weinoo

Have at it. The Cuisinart Steam Oven? Sous Vide Supreme? Searzall? Anova? iPhone? Which is the greatest? And why? Or what do you have that you absolutely wouldn't want to live without? Me - I think the CSO is pretty damn great for so many things, that I wouldn't want to live without it.

A couple of cool points you make here, Norm. But the one that I catch onto immediately is about technology. As I said before, Ioved the Bosch range I had; really worked well for me for 10+ years...my main gripe with the new prosumer class is the 5 burners...and the technology. Because, in my mind, if anything's gonna break or go bad, it's a circuit board that's surrounded by high heat and moisture. That said, I think a range is a pretty personal choice, so you go with what you like.

Don't forget Bryant Park, Madison Square Park, the High Line (covered with flowers), Hudson River Greenway, Union Square Park, etc. etc. As a matter of fact, Significant Eater and I took a rather long walk this past Saturday; we stopped and sat for a while in Jefferson Market Garden. Place was swarming with bees gathering.

I have trouble replacing batteries in a remote control.

Nice product!

For years, and years, and years, I've cooked in an NYC apartment with no vent hood. Fortunately, my kitchens have always had windows - but they're far from the same thing as a proper hood. Even the hood we're getting for our new range isn't the best or the most recommended; but I figure it's better than what I've had for decades! As far as "make-up air" goes, I think that's really an issue in newer homes with much better insulation than in the past. Or whatever code might be. By the way, I learned a lot about hoods from a few places on the web: http://www.kitchenhoods.ca/shop/ http://www.imperialhoods.com/Official_Site http://www.futurofuturo.com/common-installation-mistakes-faq There's a lot more, for sure.

In the midst (well, the beginning) of a full gut kitchen renovation, I have done a fair amount of research on appliances. One of the kicks I got out of researching ranges is how much attention is paid to burner BTUs. From salespeople to literature, how high can they go?! Certainly it's interesting that not as much attention is paid to ventilation, which is a huge thing in my book. If you're cooking with 4 18,000 BTU burners cranked up all the way, you better be venting some major CFMs, don't you think? As one who cooks a fair amount at home, I often wonder - who the hell needs all these BTUs for home cooking? Sure, sure, I get it - to wok cook properly, crank it up to 80K. But do it outside. For me, I gotta think 15K BTU burners are plenty. And now that I found out I can do some interesting things in our NYC apartment vis-a-vis ventilation, I'm thrilled.

The sinks in this apartment building/complex are all porcelain coated cast iron - as are the bath tubs. Must weigh a ton, and to remove them, I believe my contractors will use a sledgehammer to break them into more tossable pieces. It does have a built-in drain board, which I hope to replicate in one way or another on my new countertop - gonna try to have drain groves cut into it.

He might've been a scummy Met, but he was a tough baseball player!

Understatement of the decade. Though I was always tired of the old one as well.

I've budgeted for it to be a nightmare.

Yes, the toggle! Many of the faucets I looked at don't lock in the spray mode, and I really wanted one that did. I also like the laminar flow, which in non-aerated. One of the cons I'd read about concerning the high faucet is that they splash. The deep sink, plus the theory that the spout is directly over the drain, should contain that. Faucet prices are indeed insane and are nowhere close to what I budgeted for. When you add up the kitchen sink, the bathroom lavatory (more expensive than the kitchen sink), and the shower "system" (more expensive than either), it's crazy. But other things (wine cooler, fridge, d/w) are actually less expensive than what I budgeted for, so I don't feel too bad. The real cost is actually the contractor! But I know their work, and it's super quality. They do lots of apartments in our buildings, and I've seen 2 recent projects that came out beautifully.

The faucet is going to be a Hangrohe Talis S, for a number of reasons. Not too high, but high enough. I like it's lines and that it has a toggle spray diverter. And the sink is a Franke, 10" deep, because we don't have a ton of room to go very wide.

(Pre) Yahrtzeit. Someone actually bought those old IKEA cabinets, as well as the range and dishwasher...felt good not having them become landfill. I think Cossacks bathed in that sink. It's starting.

I tasted through 5 or 6 stands at the Union Square greenmarket the other day, before finding tomatoes I felt were worthy.

The BAT. Bacon, avocado (smushed onto the toast in lieu of mayonnaise), and beautiful tomato on whole wheat sourdough toast.

Super fresh Alaskan king salmon steaks, simply salted for an hour or two and pan cooked. Served with a red potato salad, corn, and a tomato/avocado salad.

You think that's weird??!! Last week, I brought my own ice to a cocktail party! (along with my own PB & J canapes).

I would just roast it.

What if you just call it polenta?

Pasta duo. Pesto with green beans and potatoes. Red sauce with sausage and basil. Same pasta for both because I'm lazy!

I wonder if 350 - 375 would give you even better results?

Spaghetti with swordfish, tomatoes, olives, capers, onion, and garlic.

Open-faced breakfast sandwiches on whole grain toast, with Duke's mayo. And a bit of that potato/cucumber salad. Need to be more careful transferring the thinly sliced egg to the bread!

Good farmer's market haul... Black sea bass (1.3 lbs.) with dill, onions, lemon, and olive oil. Steam roasted at 400°F for 15 minutes. Delicious. Served with corn off the cob, sauteéd with red onions and cherry tomatoes. And house-made giardiniera. And potato/cucumber salad (sour cream dressing),