a nice difference. We put some onions through a vegetable juicer and add the juice to the dish as the liquid base for the brine. The oniony flavor complements the dill and salt wonderfully. Now I should go make some soon and post photos of the process. I'm also keen on doing some cold smoking... Oh and yes, I'll add my vote... lox is not smoked < s >

I'll check with Lauren to see if we're available on this date... I could bring some BBQ (perhaps a smoked corned beef, or pork butt, or the like...) We'll see how our schedules work out. We missed last year, but very much enjoyed the first event.

I forgot to mention in my message to Jason that it was my mother who introduced me to the smoked baby clams/cream cheese/bleu cheese snack. She also said it was an aphrodesiac and I recall her mentioning that the snack was in some way responsible for at least one of my younger sisters <s>

Curlz, This is the first I've heard of it.

Lauren, Joshua and I take this opportunity to thank you all for a lovely evening. The company at the table was great fun! The food was very tasty... especially the stuffed chicken and soup noodles. The veggie dumplings were outstanding. The capsicum noodles were very nice, and (unlike those served during another China 46 adventure) I could still taste the food to come. I thought the shrimp/ham dish was a yawn, and doubt that I'll order the rice cakes again. It was nice to be sitting at a table with such lovely and chatty ladies (I seem to remember some guys there, but memories of them fade so quickly that they don't count < s >) I don't want to wait an entire year before we do this again. Hmmm, I wonder if China 46 does a Pesach dinner <veg>

Without question, the best place to buy knives in your area is Mastergrinding. They are in Rockaway NJ, about 15 miles from Madison. I was there just today buying a gift for a relative. Their main business is sharpening knives for the trade (restaurants, butchers, supermarkets). However, they stock all the well known brands (Wustoff, Global, Henckel, Lamson, F Dick) and many you've probably never heard of. Rita, who runs the place is a wonderful lady. The store itself is located in a building behind a convenience store, so it's REALLY off the beaten path. They also have a pretty good line of professional kitchen supplies. They are very knowledgeable about knives, and have about the best prices I've seen anywhere (typically 25-30% off list, and better than many internet prices). I've been dealing with them for several years and enjoy spending some time in their little store of toys < s > MASTER GRINDING SERVICE, INC. 14 Union Street Rockaway, New Jersey 07866 1-888-KNIFEPRO (1-888-564-3377) Call first for directions... it's only a couple of blocks from exit 37 on Route 80, but if you don't know exactly where it is, you'll drive around in circles looking for it (don't ask me how I know this). If you do go there or call, tell Rita that Alan Zenreich sent you, she likes knowing where folk come from. Disclaimer: I have absolutely no connection with this company, I'm just an incredibly happy customer of theirs... they are quite a find < s >

Funny you should mention pastrami tasting party. My office is having a holiday party this afternoon. It's a potluck lunch. My contribution is a smoked corned beef that's on my cooker right now. It started off as a 15lb brisket a week ago. We corned it using a dry rub technique for a week, then coated it with black pepper and corinader seed before putting it on the smoker last evening. This morning, it looks great and will rest before carving at noon. It will be interesting to see now is reviewed by these NY/NJ attendees.

I went to Felice again with Lauren and the boys (Scott got home yesterday from college and had not been to the restaurant yet) We ordered the proscuitto pannini again, a lasagna, and a pizza margarita. Johhny noticed us, came by to chat. Then he came over again asking how we wanted him to make the pizza. He asked us if he should make it traditional style (what he called the "real" way) instead of the way they normally make it. He asked "do you like garlic?". We smiled and said "of course"... then and I said "do whatever you feel best". He disappeared into the kitchen. The pizza was lovely. Thin crisp crust, fresh tomatoes (not sauce), some basil, fresh garlic and cheese. Quite different from the one we got last week. So, they do know how to make a pizza well, and now we just have to convince him that his other customers will appreciate this style. The lasagna was very nice... fine tasting cheese... Scott particularly liked that. Lauren came late to the table, and ordered an artichoke and roasted pepper antipasto. We had two desserts. The Chocolate Marqui was surprisingly creamy... and that's a good thing (flourless chocolate cakes are so often dry). The Tiramisu was delicious. I can't help but express how happy I am that Johnny took the time to come over and prepare something for us that really made a difference. This could turn into a first class local joint < s >

Jason, You and Rachel should come by for dinner one evening... we can collaborate on a pizza on my Kamado (fundamentally a coal fired brick oven < s >)

Jason, I agree that John's is in another (higher) class than Brooklyns. My point is that they both construct their pizzas in the same way... and that's the way I prefer. It would be great if Felice turns into a little find. It's closer than Sanducci's, which I've also found to have very pleasant and serviceable meals over the years.

I had the pizza at Felice for lunch last week. The pizza was good, but not great. It was tasty, but looked like and had the consistancy of local pizzaria fare. I was really hoping that they'd make pizza more along the lines of John's in NYC or Brooklyns of Hackensack. For me, pizza is all about bread. Give me a great pizza dough, add a little bit of wonderful cheese and THEN top it with some dollaps of sauce, and you have pizza as I prefer it. Lauren and I were at Felice for dinner tonight, and the chef came by and asked about my pizza the other day, and I relayed just these thoughts to him. I asked if he'd ever been to Brooklyn's (which I rate below, but close to John's) and he said yes, but he didn't think his customers wanted that style of pizza. I pointed out to him that Brooklyns is often quite busy... and yes people do like pizza that they don't get at the local dive. He said that next time I come in he'll make the pizza any way I want, and that is greatly appreciated (perhaps they'll be able to offer two styles, local and "rustic" as I'll call my version) In any case, Lauren had pannini with proscuitto, sun dried tomatoes, arugula, and cheese. Quite lovely. I had veal parmagiana, nicely done, though the pasta could have used a minute or more cooking. There was a private party there tonight, so we were seated at the bar. Unfortunately we came home reeking of smoke. Although the place is well vented, they really could use some (more/better) smoke precipitation equipment to clean up the air. This place has promise, and they are trying... not bad for a new place (and two blocks from my home)