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Maybe the Anova gets confused sometimes - as do we all. I did a lamb rack tonight, starting at 62 then dropping to 58 (because I got confused). Didn't notice any problems, and the lamb was great as always.

English has a long history of absorbing words from other languages. I remember a (reputable) TV programme a few years back stating that English vocabulary grew by 10,000 words after the Normans arrived (it might even have been 100,000 - either way, it's a good number of imports). I'm not a linguist, but I understand this makes English more of a creole than a 'pure' language; we don't have an Academie Anglaise to keep us straight. It's also what gives English much of its power to grow and adapt. But I wonder, Emiline, if it makes English a more difficult proposition for your study. You're going to find unmodified French words in almost anything a native English speaker says or writes, not just in relation to patisserie (see what I did there?). eGullet members would find it hard to have come this far without menus and restaurants, and kids have been making papier maché models in their first few years of school for a very long time. There are many other examples; most of the time we're probably not even aware that words we used have been borrowed. In many cases we might be able to come up with English equivalents to the French names - I came across something called a 'crossover' in Australia once; you might (just) recognise it as a relative of the croissant - but traditionally, English doesn't do that. It just adds the imported word to its vocab and barrels along, bigger than ever.

Could you get some colour from the violets themselves? If I had to do it myself, I'd make the liqueur then steep some petals in the finished product. Purpleish, sunsetty sky? The Aviation has too much lemon (ie any at all, almost) for my taste, but you've mentioned the Allen twice now with no mention of what's in it. Some reseach is called for! Edit: Found an Allen recipe with half a teaspoon of lemon. I think I can handle that.

That's why they're called spirits.

I think they probably just called it steam back then. The best I can come up with so far is the Black Cat, which you posted in Kindred yourself, sir, in the distant past. And, no doubt due to some temporal paradox, it's remarkably similar to what we've been discussing: mezcal, gin(s), sweet vermouth, amontillado, ...

Matt, if you liked that you'll probably also enjoy the Teenage Riot, which we had the next night. Rye, Cynar, amontillado, dry vermouth, orange bitters. Really good, but very grown-up. You'll see. I also find myself mezcal-less, but with no reserve. You've prompted me to do something about that.

It certainly beats infancy. That's a fascinating series of experiments, Jo. May I suggest a breather?

Another Rafa special last night (well, somebody has to make the things, if only to keep him happy) - the Montresor & Fortunato: Mezcal, Cynar, Amontillado sherry, St Germain and orange bitters with a slice of lemon zest. Maybe not quite up there with The Man Comes Around - no Fernet in it, for starters - but another good one. The nuttiness of the sherry comes in quite late in each sip, and lingers. It was worth buying the bottle. When he posted this on Kindred last month I commented that there must be potential for a whole series drinks themed on Edgar Allan Poe stories and poems. Rafa, the scoundrel, immediately came back with a bunch of ideas. Who else is in?

Hi Devin. Welcome to eG. Yep, the dumbing down of food/restaurants is a sore point. Unfortunately, I guess all businesses have to obey the laws of economics. Some just seem to manage it better than others. You'll have fun here. Heaps of experimenting foodies (although you may find some - myself not included - cringe a little at that term!). Dive in and enjoy the community.

I agree with dcarch. I have a nice external thermometer with a probe whose cable is robust enough to be shut in the oven door with the probe inside, but it tends to scream if I'm using it near the induction hob. It's not a major issue - I can always find a spot it doesn't object to - but you need to be aware of it.

I should think the more FrogPrincesse the better. But we digress ... Last night I fancied something simple but different and went for a White Negroni - equal parts gin (Colonel Hawthorne's finest), Suze and Carpano blanco, on a big rock with a slice of lemon zest. Very nice. What is it about the Negroni that makes it still a good drink if you change two (or more?) of the three ingredients?

I can get it here for around $65 - call it USD55. Everything is relative ...

Good questions, Jo. As far as I can see it's just a PID controller like the Sous Vide Magic. They work very well on a rice cooker, although I'll grant the Codlo is much prettier than the SVM. But post-Anova et al I think they've missed the boat. Incidentally: www.codlo.com

You're on. I'll have my staff fuel up the Lear ...

A hug? Hell, I need a glass.

Chocolate is traditionally quoted as being one of the hardest things to match a wine to. Best bet is generally to enjoy them separately! But you might try a PX sherry and see how that goes.

Smoke and Oakum - the Keith Richard of rums. Thinking Jack Sparrow's dad, here.

Restaurant supply/design places?

I don't feel any great urge to restrict this to rock stars, so I'm all for Sean Connery (Rafa: Zardoz? You're not THAT old ...). Punt e Mes = Sofia Loren. Well, I'm sure she'd like to be thought of as smooth, sweet and a little spicy. Wouldn't we all?

Today's collection: The Appleton 12 and Ramazzotti were to replenish stocks after a couple of Tolkiens last night (yum). Badger Applewood is the best English cider I've found here. And the añejo tequila was a bonus at $50-something - it's usually twice that.

As in 'no longer favoured by French presidents'?

Life is too short to be able to try all the wonderful cocktails out there! That's why my Top 10 has (probably) 30 or 40 drinks in it. OK, so a tablespoon (= three teaspoons) in this part of the world would be 15ml, which is near enough to half a fluid ounce. Which is half as much again as the basic Martinez recipe in Kindred suggests (likewise their Jerry Thomas Martinez). Split the difference; go with two teaspoons and see how you like it. Very easy to add another one if you think it needs it.

Hi, Latoya. Welcome to eG. We're a (mostly) friendly, if sometimes argumentative, bunch. Dive on in and have fun. We get a bit passionate about our chosen weapons, but I'm coming down heavily in favour of the Anova. It's great. See you in the forums.

I may be misunderstanding you, Jo, but 'tsp', whether upper or lower case, always means 'teaspoon' to me. A tablespoon would be 'tbsp'.

Regarding the phone connectivity ... has anybody picked up if it's two-way? Specifically, while it's cooking is it reporting to the phone what the actual water temp is?