I like both ideas and will participate when I can! I already like your theme ideas. I don't know if this is a good idea but had thoughts about picking a chef - say Julia and then everybody makes something from that chef - either it is discussed before hand or it is a surprise to see what people made? .... I dunno ... LOL

dreamgarden, No, DH's bank is not on the list. They muddled through '08 with a year end profit. DH's bank puts soundess & safety first on the 'ole Mission Statement. :) Also, no layoffs nor any planned. They're actually a bit short-handed because of the jump in refi applications the past month, or so. /tricia

I suppose what is most important about cooking is subjective. I've eaten plenty a dish that I've found delicious even if over or undercooked, etc. but I've never walked away from dinner thinking, "Wow, that was a great meal. The flavors were off, but it was cooked to perfection." To me a good cook will successfully develop or alter a recipe to "make it their own," perhaps adjusting for the taste of the ingredients. A teaspoon of curry powder from Penzey's is not going to taste like a teaspoon of McCormick's curry powder. A good cook will adjust other flavors to acheive one that they are happy with. How to best cook cook something from a temperature perspective is a matter of trial and error, and a good cook eventually gets a knack for it. There are different "best methods" for acheiving a desired end result, depending on what that desired result is. Yes, you can take a tough cut of meat, sous vide it for an extended period of time and end end up with a tender, medium rare bite. But maybe that's not what's desired all the time? We all know that our friends Ann and Annie like their steaks still moo-ing, but they will both jump in and tell you how they like to make their long-simmered, fully cooked pot roast or beef stew. Yes, how THEY like it. There's no argument that sous vide eliminates certain variables in cooking, once optimal time and temperature is determined. But to me it's no magic wand, any more than that teaspoon was for measuring the curry powder. "I can cook a piece of beef to medium-rare in a bag and sear it and serve it to you and you’re going to think it’s great. But can I go to a barbecue down the street in the park and barbecue a steak? Can I really cook? Do I know how to cook a piece of meat?" - Timothy Hollingsworth, Chef de Cuisine, The French Laundry Here is a link that might be useful: More of his thoughts on modernist cuisine

There is a Five Guys here in town right next to where I usually get my hair cut, that people had been raving about. Twice while trying to kill time until the hair cut, I went into Five Guys, waited in line for about 5 minutes, and got so turned off by the slow line, the peanut shells littering the grease-slickened floor, and the sign atop the menu declaring "All of our burgers are cooked to well-done" that I ended up leaving without ordering anything. A third time I was determined to try the food, and was not at all impressed. The burger made up for the fact that it was overcooked by being very greasy, the bun was soggy and flavorless, the lettuce was wilted from being steamed while the burger was wrapped in foil. The fries were far, far too many, and way too salty, and were mushy and greasy, and they went from too hot to eat, to too cold and greasy, seemingly without ever passing through the "just right" temperature. I went to a local hot-dog restaurant that seemed to be aiming for "like Five Guys, but with hot dogs instead of burgers" and their fries were some of the best I'd ever had. Maybe that's how Five Guys was when it first started out, and its merely that the local franchisee is not doing such a great job, but I'll certainly not be back.