Certified Tested & Perfected: Soft Pretzels v2.0 (with BONUS Sourdough Starter Recipe!)

Yum!  Who doesn't like a good soft pretzel?  Well, I'm sure there may be a few people, but I'm sure they are certified crazy!

I've made these many times before using some discarded sourdough starter, but this is the first time I've boiled them in a baking soda solution.  I'd have to say the results are stunning.  I would classify this recipe as tested and perfected!  These do not have a very long shelf life in our house, and you will find them as irresistible as we do.  Or maybe not.  We are a couple of pigs in our home.  Pigs for fresh baked soft pretzels!

Sourdough Discard Soft Pretzels

Makes 12 Pretzels

Dough:
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 cup unfed healthy sourdough starter, straight from the refrigerator (or use fed starter if you like): see sourdough starter recipe below
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk (I use Bob's Redmill brand, but you can use any)
2 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) non-diastatic malt powder (I use malted milk powder)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast

coarse Kosher salt; pretzel salt if you can get it

Baking Soda Solution:
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda


Mix all ingredients (to exclude the baking soda solution, of course) into a mass of dough.  You will now need to knead the dough – either by hand or a mixer fitted with a dough hook, until smooth.  It should be slightly sticky but not wet.  If it seems dry, knead in an additional tablespoon or two of water.  Shape the dough into a ball, and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl, and let the dough rest for 45 minutes.  The dough will not rise a lot.

Preheat your oven to 350°F, and then put 10 cups water in a large pot and add baking soda.  Bring to a boil while you are rolling shaping the pretzels.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface; a silicone rolling mat works well. Fold the dough over a few times with your hands to gently deflate it, then shape it into a rough rectangle.  I love the process of shaping the dough.  It's so relaxing for me.

Score it once lengthwise, and five times crosswise, to make 12 pieces and gently cut the dough into pieces; you don’t want to cut into the silicone mat, if you’re using one.  Or you can eyeball the dough and cut in half, then those two pieces in half, and then each piece into thirds.

Cover the dough you aren't using with plastic wrap, so it doesn’t dry out as you’re working with the individual pieces.  No need to cover if you are seasoned pretzel-shaper like myself!  Haha...yeah, that's what I'm going to keep thinking.

Roll each piece of dough into an 18″ rope (approximate is fine, no rulers needed). Keep the finished ropes covered if you are just learning, so they don’t dry out.

You may find it easiest to roll some of the ropes partway. That way, each has a chance to rest (and the gluten to relax) as you’re working on the other ropes.

Shape into pretzel shapes by making a loop, twist twice, tuck ends behind bottom of pretzel, and lightly press down from the front on top of the ends.  Don't worry about leaving marks since they will boil/bake out.  Just be careful not to get too pushy though and press the dough until it's flat.  Flat pretzels are a no-no here.  Place the shaped pretzels onto parchment-lined or lightly greased (again, I use my silicone mats) baking sheet and get ready to boil them.  Don't be afraid!  I've done this many times and I've never drowned one yet.

The baking soda solution should be boiling.  Drop one pretzel in and boil for 30 seconds.  Take out with a slotted spoon and place back to its place on the baking sheet.  At this time, sprinkle with coarse salt and repeat until one pan is done.  You can put them into the oven and start timer now.  Repeat the same process on other pan and put in the oven and start another timer or do the math.

Bake the pretzels for 25 to 30 minutes, until they’re dark brown.  Remove them from the oven, brush with melted butter, and cool slightly before serving.  They get really shiny and quite lovely.  You almost hate to eat them...almost.

Oh-Em-Gee!  These are so wonderful to eat!  Really.  They are chewy and crunchy and soft and salty and so, so delicious.  You will have a hard time just eating one.

I have tested freezing the shaped unboiled/unbaked pretzel dough, and then taking them out for about an hour before I want to bake them.  This will give you time to get the oven going and the baking soda solution boiling, and your appetite going...

