The food thread

As equipment gets mentioned here, it's be interesting to read what a well equipped kitchen has, sort of in an analogous way to a well equipped electronic workbench.

Obviously a cook top / stove is like having a soldering iron; cant do much without that. I suppose a Sous Vide would be like having a SMD reflow oven allowing for the more advanced DIY PCB building.

I have a dehydrator, a KitchenAid mixer, an Instapot, an air fryer. I suppose that's kinda like having an oscilloscope, a DMM, a signal generator and/or a Focusrite Scartett. I have a deep well basket Fryer that never gets used, while I use the mixer weekly, the Instapot every other day.
 
Of the things that plug in we have:
Double oven, OTR microwave combo oven, countertop convection oven, air fryer, vari-temp kettle, coffee grinder, spice grinder, regular blender, soup blender, Margarita blender, stick blender, smoothie makers, immersion cooker, deep fryer, rice cooker, lift bowl mixer, hand mixer, InstantPots, popcorn spinner, dehydrator, 4 slice toaster, knife sharpener, cold press juicer, citrus juicer, food processor, waffle maker, panini press, meat slicer, vacuum sealer.

We don't use the deep fryer, the popcorn maker or the waffle iron much but the rest are well used.
 
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That used to be me, but this new home is joint ownership so SWMBO really must be obeyed when it comes to the kitchen. We should just have room for one of these against the wall, which would ease the problem, unless we want to put another freezer there.
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I've read all the books and it vexes me thoroughly that the streaming services here on the Pacific Coast, only offer SOME of the TV episodes. In particular, many of the best ones with Rumpole and Mizz Lizz Probert (Leo McKern and his daughter Abagail McKern) are unavailable for viewing! Arrrrgghh.

Btw Pomeroy's Wine Bar across the street from the Old Bailey, and its Plonk offerings, are given MUCH greater coverage and reverence in the books than the TV episodes.
 
Re: Curds /Yogurt..
We use insulated utensils (outer is plastic, inside is steel or plastic, gap is PU foam, mostly plastic) insulated lid.
I have one in stainless steel, inside and out.
The instant pot is not very popular here.
Alternate is a Bain-Marie type vessel, called 'milk cooker' here, double walls in which you fill water in the gap. That is also used at times for making curds.

Just add starter to lukewarm milk in a proper sized vessel, and keep inside the insulated thing, cover with lid, leave overnight.
The result will depend on the quantity of starter used, and the fat content of the milk, firm curds come from high fat milk.

I simply buy it from the dairy plant down the road, less hassle, it works out quite reasonable at about $1 per kilo.
As a person living alone for some time, it is a useful compromise, making curds at home is an art, which becomes instinctive with practice.
 
hehe.
These were going to be the start of a head cheese, but the Mrs. says why don't you do them Sichuan style?
I sure I am glad I have my little kitchen helper or I might have made a huge mistake. 🙄

So they will be done julienne sliced with soy, five spice, ginger, garlic, chili oil, scallions, cilantro and sugar. Everything but those nasty peppercorns

I will get more to make the head cheese I guess.
 
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Well, our meat slicer broke... and our vacuum machine is not a commercial chamber job...

But we have a 6 burner Viking stove top, convection oven, convection/microwave combo, medium sized propane BBQ, small Japanese outdoor propane/charcoal grill jobbies, large outdoor portable (!!) propane range, portable convection plate and a big sous vide. Yes, of course, crock pot, mixers, etc... etc....

Our cooking utensils are nowadays a bunch of 40 year old Magnalites and a bunch of cast iron or sheet iron pots and pans and enamel coated cast iron pots. NOTHING is non stick. We can make anything from a paella on the large outdoor cook top to udon with the baskets used to soak the noodles in the soup.

And boatloads of cigars.... large 48 inch fridge/freezer, plus garage fridge and freezer (separates) and a couple of smaller fridges for drinks and making cured meats in the summer (too hot otherwise).

Tonite we made a 2 lb, 1 1/2 inch thick organic, grass fed, uber prime porterhouse in the sous vide.... just Lawry's salt. 2 hours at 127F, then six minutes per side on a 600F propane grill. With a 15 year old Firestone wine.... yum....

I cut it into pieces and it fed three of us. Gave the bone to my daughter... (OK, she also got her share of meat... she just wanted to gnaw at the bone...).

Funny, it was funny, she loved it... a 30 year old going at the bone as when she was 8 years old. She only does that at home, not at the restaurant...

No pictures, sorry. We cooked it and we ate it.

We're not quite there... but remember, I grew up with a family of butchers, going to the stockyards... ;-)

https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/mels-char-palace/2721419

When I go to the butcher, trust me, I get the best treatment. ;-)
 
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So tonight's dinner didn't actually happen then. Nice story though Tony. Thanks for sharing.

Have I told you about my handmade brick pizza oven I don't have? I'll describe it later.

TBH everyone: Tony and I get to share stuff offline and I only wish I had some of the gear and knowledge that he and his family have.
 
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Three minutes in the InstantPot and the pig ears are ready to slice and put into the sauce and cook. The reason I want to lightly precook is that my knife sharpener is now 10 years old. I hope that doesn't need further explanation.
This game begins again tomorrow. My honey is already in bed.
Nudge nudge wink wink.

If you believe that, I have something for sale, somewhere in the world, for a price I can't remember right now.
I am just hoping to find the right door so I can also go to bed.
 
Oh, it did happen, but when faced with that steak coming out of the BBQ and my slicing it... I thought about grabbing my camera or grabbing my fork.

Guess which I did? ;-D

I had a $100 coupon from my birthday, so I went to the Butchery in Costa Mesa

https://www.butcherymeats.com/

And I spent 300 bucks in meats. For my daughter's birthday, I made some really good ribeyes... ( I posted those pictures ). Their butcher cuts out the fat and rolls them with twine. Sort of like an uber filet, but much tastier. I still got left a T-bone and some 3 lbs of excellent strip. I don't freeze beef, instead I put them in vacuum bags and keep them in the garage fridge where they will last for months easily.

As we got older, we slowed down eating so much, specially beef. So, we find ourselves buying much more expensive cuts but eating perhaps 6 ounces per person per dinner at most.

But, we finish the good bottles of wine. THAT we make a point. But then, when we were younger... we used to drink TWO bottles per dinner, plus après le dîner drinks...

The best money we ever spent, along with rebuilding our house, was the kitchen. We designed it to be useful, with two stations. And it works fantastic for us. Not fancy, not a show case at all, just a well working place with very high quality appliances.

My neighbors have Benzes, Bimmers, Teslas... we got Hondas and a very good kitchen. ;-)

Yeah, Cal and I share a tradition of Culinary Fusion between East and West.
 
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Three minutes in the InstantPot and the pig ears are ready to slice and put into the sauce and cook. The reason I want to lightly precook is that my knife sharpener is now 10 years old. I hope that doesn't need further explanation.
This game begins again tomorrow. My honey is already in bed.
Nudge nudge wink wink.

If you believe that, I have something for sale, somewhere in the world, for a price I can't remember right now.
I am just hoping to find the right door so I can also go to bed.

Try one of these.

It will truly give your knives a new lease on life... Heck, they will be better than ever.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074JJ594L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

It's barely 9 PM.... surely you're not going to bed already? To sleep, that is.