Dave's bike broke down, so this week's holiday episode of Cooking Issues is hosted remotely by phone. Hear Dave answer questions and so concerns about granita, thermometers, pressures cookers, fast cook method eggs, and flying with food. Hear some tips for getting through customs with food and find out why butternut squash is problematic for some people. This episode was sponsored by Modernist Pantry.

"I've never owned a thermometer that made me super happy."

"If you're going to do hydro colloid work you'll want a scale that goes to a tenth of a gram."

"Spouts, as we all know, taste like poison."

--Dave Arnold on Cooking Issues

Heather & Erin are back in action on the first Farm Report of 2011! Tune in as the show goes back to its roots: the farm. Phil Smeltz of Down to Earth Organics joins the show to explain how he found a way to make a living off of 1/2 acre of land! Tune in and learn more about making farming a profession, why tractors are so important and what it takes to become an agricultural do-it-yourselfer. This episode was sponsored by our friends at Cochon555 - visit www.cochon555.com for more information and event listings!

THE FOOD SEEN returns with a hot new episode all about BBQ! Classically trained chef turned barbecue champion, Adam Perry Lang, delivers a new set of active grilling techniques his most recent cookbook, Charred & Scruffed, forever changing the lexicon of BBQ:

Scruffing (roughing up the meat to create more surface area where seasonings and bastes can cling)

Clinching (cooking meat directly on the coals to enhance crunch)

Hot Potatoing (turning and moving the meat constantly to control heat buildup)

Cooking High to Slow (especially effective for crust development in larger cuts)

f you don’t feel like firing up your grill, you can always visit one of Adam’s restaurants. He is the founder of Daisy May’s BBQ in NYC, co-founder with Jamie Oliver of Barbecoa in London, and meat maestro at Carnevino in Las Vegas. This episode has been brought to you by Hearst Ranch.

"People talk about French technique like it's abstract. It's really just tremendous structure. And even with cooking barbecue, as unruly as it is, there are certain things that you need to do to stay on track."

"The key to good barbecue, low-and-slow style, is consistency and temperature." -- Adam Perry Lang on THE FOOD SEEN