Wild Sourdough Starter 

Makes about 1 cup

This will be more prolific then a couple of bunnies, that is, if you take care of it.  You just have to remember that your new starter will become a living thing, and like all living things, it needs to eat.  You will be it's caretaker since it can't reach out and feed its self, but since you will be feeding it, you will have to throw some of it away.  You don't want a garbage can full of it at the end do you?  Once you establish a healthy starter, you can take the discard from your feedings to make the lovely pretzels above.

This will take time!  Just like when you raise and nurture any living thing. Pulled the following from the King Arthur Flour website.  I say, work smarter, not harder.

Initial Starter:
1 cup whole rye (pumpernickel) or whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cool water

Starter Food:
a scant 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cool water (if your house is warm), or lukewarm water (if your house is cool)

Day 1: Combine the pumpernickel or whole wheat flour with the cool water in a non-reactive container. Glass, crockery, stainless steel, or food-grade plastic all work fine for this.  Stir everything together thoroughly; make sure there's no dry flour anywhere. Cover the container loosely and let the mixture sit at warm room temperature (about 70°F) for 24 hours. See "tips," below, for advice about growing starters in a cold house. 

Day 2: You may see no activity at all in the first 24 hours, or you may see a bit of growth or bubbling. Either way, discard half the starter (4 ounces, about 1/2 cup), and add to the remainder a scant 1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, and 1/2 cup cool water (if your house is warm); or lukewarm water (if it's cold).  Mix well, cover, and let the mixture rest at room temperature for 24 hours. 

Day 3: By the third day, you'll likely see some activity — bubbling; a fresh, fruity aroma, and some evidence of expansion. It's now time to begin two feedings daily, as evenly spaced as your schedule allows. For each feeding, weigh out 4 ounces starter; this will be a generous 1/2 cup, once it's thoroughly stirred down. Discard any remaining starter.  Add a scant 1 cup (4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, and 1/2 cup water to the 4 ounces starter. Mix the starter, flour, and water, cover, and let the mixture rest at room temperature for approximately 12 hours before repeating. 

Day 4: Weigh out 4 ounces starter, and discard any remaining starter. Add a scant 1 cup (4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, and 1/2 cup water to the 4 ounces starter. Mix the starter, flour, and water, cover, and let the mixture rest at room temperature for approximately 12 hours before repeating.

Day 5: Weigh out 4 ounces starter, and discard any remaining starter. Add a scant 1 cup (4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, and 1/2 cup water to the 4 ounces starter. Mix the starter, flour, and water, cover, and let the mixture rest at room temperature for approximately 12 hours before repeating.

By the end of day #5, the starter should have at least doubled in volume. You'll see lots of bubbles; there may be some little "rivulets" on the surface, full of finer bubbles. Also, the starter should have a tangy aroma — pleasingly acidic, but not overpowering. If your starter hasn't risen much and isn't showing lots of bubbles, repeat discarding and feeding every 12 hours on day 6, and day 7, if necessary — as long as it takes to create a vigorous (risen, bubbly) starter. Note: see "tips," below. 

Once the starter is ready, give it one last feeding. Discard all but 4 ounces (a generous 1/2 cup). Feed as usual. Let the starter rest at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours; it should be active, with bubbles breaking the surface. Hate discarding so much starter? See "tips," below. 

Remove however much starter you need for your recipe (no more than 8 ounces, about 1 cup); and transfer the remaining 4 ounces of starter to its permanent home: a crock, jar, or whatever you'd like to store it in long-term. Store this starter in the refrigerator, and feed it regularly; we recommend feeding it with a scant 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water once a week.

Made Lots ~ Posted Not

Look at what I've made since I've been home back on Cache La Poudre Street, and I didn't even write about it.  Tsk, tsk.

Baked Soft Pretzels made from discarded sourdough starter.  Waste never look so good!

Made these tender and fluffy popovers for Easter breakfast.  Dale had never had them before and he proved that it didn't make a difference.  He woofed half of these puppies down.  

