Dinner: I cooked a flank steak sous vide at 55°C (131°F) for about 44 hours in a Korean BBQ marinade (from a jar - but essentially soy sauce, sugar, asian pear puree, garlic, scallions, and ginger). I wanted to try the marinade on a cut not typically used for Korean BBQ. The result was very interesting - the flavors of bulgogi but the texture of the finest and most tender steak. I finished the steak by reducing the liquid in the bag, brushing it over the steak, and searing it over a propane searing burner. I tried cutting the steak across the grain as well as along the grain to see if there would be any difference. With these lengthy cooking times, the collagen has all broken down into gelatin, so there was no longer any toughness to the steak and grain direction makes no difference. It was still firm (not mushy like what some tenderizing agents will do) but very tender.

Tina sauteed some turnip greens with garlic and cooked rice to go with the steak.

Click here to read the rest of
May 3, 2010 (Sous Vide Korean BBQ Flank Steak)

Dinner: We went up to Ho Ho Chinese BBQ Restaurant (13000 N. IH 35, Bldg. 6, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 339-9088‎) to see if they were any good. We ordered four dishes to try out and they were okay, but not good enough for us to want to make the drive back up north to Ho Ho.

BBQ Combination Plate - comes with BBQ Pork, Roast Duck, and Marinated Chicken. All three were pretty dry and somewhat bland. I didn't mind the mildness in the BBQ pork that much, but it was chewier than I generally like it. Both Tina and I agreed that the Chinese BBQ meats that we had at First Chinese BBQ were better than this (but it's been two years since we ate there last, so we need to revisit). I would rate this BBQ similarly to what we had last year at Din Ho. (After some web-based investigation, it seems that the original owners of Din Ho may have started Ho Ho, which would explain the similarities.)

Click here to read the rest of
What I Ate: May 2, 2010 (Ho Ho Chinese BBQ Restaurant)

We got a late start today, so we ended eating just one formal meal. That was at Cherry Creek Catfish Company (5712 Manchaca Road, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 440-8810‎) where we ordered several different menu items to try out. The best thing there was the fried green tomatoes and they are so good we can't stop thinking about having them again. the rest of the food is decent, but not some of the best examples of each type of food.

Fried Green Tomatoes - crunchy, slightly salty, sour (but pleasantly so), and tomatoey (in a way that only green tomatoes can be). Delicious with and without ranch dressing. (A half order is pictured.)

Click here to read the rest of
What I Ate: May 1, 2010 (Cherry Creek Catfish Company)

Dinner: I seasoned two veal rib chops with garlic powder, dried rosemary, and salt and vacuum sealed them into a bag and cooked it sous vide for 4 hours at 55°C.

I then seared the chops and served with grilled broccoli, grillled shiitake mushrooms, and mashed potatoes.

Click here to read the rest of
What I Ate: April 30, 2010 (Sous Vide Veal Rib Chops)

Dinner: We headed up to Fortune Seafood Chinese Restaurant (10901 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 490-1426‎) for an event they were holding. The event was bridal focused, but we were there to try the food. They served honey walnut shrimp, fried squid, beef with mushrooms, chicken & shrimp with snap peas, and shrimp fried rice. The beef and squid were much too salty, and the chicken & shrimp with snap peas were quite bland. We've had dim sum at Fortune before and tonight's food wasn't up to the same quality. It will be interesting to eat there for dinner one night to see how the execution is.

Click here to read the rest of
What I Ate: April 29, 2010 (Baguette House, Fortune Chinese Seafood Restaurant)

Lunch: We had a quick lunch at Schlotzsky's where I had a medium sized "The Original" sandwich.

We had Hairy with us.

Click here to read the rest of
What I Ate: April 28, 2010 (Schlotzsky's)

Lunch: While running errands at Costco, we grabbed a quick lunch. I had a Chicken Caesar Salad (here's a shot after eating half of the salad).

Dinner: We tried Back Spin Bar & Grill (5000 Slaughter Lane West, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 282-9206‎) for dinner. I started with chips and salsa.

Click here to read the rest of
What I Ate: April 27, 2010 (Costco, Back Spin)

Lunch: I ate leftover chili with freshly baked cornbread for lunch.

Dinner: Since the weather is starting to get pretty hot, we're considering having Hairy come and stay inside again. We've been keeping him outside since he prefers the cooler temperatures outside (he is the product of at least two cold weather breeds after all), but we think it's time that he stays indoors with us except for bathroom breaks and exercise. In preparation for this, we decided we needed more pet gates to block entrances and get him used to staying within the boundaries we set for him (which will be useful when we have guests over). One of the problems we faced is that we need a gate that spans nearly eight feet and those aren't too common (and the few that exist are very expensive). We went to Home Depot to pick up some parts to build out own gates and, afterward, ate dinner at Mighty Fine where I had a Jr. Cheeseburger with bacon and grilled jalapenos.

Click here to read the rest of
What I Ate: April 26, 2010 (Mighty Fine)

Lunch: I cooked some chili con carne for lunch and photographed it for an upcoming recipe for Cooking For Engineers.

We went over to a Chocolate and Cheese party held by our friends Jennie and John for Mouse the Dog's (their beautiful Greater Swiss Mountain dog) retirement from competition. I brought chocolate peanut butter fudge.

Click here to read the rest of
What I Ate: April 25, 2010 (Homemade Chili)

Lunch: We took Hairy to the Sunset Valley Farmer's Market. I picked up a few food items from the Dai Due booth. We started with a shrimp po' boy which was very good. Often Gulf shrimp has a flavor (some would describe as iodine or bromine) which we strongly dislike, but in these shrimp it was relatively mild and actually worked to the benefit of the sandwich with the remoulade.

We also shared a cup of Duck, Sausage, and Oyster Gumbo (served over rice) which we thought was a bit mild in overall flavor. The oysters were excellent in the gumbo though.

Click here to read the rest of
What I Ate: April 24, 2010 (Dai Due)