ckreef

Never used a pressure cooker. Back in the day my mom use to use one (stove top version) all the time. When I was a wee child she had one blow up in her face. No permanent scars but it did make a complete mess out of the entire kitchen. I've wanted to get a pressure cooker canner for some time now.

We have discussed matching KK's. The problem is the current 19" (in LA) with blue Nebula tiles have a lot more blue in them compared to my 16.5" which has a good bit of brown and even some green.Either way it's not going to really match. I'm not sure what would be better - a matching KK that really wasn't a match or something different that was a decent compliment to the entire porch. There is enough cream color in the railings so a autumn color shouldn't get lost. Either way decision is on Mrs skreef. We were looking at the choices on the Internet net today and she pointed out - none of them look the same in person, they all look better in person. I'm good with whatever she picks (within reason).

I have one more improvement to show tonight (had to wait until dark). We had to buy 300' of outdoor rope lighting to light up a path for an outdoor wedding (Mrs skreef's daughter). We bought 6 x 48' sections of clear white LED lighting. It rained and the wedding was moved to an indoor venue and the lighting never got used. That's OK I needed some nice lighting to string up around the inside, top edge of the porch. I've tried a lot of different lighting configurations in the past but this is by far the best yet. Waterproof, LED so it's easy on the eyes, and puts out a decent amount of light. Being LED, it should outlive me. Anyone trying to evenly light up a porch or gazebo this is the ticket. Tried to capture 2 different pictures so you get a good feel for it. I took down a standard porch light and replaced it with this setup. The top switch controls the overhead fans. I then cut the break away tabs on the plugs so I have 2 individual plugs each one controlled separately by the 2 remaining switches. One of the plugs is where the LED lighting is plugged into. This entire box can also be turned off by a switch inside the house.

Thanks everyone - I rarely take the time on the weekend to cook a nice breakfast. Usually we eat a quick bowl of cold cereal then go out riding on the motorcycle and get a decent lunch along the way. Last night I had a few adult beverages then slept in late today. Woke up today to a cool overcast day. Made breakfast then worked on the improvements.

I agree but still have a little more work to do before I'm ready. The order day is fast approaching.

It's a Lodge and fits the 16.5" perfectly. It has a flat side and a ridge side. I only use the flat side.

As most of you know we are in the process of redoing our porch. Painted the railings, the bottom will be enclosed and the top half will be screened in. Got the painting done, the staining done and the wood hung for the bottom. There is a bunch of trim work that needs to be installed (probably next weekend). Also don't mind the deck we are still undecided just what we are going to do with that. It won't be long and we'll be ordering a 19" TT. I don't have any before pictures - let's just say it was ugly. For 10 years I was a single parent dad and had other things to worry about and the look of the porch was at the very bottom of the list. Now that me and Mrs skreef are married - well life has changed a bit

Last night I had a little Asian Milk Bread dough extra so I threw it in a mini loaf pan and baked it up. This morning I decided to turn the Asian bread into French toast with bacon and strawberries. Yummy brunch.

Roll on with the panzarotti I would love to see it. To be honest I almost didn't enter this cook. It's definitely not a challenge winning money shot. But I did the work and had the pictures. Overall I felt it was an awesome cook that tasted great just not a spectacular money shot. I'm going to make these again but with a chicken pot pie type of filling. But I'll do more stuffing and less dough next time. It's always sort of a crap shoot doing something new for a challenge entry. I should have used our standard test method - test cook on the KK forum beforehand then tweak and do again for the actual entry cook.

There you go. Just make it one door wide and SS on the top and Bosco's issue is solved.

Why not a small teak stand with a small SS shelf off to one side for the 16.5 ". With that much beauty in the Backyard are you going to be satisfied with just a SS stand and side shelf on the porch? A small teak stand w/shelf won't take up much more space than a SS cradle w/shelf.

Sounds like a good plan. Can't wait to see that too.

Dang it bosco - that is seriously awesome. I can't wait to see your setup going strong in your yard. How are you planning on tying in the 16.5 ". Better get your thinking cap on - LOL.

