tekobo

Today I used the pizza dough recipe recommended by Mac Roberta’s Pizza Dough Recipe - NYT Cooking (nytimes.com). It was simple (made up the dough in my mixer) and a huge success. Homage to Italy - home made strachiatella cheese topped with lardo. Super yummy start. Loosey goosey - sliced cured goose atop a hot tomato sauce

Tee hee. That alien's got a hold of Charles' wallet. Looks like fun. Waiting to hear your reason/excuse for your next grill purchase. In the meantime, have fun - lots of fun.

I am hoping you will help make the title of this post a reality by posting what you have on your Christmas present wish list. I would very much like a decent pair of heat proof gloves/gauntlets. Any recommendations you may have in this department would be gratefully received. Here are things I would recommend: Cookbooks Dry: Non-Alchoholic, Cocktails, Cordials and Clever Concoctions by Clare Liardet - we take three days a week off alchohol and this book helps keep me on the straight and narrow. There is a danger that you end up ingesting more sugar through the use of syrups and juices but this still feels like a healthy choice. La Grotta Ices by Kitty Travers - awesome. Inventive flavours for home made ice creams and sorbets. Bar Tartine: Techniques and Recipes by Cortney Burns - this is a recent purchase and I am intrigued by the interesting techniques and flavour combinations. One to report back on but fun for the adventurous cook. The next two are books that I would have added to my Christmas list if I had not been impatient. They are on their way so I can't yet tell you if they are any good yet but they are: South: Essential Recipes and New Explorations by Sean Brock - others on the forum have recommended Sean Brock's books before and this one looks like it contains a lot of grill action and will help with using the produce from our allotment in new ways. Kitchen Secrets by Raymond Blanc - I could not resist a book that one reviewer said had helped her master pastry by explaining the "why" as well as the "how". Kit Brod & Taylor Bread Proofer and shelf kit - so versatile and it folds and packs away neatly when not in use. Great for temperature controlled bread dough proofing. Also works for making yogurt and an intermediate step when making burrata. I have not had as much success with making koji but that was not the proofer's fault. Solo Stove Bonfire - great for sitting outdoors late into the night. We will be testing its efficacy as temperatures drop at the same time as we have been barred from meeting up with friends indoors. Outdoorchef accessories for use on the Solo Stove Bonfire - I got the two part cast iron cooking grid and the plancha griddle plate. They both work well when placed on top of the Bonfire for cooking. Grain flaker - a bit esoteric but I am looking forward to making my own flakes to go on top of loaves and also flaking groats to make oats. Very difficult to find. Mac pointed me at the FlicFloc but it has been unavailable for months. I ended up buying the Eschenfelder Grain Flaker. Pacojet - this is a seriously expensive toy but what a toy. We bought a "new in damaged box" Pacojet on eBay during the lockdown at a much reduced price and we are loving it for making ice creams and sorbets. They are unbelievably good. Other uses have been to make and freeze horseradish cream, basil pesto and truffle butter. These are all things that are difficult to preserve in good condition so freezing them and using the Pacojet to drill out a portion at a time is a preserver's dream.

@MacKenzie, those pizzas look great. I am going to have to try your dough recipe and your method of putting the pizzas onto some greaseproof paper. I have made such a mess of the inside of our IDK oven, flinging pizzas onto the stone from my pizza peel.

I am glad that sear triggered multiple posts from you Tyrus. So good you greeted it seven times! It was a divine combination for a weekday dinner. The space left on the plate was for sweet potato fries which were still cooking. The orange mush on the right was one year old home made kimchi which was delicious and just right in combination with the duck, mushrooms and fries. One to repeat.

We got notification today that our sofa is with the "transporters" and should be with us, at the very latest, by Dec 10. It will be super weird (and stressful) if the KKs and sofa decide to arrive on the same day! In the meantime I will drink to a vaccine to get us out of this mess. See you on the other side.

No turkey here but I went back to my go to method for cooking duck breast last night. Quick and delicious on the Solo Bonfire. Over wood.

@RokDok I am certainly up for trying a beer in the style of Gueze and would be very interested in your cider. Does the pub next door do rooms? Will need to stay over to avoid encounters with police on the way home. Sofas and KKs seem to go together at the moment. Methinks @Sir Bill needs to get into a sofa buying conversation with his wife. Might speed up his KK trigger finger.

