JBailey

Also, from time to time I have seen stoves where beneath the gas burners is water (and if I recall it was flowing into a overflow pipe) instead of just the underpan. I think the theory was that drippings and overboils would land in the water making clean up a bit easier since the food would not stick. Maybe that is what you remember as part of the flattop. It was a high end manufacturer who had it on their kitchen suite.

Have you tried the Hobart N50? It is a geared transmission with three speeds. To change speeds you shut off the motor and then switch into the next desired gear. Very, very heavy duty. The KA was a spin-off from Hobart. Also, you may want to research MagicMill. They are very good for large quantities of bread dough, but I have not used it for pasta. Again, a durable machine.

Could this be a steam griddle?

Both the Sous Vide Professional and the Sous Vide Supreme are excellent choices. Obviously, the SVP is about 1/3 to twice as much, so your budget may guide you best. Further, you can get the SVS Demi for a lower investment. I guess it may boil (if you pardon the phrase) down to how much product you are producing each evening. With the SVP, it hooks on to the side of most any pot or Cambro-type container. As of today, Williams-Sonoma continues to be selling the SVP at a good price and including a 20 Qt. stockpot (induction capable) and a 27 Qt. Camwear container, both of which are said to add up to a $200 value. The Sous Vide Supreme has a 10 liter/2.6 gallon cooking capacity and the Demi is under 9 liters/2.4 gallons (they talk about the Demi total water capacity, not the cooking capacity). As you already know, the SVP is circulation based and the SVP is more a passive thermal conduction. I have both and both are terrific. As you research, the other consideration is whether you will be doing only one item sous vide or even a couple items so long as you use the same water temperature. Having two (or more) sous vide machines allows you to do proteins in the lower temperature ranges and use the other for vegetables at 185 F to get the best results. If you need multiple finish temps, then you will need more than one machine. Also, you worried about counter real estate with the larger footprint for the SVS. Either choice requires a container, pot or the machine as is the SVS case, so this will probably end up a trade-off. Personally, I recommend you seriously consider a chamber vacuum. I owned mine for a year before I bought a sous vide machine. It may be the best investment I have made for my kitchen. Yes they are expensive, but they can be put to more uses that merely bagging product for sous vide. You can store dry ingredients, keep leftovers fresher, store liquids, keep meat and poultry longer, play with compressed fruits and vegetables ahd the list goes on. Yes, many of these can be done with a home machine, but if you are investing for the long run and the future the chamber machines are likely a good way to go. Maybe using the chamber vacuum to seal 'doggie bag' contents for guests would work-I don't know if anyone has thought to implement that?

Have you looked at the Kor One water bottles? Both stylish and pretty decent ergonomics. The top is hinged and flips open easily. Also the opening is large enough that ice cubes can be put into it. They say it is made with BPA-free Tritan. Kor's website gives a fairly convincing argument about the Kor products.

Nathan What a lovely experience you gave your guests. I had read Katy McLaughlin's WSJ articles yesterday and found them most enjoyable to read...almost like being there. I especially enjoyed her run down of each of the 30 courses. When my copy of Modernist Cuisine arrives, I hope to be able to attempt some of the dishes you presented and others like such as those Chris and Nickrey offered in this topic. A quick question, if I may? I am intrigued by the 'pea butter' and would like to attempt it at some time. I know one of your pieces of equipment is the refrigerated centrifuge. While I am never one to shy from my tendency to overbuy equipment for my kitchen, I do not need to make production scale quantities. In researching other centrifuges besides the Sorvall you have in your kitchen, I find they have what seem to be small vessels, probably not not a good size for preparing something for four to six people. Do you recommend certain specs for such machines or do I need to scale up? Further, I want a machine that is safe and won't disintegrate when spun up. One last question, what is your opinion of hand-held rotor-stator homogenizers? What stator size is most useful?

There is also a CIA Book of Soups and a New Book of Soups. One take from the earlier book which I enjoyed was they didn't cringe in horror at the thought of using canned stock. While they recommended homemade stock, they recognized that in today's world homemaking stock was not always a possibility for many people. I might imagine any vegetable which can be grilled, braised or roasted will be an excellent start to your cream soup efforts. The other weekend, I had fun and experimented in adding different types of roasted apples and pears to a butternut squash soup. One other thought. On Martha radio on XM/Sirius they were discussing soups the other day and recommended using unsweetened condensed milk instead of heavy cream. Interesting...

