I just was given the ebook [PDF] version of Modernist Cuisine as an early Christmas/late birthday present by my brother … wow. Just wow.
I can do some of it, I have a sous vide, the high end stick blender, the food processor, the whip-it, the food dehydrator and know where to get and how to handle liquid nitrogen [yay, an industrial background is actually useful for me now:p] so I think I am actually going to try some of the stuff that looks interesting.
I will say that whatever I make may not look as photogenic, but will be made correctly and taste right if nothing else. I do know that when we move to our retirement home, we are putting in a seriously good kitchen because both of us absolutely love to cook. We may end up with a house that is 2 bedrooms, a computer room, a bath and a half and a combination kitchen greatroom/livingroom that is pretty much kitchen with a sofa and tv at one end. 
[actually, the house I had on Atlantic Ave in Va Beach had almost the ideal ‘public space’ - the house had been gutted, and what had been the stairs up to the original bedrooms was part of a central hallway, and had been removed and what had been the original stairwell got turned into a large pantry, so the kitchen and original livingroom were one really big L shaped room with a bedroom off it, and then the original living room was the other half of the front part of the downstairs. That little bottom part of the L made the perfect living room nook, with the long part of the L being a giant eat in kitchen. Only thing I would do is rip out the damned trash compactor and replace it with an ice maker.