Yea no worries. Just follow the instructions exact. Heat soak it at but don't take it above 550* (a full hour or two). Poke holes with a T-pin to releave gases (then the grout won't split). Push the tiles/pebbles (where needed) back down from time to time as it cools. The complete procedure may take a few high heat sessions just keep checking it until you no longer need to. This all sounds way scarier then it is.

I have a outdoor propane fired Wok. $89.00 and works great. I know you can force a Wok to work on a kamado but a kamado is definitely not the right heat source for a Wok. Woks work best if you can not only pull the Wok for heat control but you also need to be able to immediately turn the heat source up or down (something that can't happen on a kamado). Right tool for the job and a kamado is definitely not the right tool as a heat source for a Wok.

My entry for the Guru Baking challenge. Chinese BBQ Pork Buns (Cha Siu Bao) Chinese BBQ Pork (Cha Siu) in a special sauce, stuffed into Asian Milk Bread Buns then baked to a golden brown perfection on the kamado. When I was in my early 20's me and my friends would go eat Dim Sum for lunch a few Sundays every month. One of my favorite ala carte items was Cha Siu Bao. You could get them steamed or baked but I always liked baked better. Where I live now the closest restaurant that serves Dim Sum is about 2 hours away. Haven't had it in a long time. Here we go.......... Started with a baby hog shoulder. Butchered the meat off in chunks. Made a Chinese BBQ marinade and marinated them overnight in the refrigerator. This morning I woke up and just before lunch I cooked the Cha Siu. It was really hard not to just eat it for lunch and say screw the challenge - LOL - but I restrained and saved the meat for later tonight. This afternoon I made the Cha Siu Bao special filling sauce. I then cut the Cha Siu into small chunks and mixed it in. I had all the ingredients for the Asian Milk Bread layed out but I was caught up in the cook and forget to take the pictures. Anyway it went through an hour rise time. I then split it into balls bigger than a golf ball but smaller than a tennis ball. Flatten it out with more dough in the middle and added some filling. Fold up the edges and pinch it closed. 6 stuffed buns. Cover and proof for another hour. After the proof I egg washed it and sprinkled on some toasted sesame seeds. Cooked on the KK at about 375* for 30 minutes. I had an initial kamado screw up (my fault) but was able to save the cook. 4 really good ones and 2 OK ones. The bun was soft and the flavor was spot on. Next time - less dough and more filling. This could be done with any reasonably thick filling. Hope you enjoyed a blast from my past. And yes the background is basically Japanese but it's the closest I had.

Ordered a copy myself. I figured we need to support fellow kamado forum enthusiasts. Should arrive early next week.

Gorgeous looking piece of meat.

Nice cabinets. I ended up getting a cheapie plastic one to use temporarily until I can eventually build a matching wood one. I wasn't going to buy it the day I did but it was normally $149 and the department manager figured out that the only one they had left wasn't in inventory so she sold it to me on clearance for $50. For $50 I couldn't pass it up.

Finally this year (just before July 4th) GA passed a fireworks law that allows for things that go up in the sky. I've put on a reasonable show about 4 times already. At least a couple of my neighbors like it. Not sure about the other ones but, nothing they can do about it as long as I'm done before midnight.

LOL ^^^^^^^^^^^^

If I was home I would have steared that in a slightly different direction. Of course that would have taken the fun out of it for him. I just can't believe he took the picture to show his friends. He even put it in our picture spot and turned on the food lighting.

Snap out of it bosco and show us the magic we all know you have. When I get in a cooking rut I cook something over the top good. That usually snaps me back in line. Sometimes cooking the same old, same old can get tiring.

What does a 16 year old make himself for lunch when he's home alone? A Dagwood sandwich of course. The layers from top to bottom: Lays original, strawberry jam, blackberry jam. Sun chips, peanut butter. Apples, blackberry jam. Cool ranch doritos, strawberry jam. Peanut Butter, pickles, blackberry jam. Peanut Butter, apples, strawberry jam. Not sure how he ate it, I was scared to ask. But I did have to laugh - I must be wearing off on him - he took a picture and posted it online for his friends to see - LOL

Wow - I want to come to your house - I'll help thin out the collection.