phaelon56

If money is really not a concern and you are now or will in the future be using a higher end espresso machine (e.g. Rancilio Silvia or higher), the Mazzer Mini is a great choice. It is pricey - about $370 - $390. I think the timer on the pricier model is superfluous. The Mazzer is very quiet, extremely well made and has "stepless" adjustments - i.e. it can be adjusted for very fine changes in the grind setting. Coming in at $100 less is the Rancilio Rocky - likely the best value for the money of any grinder on the market and one of the most popular. It consumes less counter space than the Mazzer but runs a bit noisier and has detentes (click stops) for the grind setting rather than the stepless adjustment feature. People with very critical needs and loads of espresso experience seem to express a slight preference for the Mazzer but the Rocky is a great machine - you would not be disappointed. Jump down to the $175 - $250 range you'll find various models of Anfim, Cunill, the Gaggia MDF, the Isomac Gran Machino and others. All are more solid and likely more durable for heavy use than the Solis Maestro and Maestro Plus but not in the same class as the Rocky or the Mazzer. Lastly.... if money is a bit of an issue, you're moderately mechanically inclined and want to save a few $$, search for a used Mazzer or Rio on ebay. The Mazzer's that show up are usually the Super Jolly model and on rare occasions its larger cousin the Robur. Not sure which Rio models are out there. The used grinders on eBay generally come from cafes that have gone belly up or else graduated to grinders with auto-tamping. They may need replacement burr sets that run about $60 but it's not too difficult to replace the burrs. Keep in mind that they are commercial grinders and take up plenty of counter space.

The Zassenhaus is the only brand I'm aware of in hand cranked grinders that will perform as well as more expensive electric burr grinders. There are lots of cheaper hand cranked grinders available but it's all about the quality of the burr sets - Zassenhau has it and the others don't. The fact that the grinding occurs more slowly or at varying speeds is not a big issue. I have not personally tried the Melitta burr grinder that Roger recommends but if purchasing an inexpensive burr grinder of any brand, be sure you can return it if perofrmance is not up to snuff. The several that I've tested (inexpensive burr grinders) ran hot and noisy and produced lots of fine powder along with chunks. The Melitta apparently is better but there's only so much you can expect from a $30 grinder - you get what you pay for.

Don't be intimidated by running gas line yourself. I've done it on a few occasions - had to screw up my nerve the first time but found it to be very easy. Unlike H2O plumbing, there are no concerns about the pitch of the pipe for drainage etc. Just find a good spot to tie in to the existing line with a T, measure the distances and get to HD or a similar supplier. Make sure you get the black iron pipe that is recommended for gas (some people use plain old galvanized and say it's okay but IMHO the few extra $$ for the black pipe is worth it. Measure your distances carefully - you can most likely use pre=threded pipe for the longest runs but for the final piece or two the store will cut to length and thread it for you. be sure to use pipe goop or the appropriate type of teflon tape to seal the joins and make them tight. You'll probably need a "union" at some point to joint together two pieces in order to tie into the existing gas pipes but I stress - it's really easy work. I do suggest having your local utility come after you've finished the work and have them check for leaks - they will typically do this for no charge and by the way - if there are any joins or elbows behind walls - get it checked before the sheetrock goes in!!!

No offense but..... AS IF!!!

The cheapest thing you can buy that will produce the consistency of grind one needs for good moka coffee is under $65 retail price - you supply the elbow grease - it's a hand cranked Zassenhaus conical burr grinder. Zassenhaus Grinders

I can safely recommend against the Steinglau that shows up really cheap at Amazon on periodic promos. I bought a set of six Bordeaux glasses and also six of the Burgundy back at Christmas season. The price was unbeatable: under $25 for 12 glasses including free shipping. I like the shape and feel of them and I don't even drink wine but have a new hosue and figured I'd want them for company. I've used a few of them (generally just two at a time) for other bevergaes but they're just way too fragile. I try to be very catious and have still broken three of them already, even with limited use. At roughly $2 per glass I'm not losing sleep over it but in the big scheme of thigns it was not a good investment, even at such a low price.

