Do you burn your fingers trying to open the top of a soft-boiled egg?  Do pieces of eggshell drop into your gooey egg and need to be fished out?  Do you sometimes battle with hard-boiled eggs that just refuse to shed their shells (even after being soaked in cold water)?  Have you assumed that getting eggs in condition to eat would be a lifelong challenge, like getting your children to take your advice? Read on. Help may be on the way.

“If I could pick only one new cooking method out of this entire book for you to try, sous vide would be it, hands down.” 

Strong words from Jeff Potter in his indispensable Cooking for Geeks.  If you're unfamiliar with the term “sous vide” (French for “under vacuum” and pronounced “Sue Veed”), you're far from alone; because the process involves a fair amount of time and some specialized equipment, its popularity in the home has been limited since its introduction to the culinary world in the 1970's.  But its use in many high-end gourmet restaurants and the publicity given to its strong advocates like Douglas Baldwin, author of Sous Vide for the Home Cook, have increased its visibility to the point where it bears some scrutiny, so let's start with the basic question...