The win is doing it automatically. Maybe you use a technique I'm not privy to, but having to cook the potatoes, then cool them, then cook them again isn't a weekday activity for me.

Being able to go 'beep-boop' and having the cycle done for me makes a big difference; I just grab them out of the bag, toss them into a sauté or blender afterwards and I'm done in 5.

One more thing: have you read about the 6-minute risotto? It's up there with the 5-minute abs:

http://blog.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/2010/12/6-minute-r...

I read the IiF article, and maybe I'm just a newbie with sous vide, but I don't get how you parcook the rice. Based on this thread and other articles, I'm guessing you soak the rice in water first, at room temp, and then stick it in a bag in the water bath?

No, you cook the rice at ~150f or so, then cool it, then cook it a second time in boiling stock on a stovetop.

So that first time, the rice is dry? I would not have thought to try that at all.

Actually, in the IiF technique, no: you bundle the rice in cheesecloth and cook it in direct contact with the water (this is one of the rare cases (other than eggs) where you deliberately expose the heating medium to the food).