When it's roasted you do. If you think you hate cauliflower... just ask yourself if you like home fries. If the answer is yes then you'll love roasted cauliflower. Also worth noting is that if you're looking to de-bachelorize yourself soon - the ladies love roasted cauliflower just as much as us guys do. And, unless they've been hanging out on eGullet, chances are they haven't tried it yet. Impress the hell out of your next date when you cook dinner for her by using cool things you learn on eGulelt (it works for me ) First thing worth checking out is this book that my ex-GF gave me for a gift at Christmas (after we were no longer dating so I guess I'm not so bad after all). Almost From Scratch The recipes rely quite often on "convenience foods" such as precooked bacon, precooked potatoes, bagged salad greens, precut veggies etc. but in almost all cases it adds only a few short minutes to any of the recipes to just use the old fashioned ingredients and prep them myself. What I really use the book for is ideas - ethnic variations abound, he has many great ideas using pre-made curry sauces, Thai peanut sauce etc. (much as described above), and it's easy to just riff on the basic recipe ideas. Most are quick to fix and on the healthy side. Other have already covered most of the basics for good bachelor cooking. I second the notion that the freezer can be your best friend. I buy chicken thighs in bulk, de-bone them and freeze the bones and scraps for stock making. I've found moderate carb consumption to be no issue provided I keep a handle on fat and sugar intake. Ricemaker: get one - they're the bomb. Mine does a better job cooking two cups of raw rice (total of four cooked cups) than one cup. I just take the leftovers and heat it in the microwave as needed. Other essentials: Dump the Tupperware and get the new Gladware containers with the blue lid. They['re way cheaper than Tuperware or its equivalent and the whole container, including lid is safely microwaveable. I make things like beef stew, paella , greens and other dishes in bulk and freeze individual dinner or lunch servings in these containers. Cous Cous: nice variation for a side dish. The Israeli type is big pellets and fun. There's also a regular cous cous in tricolor that I just tried - really jazzes up the plate and is easy to fix. Bagged salads: 'nuff said Homemade salad dressing: buy some really good quality vinegars - the expensive balsamic (find a store with Italian imports and get the $20 stuff) and maybe some of the flavored vinegars (pear, fig, blood orange etc.). An ounce or less of top shelf vinegar with some sea salt, white pepper and perhaps a minced herb or two and even a dash of mustard whisked in with just a tiny bit of EVOO. Great dressing, coats the salad nicely and way low on carbs and sugar. Grocery Store rotisserie chicken: yeah.... I know.... it's cheating and I'm supposed to roast my own but when they're on sale they're crazy cheap and so easy. I eat the legs and wings the first night , remove the skin and cut slices from the breast meat for a few days to add onto salads or sandwiches. on the third or fourth day I strip the carcass and freeze the bits for soup use later on. I don't drink and if I did I would drink wine only with meals. I keep on hand the best quality Merlot and Chardonnay that I can get in 8 oz bottles (usually Sutter Home or the like). Great for doing a quick wine reduction sauce after sautéing some seafood or a piece of beef. I generally use only half of the bottle and refrigerate the rest. I also keep an 8 oz bottle of Cognac on hand for similar purposes. Stock: The "Better Than Bouillon" brand concentrate really rocks. It's sort of a gel viscosity and the closest thing to real stock that I've yet found. Seems to keep forever in the fridge and is available in both chicken and beef. Parchment paper: get a roll. So easy. I cooked fish last night - threw it in the parchment with some EVOO, lemon juice, S & P, some sprigs of fresh thyme, slivers of garlic and some jarred jalapeno bits. Wrap the parchment and throw in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes depending on fish type, thickness and temp. Works great and almost no cleanup. About veggies and greens going bad and getting wasted - it's still a problem for me although I now have a humidity controlled crisper drawer in my new fridge and it helps. Others on this site have tried and swear by Evert Fresh Bags I'm sure more ideas wil come to me later on but the fact is that I've gotten most of my best ideas for cooking from eGullet and the great majority of them are easily applicable to bachelor cooking.

Thanks for the suggestions (everyone). I suppose I should have been more specific or just more enlightened - I have a tendency to include herbal "teas" in my thinking when I use the term "tea". Now I can wow my friends by using the proper terminology. So tell me.... (I'm addressing my easily impressed guests here) would you like your tisane shaken or stirred?

Sez who? but I'll choose something other than chamomile tea for my nefarious schemes Perhaps this deserves a separate thread but do you mean water that stays at about 130 degrees F for the duration of the steeping time? Would one use a thermal carafe or somethign of the sort to maintain the temp stability? Sorry for my obvious ignorance but I'm still way down on the learning curve.

My friends and acquaintances know that they'll always get to try one of my ever changing espresso blend when they visit and I typically have some roasted coffee varietals (at least three or four) in the freezer for regular coffee. How about tea? I drink it only on occasion and keep a tin of Earl Grey and one of Irish Breakfast in the freezer (loose tea - I use a tea ball). Will one of you kindly souls with tea expertise suggest five or six varities that I might invest in? I'd like to have a coupl stalwart old reliable type selections for the unadventurous but also want to have a few that most of my friends have not tried - something a bit less commonplace that I might introduce them to.

