Chris Amirault

Not really. If you want the full skinny on what to do for clear ice, Camper English at alcademics is the man; here's his post on the hot/boiling water question. Using his research and a few attempts around here, Society members came up with a few effective methods in this topic. From my recent blog, a surface-scratched New Years block using the insulated cooler approach:

It's a good point. Folks who find SV cooking off-putting don't seem to hold the same grudge against Fryalators.

I've been moving through this bag of Assam Sree Sibbari Estate SFTGFOP from TeaSource.com at a steady clip and have a mug of it for three consecutive school tours this morning.

Amatriciana with habañeros?

I had some of the same concerns as you before I ate the full Tour with pairings at Alinea. That meal wiped them all away. Wine (and sake, and...) commented on food, and food on wine. To say that each complimented the other is an understatement. It was an overwhelming experience that I still can't quite process -- and not because of the booze. Best meal of my life, by a long stretch. So, yeah, it can work just fine.

Instant coffee? The mind boggles. What brand?

Are the Bamix Pro and Gastro the same thing? And, fwiw, the Robot Coupe is basically equivalent in price. Which KA, annachan?

Wow. Free soda. Whoda thunk it.

Qwerty, you make a lot of good points. But, to answer your question: Why are you surprised by that? Restaurant work is, typically anyhow, a labor of love. If you don't LOVE working in restaurants, it will never be for you. Working with food/being in the food business is a lot different than being a line cook. Right -- got that. But I'm surprised that none -- none of the J&W interns at restaurants here in town -- are interested in working in restaurants. Not general students, mind you. The ones who interned in restaurants.

I've got two immersion blenders at home that I bought used: iirc, a Braun and a Krups. They're both getting kind of wheezy -- one actually screams now and then -- and I may soon be in need of a new one. We have an old topic on immersion blenders, but surely the new decade brings us astonishing innovations in this kitchen staple. What's out there that's good? What sort of features -- varying speeds, different attachments -- are worth having? Any stinkers?

That is one bad-ass meat grinder.

Wholemeal Crank, that Pino digital kettle looks fantastic. Smaller footprint than I expected a 1.5l kettle....

HungryC, love the post-its. That's a great example of caffeine culture right there: you don't see "Coffee and Chicory" on the food-service carafes up here.

Anyone been to Todd English's bluezoo? I confess that Disney restaurants give me the willies, but perhaps I'm being unfairly judgmental.

Yes, let's do more. I think that those scrambled eggs look heavenly, percyn.

Orange for color or flavor?

Fair enough! But do you have reactions to other glutamates?

Genius. I would've hired you, man.

emannths, can you give us a link to, or provide here, an introduction into the basics of food plastics? Some of us don't know our polyethylenes from our polypropylenes.

We've closed this topic for the new year. For discussions about SV equipment and cooking, please visit The Sous Vide: Recipes, Technique, Equipment 2011 topic. Thanks!

I'll start. I only drink tea at work now: Left to right: A cheap Isetan glass pot and two small cups, one for the tea and one for the basket after I pour the first of two cups. A superfast Toastmaster electric kettle with a coil, not a hot plate, at the bottom. Got it at a yard sale and it's served me well for a decade. OXO timer that just made the move from home -- where I wanted to fling it across the room -- to office. Finally, my expensive modular design tea storage system.

I bet we'd learn a lot about culture and caffeine if everyone shared a photo and brief description of their coffee or tea set-up at work. After all, the Society is international, and surely we can learn something from the works we all use to satisfy our addictions. You game? Lousy phone photos will do the trick here. Nothing fancy needed.

Take Doodad's advice. Commercial realtors are also the best keepers of "restaurant death watch" lists. They know who's not paying bills, who missed payroll, that stuff.

Percyn did scrambled eggs at 72C, though his post isn't clear on time. I'll ping him to see if he can weigh in. They look delicious.

That Derby ham looks very interesting. Is $10-12/lb the going rate out there?