Sid Post

I have used my 800XL for about 18 months continously. If I wasn't living in an extended stay motel for a long period of time, I probably would never have known how good a toaster oven could be. I routinely cook pork chops, steaks, etc. in mine with the broiler with good results. Hamburgers are easy but, the steaks and other thicker things like chicken thighs need to be put on the middle rack position since they are too thick for the top slot and would touch the cooking element. Frozen pizzas turn out great. The convenction cooking feature cooks quickly and evenly. Be sure to turn the heat down a notch to keep from over browning the cheese and crust. Toast and bread are set and forget things. The darkness control makes optimal browning very easy. Toast, muffins, and bagels are done before coffee is ready even when coffee is started first.

The 99 cent "heart attack" specials from <insert fast food chain here> and tasteless patties from the grocery stores are a thing of the past. The best "pre-made" burger patties I have found come from the Wal-Mart neighborhood market grocery store with the "Angus" brand on them. The meat is pretty good and the flavoring choices are pretty good (garlic, cheddar cheese, ...). The local "In-and-Out" burger is pretty good but, I wanted something more. Reading about various premium burger places, I began thinking about why I couldn't do a better burger at home. I have a great grill and convection oven with a good butcher option no too far away. What ingredients should I try to find? meat - wild game, lamb, beef, bison, or something else? buns - what to look for in a bakery and a bun? cheeses - where to start? vegetable options - what works well? sauces and spreads - hot brown mustard, salad dressings, other? I have been reading various threads about over working patties to create imitation hockey pucks, putting a hole in the center to even out cooking and prevent swelling. What other tips and tricks should I be aware of? Do you have some good recipes or combinations to share? THANKS in Advance! Sid

Welcome Susanne! I think the Netherlands is a great place for an American to settle in. The culture there has so much to offer and the people are so nice, I think anyone would be fortunate to live there. My time was spent up in Enschede near the German border in the North part of the country.

Wow! That looks mighty good. I can't wait to go back to the Netherlands where I can get some really good seafood. With pictures like that, I just might have to go into town and hop on SouthWest for a quick flight out to Las Vegas where I can get some good fresh treats from the sea.

I hope your sugery is uneventful and that you have a swift recovery. Thoughts and prayers headed your way from Arizona, USA.

It sounds yummy I hope you get to feeling better soon. With all the great dinners you post about, it's a shame you're not able to fully enjoy all they have to offer.

What makes one brand of rice better then the other? I went to a local Asian market in town and found they had a great number of rices available. Each major style and type of rice had several choices. I was a little puzzled to say the least. Since I don't eat that much rice, I am reluctant to buy more then a couple of 5 Kilo bags at a time so, I don't have that much to compare and contrast regarding taste and texture. In the end, I bought my rice based largely on price believing the more expensive rice was "more" premium then the others. And, I should note that I recognized a couple of the sacks at that store from the pictures I found in this thread. Sid

With posts like this one, my mother isn't going to be too happy with me flying back to the Netherlands for the holidays. Your post brings back vivid memories of the holiday and makes me miss the Netherlands. I remember at first being a little perplexed with the theme of the holiday but, I got it after a few days and a little conversation with a few people while waiting for or riding on a local train. It may not be PC (politically correct) but, everyone really seemed to enjoy the holiday. Those Zwarte Pieten characters seemed to really enjoy the "show". At the city center they put on a good show running around the streets and scaling a local store to "fly away". Local culture is wonderful thing!

Dutch beer is so good. I am spoiled whenever I go to Europe because I can get good beer anywhere Even out of vending machines in the hotel! That would never happen in the USA with our weird liquor laws. Dommelsch Was one of my favorites in Enschede. They had great marketing too, I particularly liked their television commercials. I tried to special order some from the local liquor distributor but, they were unable to find it. I even emailed the brewery directly and got someone fluent in English to respond to my query but, unfortunately they do not have any distribution in the USA. They suggested I try some Grolsch which is good beer too but, I haven't seen HET KANON ever. That gives me something to look forward to though next time I go to Europe.

boerenkoolstamppot That's it. I know it's not a classic Thanksgiving dish in North America but, it is so good and it really fits the theme of the holiday. I didn't think I could wait for the holiday to have some so, I picked up the potatoes and other goodies from the store yesterday. The cooler weather reminds me of great times in the Netherlands and makes me want this dish even more.

Ok, I have no scientific basis to support my claims, but the main reason I love steamed eggs is the ease of peeling. Could be coincidence I guess. Whenever I steam them isntead of boiling, they come out perfect and peel with no problem. They are also very easy to make. ← I have a vegetable steamer that I use on eggs almost every morning. I can get a good hard boiled egg using the advice from the "culinary school" threads on this site but, it takes some concentration on my part which I don't always have early in the morning. Put a few eggs in the basket, set the timer for ~10 minutes and walk away. When I come back they are easy to peel every time and have perfectly yellow yokes every time. There is no simpler or easier way to do it - YMMV.

While I was in Hengelo working for Thales (formerly Signaal), I remember one cafeteria lunch meal that was particularly memorable. It was a particularly cold and dreary day with overcast skies as we went to lunch. Their company grill was closed that day so, no fresh Scottish Salmon hot off the grill for Sid Well, for whatever reason the cafeteria choices were very average that day and my hosts apologized for not having anything "special" in that day's lunch service. First, let me say that everything I ate there was very good. Some things were more memorable then others but they were all good. On that particular day, I had the good fortune to get what they referred to as "Farmer's Stew". My hosts didn't know all the English names for what was in the dish but, I managed to make a close approximation when I went back home. Think of classic comfort food on a dreary overcast day. Mash a bunch of potatoes, add diced ham, blanched Kale, and some green onions and top with a wonderful brown gravy That was the perfect meal for that particular day and was a wonderful dining experience even though it was below standards according to my hosts. I don't know how close my recipe follows the classic Dutch Farmer's Stew recipe but, it goes over very well when I go back home to Oklahoma and make it for the family. My sister liked it so much, she took home all the left overs and asked for the recipe.

