Hey Nick,

Can you elaborate on the bread? What kind of bread/rolls?

Are you still using the 2 different butters, the goat and the cow butters I believe...

The bread will vary from week to week depending on the menu. So far they have done everything from "pretzels" to flat breads, to whole loaves of wheat flavored with paprika, etc. The idea is to make breads that flavor well and have complimentary textures to the course(s) they are paired.

Yes, the butters remain, but we will likely introduce other spreads as well.

I don't have liquid nitrogen sitting in my pantry or an anti-griddle or thermal circulating bath.

The first time Grant tried using the "anti-griddle" concept was in my house on the back of a stainless steel spatula that was resting on dry ice. It worked just fine. Obviously, that method cannot be used to prepare 90 dishes per night at a restaurant, but it would be effectively the same at home.

Similarly, most sous-vide cooking can be accomplished quite well with plastic wrap, a few rubber bands, a large pot of water on the stove, and a poulder thermometer. This is how I poach fish, poultry, and meat at home, and again, it works quite well.

The gadgets and gizmos that get the press are not the "heart" of any of the recipes that will be presented in the Alinea cookbook. Though novel approaches to cooking abound, all of them can be created using decidedly low tech methods. They do, however, require care and time. But that is true of any detailed recipe.


In order to make sure it is the case that the recipes are clearly written and are indeed makable by the adventurous home cook, we have enlisted about 35 amateur enthusiasts to test the recipes prior to publication. The results of their efforts, good and bad, will be posted on our cookbook website.


((required disclaimer: I am the co-owner of Alinea))