Shaun- Nope, no smoke alarms, I used the LeCreuset grilling skillet and a temp of 500degrees. It splattered for sure, but no big mess. Crashed potatoes are from Pioneer Woman's blog. DH loves them. Here's my rendition: I use a nice fist-sized red potato, nuke it for about 4 minutes, then let it cool for a few minutes. Afterwards take a fork and smash one side of it down with a fork (only on one side, not as much as her photo). Then I drizzle garlic EVOO, sprinkle salt, pepper and rosemary. Rebake for about 10 minutes at a high heat. It makes a soft, potato with flavor and a bit of crunch! Here is a link that might be useful: Pioneer Woman's crash potatoes

gma_j, I see now you were referring to setting the probe temperature. I haven't used my Miele probe; I use the speed oven for smaller things, where a probe is less useful. But it really does snap in place with a loud click; so if yours didn't, that could be the problem. Larger things generally go into my E'lux oven; that probe works fine. The speed oven pre-heats quickly, so if something fits its faster to cook it there. Its useful for re-heating (use MasterChef, if you know the weight), as well as stuff like baked potatoes (in combination mode), and for roasting, braising, or convection baking small portions. I've rarely used defrost, or broil (except to finish browning something like ribs). The Miele's manuals leave much to be desired. While we wait for mojavean or someone smart to write a decent Miele speed oven cookbook, a variety of recipes on the Miele site can get you started on some dishes (see link). Here is a link that might be useful: Miele recipies

A little clarification might be in order. This section of meat in the cow is one of the main divisions when cutting meat. Therefore it is known as a primal cut. When it is cut as a roast (as opposed to steaks) it is considered a Prime roast. There is confusion and a lot of debate on the matter because prime is also the highest grading given to meats that meet a certain criteria of quality. But Prime rib is such an accepted term for the cut, even if it does not meet prime grading standards, the USDA gives it a pass and doesn't get anal about the title. You can purchase prime graded roasts at top dollar- most grocery outlets sell the lesser grade "choice". Your actual question though about middle cut is an interesting one and hard to track down. There are some theories that I'll toss out to throw around. An old meat cutter's term for this setion of meat (ribs 6 through 12) is "middle meat". It could be that the store was simply being redundant and selling the idea of middle as being pretty good stuff. After all there is center cut this and eye of that. Another idea is that some stores call the second cut or slightly less quality Chuck side of the full 16 pound rib, the center cut. It's a rarely used term but maybe that's where the middle cut term comes from. Below is a brief description of first cut and second cut. First Cut Rib Roast An extremely tender and flavorful roast, First Cut Rib Roast consists of ribs 9-12 from the loin end of the cow. First Cut Rib Roast may also be called Prime Rib, Loin End, or Prime Rib Small End. Not surprisingly, this is one of the most expensive cuts suitable for a beef roast. Second Cut Rib Roast Also known as a Large End Rib Roast, the Second Cut Rib Roast is cut from ribs 6-9, closer to the chuck area of the cow. As a result, this beef roast is slightly fattier and slightly less tender than the First Cut Rib Roast. It remains, however, an excellent choice for cooking a beef roast. It is also a rather pricey cut of beef, though slightly less expensive than a First Cut Rib Roast. Michaelp

A similar method to the CI and Serious Eats methods was posted on Cooking for Engineers in 2005 using a sear first,then roast at 200 degree method. They also suggested taking the roast out of the refrigerator several hours before cooking so that it starts near room temperature and I think this is an important step. I've used this method a lot - always with success. I would definitely suggest the roast first then sear approach both because it is easier and also because if your roast is large enough it may brown sufficiently during the roasting and you might not need to sear at all. One final point - if you want your roast to end up around 125 degrees you will need to take it out at a lower temperature, somewhere around 120-122 degrees because it will go up as it rests. Go for it! It will be delicious. Lee