Let's face it - I'm a die-hard espresso drinker and rarely even drink regular coffee anymore but I do enjoy tea on occasion and at least a handful of times every year I have guests who are tea drinkers. In the past I've purchased a few decent quality loose teas and stored them in freezer containers, taking out a bit every now and then as needed. I know the storage issues regarding both green and roasted coffee (which have been discussed here at length) but what about tea? Is freezing a good idea if it will be consumed slowly? Do some teas freeze better than others? What's the maximum storage time for room temp in an airtight container (dark place) and also for freezing? Will a food vacuum packing system be a worthwhile aid in preparing tea for long term storage?

Okay. Here's the reminder - whay were you going to tell us? My cousin lives in one of the brownstones on Atlantic Ave in Carroll Gardens and I loved the place when I visited (not to mention that her husband put in a Sub ZEro, a six burner Viking and an 8 foot long marble topped peninsula to do his dough and pastry work on). They're both teachers and have lived in Brooklyn forever (by my standards a long time - about 25 years). I was impressed by how they managed to parlay the equity in their original condo (in the old Ex-Lax factory) into the brownstone and did it before the neighborhood took off - at this point folks like them could never afford to move into that neighborhood. I just wish I could wrangle a dinner invitation a bit more often as his food rivals or exceeds the quality of most restaurants in the area.

Doc (or anyone who can answer this) - are there any issues with bringing Quebec cheeses across the border into the US? Also - are there markets in Ontario (e.g. Kingston or Ottawa) that have a good selection? I can do Kingston as a day trip and Ottawa as an overnight but getting as far as Quebec requires me to take time off from work.

I'm drifting in and out of this thread as time and opportunity permits. Friday I had time because one of my former GF's decided to cook for me. She routinely cooks only soul food but has branched out a bit partly for health reasons and possibly (I like to delude myself) by virtue of my influence. So.... Tri-color pasta salad with pepperoni chunks, broccoli and onion Boiled spinach with cinnamon Sweet potatoes baked with brown sugar and butter (I didn't say healthy - just healthier than before) Chicken breasts breaded with Zatarain's mix and fried The best part: I didn't have to cook!!! (I love to cook but also enjoy being served and it happens so rarely).

I'm now thinking of a place we ended up not eating at bur surely it must qualify for an honorable mention. I work in a small suburban office park area but it has more of a manufacturing and blue collar bent than the office parks many of you are accusotomed to. It's on the edge of the city and heading out northeast takes you smack dab into the country. Apart from a few take-out style delis and a few upscale places in the hotel lzone heading in towards the city, there are few options for sit down dining at lunch. One of my co-workers suggested that we try this one specific raodhouse tavern for lunch, as she had heard tyhat they served decent burgers and good Buffalo style wings. When she called them to find out if they were open for lunch and get directions.... the voice at the other end... after confirming that we had ion fact reached said tavern.... asked "Are you the police?" I couldn't convince her to go to lunch there, despite the appealing notion that we might happen by there when they were having their annual Lawnmower Race (guys bring in their riding mowers, get really shit-faced and have races int he parking lot). Yes it's true. A roadhouse on the other end of town used to have an annual Turtle Race (quite entertaining and no turtles were harmed during or after production).

Can't speak to what Costco does as I'm not near one but both BJ's and Sam's offer free one day trial memberships. You may have to pay a 10% or 15% surcharge on your purchase as a guest member but you'll stil be saving money (and supporting a grand experiment) if you shop wisely.

Hi Alton - great to have you here. I trust that you have a monstrously busy schedule (just a guess) but obviously your interest and experience in cooking developed far ahead of your public visibility. How have the combined effects of a busy schedule and the knowledge of techniques and materials that you've developed affected your home cooking, if at all? Do you cook less often but prepare more elaborate dishes.... more frequently but with simplified and more expedient techniques... or do you find yourself eating out more often due to necessity?

Fascinating article - thanks so much for posting that link. I'd agree that there's a bit of prestige-lingo in the coffee arena that may be borrowed from oenophiles but in many cases it's so directly applicable that to some of us (me at least), it mkaes sense. After thirty years of drinking coffee, the last four or five being at a greatly heightened level of awareness and appreciation, I still find it difficult to muster up the vocabulary to adequately describe the characteristics of many varietals. It's even tougher with espresso blends as they often have multiple layers of complexity in the flavor profiles. I did learn a new wine word/concept recently that is perfect for explaining to people why all coffees from a given area are not created equal (e.g. there are great Kona coffees and others that are just average to very good). That is "terroir" - the effect of soil, altitude, placement etc that makes specific plots of land much more suitable for a given crop that another nearby plot might be.

