Mussina

The lamb loin time was perfect. Any suggestions on a small lobster tail? I am thinking 114 degrees around 12 minutes. Does this sound appropriate or too short?

Any suggestions for cooking time for a lamb loin? I assume 54.5 degrees is the right temp and Nathan's chart would suggest 54.4 mins to get it to the correct internal temp but for tenderizing purposes what do you recommend? In addition, what timing do you recommend for lamb shanks? Thanks!

Thanks for the suggestions. I can't wait to try them. They were laid this morning!

Our neighbors are dropping off some duck eggs this afternoon. Any suggestions for their best use? I am thinking that they may make a decadent pasta since they are so rich. Any other thoughts?

Do you think there would be any problem using a white porcelain demitasse cup? ←

Many thanks everyone. I love the looks of the French pots de creme at potsdecreme.com (too funny) but the fantes prices are much more in my budget. Do you think there would be any problem using a white porcelain demitasse cup?

Anyone have any idea where I can find cute little pot de creme pots with lids?? Many thanks!

We love the Press Cafe - Stella Beer on draft, great bruschetta and salads/paninis. It is right up the street from Gate 6. Go Yanks!

Great post. Thanks for sharing. Quick question -- I ordered some sodium alginate from Dharma Trading. When it arrived there was a warning on the package that ingesting it could cause diarrhea or runny stools (charming, eh?). As you might imagine, i haven;t dived in yet. Are there specific food versions of sodium alginate or is this always a risk?

Thanks everyone for all the input. I bought a couple of individual 3 cup presses that I am experimenting with and the initial results were mixed. I am also using some beans that I am sampling from a local roasting company (Grand Italia here in Connecticut) so I am throwing a bunch of variables in there at once. First try was too weak -- I think the grind was too course. Second try I liked a lot. My husband was not a fan initially. He thinks it has a different mouth feel than the coffee we are just to drinking (Starbucks ground in a $12 grinder and a drip coffee maker). You do worry that people are so used to the starbucks of the world that anything different will be interpreted as not good but that is true with anything. Someone who only eats frozen vegetables might think stuff right out of the garden tastes weird. (Reminds me of a line in LA Story when Steve Martin is commenting on a certain body part of Sarah Jessica Parker's and says that they feel "weird" -- She says "I know - they're real") Back on topic - any French Press advice? Ideal coffee to water ratio?

Now I remember -- I got mine online at Bed Bath Beyond - http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.as...-1&SKU=13595542 Only $49 if you just want the roller.

KA all the way! I used a hand crank for years but in a recent Gourmet article they compared the different pasta machines and ranked the kitchen aid the best. The Atlas does not get the pasta thin enough (according to Gourmet). You can purchase just the roller (I hand cut as well) online. I think mine came from cooking.com.

Nathan - Please do consider writing a sous vide book. It would be an invaluable resource and getting the input of someone with a scientific background would be fantastic. I think it will be interesting to see what HACCP plans are approved in NYC for sous vide cooking (if they are publicly available). I would also think that Cuisine Solutions (right name?) would have a real interest helping to draft safety standards. I know this is a complicated issue but are there any surefire guidelines that we can rely on (rapidly chilled we can keep it for 2 days, 4 days??) or any tests that we could incorporate? Thanks again everyone for all the wonderful information in this thread.

Does anyone know of an online source for aliginate? I've googled it with no luck. Many thanks!

Alternatively maybe I can convince Bond Girl to donate her $1300 espresso machine to our project See post - http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=86154&st=30

All true but I am intrigued by the idea of roasting our own beans. We have an organic farm and we are converting a 250 year old barn on our property into the restaurant. As such, local and fresh are key for us and the idea of being able to say that the coffee is roasted on the premises is of interest. That said, our local roaster will create custom blends for us and roast them however we want which might be a way to go. Other than a hot water dispenser (which will be another $200 and a change order for our plumber) any other ideas about keeping 200 degree water ready to go? The coffee service area is in an alcove right outside of the kitchen. There is ready access to cold water (a water station) but no burners or the like (I was thinking that the coffee maker would do the job). Thanks again everyone.

Thanks for all the feedback. I am really warming to the individual press idea and would love more information about how to roast coffee beans. You folks are the best!

I am curious what percentage of the population cares deeply/can tell the difference with coffee. I completely understand that there is a contingent that are really passionate about coffee/espresso but I don't personally know a single person that falls into this catagory. I make coffee with my lousy little $12.99 Krups grinder and my $25 coffee maker every morning and it is perfectly good. I use fresh beans and grind them every morning but that is about it. Anyone know how many coffee obsessives (in a nice way :-)) are out there?

Food safety question: I sous vided beef short ribs for 36 hours. I put them in an ice bath as soon as they came out of the circulator and refrigerated them last night. How long can they be stored in the fridge and is it better to store them in the vacuum bags all sealed up or should they be stored out of the bag? Thanks everyone (and a special shout out to NathanM) for this wonderful source of information. It si hte best I have ever seen on the internet.

$250 for a grinder? Really? That was my price range for the entire machine to be honest. I am really trying to find a "starter" espresso machine that will produce a nice (doesn't need to be mind blowing) espresso. What is wrong with a Krups cheap grinder? If you grind the coffee long enough it will get very fine. I am looking at maybe 20 cups of espresso a night max.

Can anyone recommend an espresso machine for a small restaurant? We are trying very hard not to break the bank here and would also consider leasing if that made sense. I need something that would be easy for staff to operate and that produces a good cup of espresso (or god help me a cappuccino after dinner). It doesn't, however, have to be the perfect cup of joe just a good one. Many thanks!

Pretty! I made some last night -- par boiled the asparagus (not the tips), pureed with a little heavy cream, salt and pepper. I thinned it with milk and frothed with a hand blender. It was nice but I think it needed the Lecithin (which I just ordered) to hold the foam a bit better. Thanks for all the input. PS - if you add a little sugar or honey to your ice bath when you shock your green vegetables they will hold their green color better ← Sorry for the misplaced implication! Yours are stunning (It was just a random thought I had when I saw your reference to adding spinach leaves to the foam).

Pretty! I made some last night -- par boiled the asparagus (not the tips), pureed with a little heavy cream, salt and pepper. I thinned it with milk and frothed with a hand blender. It was nice but I think it needed the Lecithin (which I just ordered) to hold the foam a bit better. Thanks for all the input. PS - if you add a little sugar or honey to your ice bath when you shock your green vegetables they will hold their green color better

Thanks everyone for the input. My feelings exactly on the "sale". Thanks for the alternative POS suggestions and the input re: just using guest checks. I am intrigued (and delighted) that you think hand written guest checks are nicer or a better way to go. I guess I am just so used to seeing the computer checks (except for when I am in the Caribbean). I have also never, to be honest, worked at a place that didn't use micros so any and all input on a POS free restaurant would be greatly appreciated. Any particular type of check that is preferred (what, if anything, have you seen that you liked)? How does it work vis a vis the kitchen/bar (who gets what copy). God - I sound like someone who forgot how to write long hand since the invention of the computer!

We are in the process of opening a restaurant and one item we are considering is a micros system although the bid came in today a little over $5000 (for one terminal, one printer and the wiring). This price is apparently "only good until Friday" because they are switching to a new system or some other such thing. I would love any input on micros alternatives or different ways of handling the food input. We will be a small restaurant (50 seats) with a limited prix fixe menu. Also - does anyone have any experience buying these systems used? many thanks in advance.