tony b

I know that it's gonna be off the chain!!

Beautiful butterfly picture. Save it for posterity, as we're losing them very fast. I've attempted to put in a monarch butterfly garden in my backyard this spring. So, we'll see if it takes hold and attracts some pretty butterflies. Oh, and the quiche looks damned yummy, too! Toss in a nice glass of Chenin Blanc and call it a very good day!

Thanks, I have about 3 or 4 "go to" sites for shipping seafood. But, I rarely do it because of the expense. It usually costs way more to ship it than it does to buy it. So, it's reserved for only truly special occasions.

Yeah, some of the "old timers" (I'm getting to be one, Yikes!) pop in and out. Life gets in the way sometimes, or so some folks say. There's always "new blood" that keeps things going along.

I'm seriously jealous! We get the Fabian Seafood truck up here once a month from TX, with fresh seafood, except during the winter. Great shrimp in various sizes, picked crab meat, and beautiful red snapper (when they have it). Can't get oysters in the shell though, only shucked. Same with crawfish, only tail meat, no live ones. Not ideal, but at least is good quality and fresh (never frozen).

I hear ya'll about being financially frugal. Being retired, I have to be. It's a challenge sometimes, but worth it in the long run. My house is paid for and I have a very low interest (0.9%) car loan - practically free money! Try and pay off my credit cards each month. But, at the same time, life is too short to not enjoy yourself, so spend your money wisely on things that bring you pleasure, as long as you stash away for that rainy day and retirement first.

I own a fish basket too, but never use it. Even when I oil it up good, the fish still seems to stick to it - and you have the add-on of it sticking to both sides of the basket, so I ended up tearing up the fish trying to get it out of the silly basket. I'd rather just deal with one grate at a time. If you're patient, the fish will release from the grate (or pan) when the crust forms. YMMV. After this cook, I'll be eating a lot more fish!

Even though you're Canadian, here's hoping that you're cooking on your KK by the 4th of July along with the rest of us Yanks!

As a matter of fact, I just did a SV cook of Chilean Sea Bass for dinner tonight. AWESOME! Sorry, no pics, it wouldn't have done this cook justice, as it was all about the texture. Perfectly flaky and moist. Details - nice sea bass steak, about 2 1/2" thick. Brushed lightly with oil to hold the seasoning on, Plowboys - Fin & Feather, lightly dusted. Into the vacuum bag. A small pat of butter (~1/4" thick) on each side of the fish (think butter poached!) Into a 129F bath for 20 minutes. Stashed the bag juice for dipping tableside. The fish went onto the KK, lower grate, 350F dome (I was doing squash and asparagus on the main grate first), about a couple of minutes on each side, just until it released from the grate without sticking. Wasn't looking to sear, per se, just to impart a bit of color and smoky flavor. All I can say is - WOW. One of the best pieces of fish that I've ever eaten! ckreef, I know that we've been pushing you pretty hard to get an Anova, but you have no idea what you're missing out on. Buckle down and just buy it!! It's like buying your first KK - no buyer's remorse, and kicking yourself for not doing it sooner!! Just saying!

Great follow-up, Wilbur. As much as we like to experiment, sometimes the author of the recipe has worked through all the options and presents us with their best result. But, it's still fun to f**k with the recipes sometimes!!

2nd the "no pics" comment. Sounds yummy, even without the pics.

Interesting concept and I do like the simplicity of searing on the same device as the SV cook. I might be more interested if the price tag were a bit lower; $500 is a bit pricey, seeing as I already own an Anova.

I live in town, but my neighborhood has a lot of wooded ravines where the deer can hang out. We call them "urban deer." We actually have a special permit bow hunting season, in town, every year, to try and keep the population down. It's helped. But, they still come around and eat a lot of plants in your yard. I gave up on roses many years ago and they think my neighbors' hosta is the local "salad bar." I've actually sat on my deck having dinner while the deer eat the apples on the ground from my next door neighbors' tree, literally 20 feet away, with the dogs barking at them through the deck rails. They just ignore us!

It's not so much the damage that they can do (replaced several feeders over the years that the raccoon have destroyed), it's more a worry about my dogs. There's a dog door that leads out onto the deck so they can let themselves out. They have cornered both raccoon and possums on the deck (usually in the middle of the night!). So, I really don't want a middle of the night visit to the vet emergency room to get one of my dogs patched up from tangling with a critter!

I hear that. This past winter, had both possums and raccoon on my deck trying to get into the bird feeders. Seriously reconsidering putting out the feeders next winter.

Good luck with that!

I, personally, don't see a need for it. That's one of the beauties of SV cooking, is the uniformity of the temperature internally after several hours (steady state). The outside is the same temperature as the center. There is no thermal gradient to cause the "carryover" IT increase with normal exterior cooking methods (i.e., grilling or roasting). Once removed from the bath, the center temperature of the meat can only go down. That's the second big benefit of SV (to me anyway) is that it really hard to overcook food and is very forgiving on cooking times. As long as you don't overdo the high temp sear (typically 1 minute per side), the interior should stay pretty close to where it was coming out of the bath.

Sad, but true. Often "experts" get so caught up in their own hype; they lose perspective. That would be the death toll for any scientist or engineer. You gotta be able to keep an open mind and take criticism. I'm too, a big fan of both Alton and Cook's, for precisely those reasons, they do complete work. I will check out Serious Eats. Update: Liking the Serious Eats website. Thanks for the tip, Wilbur!

Thanks, CC. Fascinating - cool mashup of ag science and culinary: http://animalscience.tamu.edu/academics/meat-science/ It sounded like one of those "made up" degrees to give someone more street cred than they deserved. Especially given the commercial nature of the website (pimping commercial BBQ smokers). Learn something new everyday.

Hey Kravnh! You haven't posted in a while. Glad to hear from you! You are absolutely gonna LOVE your Anova when it arrives. It does live up to the hype. I've never seen the need to cool meat cooked SV before searing (assuming it's an immediate step and not prepping for another day). I just pat off the surface to dry it, maybe sprinkle on a little more rub, then onto the KK (or CI pan) for a quick sear. Unless the cut is very thin (like 1/2" or less), I wouldn't worry about the IT going up much. But, just to be on the conservative side, I usually SV at about 5F lower than what I want my final IT to be to account for any carryover from the grill. Have fun with it; play around and see what works best for you. Can't wait for your future posts about your adventures.

OK boys, don't be tempting me with another BBQ "toy." I've accumulated too many of them already!!

You are absolutely correct. It is an addiction (along with hot sauces) and I have the pantry to prove it! I got burned by the "double order" a few times. Now I make an effort to do inventory BEFORE ordering, just to make sure.

Almost all homebrewers use thermally insulated coolers to mash (steep) their grain, typically at temperatures similar to sous vide cooking. So I'm not surprised the technique could be converted to a simpler (cheaper) method for SV cooking. But, it will only work for those cooks that are short (a few hours). You couldn't use it to do a brisket or other cut that needs many hours (>24 hrs) in the SV bath to cook. I've never attempted veggies in the SV bath, other than to use the hot water after another SV cook to quick blanch broccoli and asparagus. So I see the point. OK, I'll bite, what's the basis for this assertion?

http://www.genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/sranoxring.html btw - where does one go to college to get a "master's degree in Meat Science??"

Did you buy the Pepperidge Farm puff pastry shells or did you par-bake and cut out the inserts from sheets?? Good luck in the Challenge.