It wouldn't be Easter without Deviled Eggs!  I make mine very simple like both of my grandmothers did.  Simple yet delicious.

Super sharp white cheddar mac & cheese.  Yes, those are Ritz crackers on top.  I'm fancy like that.

Brined a plump chicken and roasted it to perfection.

A tiny loaf of Sourdough made from the extras from my Pullman loaf.

This is the small Pullman loaf.  Look at those perfect sandwich slices of bread. 

This is the large Pullman loaf.  I have to cut it in half and freeze it.  It freezes beautifully by the way.

Good old classic German Farmer's Bread.  This is the whopping full loaf. 

My new pans make wonderful mini Frienship loaves to give to friends and family.  Or eat a whole loaf by myself.  Ahem.

This rich and delicious fish soup with assorted fruits from the sea.  That's Monk Fish upfront and centered.  It's called the "Poor Man's Lobster" and I can see why.  The texture was so good!

I helped in the sushi sweatshop at my sister, Dori's house.  Impressive isn't it?

Try My Lovely Buns?

Today's Note:  It's been such a long time since I've posted on my beloved blog.  I've been cooking and baking as much as I can, but I haven't been bragging about it.  Gasp!  I did find this post that I was working on last year while we were still in Ruston, Washington.  I thought I should finish what I started.  Plus I got a kick out of the title...

I found this recipe on one of my new favorite sites, ChefSteps.  These are the best hamburger buns you'll ever have and they are surprisingly easy.  With a little effort, and some extra time on your hands, you can whip up these beautifully soft buns. They are very much like store bought, but better tasting and sans those ingredients that one can never pronounce.

The recipe I'm going to post is not longer available on ChefSteps and I'm glad that I archived it in my "Recipe Box" app on my Apple devices.  The folks at ChefSteps love to weigh their ingredients, so yes, all of the measurements are in grams.  Someday, I may convert it to Imperial volume measurement. Someday.  But I say for the time being, you should invest in a gram/ounce kitchen scale.  I've had one for ages and I don't know what I would do without it!

Brioche Burger Buns

(Makes a lovely dozen)

645 g bread flour
360 g eggs, about 8
80 g sugar
200 g whole milk
45 g yeast
200 g butter
50 g diastatic malt powder, ordered mine from amazon.com
22 g salt

Place milk, egg, sugar, and yeast in a mixing bowl.  Use the paddle attachment on your mixer and mix on medium low speed for about 5 minutes, or until yeast is well dispersed.  Yes, this recipe also assumes you have a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.  Again, I've had a KitchenAid for ages and I don't know what I would do without it.  You could use a wooden spoon or your hands to mix, and think of the workout your forearms are going to get!  Ahem, back to the recipe...

While continuing to mix, add the salt.  In a separate bowl, combine the diastatic malt powder and flour.  Gradually add this mixture by large spoonfuls into the mixing bowl while the mixer is running and until fully incorporated.

Switch to the dough hook.  Mix until a ball forms and pulls cleanly away from the sides of the bowl.  This can take up to 25 minutes or more.  Then, add the butter slowly unit it's fully incorporated and the dough develops a nice sheen, and pulls cleanly from the sides of the bowl.

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Rest in the fridge for 2 hours or until very cold.

Meanwhile, you can make foil collars for each bun, OR you could try to use this nifty "muffin top" pan.  I bought two of these at a discount store just for these buns, but I have yet to use them. 

If you make the collars, fold several layers of foil into an approximately 14 inch long and  3/4 inch wide strip and staple into a round ring. Trim any excess foil.  Make as many as you need and lay collars on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet and spray the insides of the collars with non-stick spray.

Once the dough is cold, portion to 80 g pieces, and form spheres by rolling the dough between your pinky and your thumb, with the heel of your other hand.  Place the dough ball into the center of a foil collar.  Repeat until all of the dough has been used.  While you are working, you can keep the unused dough in the fridge to keep cold.

