Blow That Dough! -2021

[RobbieB]

I bought a De Buyer mineral B skillet, 3mm 1% carbon steel especially for searing scallops. Heat to smoking hot (no oil) and place the oiled scallops on the hot pan. Make sure the vent hood works good and turn it to max. A couple minutes, lift with tongs, dip in oil and sear the other side.

Magnificent!

[pb4uski]

Why is it that every time I look at the Portal page and see that RobbieB is the last poster to the Blow That Dough! thread that I feel compelled to open the thread as see what is going on?

[audreyh1]

Cause he’s always got a spectacular recent purchase!

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski Why is it that every time I look at the Portal page and see that RobbieB is the last poster to the Blow That Dough! thread that I feel compelled to open the thread as see what is going on?

It's a fun thread, IMO. It's nice to splurge once in awhile (and 'splurge' can mean just about anything, relative to your income). I like getting ideas about things I may not have even known about that I might want. Sometimes it's fun to see what other people are excited about, even if it's something I'd never buy. Kinda gets me out of my own world, and I see new things.

I like it!

-ERD50

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobbieB I bought a De Buyer mineral B skillet, 3mm 1% carbon steel especially for searing scallops. Heat to smoking hot (no oil) and place the oiled scallops on the hot pan. Make sure the vent hood works good and turn it to max. A couple minutes, lift with tongs, dip in oil and sear the other side. Magnificent!

While you'll still want the fan on max, here's a technique I had success with while pan searing steaks recently:

We have a lid from another pan that fits our cast iron pan pretty well. So I get it super hot, add some oil, cover it, give it maybe 10 seconds for the oil to heat, throw the steak in and cover it. Check after a minute or so, flip when ready and finish the other side (these steaks were cooked to ~ 125F in a 225F oven(1)). I was afraid it would tend to steam it, but that didn't seem to be a problem with the high heat directly on the steak. Cuts the smoke way, way down.

I do scallops in a 'regular' teflon or anodized no-stick pan. For the size scallops we get from Costco (a bit bigger than a golf ball?), I don't seem to need super hot. It takes ~ 2 minutes/side to get them cooked through, so too hot and they might be burned rather than browned, and still raw on the inside? Maybe you are using smaller scallops that cook quicker?

(1) Sous-vide works well also, but I prefer the slow oven approach for steaks. Less fiddling about, and the heat dries the outside, so it sears up really nice w/o having to steam off all that moisture (so maybe less steaming than sous-vide, even uncovered?).

-ERD50

[RunningBum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrRoy Bought 1st class tickets for a fall trip to Europe (hopefully). Still planning to remodel the den in Tudor style oak.

I'd love to see the pics of the den when the remodel is done.

[Blue531]

After I become a millionaire, I might blow some of that dough on a small condo at the beach, under $100k.

[bobbyr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 While you'll still want the fan on max, here's a technique I had success with while pan searing steaks recently: We have a lid from another pan that fits our cast iron pan pretty well. So I get it super hot, add some oil, cover it, give it maybe 10 seconds for the oil to heat, throw the steak in and cover it. Check after a minute or so, flip when ready and finish the other side (these steaks were cooked to ~ 125F in a 225F oven(1)). I was afraid it would tend to steam it, but that didn't seem to be a problem with the high heat directly on the steak. Cuts the smoke way, way down.

what kind of oil to keep smoke down?

[donheff]

I made reservations for a high end Grand Canyon Raft trip leaving in late May of 2022. We had to cancel the same trip last May due to the pandemic. This is one of those fully supported trips on a motorized raft. We have so many people going we may fill two rafts.

I just transferred $ to checking to buy a 2018 Lexus SUV I have been leasing. It only has 15K miles on it and the blue book value equals or exceeds the residual. I'm not happy with the 2021 model and can't find another car that I really like. I will wait a year or so and then buy or lease the 2022 model of the same car or another similar car, preferably a plug-in hybrid.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbyr what kind of oil to keep smoke down?

The recommendation always seems to be a high temp oil, like canola or peanut, but we normally use Olive oil and Extra Virgin Olive oil for everything, so we just use olive oil. Works for us.

-ERD50

[Out-to-Lunch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 The recommendation always seems to be a high temp oil, like canola or peanut, but we normally use Olive oil and Extra Virgin Olive oil for everything, so we just use olive oil. Works for us. -ERD50

+1. Same thoughts here.

[Time2]

I've been in the Sauna planning stages for a while. My son and I started building a couple days ago. We started with the floor, so far we have only framed, insulated, put in a vapor barrier and covered the floor. I'm buying framing materials for the walls today. I still have not found T&G Cedar that I'm happy with, I've been to Lowe's and Home Depot, still need to look further. I expect to spend $1200 to $1500, it could be more.

[Out-to-Lunch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Time2 I've been in the Sauna planning stages for a while. My son and I started building a couple days ago. We started with the floor, so far we have only framed, insulated, put in a vapor barrier and covered the floor. I'm buying framing materials for the walls today. I still have not found T&G Cedar that I'm happy with, I've been to Lowe's and Home Depot, still need to look further. I expect to spend $1200 to $1500, it could be more.

Awesome!

IMHO, you want clear (i.e., no knots) T&G cedar. At least in my experience 15 years ago, you cannot find clear cedar at a big box store. You could probably order it from places that sell sauna "kits," without buying their kit.

I also splurged and bought clear cedar 2x4's for the benches. Forget about finding those anywhere but a specialty supplier!

[braumeister]

I've built them with both cedar and redwood, and find them both to be just as good. Got everything from sauna suppliers.

[donheff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 The recommendation always seems to be a high temp oil, like canola or peanut, but we normally use Olive oil and Extra Virgin Olive oil for everything, so we just use olive oil. Works for us. -ERD50

+1 I used to keep some of the other oils around but not anymore.

[audreyh1]

OK DH really blew it!

[audreyh1]

Oops - I blew some too.

A 30% off flash sale this weekend at D'Artagnan's which includes some of the foie gras products. https://www.dartagnan.com/buy/flash-sale/

[RobbieB]

I'll have a few shavings off the Jamon por favor! Nice blow -

[Vincenzo Corleone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 Oops - I blew some too. A 30% off flash sale this weekend at D'Artagnan's which includes some of the foie gras products. https://www.dartagnan.com/buy/flash-sale/

Thanks for the heads-up.

[Teacher Terry]

I bought a nice condo in a high rise downtown on Thursday. Can’t wait to move in!!