tekobo

I was re-reading this thread this morning. Distraction from doing actual work. This photo made me laugh. Again. I wonder if I should dedicate this day to drinking rather than working?

Turbot on the 32 last night. Took it off when it probed at 63C on both sides. It was perfect.

@Tyrus you and my husband were separated at birth. He bought this humungous pot at an online auction a few years ago. When the tinning guy received it, direct from the auction house, he rang my husband up to ask him if he had any idea how large it was! Anyway, it is completely impractical for cooking unless you are feeding a battalion. It lives in our porch and we fill it with oranges when we buy in bulk. The six bottle wine box in the second picture gives you an idea of the ridiculous scale of the thing.

Never say never @tony b. The fermenting hole is deep and rewarding. @Syzygies, I have been meaning to ask you about vinegars. Do you have any go-to recipes for the vinegars that you make? I have tried to make some fruit vinegars and the jury is out on whether I have made a nice vinegar or something that leads you to screw up your face and say that tastes vinegary in a way that is not complimentary. I have seen the "mother" floating on vinegars but I produced a weird gel like substance when I made a cider vinegar based shrub recently. Have you ever seen anything that looks like the creature in the picture below?

My husband and I scour e-bay and European markets for copper pots and pans and, because they are often bashed up, we get them beaten out and re-tinned by a lovely man at Sherwood Tinning. We recently picked up a set of three pots in France and had them re-tinned. They are the best quality yet, with a beautiful hammered finish and quite a thick gauge. See the difference between one of our standard pots and the beautiful hammered one in the pictures below. I can't say that they cook any better than any other sort of pot but I love the look and they bring me joy every time I pick one up.

@Basher you have to admit that was not just any old "stainless steel welder". He did an awesome job. Are you any closer to getting home and being able to use all your toys yet?

You puzzled me with this statement @tony b. I love shio koji, have only had it when a friend brought it down from a small batch producer in London and have tried unsuccessfully to make my own. It is made by fermenting grains and I don't believe it is left over from making sake. You might mean sake lees? That said, you are the king of retro-engineering. If you ever find out how to make the lovely shio koji paste that the Japanese sell, I will move in with you - OK I don't need to scare you - I will steal the recipe and method from you!

What fun! I love playing with fire and your method is probably better than mine. I was advised to start the fire over to the left in my allegro and the deck then gets heated up by radiant heat. You just built a great big fire in the middle. That must heat the deck up faster. Gonna try that next time. And yes, I too need to replace my marginal yeast before my next try!

Yesterday was veg day in KK land. Bumper harvest from the allotment in the morning. Care for kale, lots of it, anyone? The sweetcorn are now larger. Still sweet but starchier. Slow cooked some sweet potatoes and tried a new bake with cherry tomatoes, potatoes and baby onions. Added in some cooked borlotti beans and charred the remaining corn. That's me set for veg sides for a few days!

Those steaks look gorgeous Robert. Have you cooked one yet and, if so, how did it taste?

Thank you for the pics @jonj It's a lovely oven the 4 pizze. Looking forward to seeing what you cook in it.

Unboxing pics please!

@Poochie your concern about weight reminded me of the "lift" that we had to do when my Alfa Allegro arrived. Five of us assembled to lift it having removed the bricks from the base of the oven to reduce weight. The lift was super easy and we could have done it with four. Two might have a push. It took less than a minute. So I would not worry too much about weight if you can get help. I have tried to bake bread in my Allegro. A silvery black puck was the result. I have tried to cook desserts in my Allegro. Instant burned top to my cake was the result. The KK is much more controllable and I rely on the KK if I want to do any outdoor baking. I use the WFO for high heat roasting and pizza. That said, I have not totally given up on bread in the Allegro. The Alfa website shows cooks baking bread in their WFO. I don't like to be defeated and so will study them carefully to find out how they succeed. In the meantime, my black bread is literally the toast of the town.

Tee hee. Congratulations @jonj! For the record: you solicited the advice but it was given freely and happily. I hope you and your new toy will be very happy together.

Your pizza crust looks lovely @KK787! Definitely a method to try.

When you watch any of the Chef's Table programmes see if you can spot their story telling trope. My husband calls it "journey, death, return". We sit watching the chef's journey, waiting for "death" aka the bad thing that happened in their life to shape them. The good thing is that there is always a positive return at the end to leave us happy and uplifted. Soooo looking forward to this series hitting our screens. As well as his gorgeous puffy edge pizzas, Franco Pepe makes fried pizzas and I want to see more about how he gets those right. They are good for using up older dough balls and I made a really delicious one the other day with Ortiz tinned tuna and nice greens and tomatoes, picked fresh from my garden. 😛

The Japanese Grill book includes a recipe in which you slash chicken thighs, apply marinade and then cook relatively quickly. I applied that principle to the whole bird and came out with good, juicy chicken in less time than normal. And you get more surface area exposed to your marinade. Yum. I used two KKs to cook the five birds but I do have the BIg Bad rotisserie cradle and wonder if I could have got more chickens in and got as good results using that. I must remember to use the cradle more often! @tony b I went searching across the forum for references to octofork and finger. I was sure I would find 20 and that they would all have your name on them. The search function can't be working that well this morning. I only found two. Like Mac, my fingers are fine.

Woo hoo! I am soooo excited. I love the Netflix Chef's Table series and savour every programme. As if the BBQ series was not enough, they now have a September date for release of a six part series on pizza. Includes my new pizza hero Franco Pepe. Great start to my day here.

Looks like lots of chickens gave their lives to the BBQ cause last weekend. Here are my five from Saturday.

What a lovely combination!

If I've read this right @Syzygies, at $125 plus tax and postage, this will be one of the cheaper rabbit holes you have dragged me down! 🤪 Looking good. I am OK to go for some delayed gratification. Someone in my family will make the trip across the Atlantic within the next 6 months. Just need to get the goods positioned in the right place for the pick up...

Sorry I have never heard of them although I just googled and found them. Horseradish does lose potency very quickly. If you can get fresh horseradish where you are my suggestion would be to buy some and make your own horseradish sauce fresh. I just bought a root yesterday and made some beetroot and horseradish pickle today. First time and I need to wait a while for it to mature.

Thanks for the recommendation @Basher. I've just ordered the book and am looking forward to seeing what else it has to offer.

Thanks Brian. Lot of benefits this year: 1) All the kernels formed. Last year's were very patchy. 2)No critters got to them before I did. 3) I live a long way from Mac so I can eat them at my leisure. That said, I wouldn't mind living closer to @C6Bill although it does sound like he is very busy with his lady friend a lot of the time and wouldn't have much time for hungry BBQ buddies like us.

Corn. From plant to KK to tummy. Yummy.