Lightly spray dough balls with non-stick spray and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap (or cling film if you're British - love that!).  Use a rounded bottom bowl to flatten each dough ball to spread out into the ring.  Do this for all of the buns and carefully lift the cling...er, plastic wrap off.  Spray the underside of the plastic wrap with more non-stick spray and lightly cover the buns to let them proof until doubled in size or about 2 hours in a warm place.  Be careful to not let them over proof.  The finished buns in the picture fell a bit, but Washington was not a good place to bake bread in comparison to Colorado.  I love making bread here!

While your buns are proofing, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and prepare an egg wash.

Carefully peel off the plastic wrap and carefully brush the proofed buns with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds or anything else you would like to use.  Re-hydrated dehydrated onions would be delicious!  Or you can just leave the plain egg wash.

Bake buns for 15 minutes or until golden brown and the core temperature reaches about 200 degrees F inside.  Take out and cool.  Believe it or not, but for best results, place in a zip-top bag for two days before using.  This will allow the crust to reabsorb moisture from the crumb, giving the whole bun a softer texture.

Perfect for your juicy burgers!

Look at this great texture!

I will have to remake this recipe here in Colorado and use my "muffin top" pans.  I'll be sure to post the final results when I do. 

This recipe is a bit advanced, but with a little confidence and a good mixer, you can make these lovely buns!

Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding

 

So, I've been shacking up with my good friend, Roni (aka AJ), and I have been having a load of fun cooking and what-not while she is toiling away at work!  Sorry!!

The other day, AJ was giving me an lesson in economics.  A dozen of lovely assorted doughnuts from Krispy Kreme are priced at a whopping $11.39.  Meanwhile (here's where the economics peeks in), if you add another dozen the price is only $14.99!  That's a $3.60 difference.  What a deal, but who can eat two dozen doughnut?

We got a dozen of the traditional raised glazed and the other dozen of the assorted.  After a few days of gorging ourselves, sadly we had 8 glazed left and they were indeed stale.  Boo!

I hate throwing away food and am a bit old fashioned and nostalgic, and I gave it a thought of what I could do with these oldies but goodies.

Bread pudding!!

I searched and searched on Google surprised to find many fine (and not so fine) recipes.  I found a simple but delicious way to not have to throw away that $3.60 dozen!

Well, we did eat 4 of these while there were still fresh, so I altered the recipe, but below is the full size and I added chopped pecans.

Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding

Serves 8 (or less if you are feeling piggish!)

Custard:
1 dozen stale Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts (any stale raised glazed will do though!)
3 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of ground nutmeg
2.25 oz bag of chopped (or bits) pecans, optional

Chocolate Ganache Sauce:
1 cup extra dark chocolate chips (can use semi-sweet)
2/3 cup heavy cream

Cut each doughnut into 5 or 6 pieces and place in a greased 9"x13" baking dish or cake pan.  Sprinkle most of the bag of nuts on top of the pieces and into the crevasses.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining custard ingredients until well mixed.  Pour over doughnuts and press down gently with a fork to allow pieces to absorb the custard.  Let sit while the you preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake for 45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.  Sit aside to cool slightly and make your sauce.

Place chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl and microwave cream for approximately 1 1/3 minutes or until boiling.  Be careful not to let it boil over!  Pour hot cream over chocolate and let sit for about half a minute and stir until smooth.

Cut up your Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding into squares and serve with sauce drizzled over top.  This recipe will make you want to get an extra dozen the next time you make your doughnut run!

This is a nice comforting dessert and surprisingly not too sweet!

NUT-gEt-in-my-beLLA!

I must admit that since the first time I made this luscious chocolatey hazelnut butter, I have scarfed down three pint jars of the stuff!  Three, and all by my lonesome.  I love this concoction more than I do the commercial brand.  It's not as pasty or smooth as the original, but the texture is very nice and I love it.  It might not be for you, and it may be cheaper for you to buy the commercial, but I don't think it's as good.  But that's just me.  Give it a try!

