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I got some of the tramontinas back in January based on the CI reviews. They had listed the lack of induction support and small pan size as drawbacks, which tramontina had remedied by the time I got my pans. I loved them so much I went back and bought a large 12-quart stock pot and some other smaller filler pans. I have some all-clad fry pans as well.

My experience mirror's Kenji's: they seem to be indistinguishable from the all-clads except in two respects:

1: the all-clads seem to be slightly more "stainless", the tramontinas acquire that stainless cloudy film a little easier, though that's completely anecdotal.

2: the handles on the tramontinas are much more comfortable with a full, heavy pan.

Considering I bought the mixed set, some filler sauce pans, and a large 12-quart stock pot for the price of a single 12-quart all-clad stock pot, I'm pretty damn happy. I still love my all-clads, and we'll see who lasts 30 years, but considering you could buy 3-5 tramontinas for the price...

I inherited a Kitchen-Aide burr-grinder a few months back. It works amazingly well for pepper, one flick of the switch on and off and you get perfectly cracked pepper in a copious amount which makes prepping large hunks of meat much more pleasant.

It's not really suited for anything larger than a coffee bean though, so I still use a little blade grinder for other spices.

It seems a bit decadent to have a giant appliance just to use for one thing, but it was free.

I tasted a few of the new Micro Distilleries at a tasting event a few months ago, I was really, really impressed with the quality of the whiskey they are producing.

The distillers themselves are particularly excited about their barrel regimens, a few of them remarked that the scotch distilleries had slacked off with their barrel selection, and that experimentation with different types, ages, coopers etc. was yielding spectacular results.

It's an exciting time for whisky in the US. Hopefully the nanny state doesn't hinder the blossoming of this new industry too much.

I've never been a tea partier, but I'd be willing to join in on a whisky rebellion :-)

Another option which I've never used, simply because it's a hassle, is sending your knives back to the manufacturer, some, like Kershaw/Shun will sharpen your knives for free (you have to pay postage).

@Teachertalk if you're predominantly doing indirect grilling, then perhaps you should look into a smoker with a side-firebox. Even if you're not truly smoking food, those are great for indirect grilling, just make sure you get one with good thick metal (at least 1/8th inch you're going to have to spend at least $200, probably more as most of the under $200 ones have gone really thin), and you want one with a grill that goes inside the firebox.

That allows you to sear in the firebox and then move your meat to the larger chamber to finish off with a nice medium heat (or the other way around, if that's your style).

On the cheap end, Home Depot usually carries a 500-ish square inch rectangular grill for around $100, depending on the season and year. They change manufacturers a lot, but they're cheap, big grills for not a lot of money. That's what I have right now as I had to get rid of my smoker (too big).

I like the Yamazaki 12 and love the 18. They're more of a highland/speyside style, think one of the Macallan fine oak bottlings or Glenlivet. So if you're going for peaty or bold, they're probably not your style. Drinking Uigeadail before the Yamazaki would be like drinking a big, tannic Cab before tasting a light, crisp sauv blanc. It's not really a fair test, and not because the cab is "better".

I wasn't terribly impressed with the Hibiki.

Spitting isn't just to avoid getting drunk, your palate will be numbed and unreliable far before you consider yourself drunk. If you're out to have a good time, swallow. If you're out to taste some wine and you care about being able to assess the 10th or 20th wine, then spitting is a must.

If you're worried about looking like a jackass, don't be, the jackasses are the people who show up in a party bus.

IMO, a good stock pot can work just as good if not better than a dutch oven. Chef's illustrated liked the All-Clads, which are nearly as expensive as the Le Creuset, but you can use them as stock pots too.

Walmart.com, of all places, carries a line of Brazilian/Chinese All-Clad clones (Chef's illustrated again gives them high marks) from Tramontina that are indistinguishable from my All-Clads except in two respects: they're 1/5th the price and have more comfortable handles. After reading reviews all around the web gushing about them, I tried them out, and then went back and filled out the rest of my kitchen. I might die of lead poisoning, but the pans are so great and so cheap I feel like writing a thank you letter to the child that made them.

The 12-quart stock pot works great as a huge dutch oven:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Tramontina-12-Qt.-18-10-TriPly-Clad-Stainless-Steel-Stockpot-80116-517/5716479

dilemma returns
whether to let linger, or
to open and peek

Street dogs.

My grandmother would do something similar, but in reverse: she would heat the oven to 500 degrees, put the roast in for 10 minutes, then turn the oven off and lock the door. No peeking, no more heat, nothing. An hour later, you'd pull out a perfectly cooked prime rib. Your method seems much more foolproof, however, as hers was likely dependent on the heat retention of her particular oven (and cast iron pan).

bagel and lox.