Thanks for the great post Yetty! Those pictures are awesome.

That is very impressive!

Yesterday I enjoyed some smoked Salmon with Thai long grain white rice and steamed Zucchini. Today I had beer can chicken which roasted beautifully. The meat was succulent but, I went a little too light on the seasoning with just salt and garlic. Next time I think I will try some Paprika and a little Cayenne pepper to spice up the flavor a little.

That's one of the things I loved about my time in Enschede, NL. On Saturday, they had a wonderful open air market. The variety of what was offered was really good. Someday, I hope to return to that lovely city. Now, to decide what to cook after my trip to the market. I have lots of fresh veggies, a chicken, and two kinds of fish

I am curious about Panini presses. They seem like a good option when you are cooking for one like I often do. I have considered the double skillet method (put the sandwich in one and put the other skillet on top) or, the skillet and aluminum foil wrapped brick method. Both seem like more trouble then I want to put up with because of the long preheating required. Is something like a Cuisinart GR-4 Griddler a good place to start? Is it a good value or a waste of money? Is there something better that is cheaper? How about spending a little more money and getting something much better? Thanks, Sid p.s. If this has been covered elsewhere, please let me know. My search didn't turn up what I was looking for. And a big THANK YOU to snowangel Susan for merging my post into this thread

I agree - beautiful picture. All these lovely pictures have me shopping for a good cookbook or two to use once I have some free time. Between class and work, my meals have been uninspired and super quick resulting in nothing noteworthy to post. I hope to change this when I get caught up at the end of this year. In the meantime, I'll keep working with my new Induction Heating rice cooker. At least I'm avoiding fast food and eating healthy!

I received my Zojirushi NH-VBC18 10-Cup Rice Cooker from Amazon.com a few days ago and love it! I have cooked two cups on the GABA brown rice setting with satisfaction. Texture and flavor were very good. The Long Grain Thai white rice I did last night come out great as well. I must say that the timer was an unexpected feature that I really liked. Enter the time you want your rice done, walk away and forgot about it. That is a really slick feature for people who work. Load it up in the morning and you come home to great rice ready to eat. It beats the heck out of those instant rice packs you microwave. Now, I'm off to try a breakfast recipe from The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook.

That looks wonderful and sounds delicious. I think I will go the market and see if they have those ingredients. That should go well with a cool morning as I watch the Hummingbirds in my yard and sip a good cup of coffee.

Why don't you use a regular knife like a Wusthof Super Slicer?

Do those induction heating rice cookers come in smaller models available in the USA? The two models listed above seem to be the only ones I can find with nothing smaller. I am thinking that ~5 cups is a better size for a single person like myself. I use what I think is about 3 "Japanese" cups of rice which makes more then I can eat at one time with just about enough left over for a healthy snack the following day. What I keep reading suggests that I would do better with a smaller model. I currently have a cheap Wal-Mart 10 cup Panasonic model and I was looking at getting a new "fuzzy" logic (Micom) model rice cooker in the 5.5 cup capacity. That will cost me about $160USD. The 10 cup IH model listed above is available for $220USD at my door but, I am a little concerned that it is too big for me. Any thoughts on small amounts of rice in a 10 cup rice cooker? Does it really make a difference?

Those look really good. Reading this thread has my curiosity up so, I guess I will need to find a Bento box and do some experimenting. Canned soups and sandwiches at work are boring. This thread has me thinking I should give it a try and eat something healthy for a change. The 3:1:2 rule and the box size rules seem to be a useful addition to my meal planning. While I am not overweight, I generally over eat because I eat the entire "cans" worth of soup or beans which can be anywhere from 2 to 3 servings.

Company cafeteria food - no consistency. Each major building has a Eurest cafeteria. One is a fine diner type of place, the others generally serve glop that would be appropriate for a hog trough. For the prices charged, you would expect a descent meal and be very disappointed. Dried out bread, stale tortilla chips, pre-frozen breaded things left in the freezer too long (or something with that funny taste and soggy crust). One building is simply stellar with fantastic sandwiches, awesome soups, wonderful pizza, grilled items, etc. A real nice place that puts chain resturants to shame. Good institutional food is possible but, most places are hampered by incompetent cooks and low quality labor. The good company cafeteria is proof that you can get good help that will make a good meal but, most of them just don't care and it shows in the food.

The one you linked to looks just like mine. IMHO, it is a waste of money. I have a good convection oven it does nothing to help my pizza making. I suspect if I still have that apartment oven, it would make a tangible difference. Knowing what I do now, I would go the "make my own" route so I could get more thermal mass into the pizza stone surface. If I could get a local potter to make a pizza stone an inch thick, that would probably be a good way to go for a single "piece" stone. Unglazed Italian or Mexican floor tiles would be my second pick. Preferably, the 16 or 18 inch ones stacked on top of each other for thermal mass and low cost. For something a little upscale, I would try one of those quarries or a Granite countertop "mom and pop" shop, looking through their scrap for the largest piece that would fit in my oven. Finally, if your oven is old and doesn't maintain heat well, a layer of normal clay fired bricks in the bottom will help keep all the BTU's your old oven spits out doing as much as they can. Myself, I am thankful for the convection oven in my house.