I ate at Enigma and I'll never forget it. It was beautiful inside, gorgeous artwork, lighting, etc. My silverware was hanging off of a gold hand sculpture and my husband's silverware was fashioned into a teepee shape. The china was all mismatched and all top quality. We did have different menus but ordered off of the same menu. I can't remember what on earth we ate but I remember it was unusually presented and we had no complaints on taste. There was a big party seated next to us and they did order some of the same dishes...all came out plated completely different from each other. Someone back in the kitchen was very creative! I was sorry when it closed. My former GF (or one of many I should say ) ate there on her birthday years ago and still raves about it not so much for the food (which was very good but not so stellar that she felt obliged to return at that price), but for the truly unusual ambiance and concept. When she went, they had no listed pghone number, never advertised and were strictly word of mouth. You had to call to make a reservation and then call back one or two hours before dinner to get specific directions - they didn't even tell you the location until then. She also recalls walking up to a building in which what looked the liked the doors were not the doors - what appeared to be a wall (of glass I think) next to the doors was what actually opened up and allowed one entry. The third hand story she was told is to the effect that a very oil-rich Saudi or Kuwaiti businessman owned the building, had a private apartment upstairs and kept a highly trained kitchen staff on hand at all times for his periodic visits. He then decided (so the story goes) to have some fun with the space downstairs by creating the most unusual restaurant he could imagine and keeping his staff occupied when he wasn't in town. Cool story even if it is a bit implausible. It might well be true, as she (my GF) couldn't fathom how they could possibly earn any profit from such an operation.

For drip coffee made at the frequency you describe.... a plain old cheap blade grinder will suffice but it appears that you've already established that fact. If you'd like a grinder that wil yield better results with your current espresso machine but still yield a consistent enough grind to work well with a higher end espresso machine - spring for a Solis Maestro at about $100 or the Maestro Plus at about $150. Either will suffice for your current needs and future upgrades. The only criticism I've seen of the Solis grinders is related to the durablity of the burr assemblies. If you're grinding every day and going through a pound or two of coffee each week it' could conceivably be a concerne but for the use you describe I think a Solis would be fine. All other things being equal.... I'd try to find for a gently used Rancilio Rocky in the $150 - $170 range before I'd buy the Maestro. It would be the last grinder you'd ever conceivably need to purchase, can handle any voluem of grinding and will produce the needed grind consistency even if you eventually upgrade to a much higher end espresso machine.

Coffee oils can be pretty sticky - the idea of them causing the beans to clump up makes sense. My Mazzer has a different throat design than the Rocky - that may account for why it hasn't clogged up on those rare occasiosn when I've used some really oily beans. I freeze coffee even though I roast my own. My roaster requires half pound batches and some espresso blends are easier to do in two roasting stages, thus a full pound of beans results. My intake is limited to a max of about a half pound in any given 7 - 10 day period if I'm drinking alone. I freeze a half pound and then thaw it out when I'm ready to use it. do not grind frozen bans and don't even open the airtight container until they've completely defrosted at room temp. Just to be safe, I take the frozen beans out at night that I plan to use the next day and don't open the ziploc until I'm ready to grind. This ensures that no latent moisture is in or on the beans from condensation.

This one is way too easy. They were on Atkins That explains everything.

I've been keeping a six pack in the fridge since I discovered it my local (and only) Italian import store. It's the lack of sweetness and the bitter edge that I find so appealing. I also get Sansbitter and sip that on occasion but the Chinotto is better as a regular drink. If you have not yet tried it check out Moka. It's made by Big, another Italian soft drink company, and has a really smooth coffee flavor but with little sweetness and almost no carbonation. The problem I have is price - up here (upstate NY) that six packs of 100 ml bottles are $4 - $5.

That's a superauto machine, right? I'd try calling Aabree Coffee They sell loads of Saeco and have phone reps who are familiar with the basics of those machines. I have a different model of aeco Ssuperauto and don't get the drip you describe. maybe a few drops at the end of the brew cycle but it stops dripping pretty fast.

Sounds like mold and it most likely came from the sludge. I'm surprised to see it appear after only five days. Was either of the batched originally brewed at room temp or left out at room temp for a fair amount of time after brewing? E have a little superauto espresso machine at work that is used for making cafe cream's and Americano's. The pucks of leftover coffee grounds in the waste bin start developing mold after about two days at room temp. The amount of particulate in the French press and paper filter coffee might have been enough to allow mold to develop.