Knitting For Kaylee

Since I haven't repeated a category twice on this thing, I'm going to post something completely different again (why break the streak? :)  I wanted to knit something for Kaylee to use in the cold weather, and since I can knit ANYTHING as long as it's one color and in a straight line, I thought I'd knit a scarf. Of course, as soon as I finished, the weather started heating up...

OK, and since I wanted to do other things besides scarves (this is #4 for me), I decided to try a hat. Of course, I cheated and used a loom, but shhh, don't tell.

THAT'S a better smile

Here it is on the loom before I added the brim:

Sous-Vide Steaks

So this sous-vide thing is all the rage right now (?) so I thought I'd try it. Couple of New York steaks, some salt and pepper, and about a beer cooler full of warm water (~140°F).  That's about it...

Here's some more info:
Obligatory Wikipedia link
Awesome Serious Eats Primer
Serious Eats sous-vide on the cheap

Basically, you hold the meat (vacuum sealed or in a zip-lock bag) at a constant temperature (I used a beer cooler) using a water reservoir at your cooking temperature (~140°F for medium, in my case).

Ready to go in the cooler (heater?)

Zip up the baggies until just a corner is unzipped and dunk in the cooler full of water at the proper temperature. Use this to help you get out all the air from the baggie (the water pressure will squeeze out the air).

Steaks in the cooler, water at 140°F

I only let out enough air so the steaks would rest on the bottom but float upright so they could have warm water on all sides.

Final temperature

After about 4 hours, the temp had gone from 140°F to 129°F. Oops, that's a little low, so I added boiling water until it was back up to 135°F. Now it's time to cook the veggies.

Carrots and asparagus cooked in the toaster oven:

1. Wash and pat dry

2.  Mix with some EVOO, salt, and pepper in foil or baking dish

3.  Bake @375 for about 10 minutes

Take the steaks out of the cooler, and throw in a pan at high heat with melted butter (just for color) for about 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper at this stage. Here is the final steak (ok, so I ate a few bites before I remembered to take a picture):

Pan seared for about 2 minutes