braindoc

Wow! Do you deliver to Rhode Island?

Road trip, road trip! An activity scheduled for yesterday was cancelled so we decided not to go to the office. Instead, we decided to check out Podhale’s. First stop was Costco for some meat and three cases of wine. 🤷‍♂️ Great prices on some higher end bottles and their own Prosecco is a steal at under $8. Podhale’s is small but packed with interesting Polish/Eastern Europe products. We did some serious shopping there as well. Thanks Tyrus.

Absolutely. It was a whirlwind with little down time. Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, and Des Moines in 4 days. I did get to spend time on the river walk in Dubuque, but not much else besides my lectures.

The finished products.

A couple of chickens today, low and slow. Two different rubs.

We tried the Atomic Horseradish as well as Beaver Extra Hot Horseradish. The latter is OK heat wise, probably on a par with most of the good common brands. The Atomic is very, very hot. We’re quite happy with it. BTW, Tyrus, I see the shop you’re talking about. Maybe an hour’s drive from East Greenwich. When we have a reason to head up that way - perhaps a Costco run to Avon - we’ll check it out. My wife and I met here but neither of us are Rhode Islanders - we both grew up in Queens. However, after a few decades here we have absorbed some Rhode Island traits. In particular, the local aversion to driving more than 15 miles from home. I’ve had patients ask why I don’t have a satellite office in Warwick because Providence is so far away. About 4 years ago I was flown to Iowa for a few days of lecturing. The attitudes about distances and driving there are so different from here! I had forgotten what most of the country is like.

Now, I’m in the mood for a Bloody Mary! Maybe tomorrow morning. BTW, where is that shop? My wife is always looking for authentic Polish foods.

Just received some Atomic Horseradish. I’ll report back once we’ve tried it. I have some experience with fresh horseradish. It is a main component of the Passover Seder. A chunk of horseradish on a small piece of unleavened bread (aka matzoh). Nothing clears your sinuses better.

Just reading about Hawkshead hot horseradish sauce out of the English Lakes District. There is one distributor in the US. Worth trying?? Anyone have other suggestions?

Yup. Italy is our happy place, so that was a big part of the decision.

We went with the Magic Vac Jumbo 30 Evo Plus. It arrived a few weeks ago. After three Food Savers I can say it is a major upgrade. The vacuum is very fast and strong. Sturdy and looks good. My wife doesn’t mind having it out on the counter. https://avidarmor.com/magic-vac-jumbo-30-evo-plus-vacuum-sealer/ In our case, a chamber vac would have been too large for the spot we have this.

David: Do you stick to the basic soy, mirin, sake, brown sugar? Or do you embellish - dashi, ginger, etc?

Going off-topic again: our patient greeter and copay collector was back on the job as of Tuesday.

On Sunday, we pulled the trigger on this model: It arrived yesterday from Japan. Unfortunately, there is a large crack in the diatomite at the top on one end and the metal frame there is bent. The shipping carton and the internal packing carton both had some damage. I’ve already emailed Global Kitchen Japan with photos. The unit is probably usable but on the off chance they want it back we won’t use it. No Yakitori this weekend. 😢 Our order also included a Mac frozen food knife - yes, you read that correctly. Couldn’t resist at $19, since it barely increased the shipping charge.

Thanks to everyone for the info. Sorry I’ve been out of touch. We had to rush our 13-year-old goldendoodle to the veterinary hospital for an emergency splenectomy Tuesday evening. Thankfully, he survived a very risky surgery and came home yesterday. The first sign of a problem, ironically, was a seizure in my office a few days before. Blood clots were the cause of all this and he is now on Plavix and Xarelto, among other meds. Quite an ordeal.

@David I have to admit I was so focused on carbon monoxide I wasn’t thinking about the food smoking! We have a pretty powerful Broan exhaust over our range. I guess we’d use the konro there. We do appreciate the photos. Thanks.

The hunger for something new strikes again. We are looking at Japanese konro grills. I’ve looked back at some threads here and read that people are using them indoors. I also understand that these grills were developed for indoor use. I’m wondering why so many websites warn against this, even when using authentic binchotan charcoal. Any thoughts from the community? Product recommendations? Korin and MTC kitchen are out of stock for some of the models we are considering, but our thought is that we’d use the konro during the winter so we can wait.

Our second trip to Italy together was to Sicily in October 2008. Wonderfully fresh seafood. We spent a few days on Lipari if I remember correctly. Our favorite, though, was Ortigia. Back on topic: We did decide to get the Magic Vac. It arrived a few days ago. Very solid build and an attractive machine. Only used it a handful of times so far, but it is faster and quieter than the FoodSaver.

The entry fees go into effect in January 2023, 3 - 10 euros surge pricing depending on how many people are entering that day. The start date for this was originally this summer. It applies to day trippers, not visitors staying overnight - they already pay a tourist tax.

Very jealous. Also sorry I didn’t know you would be going to Italy. Dining well in Venice requires a lot of research - maybe even more than buying a KK. I would have sent this link to a trip report I posted on Slow Europe. https://www.sloweurope.com/community/threads/venice-dining-october-2021.6124/ Maybe for next time!

We are looking at replacing our aging Food Saver. Given our level of usage, I cannot justify the size and cost of a chamber sealer. Does anyone have experience with the Magic Vac® JUMBO 30 Evo Plus Vacuum Sealer or the Avid Armor A420? I’m leaning towards the Magic Vac for sentimental reasons - we are Italophiles. Eleven trips to Italy starting with our 2007 honeymoon, plus 2 and a half academic years there for me a few decades before that. The Avid is made in the PRC.

We’ve branched out from SRF. Here is a Wagyu ribeye from The Meatery in San Diego, with certificate of authenticity. Holy Grail Steak has also been a good source. There is a lot to learn about marbling rating scales, and the differences between Japanese, Australian, and American Wagyu.

Hey BOC - All you need to do is design and build a gorgeous new house! 😅 BTW, which knives did you get from Dustin?

Last spring we were looking for a nice housewarming gift for friends who were finally moving into an incredible home they had built. There were very nice comments about Dustin and RealSharpKnife.com on KitchenKnifeForums. A Kurosaki Fujin 210 gyuto caught my eye. I already had a Kurosaki Shizuku 210 in R2 steel (purchased elsewhere) that I really liked so I bought the Fujin with custom handle. Our friends still love it. Here are the 2 of them.

The ferrule and endcap are made from California Redwood burl, the base or main part of the handle is cherywood resin hybrid.