Once you jar it, depending on the ambient temperature of your house, you may have to microwave it for about 20-30 seconds and stir before applying it to whatever.  It's been in the lower 60s in our house, and it's quite solid in the jar.  Now, when it was 80 degrees, the stuff flowed...right into my face and right into my belly!  Nom, nom, nom...

Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
(Makes 2 Cups)

1 cup raw hazelnuts; this can be heaping as they will shrink a bit while toasting
12 ounces milk chocolate, chopped; can use a bag of milk chocolate chips like Giradelli (one standard 11.5 oz. bag works, the half ounce isn't going to throw off the recipe)
2 Tbls. canola oil
3 Tbls. confectioner's sugar
1 Tbls. unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 tsp. Kosher salt; more or less depending on your taste, but I think this amount is perfect

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

I use my counter-top toaster oven.

Spread hazelnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast in the heated oven.  Check every 5 minutes and give the pan a shake to move them around.  They will become slightly browned and the skins will blister.  Be careful not to burn them!  Take them from the oven.

I roasted some pretty dark and it made the finished spread have more of a deeper, almost coffee-like flavor.  I didn't mind this, but it I think burnt ones would be terrible.

Wrap the nuts in a clean kitchen towel (or a large clean cloth napkin like I did) and rub vigorously to remove most of the skins.  It's okay if some still stick.  Okay, I admit that I have OCD and I sorted through the nuts by hand and peeled off as much of the skins as I could, but you don't have to be that picky if you're not compelled to be so.  Let the nuts completely cool.

In a food processor, grind the hazel nuts until fine.  Then add the oil, sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder and salt and continue to process until the nuts have become a paste.  This make take some time and you may have to scrape down the bowl.  The more you grind the better to alleviate any unpleasant grittiness.  Unless you like that!

Melt the chocolate in the microwave.  I set the timer for 1 minute and 20 seconds and stopped it every 20 second intervals and stirred in between.  Microwave until chocolate is mostly melted.  It's best to still see pieces and stir until all has melted.  The residual heat will melt the chocolate nicely and it will be cool enough to add now.

Add the chocolate into your nut paste and process until very smooth.  It won't be perfectly smooth like the commercial kind, but I like it and it's not as pasty

The mixture will be very runny, but will thicken a bit when cooled completely.  Pour into re-sealable jars (1 pint jars work great) or two ½  pint jars if you want to give one to a friend, but who wants to do that??

This will keep on your counter for up to 2 weeks...that is if it will last that long.

I love this slathered onto warm toast, graham crackers, and my tongue!

No-Fail (No-Kidding) Peanut Brittle

 

Peanut brittle is one of my favorite "old fashioned" candy, but I've only made it once or maybe twice because it can be a bit temperamental cooking the conventional way.  Brittle is a bit labor intensive because it takes a long time to cook your sugar to a hard-crack stage and burning is always a worry.  In fact, I think that we [our family] just left this brittle making to our Grandmas to slave over it at Christmas.  Yeah, they only made it once a year because it was a pain-in-the-butt to make.  Until now.

My Dad loves peanut brittle, and for years I've been sending him brittle via the Internet from gourmet stores.  Gawd, the prices were outrageous!  After all, I was leaving the task to making it to someone else.  Sometimes brittle would cost up to $25 for a 2 lbs. gift.  Holy crap.  All of the ingredients are fairly inexpensive, but I am paying for the process of making it.  Until now.

Thanks to my sister, Dori, who gave me this recipe when she came out to visit over Memorial Day weekend.  She had run this recipe through her "test kitchen" many times and was able to get the same, perfect results every time.

My first batch I made was with Habanero pepper and it was pretty hot since we put about a tablespoon in.  That was a bit too hot so I cut down the recipe to 1 teaspoon if you decide to use it, but you can adjust to your taste*.  The sweet caramel flavor is wonderful with a little heat.

