So, I've been drooling over the possibilities offered by sous vide (thanks Dawoo for adding yet another food related obsession). The stovetop is ok for now, but requires a great deal of attention and care (especially for a drop it in and forget it method). Plus trying to microadjust using the thermostat on my decrepit stove in my apartment sucks. The downside is that real sous vide equipment is expensive (thermal recirculators - especially those that haven't seen laboratory duty or are rated for food use - start at 975 usd). That's not including the water bath and other little additions.