Dinner 2024

[MaryIsobel]

40 minutes ago, YvetteMT said:

Fried halibut and shrimp.  No vegetables were harmed tonight!

I would glady trade my freezer pea soup fand sourdough toast for your shrimp!

[Neely]

Our iconic dinner again… lamb chops, peas and mashed potato with mint sauce. 
 

[Paul Bacino]

Short rib dinner/ mash / beets

 

 

 

 

 

[dcarch]

14 hours ago, Neely said:

I do understand people like to sous vide and I have had pork done this way… very melt in the mouth,

( slightly mushy though I thought  )  BUT I HAVE to say … that is an awful lot of trouble to cook a piece of pork when you could slow roast in the oven straight from the shopping basket. I truely don’t know why you would do all that to a beautiful piece of meat. Apologies for critical speak out, but couldn’t hold it in. 

Reasonable comments, no apologies needed.

Not to disagree with your views, just my own idiosyncrasies

1.    Check weather report for next 10 days, and day of party.

You don’t need do this step if you are not planning for a big party.

 

2.    Deep cuts into pork and brush seasoning into cuts, and marinate for 48 hours.

Standard for any cooking practice, not just for sous vide, if you want deeper flavor.

 

3.    Freeze pork for 48 hours.

You put your pork in the refrigerator, don’t you? I put it in the freezer. Takes about the same amount of time.

 

4.    Vacuum bag pork. 

10 minutes of work for me to start cooking the pork. A lot less work than most other cooking with pots and pans methods. No dish washing and scrubbing for me after cooking.

 

5.    Sous vide pork at 141 F for 12 hours, 145 F for 8 hours and finish at 151 F for 8 hours. Refrigerate.

Each temperature adjustment took me 10 seconds. Eliminating the need for sticking a thermometer many times to find (hopefully) the centers of a large cold pork with a big bone in the center and thick fat layers. Each time sticking the thermometer takes how long? How much microbes do you introduce into the uncooked center of the meat? How much temperature change each time you open the oven to check? As they say, “If you are looking, you are not cooking.”

 

6.    Night time outside temperature was 51 F, cold smoke pork for 6 hours.

I used a smoke tube. No work for 6 hours.

 

7.    Day of party, low temperature pork in BBQ with smoke tube 175 F? 6 hours. 200 F for 4 hours, finally 500F 15 minutes.

Since I knew the sous vide process garanteed me that the meat had been perfectly cooked inside and out. This final step really required no attention to do.

 

8.    Pour boiling water over large ceramic platter to make platter hot, then plating and serve pork.

I understand perfectly the descriptions above sound laborious, but in reality, I spent most of the time entertaining the guests while the huge pork was well timed and perfectly cooked.

Basically, I am not a good cook like many of you are. To me sous vide is a tool for dummy cooks like me. No skill needed to avoid embarrassments of a failed big party.

 

Thanks.

 

dcarch

 

[lemniscate]

1 hour ago, dcarch said:

To me sous vide is a tool for dummy cooks like me. No skill needed to avoid embarrassments of a failed big party.

 

Absolutely agree.  I've been on the panic side of things not working out while many hungry people wait (before sous vide was a consumer thing) .  A few tasks parceled out a few days ahead makes hosting so much more enjoyable.   Especially the main entree meat.

 

My entire freezer is filled with meats that have been seasoned, sous-vided, and parceled or are uncooked but ready to sous vide right out of freezer.   Sous vide to bring to temp or fully cook.   That time is freed up for sides, or socializing/relaxing.

 

 

[Ann_T]

I've had a craving for ham ever since I saw @Neely's dinner. 

Bought a ham the other day and decided we would have a ham dinner tonight.

Made the potato gratin with chicken broth that Moe loves along with sweet potatoes with caramelized onions and steamed asparagus.

[Maison Rustique]

Have been really sick  for a couple of days (doc feels unrelated to hip) so I have had nothing but ginger tea and bone broth for a couple of days. Will ease back into trying to eat today. Doc says low fat and no dairy for 2 days. I can't even look at food pix right now but will catch up on your delicious meals later.