When I made this again for this post, I omitted the peppers.  I plan on sending some to my Dad and I know he's old school and prefers it the old fashioned way.  I also made a cashew nut batch.  Yum!

No-Fail (No-Kidding) Peanut Brittle
Yields a little over a pound

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 heaping cup party peanuts (or any other lightly salted nuts) (get your nuts at a bulk or discount store...Dori told me that BIG LOTS is her "go-to" place)
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbls. butter
1 tsp. finely minced Habanero* pepper (this is optional)
1 tsp fresh baking soda

Line an edged baking sheet with a SILPAT® mat or grease very well (butter or non-stick spray) and set aside.  I recommend that you invest in a couple of the SILPAT® mats.  These are the best for baking or candy making, and I've had mine for 20 years.

In a microwave-safe glass 2-quart bowl,  stir sugar and corn syrup until combined and microwave for 4:00 minutes on HIGH (I have a 1,000 watt microwave).  I recommend that you use a  heat proof silicone spatula.  These are very versatile tools to have in your kitchen.  I have many sizes of the GIR (Get it Right) spatula.

Remove and immediately stir in nuts and microwave for 3:30 minutes on HIGH.

Remove and immediately stir in butter, vanilla, and Habanero peppers (if used),  and microwave for 1:30 minutes on HIGH or until a medium golden brown or a rich caramel color.  The darker color will add a depth of flavor, but be careful not to burn!

Immediately stir and then fold in baking soda.  WORK QUICKLY!  The mixture will foam as you fold it.  Be careful not to over stir or it will collapse.  Pour onto prepared pan and move the pan back and forth to spread out mixture.

Let it cool completely before gently breaking into pieces.  The round back of a heavy ladle or a jar works great for this task.  If you used SILPAT®, you will need to remove it from the mat and place it back onto the baking sheet before breaking into desired sizes.

Store in an airtight container, or you can seal in zip-top bags and it will keep for a week.  Your humidity level will effect freshness as well.  Here in the humid northwest of the country, we have to eat our brittle immediately.  All of it.  We don't like soggy or sticky brittle.  Yeah, that's what we tell ourselves to justify being little brittle pigs.

Enjoy!

*WARNING: to anyone who puts a tablespoon of Habanero in their brittle...do not eat a lot at one time.  We made the mistake of scarfing down the whole pan (minus about 1/3 pound which I gave to the neighbors) throughout the afternoon and all of us were hit with horrible side effects of too much capsicum.  Capsicum is the compound that makes a pepper hot.  Too much can cause diarrhea, and the Habanero has a lot of capsicum...a lot.  I'm not trying to gross you out, but you have been warned.

Sous Vide for me, please...

 

I've fought a long-lasting battle against over-cooked meats, eggs, and burgers...until now.  Alas, I have found just a weapon to win my battle.

Behold!  My ANOVA Precision Cooker...a temperature-controller-water-circulating thingie that I can fit into most pots in my house.  Wondering what those little white ball things are in the picture?  No, I'm not cooking giant fish roe.  Be patient young Padiwan...I'll get to that later.

Hey, I don't have anything against shoe leather for all of you "well-done" folks.  It's just that I'd just rather have shoe leather on my feet and not in my tummy.  My oldest brother, Dean, is a "well-done" man.  Or should I say "If it ain't burnt...it's too raw" kind of guy.  Ugh!   

 

I have always been fascinated with the cooking technique used in many a professional kitchen, called "sous vide." Sous...what, you ask?  Sous vide, which simply means "under vacuum" in French.  No, I'm not cooking in a pressure cooker or in my vacuum (ew), but I am vacuum sealing (or putting in zip-top bags) food into pouches and submerging them into a temperature controlled water bath for a certain amount of time.  The results are amazing.  It is truly a blend of science and food.

Here is a perfectly cooked (for 1 1/2 hours) medium-rare (at a constant 136° F) rib-eye steak.  I seasoned the raw steak(s) with lots of fresh ground salt (our million year-old pink stuff) and black pepper and sealed them up using my trusty FoodSaver.  Which I finally replaced with a newer model.  Can you believe the one I had was the first model and I had gotten that in 1999?!  

