bmdaniel

Those spores survive all cooking (short of high temp sterilization) - out of the bag, there's no difference from food cooked any other way.

Especially so in my case, since there are just two of us and half the time we just eat out of the common serving bowl.

We use plate all the time - half the time I serve family style, half the time put on plates in the kitchen depending on the dish. My wife needs to know how to set the table, so she asks me if I am going to plate or not. Seems like the most sensible way to describe it.

I had no idea that this technique was called jaccarding. I understand why doing this would make the meat more tender (by breaking down the muscle fibers), but I'm at a loss as to why this would make the cooked protein juicier. Moisture is lost due to muscle fiber contraction; by jaccarding you reduce the contraction (since you have severed the fibers) and this muscle loss. There is a good. There is a good topic on it here:

Jaccarding would probably help.

I'm going to do a month starting Monday, but mostly for diet purposes.

jack lang?

SV Costco Prime Ribeye (125F to temp, then torched), with steamed asparagus and a blender Bernaise (wanted to make a traditional one but realized the metal "double boiler" bowl I use is still AWOL after being used for egg nog at a party). My wife and I have a reverse Jack Spratt situation, so I carved out and trimmed the heart of the ribeye for her and left the deckle and trimmings for me.

More fantastically ugly but delicious food. For my wife's birthday - SV rack of lamb (131F for ~4 hrs, finished with torch), steamed broccoli with sriracha hollandaise, and chipotle cauliflower puree. I would drink a quart of that sriracha hollandaise (but didn't - settled for a 375 of Krug and day 2 of a Siduri Sonoma Coast which was still drinking well).

I didn't see the episode, but I think last time I did them in a skillet (I can't remember why, since I normally torch beef).

I've done burgers sous vide - usually when I'm grinding burgers I'll grill the ones for that night, and bag and SV the extras. They come out pretty good.

I have tried quite a few espresso blends (black cat, a few of klatch's blends, stumptown hairbender, most of counter culture's blends, espresso vivace's blends, and a few texas roasters). I would recommend anyone try the Vivace Dolce if you haven't - it's my favorite, but obviously it's just personal preference. You have 23 minutes to get this Spaetzle maker by Thursday from Amazon - only 8 bucks http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-3128-Spaetzle-Maker/dp/B00004UE89/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293062886&sr=8-1 Apologies for not knowing how to make a society friendly link.

It all sounds delicious! I'd be tempted to make spaetzle instead of rolled-out noodles. They are pasta-like (they are actually probably technically pasta) and people who like Italian fresh pasta inevitably love them. Spaetzle has the added interest that it may be unfamiliar to many guests, so it's a surprise discovery of something awesome. They are also, more to the point, dead easy to make with no advanced preparation. And the leftover spaetzle plus a little cheese makes an awesome gratin. Do you need a spaetzle making device?

We use Dark Roast of the Decade from New Harvest Coffee Roasters as our regular, go-to espresso bean. It's local and has the roasting date stamped on it, so we can hit a few different places to make sure we're getting fresh beans. Good stuff: replaced the very reliable Alterra beans some time ago. I am jealous that you can find a good espresso blend you like locally roasted; there is one roaster in the immediate Dallas area that is doing a great job, but their espresso isn't to my taste. I am always having to ship beans all over the country, and if I don't time it right I end up having to go without for a couple days (shudder at the thought).

What do you do for espresso beans?

While I agree with this, I would add that if you (or someone you love) is hesitant about eating rarer pork, having the ability to pasteurized a chop at say 138F, vs. cooking it at 160 is pretty special too. Besides that, I think SV for tender cuts is really just a consistency/convenience issue. I find that I can achieve the same consistent doneness throughout typical of SV with conventional methods (and probably with better flavor), but it takes a lot of active time and I mess up sometimes.

Chris - Do you make coffee at home usually (ever)? What's your preferred method?

Andie - Do you freeze it? Sour cream is one of those things that I use infrequently enough that I don't always have it on hand, but often enough that I'm frequently upset I don't have any. It would be nice to keep some in the freezer. Also, how long does your homemade last in the fridge?

More ugly food - SRF Baby Backs, given about 20-30 minutes of heavy apple/cherry/hickory smoke then cooked for 24 hours at 145F (I threw these on after grilling some homemade burgers the night before, which I didn't bother to photograph since I massacred them). Served with a traditional creamy coleslaw (red/green cabbage, apple cider vin, sugar, red pepper flake, green onions) and a Siduri Pinot (Sta. Rita Hills). I haven't been that wowed with the SRF ribs; I prefer the meatier loin back ribs you can get in the cryovac at costco.

I also grilled in Dallas - SRF Wagyu Fajitas, with bell peppers and guacamole. dcarch I certainly am not, but I'm going to try to post more.

Well crap, mentioned this as an x-mas present idea to someone and now I am probably getting it.

I thought it sounded bracing!

No sweetener in that Chris?

I currently use an aeropress and a mazzer mini - obviously a little out of cost balance between machine and grinder but the nic thing is the grinder will last and be there when I'm ready to step up (hopefully to an Alex duetto ii in the next year or so).

I'd recommend home-barista.net for equipment advice - haven't pulled the trigger on anything besides an aeropress myself (which makes very serviceable 'espresso' and is highly recommended if you don't want to bite the bullet on the machine), but have done a lot of "window shopping" there.