MikeHartnett

If I'm being perfectly honest, I thought the New Orleans episode was awful. I'm a huge fan of Bourdain's books and show, but I'd like some food, please! I didn't tune in for a "hey guys, did you know New Orleans got hit by a hurricane?" show. This doesn't seem to be the consensus though. Maybe it's because I live in New Orleans, and I couldn't be sicker of hearing about Katrina.

So can I get it at WinnDixie or Rouse's?

What is Big Shot? I've never heard of it...

Well, obviously a few questions are necessary... How experienced are you? I would say that there are a lot of fairly simple recipes in Babbo, but a lot of them depend on your willingness to seek out tough ingredients and prepare pasta.

Well, I cooked strip steak at 51C tonight, and it came out great. I probably could have kept it in a bit longer, as the outside was still a bit chewy, but the inside was perfectly tender and pink. I made a mushroom sauce and served it with Joel Robuchon's fries. Thanks for all the advice!

Thanks, arbeck and e_monster! My heat source is a slow cooker. I think I'll try the ribeye, and possibly the poached eggs tonight, and I'll report back.

Mike, Try a really big thick steak. Would only take a couple of hours and then you take it out and sear it nicely. Very tender and a really nice effect to see a couple of inches thick steak perfectly evenly cooked all the way through with a nice crispy outside. ← Thanks for the advice. Any suggestions on what temp to cook at?

Well, I received my Auber Temp Controller in the mail yesterday, and I'd like to get down to using it tonight. I'd prefer to start with something that I can begin early afternoon today and eat for dinner, so no 24 hour + projects, etc. Anyone have any suggestions?

I made the Ceci Crostini from the Babbo cookbook last night, and it was delicious. You may want to try that. It's basically chickpeas, EVOO, balsamic, black olive paste, rosemary, basil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. mix them together, and it's delicious!

They certainly are. Auber directed me to them, since they're sold out.

A little update on the Sous Vide Magic Temp Controller: www.freshmealssolutions.com is selling them, but they only have a few, so hurry!

Just an update: Auber no longer produces the 800W version.

Could someone point me out this 800 watt version on their website? All I see is the 1600 watt and the one below it, which is entirely in an Asian text and description, but also says it's sold out.

Re: the Auber temp controller, that is absolutely fantastic. Thanks! Sorry to hear about your difficulties in contacting the company, though. Edited to Add: Auber is sold out of temp controllers until late March. Anybody heard of anything similar to this product? I can't wait that long!

I just checked out the electric turkey fryer, and unfortunately, the temperature is only adjustable in 25 degree increments. Looks like a no-go.

I would just like to put something out there... I've recently cooked a pork tenderloin "sous vide" by wrapping it in plastic wrap and trying to keep a constant temp in a stock pot a la Michel Richard. While the results may not be scientific quality, it certainly shows that you can get fantastic results without ANY sous vide-specific equipment. I don't know a whole lot about the science behind sous vide, but I can tell you that for certain circumstances, it's not a big deal to lack vacuum, hermetic seal, circulation, or even strict temperature regulation. I wish I had photos to prove this, but I got perfectly acceptable color and delicious taste with no setup.

So, has anyone heard anything about Stanley? Last time I checked, I was told this month, but I haven't heard anything since...

It works quite well with plastic wrap, and it was my first try with sous vide. I'm sure it will work well for you.

Using the plastic wrap is really quite easy. It sounds like a lot of work, but it was a fairly simple dish to prepare.

The Figgy Piggy is delicious. You'll be impressed.

Well, I purchased CoF today, and I'm thinking about getting in on this... Any suggestions as to what I should cook first? (Bearing in mind that I live in New Orleans, and some hard-to-find Asian ingredients are harder-to-find Asian ingredients here.)

MiLa again tonight... Amazing, again. I'll refer you to my last description for the details, but I just wanted to tell y'all that I was told tonight the current menu is a temporary, "get everyone on track" menu, and the full menu will have 5 or 6 more entrees!

Just looking at that menu makes me drool. I need to get back there ASAP.

Well, that took about nine seconds. Plus, with a cash only joint, it's ten times quicker to get out after the check comes than when you flash plastic. Just drop the cash and roll. Slightly relevant: this article makes me want to pay for everything in cash. Also wear shades and a broad brimmed hat. ← While it was very clever of you to point out that a site could give me an idea of what the prices are like, telling me what one of my dishes might cost hardly tells me how much cash I need to come prepared with. How about apps, desserts, drinks, etc? What if 8 of the entrees are 35 dollars and one is 14? How exactly does telling me that the range of prices is $14-$35 help me at all? And if it's so fantastic to pay with cash, maybe we shouldn't have credit cards at all! Maybe it would make the world better to have a system with cash and cash alone! Oh wait, that's why credit cards were created in the first place...

I'm going to drag this topic back from the brink for another complaint about cash-only places... I'm thinking about going to Mandina's tonight, and I've never been. Knowing that it's cash-only, I have vainly searched for their entree prices, coming up with nothing at all. If a place isn't going to take my credit cards, at the very least they need to let me know how much cash I need to bring! Ughhhh! I'm sticking with my abhorrence of cash-only places. It's going to take a lot more convincing to change my mind on this one.