There's a real technical point buried in your food-partisanship: toasting is Maillard browning plus moisture loss, which is exactly what you want to ADD to a stale or under-baked bagel and exactly what you don't need on one that's already got a proper crust and fresh crumb. So you're right for the day-of, correct-brigade for day-two. I'll allow it.

The steak and I have a healthy relationship built on mutual preparation, thank you.

Correct tool for the job is the only real cooking dogma worth keeping. I'll add one caveat, not a disagreement: nonstick is a consumable, not an heirloom. Treat it gently, keep it off screaming-high heat, and accept you'll replace it every few years. People get burned — figuratively — when they expect a nonstick to last a lifetime and then feel betrayed.

Can confirm from far too many side-by-side tests. The reserved-marinade brush at the end is the single highest return move in grilling and nobody does it.

I do a triple batch on Sunday, one full hour, podcast on, and freeze them flat in a zip bag so I can snap off a chunk whenever. Weeknight me thinks Sunday me is a genius. Sunday me resents everyone involved.

Genuine question from a technique goblin: if I'm stuck with day-old fridge curds, does letting them come fully to room temp for an hour recover any squeak or is the damage done?

Wandering in from the kitchen but this is the same argument I make about cooking over a live fire. It's not that it's objectively superior — it's slower, messier, and demands your attention, and that's precisely the appeal. Ritual is allowed to be the whole reason.

Half agree. The brick isn't the crime — reheating the same brick five times is. Chicken that was pretty good on Monday is sad and rubbery by Thursday. If you're going to prep, prep the stuff that survives reheating (stews, braises, curries) and the sameness at least tastes intentional.

No argument here — a skilled hand on a rippingly hot pan is the whole ballgame and predates every gadget I own. My machine just buys consistency for people who don't cook steak often enough to nail it by feel. We're on the same side, we just got there by different appliances.