Anyhoo, back to topic.  You can season your steak however you like.  Olive oil, marinade it (use the FoodSaver for that, it's fantastic!), or anything your taste buds desire.  You then set the ANOVA to the temperature you need (started out with hot tap water), slip the steak(s) in and forget it for the next hour and a half.  You can leave it in the water for up to three hours!  No grill to tend to.  You can actually do other things while you cook perfect (and expensive) cuts of beef.  After it's done, I cut open the pouch and removed the goods.  Then I finish it off (this is a must) by giving it a good sear on all sides of the steak with a butane torch.  Gotta love fire! 

 
Do you notice how this steak is medium-rare all the way through?  None of that over-done meat with a medium-rare center that you achieve from conventional cooking methods.  Regardless of the thickness, all of the meat will be cooked at that perfect temperature.  

Here is a perfectly cooked egg.  Yeah, I'm one of those that likes their eggs super-soft and creamy.  Just like velvet!  It took me awhile to figure this one out, and after cooking and eating five or so eggs, I got it right!  Good thing I love eggs.   This egg was cooked in its shell at 167° F for 14 1/2 minutes.  I usually gobble these up as soon as they are done cooking, but logic would tell me that I could hold eggs at this temperature for some time.  So you could cook a dozen and have them all be perfect for an Eggs Benedict horde.  I'll have to try it out. 

And here is a perfectly cooked hamburger patty.  This photo is not the best, but your burgers don't shrivel up to hockey pucks and you get a succulent, juicy, perfectly medium cooked burger.  We serve our burgers on homemade Brioche hamburger buns.  I'll post that recipe at a later date.  After you have these, you'll never buy store-made again!  Oh, and that's my special melty Velveeta-like cheese (made from just a few ingredients) on the burger.  I'll save that post for a later date too.

I've cooked chicken breasts using sous vide and I must admit that I will be hard pressed to eat white meat any other way.  I've also cooked chicken thighs using my ANOVA, and they were tasty as well.  I have not experimented with fresh veggies yet, since I've been on a meat kick.

 

Yeah, this kitchen gadget may be considered one of those shi-shi, luxury items, but if you are truly annoyed by, or just plain refuse to eat overdone food, I suggest that you give it a try.  I bought this on amazon.com for $179.  It was a reasonable price for me and since a good steak can cost anywhere from 15-20 bucks a one-inch thick slab, then it was money well spent in my opinion.

Oh, those little round things in my pot?  Those are polypropylene balls used to "blanket" the surface of your water as you heat up and cook with.  These simple little orbs help you maintain your heat, therefore saving on electricity.  They also reduce water evaporation, therefore keeping you from having to replenish the water during those hours and hours of cooking.  Hours and hours you say?

Yes, you can cook a cheap, tough-ass cut of meat until it falls apart and it could take hours and hours, but I'll leave that for another time.

Teeny Tiny Korean Food

 

 My sister, Dori came out to visit me during the Memorial Day weekend, and she came bearing gifts.  My favorite thing!  These little gifts were itty-bitty and highly detailed dishes and pots of delicious Korean food.  What a wonderful gift!  A combination of my love for miniatures and Korean food, these were right up my alley.

I spent the good part of this morning capturing each meal (along with a penny to give you an idea of how small they really are) and had to post this.  I used a little lens set given to me by my other sister, Darcie for Christmas last year (or the year before...I can't recall!).  The macro lens worked very well and you would think that these were life-sized by the fine quality.  "Best qwwalrity"...Darcie would say. 

The thought and care used to paint these are evident and each little detail is near perfect.  There were even tiny chopstick, spoons and chopstick rests.  Each item of food and drink had to be placed into each of the dishes.  My favorite is the Gujeolpan, the octagon shaped serving platter.  Each of those wedges and the middle come out as individual dishes.  Amazing!