Glad to be of help. I might seek out a lambic beer, or two, here too.

Yes, I am very excited. No, I have not thought about the first cook at all. I just received a lovely selection of rubs from @tony b and will certainly plan one of them into my first cook. We have just had the announcement of tiers to follow our current lockdown. We had been in tier 1 for months but are now in tier 2. No friends indoors but you can meet in a group of up to six outdoors. The KKs will provide a perfect excuse to gather in the garden. Yes. It is. 🤭

No secret there - a 16, a 23 and a 32. As for fatigue? It is not possible to be fatigued while you are waiting for a KK, or three. Dennis sent me photos of the finished KKs in September and I have been sneaking a look at them now and again to remind myself of what is coming my way. You can't buy love but you can sure buy KK happiness!

I am preparing for the arrival of my KKs. House has been painted, space cleared on shelves and this weekend we will do a winter tidy of the garden to make space now that the scaffolding for the painting is down. @sovsroc's post reminded me about the challenge with getting KKs off the pallet when an extra pallet is inserted under the one that the KK is packed on in Indonesia. I have written to agent to see if the extra pallet can be removed before delivery. He is looking into it. I have been avoiding tracking my vessel..up to now. I wanted to avoid stress and I thought it would be great to get the email, out of the blue, to tell me that my KKs have finally arrived in the UK. However, I couldn't resist and I looked up the tracking for the vessel day before yesterday. It is the MOL Treasure and even in a couple of days, the ETA to Rotterdam has slipped by half a day. Patience is indeed a virtue.

Sorry, I am of no help there. I don't drink beer. That said, I had an interesting experience in a pub a couple of years ago, age 50. I tried all their ciders and didn't like them. The bar man asked me what I like to eat. I said blue steak and blue cheese. He offered me a lambic beer. He was so right. It is the only beer I have ever liked.

Thanks for showing us round your cabinet @Bruce Pearson. Really beautiful and a place for everything.

Excellent news on all fronts @RokDok ! I suspect Christmas is optimistic but your beer will be in tip top condition for a new year celebration. Hurrah.

Great to see your KK in position and looking forward to seeing how you use it. I love brisket but don't do that many. Given most butchers bone and roll brisket I usually ask the farmer to bone it and send it whole and I do the trimming myself with varying degrees of success. I buy from both of these suppliers regularly and, given they mainly supply restaurants, I am sure they will know what you want if you ask them to provide you with a full packer brisket. Talk to Richard at https://www.huntsham.com and Dan at https://www.lakedistrictfarmers.co.uk.

Those ribs look lovely @Boom Boom

Found it! This is a short video of the sliding basket config for the 32. https://www.instagram.com/p/BtmADV0nkz0/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet and the home page for the 42 on the KK website shows the various basket configs if you click through the photos.

I haven't owned a 42 but, for all other KKs I would expect to fill a basket full of charcoal to do the burn in. With the sheer mass of the 42 I would go for a full basket as per picture 1. For configs of the slider, I think there may be a video on Dennis' instagram feed from when he first introduced the slider. Will take a look... Exactly right.

So....is the beast now installed in his/her final location? Photos, photos, pleeeease!

No doubt, it is going to be a super exciting day. Can't wait to see your 42 land. Yay!

OK, it's 0630 am here in the UK. Guessing you are awake already @sovsroc. Happy Day!!!!

Woo hoo!!! Lots of photos please. Looking forward your reaction.

I came across a Huntsman in my bedroom when I was living in Sydney 22 years ago. Before the time of smart phones. Nowadays I would have taken a picture, sent it to my local friend and landlady and she would have told me it was harmless and to go to sleep. Instead I ran, screaming, out of the house - it was about 11 pm. I ordered chicken and chips on the way to the local-sells-everything store, bought some spray, picked up chicken and chips, drowned the poor spider in a ridiculous amount of spray and then settled down to a nice calming pile of chips and nice, fried chook.

So you must! When UK lockdown is over you must make your way over to our neck of the woods so I can introduce you to a cobalt blue KK in person.