In the interests of expanding our horizons as to the Steamyness of our tables, let me offer the following link to entertain and educate:

Cooking for Engineers

I first encountered this whilst looking for a recipe for Gravlax but they also have loads of bountiful and intriguing articles such as comparing different Chef's knives properties.

Back to the gravlax for a moment: salt and sugar cured salmon, typically of Scandinavian origins, quite delightful, and so easy to achieve. No elaborate smoking system required, just two of the most basic, and essential ingredients, a herb or two for flavour, and fresh fish.

The science comes in like this: both salt and sugar are dehydrators, they act to draw water out of the fish, essentially by an osmotic gradient, and the salt and sugar enter the fish by the same method. The high concentrations of salt and sugar in the resulting slurry are not conducive to bacterial growth, and once "cured" the salmon flesh will remain good to eat for quite some time. Please follow good aseptic technique and the guidelines for storage and keeping. If you take a bloody flux, i don’t want to know, or be held responsible!

That said, i have made gravlax and kept it, in the compressed gas cyclic chiller box, for several weeks, carving off portions as needed. For a more exotic (as if you can get more exotic than delectable orange fish-candy!) flavour, one could substitute the regular dill flavours for wasabi (with thanks to the ever delicious and oh-so saucy Nigella.)

How one serves their transmogrified salmon delights is up to the gentle reader, but upon cracker, abed rice or simple eaten daintily as-is, having taken a slab of fish, sodium chloride, and simple carbohydrates, alone with some basic herbal accompaniments, you can create a magnificent addition to any Neo-Victorian table!