ckreef

For years I've mainly used RO. Decent enough, cheap and locally available. Recently I've been using Nature-Glo from my new found meat market. It's clearly rebranded RO and labeled Food Service - Not For Resale, but who really cares about that. It costs about 10¢ more per lb than RO but I'm giving my money to M&T Meats instead of Walmart or Home Depot so I'm kewl paying a little more.

It all looks fantastic. Those extra ingredients would have definitely kicked it up a bit. Never seen a vinegar like that. I'm a vinegar junkie so I'll keep my eyes open for that.

Great looking salad. Good luck with the voting. I know you would love the prize.

Two small sample bottles of Peach White Balsamic and a small packet of salad dressing mix. Enough to make a salad carafe of peach balsamic salad dressing and an extra sample bottle to taste etc..... No relatives on the judges panel. I don't need the prize as I have more where that came from. But I do want to win none the less.

If it's the battle of the Titans we're going to need an entry from you and @bosco. I remember Bosco's pictures. Always wondered if I could even come close. For those who don't know tony rocks on the challenges and bosco has the skills for award winning food photography. They were always really hard to beat in a challenge.

@Aussie Ora no worries if you win I'll send you something different. Oh wait I would have eventually done that anyway. I figured if by some miracle me or Mrs skreef win my plan was to send it to the second place winner.

That's what I was thinking.

Yup I loved the spring rolls.

I think you can do better and you'd like the prize.

I miss competing against you in the challenges. You and @Aussie Oraalways gave us a run for our money. Hint, hint.....

TY MacKenzie. I was trying hard with this one. Although me and Mrs skreef are furnishing the prize for this challenge and I don't really need to win my own prize but I do want to win none the less.

There is a salad for dinner challenge on the Guru. This is my entry. A bright fresh noodle salad with shrimp and fresh spring rolls. Served with Nuoc Cham and peanut sauces. I started by making the Nuoc Cham and peanut sauces. You start with basic recipes and customize by taste. The peanut sauce was extra tasty and Mrs skreef's favorite. (missing from the picture is some milk for the peanut sauce) The rest of the ingredients. I pan steamed the small shrimp and mushrooms in Sake, lime juice, and Basil. Now onto the spring rolls. I started by wrapping some carrots, red cabbage, bean sprouts and spring onion in a lettuce leaf. I then assembled the spring rolls. By wrapping it the way I did it assured only one layer of rice paper above the shrimp so they can easily be seen. Marinated then grilled the big shrimp. And put it all together - salad for dinner. I was very pleased with the results. For my first time making spring rolls with rice paper they came out decent. Will definitely make some more soon.

You probably sell yourself short a bit there Bruce. The difference between some of us and everyone else is we'll experiment with anything and not worry about failing. You always learn more from failures than you learn from successful cooks. I have failures weekly, I usually don't post my failures. Tonight was a good example. Using Robert's slap yo mama Cajun fish batter I fried up 6 whole catfish tonight. Although it tasted good and me and Mrs skreef ate them all, I consider it a failure. The grease really wasn't hot enough to start with and my crappy electric stove can't really keep up. That's okay I learned from it and next go round will be much better (maybe I'll post a picture then).

TY MacKenzie. The Angus veal Tomahawks was really the star but the camera story sort of stole the show.

TY sfdrew28. This can definitely be an expensive addiction but at least we're eating good along the way.

I'm sure I can send it in for a repair. I imagine they'll just put a new retractable lens on it. The question will be for how much? If it's going to be a $300 fix I'd probably just buy something new for $500. I don't know. I'm just bummed as that camera has given me many great pictures. 90% of the pictures you've seen me post over the years was taken with that camera. It's one of those cameras that you just point and shoot and you're almost guaranteed a decent picture every time.

Really awesome cook. I bet it was delicious.

TY tekobo, they were some fine tasting steaks. The sear picture being the last picture that camera got to take at least it came out decent.

TY Bruce, a little bummed about the camera as it's served me well over the years. The steaks were the bomb.

Yes Sirrreeee! The thread title is an accurate description. Tomahawk steaks cut from Angus veal. At about 4" in diameter and 2" thick they make the perfect single serving Tomahawk steaks. M&T Meats did me right with these. All trimmed up. I made a quick batch of Reef's Montreal marinade. Into the fridge for a couple of hours. Made some blue cheese compound butter. I decided on a reverse sear. Here they are on the low-n-slow phase. Hickory chunks for a kiss of smoke. A couple baked potatoes along for the ride. It's at this point I need to stop the narrative and tell a story........... Time for the sear phase. I got the Akorn Jr blazing hot. 30 seconds rotate, 30 seconds flip. At this point I got my expensive point and shoot camera out to take a couple of pictures. After the first picture I dropped the camera onto the deck. Oh crap!! It landed on the side of the lens and now the lens won't retract properly so it won't take pictures any more. Well this meal just went from $45 for two people to $545 Steaks done so inside we go. I plate up and get out my better camera to take a few money shots. I then proceed to drop my $900 Sony mirror less camera on the ground. Fortunately it landed on carpet so no harm. At this point I was just done taking pictures for the night which is why the last two pictures are sort of crappy. With all that was said, fortunately this was one of the best steaks I've ever eaten. Will definitely get more of these in the future.

Those are some fine looking baby back ribs.

It's a Yoshimitsu, 165 mm petty. Definitely not a high end knife. With a Blue #2 core it should perform even if it's not a looker.

Delicious looking for sure.

No matter what I can't wait to see this cook. Lots of pictures please. I need to live vicariously through you on this one.

As the story goes......... My current Gyuto (chef's knife) is too big for more intricate cutting. My current Petty (utility knife) is too small for some of the bigger tasks. I wanted something in between to use as a general all purpose knife. This would be considered a tall Petty. 6 3/8" long x 1 3/8 high. Blue #2 core clad in SS for easy maintenance. At only $135 I can use this for an all round kitchen beater knife. Cheap enough so I won't cry if it gets a little beat up along the way. Starts to dull just throw it back on the sharpener.