The advent of computers and the internet has allowed groups of common interest to gather such as we do here. Over the last decades there has been an explosion of books on all subjects, given technology's gift of making research, printing and communication more affordable. When magazines were limited in number, we looked forward to when titles like Look and Life were some of the few delivered by the postman to our homes, while today racks are full of specialized titles. There has been a vast increase in the number of subject titles and books on every subject whether common or rare. What I think this guy has done is focus on an area of popular interest to sensationalize the edges for his article. I might imagine if one did similar research on travel books and magazines or automotive ones or home decor subjects, that you could find extremes and quotes which might paint those readers as being not caring or outside of the 'norms'. One could pull quotes from articles about trekking a trail in a remote jungle to observe an indigenous tribe or test driving Bugatti's or looking at photos of vacation homes in some exotic locale to determine that everyone who travels or drives a car or buys a home is moving toward fanatic behavior. Bottom line, he made a buck by writing the article whether he believes what he says or not.

Something else to factor into your meal and sides is whether you are offering a mint sauce as well. I cook lamb often and find my preference is a mint sauce in the traditional English style rather than the ubiquitous green jelly! Whole Foods has an apple mint jelly which is outstanding, though. It is a redish color and flavors well with lamb.

Chris What about aspic?

I concur that lower and slower will deliver a better product via braising. May I also ask if you had an oven thermometer to make certain your '350' oven was '350'...perhaps, you were running a bit hotter and accelerated the drying out of the beef shanks.

Chris Amirault You have hit exactly on the point as to why I am so looking forward to when Modernist Cuisine ships. It is taking the nuggets of their research, ideas and tips, then doing work arounds and modifications according to what we each have in our respective kitchens. While many will and can follow the recipes or instructions step by step, I imagine it will also free the rest of us to improve what we currently do by exposing us to better approaches to solve a problem or challenge. If nothing else, helping each of us think out issues to get to our desired results may be the most significant contribution. Your dish, Nickrey's and Chris Hennes' all sounded wonderful. Thank each of you for sharing.

Thank you for your comment. Yes, I realize this is the definitive book and certainly the reason I am looking forward to my copy being shipped. As I have stated before and under other headings, I personally want to thank Nathan and each member of his staff for all their hard work. I also appreciate his investment in the research, machines, equipment and building that has allowed this to happen. He is a most generous individual to give of his time, energy and money to make all this possible. Those of us who enjoy cooking whether at home or those who make a living by cooking have been bettered by Nathan's involvement. Nathan may have heralded a new golden age of cuisine.

Within the book that you have been able to see thus far, does Nathan indicate how large of a centrifuge one needs to replicate some of the dishes? I know Nathan's kitchen has a Sorvall refrigerated centrifuge (as discussed by Popular Science), but for smaller applications and batches are the vessels of smaller machines feasible and is refrigeration necessary? Also, have what have you learned about chamber vacuums and what guidance to they give for their use in the kitchen?

Nathan That was an interesting photo tour of your your facilities, thank you for allowing them access. I look forward to when my copy of Modernist Cuisine arrives. Several years ago, the New York Times wrote an article about you and what was contained in your kithcen at that time. It inspired and encouraged me to buy a PacoJet, which subsequently hooked me on buying many other pieces of specialized equipment! This latest gallery helps me inventory what equipment you have that I also have in my kitchen and those items I still need to add! I may skip the Okomoto, the Omax and the mosquitoes! Seriously, I am most anxious to get my copy of your book so I can get the full potential from the equipment I do have and to learn the techniques you describe. Again, thank you for what you have done.

Further and as you probably have read in the manual, the first setting is vacuum percentage (which can also be set to adjust for a longer vacuum pull), the second is used for injecting gases and the third is the time necessary to seal the bag. I had been using 2.4 seconds for sealing, but have dialed back to 1.8 seconds since the longer time caused the seal and cutting to overheat the plastic and potentially allow air into a bag. Make certain your bags are not covering the small hole at the rear where air is pulled from the chamber as this will interfere. One last suggestion is that if there is too much moisture or humidity being pulled from what you are sealing, this sometimes causes difficuly in reaching the desired vacuum level.

