cdh

I look at the Codlo as a pretty but expensive one-sided Ranco controller... My immediate reaction would be to use it on the cold side, for turning a chest freezer into a tightly controlled fridge for aging cheeses and charcuterie or keeping beer fermentations in the temp band you want them at.

I like the insulated cover idea. Essentially an extension of the countertop on top with some polystyrene or such underneath that covers the SV portion of the sink and extends the workspace over top of it..

With all of the stick-format immersion circulators coming out, the next hurdle to be jumped is the container. I would love to see an insulated kitchen sink for that purpose. Plug the drain, fill it with hot-ish tap water, insert circulator and let it stabilize at your desired temp, cook away. When done, pull the plug and do the dishes. A deep double sink with insulation and a circulator mounting bar in one half would be a fantastic addition to a kitchen. I wonder if a local welding shop could add the mounting bar to a stock stainless sink, and duct taping Owen-Corning's finiest pink stuff to the underside would handle the insulation side of things.

While we have Lukas here, a couple of questions about the project going forward: Since the body is going to be cast plastic, how much abuse can it take? e.g if it is standing on a countertop and falls over, is the housing likely to crack? If so, are housing parts going to be made available to replace cracked parts?

I've jumped in as a backer. The Anova gave this a good run for its money, but after a few days of cogitation two things nagged at the back of my mind: touchscreens and highly warm humid environments just scream malfunction to me, and the Anova looks like it can't stand up on its own, which will make it a drawer resident rather than sitting on the counter. I think we've been presented with a pair of winners here. Best successes to both projects.

Ha. It's kickstarter competitor the Sansaire is pushing prices down. Good that. I wish them both luck.

This looks fantastic. I think I'm in.

I've got a lab surplus 5L water bath with magnetic stirrer underneath and .1C resolution digital controls . Very rare thing, Armalab brand from Bethesda MD, so probably a short-lived gov't contractor. Does fine for steaks and seafood and such, but whole poultry would never work. Since the circulation is by magnetic spinner rather than pump, the volume is not something I could expand.

Ooooh... looks spiffy. Upgrading from 5L to 5+ G would be a great increase in capacity for me...

OK... not weighing in on fish preferences, but I am interested to hear that pike mackerel impressed you so much. I tried it once, and found it annoyingly riddled with little bones, and an unexciting fishy oily mackerel sort of thing. Maybe I went too overboard with a soy/vinegar marinade to de-fishy it...

Somebody recently told me about a fond cocktail memory of a Rum Truffle cocktail that had truffle salt at the bottom of the glass... as you sip your way down the drink, the salt and aromatics would become more and more obvious. Unfortunately, the bar that had made it removed it from the menu and couldn't replicate it for me. But it is an interesting idea.

Good question. He's sorta fallen off the face of the earth lately. Wonder if he's landed something that is occupying all of his time.

There is a very fine line between undercooked enough to affect my digestion and just perfect. Probably a little on the medium side of medium rare. Too far into medium and the overly denatured proteins develop texture I don't want... too far into rare and my guts are gurgling all night and Alka-Seltzer is my nightcap.

I'm a fan of the pretty red dried-fruit tisanes around Christmas... As for actual teas, I'm a fan of the richer puehrs, yunnans and assams when the weather is on my mind... though when tea is on my mind rather than the weather, I'll throw some pouching leaves into the pot and resteep them all day.

What exactly do you mean by "All-Country"? Are you asking for an imagined ideal recipe for Purina Redneck Chow?

Agreed, Charlie! Big kudos to Katie for planning and executing a great weekend of showcasing Philadelphia's tastiness~! And thanks to Holly for the able documentation of the goodies.

Absolutely fantastic meal last night! Great turnout of old and new faces, and sublime cooking by Zahav's magical kitchen. How they acheived the tenderness in the duck hearts will remain a wonder...

Hmm... Southwark should be within walking range of Zahav... If I set off shortly, I could get there before 8:30 (parking permitting). Other suggestions welcome... I'm not really sure what's worth visiting in that old-city-esque neighborhood now...

Any thoughts of pre-game tastiness in the vicinity of Zahav, or are we just gathering there at 9:15?

The Goshenhoppens aren't Amish, but they are a more germanic brand of PA dutch... the Amish are all Swiss, after all... these are more Palatinates. You're not going to get black hats and buggys. Still a good and worthwhile event... ping me when you're going we can meet up... my dad wants to pick the brains of some of the historians who man booths there about some ancestors of ours who lived hereabouts in the 1730s.

Great list, Holly! Let's not forget Rangoon is a Philly gem as well. Good Burmese is not something you can find in most cities.

I think I'm out for the Saturday...

You look like you're getting there! Hope Saturday morning proves it on your taste buds. Looking at this reminds me that I need to do some roasting.

For the sake of specificity on the attendance, definitely count me in for Zahav and for Han. Saturday is up in the air.

Query on the RTM "potluck" thing. 1) were I to bring homebrew, would the RTM have issues with alcohol of outside provenance, 2) are we getting any preferential loading/unloading areas?... the idea of schlepping kegs/cases on a SEPTA train seems well past the not-worth-it threshold... as does the idea of paying $20 to park and having to schlep cases/kegs around center city... I'd imagine others have similar logistical concerns if they're bringing more than a bag of groceries.