Although you haven't gone fishing since your teenage years you suddenly become excited about it again when you realize that, while trout, bass, and other "good" fish have catch limits, you can catch all the squawfish and other invasive "bad" species you want, not only cleaning up your local streams and lakes, but also adding valuable micronutrients to your opus magnus....Oh yeah, and maybe you'll catch a trout or two for the dinner table, but that's secondary.

I did my test today. Couldn't find my fancy pounder so used a mallet. It could have been flatter, but I didn't want to make it into mush. The pieces looked so pretty on the platter, but I forgot to take the picture. I was careful to try it less than perfectly hot since that inevitably happens along the line. It was great! But I'm going to rethink the plum sauce. I don't think it did anything for the meat, and it couldn't compete with the stuffing for flavor. The stuffing is unsulphured apricots, a few medjool dates, pistachios, a crisp white wine and Spanish varietal EVOO. And matzah. Just run through the FP easy peasy. The roulades might have been prettier tied with string but I used silicone bands because they're so hugely much easier. This was 145° F for about 3.5 hrs. The meat is slightly pink, but not "IT'S RAW!" pink, and the texture is cooked. It sliced really easily with a granton edged slicer (except when I got distracted).

Erm, no. Sous vide means vacuum packed. You're talking about a method of cooking that has evolved into something other than sous vide cooking. I understand what you're doing, but you need a better name for it.LOL THE HISTORY OF SOUS VIDE This method of cooking was developed in the mid–1970s by chef Georges Pralus (at the internationally renowned Michelin Three-Star Restaurant, Troisgros, in Roanne, France) initially as a means of minimizing costly shrinkage of and optimally cooking delicate foie gras. Chef Bruno Goussault subsequently adopted and expanded the technique to consistently provide gourmet-quality meals to first class travelers on Air France. In the last two decades, sous vide cooking has sparked a wave of culinary innovation and creativity, and has become the secret of top chefs at major restaurants around the world. With appliances such as the SousVide Supreme, this cooking technique is now affordable and accessible to home cooks. HOW TO SOUS VIDE: THE SIMPLE STEPS OF SOUS VIDE COOKING The simple steps of sous vide cooking -- Season/Seal, Simmer, and Serve—require little hands-on time to dial in perfect results every time. Season & Seal– Because the sous vide technique locks in the flavor, the food cooks in its own juices, intensifying its natural flavors. This means that you can season with a lighter hand or in many cases, after the fact. Vacuum/seal the food in air tight cooking pouches. Simmer – Drop the pouches into the precisely controlled water bath. Serve – Many foods, such as vegetables, fruits, and one-dish meals are delicious straight from the pouch. Proteins (meat, poultry, fish) are delicious out of the pouch as well, but may benefit from a quick sear in a hot skillet, under the broiler, on the grill, or with a kitchen torch to impart the beautiful golden color and savory caramelized flavor to these foods.

The Anova box was on a promotional e-mail. I really didn't need it at all, but I'm very pleased with it. The e-mail was entitled "Hurry before they are gone", though it was a pre-issue promotion. Since it arrived immediately, I have to think they were already ready to ship. I don't know if the "hurry" was a marketing ploy or if they're not going to be keeping these in stock permanently. I just was in the mood, having just done the cheese. It's not like blintzes are daily, or even monthly, food. It'll just be so much easier to open the cheese, take its temperature, cut the curds, etc., if the whole deal is on the counter, and a roaster pan has too much evaporation and is too in the way... Anyway, sometimes I get all happy from having a new, mostly useless, toy, and I'm delighted. I think it's the blackest thing I own. It's like black hole black. Even white light doesn't bounce off it. Kind of beautiful and spooky. Here's the flyer: Anova Box Re blintz flavors, I think too much sugar overwhelms the distinctively blintzy flavor, though it does well for disguising having the wrong cheese. :) OTOH, nothing wrong with a sweet blintz with blueberries or mint. Or raisins. If you want traditional Northern European, they're served with sour cream and applesauce. You don't combine the two, but many will alternate bites, to maximize the tickling of the taste buds. My applesauce secret is to cook the apples down in TJ's sparkling apple cider rather than sugar and water. It keeps it very apple-y and has just the right amount of sugar, not too much. (The latter part is why I use that particular cider, but any would do. If it's too sweet, there's always water. :) ) On the blintz making, I can only hope for intelligible instructions. Do you have a hand crank rotary egg beater?