I had this occur one time. I both cleaned (with warm water) the seal around the lucite top and made certain the top seated itself in a flat manner on the metal top of the machine. Unless it is against the metal, you will not be able to pull a vacuum. The silicone seal of the top must be in contact all around.

Michel Bras has a limited edition of knives sold through Williams-Sonoma. They are supposedly very, very sharp. One of the specialists selling the knives in the Chicago store tells the story (allegorical or not) that a customer was handling one, passed it back without caution to an employee and the employee suffered a severe cut. Immediately the employee went to see a physician and the wound was stitched and dressed. Soon after, the doctor came to the store and bought a set...as the story was related, the doctor said the knife cut as well or better than a scalpel and the employee wound was easily repaired because of the sharpness.

This may relate to a larger thought and that is whether restaurants in hotels have their own following, especially in secondary and tertiary markets. There is seemingly an aversion for many that when selecting a restaurant one does not generally go to a restaurant domiciled in a hotel. While there are many fine examples (and the 1913 Room has always been excellent), many believe they are run for overnight guest convenience and since the hotels have major kitchen investments for the banquet/wedding/room service business this is a way to further amortize expenses and increase kitchen use. This is somewhat like McDonalds...by finding breakfast menu items they increased operator returns by extending hours for their kitchens that sat idle during the time block. The hotels need revenue to pay their mortgage and taxes, whether their own restaurant is open or the space is leased to a chain-it becomes a matter of return and yield.

Nolnacs, yours is a terrific restoration. It might have been made at Berkel's LaPorte, IN factory. The nickname for the local high school teams to this day is 'The Slicers'.

As for sugar in the sauce, I find this to be a nice addition. Perhaps because our family was generationally a sugar on fresh tomatoes and stewed tomatoes family instead of salt on tomatoes, it was natural that I gravitated to adding sugar to my sauce experiments. Also Paul, I noted you brown your meat in a separate pan. I sauté my onions in the pan, then brown my meat in the same pan to which I eventually add the jarred sauces, tomatoes, spices and paste. My instinct, perhaps misguided, is that the meat flavors stay in the pan giving a even more flavorful sauce. I will however drain or spoon off the majority of excess liquids and fats before adding the jar sauce. While I use ground beef for the most part, I have been experimenting with adding pork, lamb and ground veal with one of these other meat types now generally finding its way into my pan. Adding short rib meat or back ribs or browned bones certainly gives pause for thought!

Has anyone tried to do veal hearts or lamb hearts sous vide? Any recommendations or ideas as to how to prepare and how long to cook? Braising seems to be the conventional way and given the leaness, I might imagine sous vide would be an even better choice.

My father has always enjoyed the Yan shows on PBS. Martin Yan was at a booth at the National Restaurant Association show a couple years ago giving a demonstration for a vendor. After his '15 minutes', he stayed to converse with those who had gathered around the booth to watch him cook. Both in his presentation and after, he was genuine, friendly and helpful. I asked for an autograph for my father and he happily reached into his briefcase, extracted a photo and personalized the inscription without hesitation. The photo still sits on my father's desk. I certainly appreciate his being so nice and have told this story countless times. Not every chef I have met has equaled this standard. Thank you Chef Yan!

A couple things you want to consider - 1) Is the size and especially the depth of the chamber adequate for the product and items you wish to sous vide? 2) You may want to research a vacuum machine that has an oil pump rather than a rotary pump for life and durability 3) Is the width of the seal bar equal to the size bags you intend to use? 4) Some people believe a digital read-out is preferable to an analog guage Good luck in your decision!

Beyond the MVS31 calibration, you may also want to put a thermometer in the refrigerator to ascertain you have the proper temps for storage. Also, you may want to consider deep cleaning the chamber interior and the white volume plates on a more regular basis. I have a seal bar with a 4mm seal and a cutting wire. From what I recall, there are double seal versions of the bar. Also, I believe they recommend having the sealing go on for about 2.4 seconds when you first have the machine but that later after you have used the machine for a bit that the time can be reduced. Apparently using longer times may cause residue and effect the quality of the seal. Also, they sell new teflon tape and wire if yours need replacement, or you can buy a new bar. Another debate is whether to wash and dry proteins and vegetables before sealing for storage. I gather thoughts are evenly split about if this causes fewer contaminations or promotes additional ones. Also, I would guess you are bringing home grocery items and then immediately sealing them for storage and not exposing them to items all ready in your refrigerator.