///M5

Outside of portraits I rarely see the 50mm end of it.

And for me the 17-55 makes up 99% of what I shoot.

24-70 is FF 17-55 To me it depends on your body. If it is crop, you need the 17 as 24 will make some indoor stuff impossible.

The only other method I'd use is hand calculations. Grab Dickison's book, it's worth it. Buy an old version for cheap The math hasn't changed.

Download WinISD. You'll learn a crapton in the process. Before trying to enter the Zcon though Google how as it is really critical of rounding "errors". In quotes as they aren't all that significant, but WinISD will see them as wrong.

I'm about to order some 305 35 24 Nitto 420's myself

"Goto" lenses in everyone's bag should be (crop sizes listed): 17-55 2.8 50 1.4 (1.2 is even better) 70-200 2x extender If you start with those you are golden. Matt would start with the 70-200, I'd start with the 17-55. He shoots headshots and portraits and I shoot things. After that list, a 11-16 2.8 would be a good addition. Beyond there you are looking at more primes. Obviously all of the numbers are "flexible" I used the Canon ones.

For instance, 2 Christmas's ago I made a 17 course meal for 14 people in 4 hours. I did do about 6 hours of prep probably. These courses weren't one step dishes either. All pretty much required a sauce, a special plate etc. Most people would have a hard time finishing two of the courses in the same period of time.

I'd be glad to help...but it is hard for me to dumb down things. I don't mean that in a mental way, but solely physical. ie, if a dish that I do the prep work on for 15 minutes and it takes you 2 hours will you still make it? Knife skills are the single most critical thing to learn in the kitchen. My friends regularly ask for a cooking class and I pretty much require they go to a knife skills class first, otherwise we spend all the time in teh world on prep and never get to cooking. Mies en place is the first and always followed rule in cooking. If it takes forever to get there though you will get frustrated.

1st time for either my 5 or 3 year old. 3 year old watched, didn't get any as he had real food. Both will have birthdays in May too so they aren't young for their age

There is one really close to my house. Got my once in 5 year mistake over.

He is only 34 lbs or something to put it in perspective

So I cooked Tanner dinner and didn't have time or feel like cooking for the rest of us. Had I been better about getting my fish thawed we would have eaten the same things. He dug the m&C so much I saved the rest for him for later. Had 3 servings and 1.5oz of fish. Not bad for a first meal.

It would also benefit MAJORLY from an immersion circulator for reheating

mac & cheese with homemade noodles is the bomb. I also cheat and basically use Zingerman's Roadhouses recipe albeit with random and copious substitutions

How did that happen? I have a piece of Arctic Char that I was going to make into teriyaki (a real one not some jarred garbage ) and it didn't defrost. To make things worse, Tanner looked at me at 4pm and said, "Daddy, I want to eat dinner NOW!!!". Considering he hasn't had a meal since his surgery and just things like juice, ice cream, yogurt, apple sauce, gatorade, I was ecstatic to offer him whatever. He asked for Fish (we had halibut last night), mac & cheese and a banana.

I gave away my m&p. Couldn't find any use for it. I do have a spice grinder & a suribachi though. The latter being a mortar with some teeth. Not sure what that would do in an Aoili, may help for what you do as the garlic would breakdown way faster. Of course once I show you how with a knife you'll do it there.

I would love to see. I do break the garlic down with a knife first. Just rough chop though and then let the salt and pestle finish the mush. You are going to cry. Then laugh. Then smile.

Double Whopper with cheese and some chicken fries.

Speaking of shitty stomach. I ate Burger King tonight. Holy FUCKING GROSS!

I just started on my second nigroni?You did bite the bitters Stomach has been shitty. Bitter helps. Sorry.

I do keep stuff frozen longer than the FDA will recommend. I also have a freezer with no defrost setting, which of course is the DUMBEST feature EVER added to ANY appliance.

It isn't that I am scared of food, just very scared of mishandled food.

Hell, I ate raw chicken in Japan.

Gets food poisoning at Friday's