andiesenji

I've got the Max Burton, with the mag plate so I can use other cookware on it (my copper works fine and so does my Corning stuff). I have an old Supentown I used when catering - after a butane burner sort of exploded (thankfully outside) I no longer wanted to use them, and another older one - have forgotten the name and it is in storage. Thanks! Do you know how many watts the Burton is? 1800 watts and the top temp is 450, which has been plenty for everything I have done. I've put my 16 quart Calphalon stockpot on it (with the induction plate) and water has reached boiling as soon, if not faster than on my 12,000 BTU stove burner (which had another 16 quart stock pot on it). (Boiling 4 lobsters at the same time)

Today's Kitchen Contraptions email included this interesting new Strainer/serving bowl combination and on that page is a link to this modular spatula system and a link to this Sure Scoop And, so you don't have to watch that pot, the Boil Buoy plus this "Vesta" electric soup pot, or whatever. I'm thinking that far too many people have way too much time on their hands.

I've got the Max Burton, with the mag plate so I can use other cookware on it (my copper works fine and so does my Corning stuff). I have an old Supentown I used when catering - after a butane burner sort of exploded (thankfully outside) I no longer wanted to use them, and another older one - have forgotten the name and it is in storage.

I was invited to dinner at friends who live on a little ranch in Rosamond, a few miles north of here. While taking a post dinner stroll, I noted the folks next door were having a "barn" sale and was given a ride over on one of my friend's golf carts. They were selling a lot of great stuff but all I bought were these two Denby mugs (England) and this "bubble-bottom" glass from the Sahara Casino - not the one in Las Vegas, this one was in Lake Elsinore before the Indian casinos were legalized. The lady said she didn't like the Denby mugs because they are too "clunky." There is just no accounting for taste. I paid $1.50 for all three items.

I've got edge guards on mine and it hangs from two hooks on the end of a wire shelving unit. I tried it on two parallel magnetic knife bars but after bumping it once, while reaching for another blade, I put it in a more secure mount. It fell onto the butcher block counter and made a deep cut into it. The mag bars are fairly strong but this blade does not seem to cling to the magnets as others do. Is this one similar to yours?

Gorgeous eggs, Kim. I did not boil a single egg this year. I've been invited to dinner with friends so no cooking today. I had a very small breakfast because I know the dinner foods will be varied and extensive. (starts at 2:00 p.m., goes till no one can consume another bite - 56 GUESTS expected, plus the family +- 10, depending on who is home.) I'm sure I will have lots of leftovers "forced" one me. And as some will be suitable for breakfast, I will try to remember to take photos tomorrow.

Dave, you are totally correct. There is a "Tuesday Morning" store in Palmdale that often has very high end cookware for very cheap, less even than Marshall's or T.J. Maxx. I don't "need" any more cookware but I do buy things at these places for gifts for new brides, housewarming prezzies and etc. You can get a weekly or monthly notice of new stuff by signing up here. Right now there has been a rash of engagements of grandchildren of friends (seems like only a couple of years since it was their children) and at the discount prices I can afford to give them more than if I purchased at a department store. Here in Calif. Smart & Final has great prices on cookware that is designed for restaurant use.

Magnets are a good idea, you can mount powerful magnets on a wall and hang stuff from them or you can get magnetic boards for which you can get hooks, clips, note holders, towel holders &etc., are mounted directly to the walls so there is no need for the "hook gap" as you would have with peg board. We had these in my office (before I retired) and we had various shapes and sizes, depending on the room - office, examining rooms, x-ray room, lab, etc., and the space available. My boss had a big round black one mounted above the credenza in his office. The company we used is no longer in business but the product was essentially the same as HERE.

Many people don't consider using the upper space on walls for either storage or hanging decorative items. That is valuable space that is often wasted. If you look at old country cottages (being a fan of the "country" decor, I have looked at a lot) they use the entire wall for hanging things, and often include a little folding wood step "ladder" for reaching the higher items. In my former home, I had long shelving, with a small lip on the front edge, to prevent things from falling off in an earthquake, all around the dining room 12 inches below the ceiling, where I displayed my collection of tea pots. I had them installed by a carpenter with crown molding BELOW the shelves as part of the "invisible" support system. Everyone who came to my home commented on how nice it looked. Of course, I was much younger then and could get up and down a stepladder to get at the tea pots easily. And I had a housekeeper to do the dusting. It isn't practical now but I did love the look of it and the display did not take up valuable space.

In an earlier post I mentioned finding Descoware lids on ebay for LC pots with the same dimensions. I just noticed this one and the seller has a smaller one and two large yellow lids for the bigger Dutch ovens. So it is possible to find odd lids and you may even be able to find one of the "vintage" LC lids with the loop handle. This vendor has several pieces of Griswold cast iron for sale at very competitive prices, all are Buy It Now. No waiting for an auction to end.

How high is the ceiling in the entryway? You could mount the hanger rails up near the ceiling for long things, such as ladles & etc., with a panel of pegboard below it. I don't have pegboard in my current kitchen but I did have in previous kitchens. The first time my husband painted it and add the outlines of the various implements so I would know where to hang them. For the last one, I got the pre-finished pegboard "decorative" pegboard that was washable and was supposed to repel dust (didn't completely) and came with cut-to-fit "frames" so there would be no raw edges. That granite look is new - the finish I had was a herringbone pattern, pastel tints of earth tones that went with the kitchen.

And for the 14 cup you can get the "flat top" cover, which is great when using the bowl with just the blade.

Check on Overstock.com and look at the Cuisinart SS. Cook's Illustrated or America's Test Kitchen tested several fry pans and large sauce pans and found the Cuisinart was a best buy compared to their favorite, All Clad. The hard-anodized aluminum cookware carried at Costco and Sam's Club, that looks like Calphalon, is also a good buy and I know several people who use and love it. My local senior center has has it in their kitchen for three or four years and it has held up very well. I do some volunteer work there and have found no fault with it. I don't think you have to spend a huge amount on something that is going to get little use.

I was also related, by marriage, to Adohr. The father of my second husband worked for Adohr for fifty years - starting in 1918 when he came home from WWI and retired in '68. He was given one of the vintage "Adohr green" milk trucks. My husband and I married in '61 and we attended the funeral of Rhoda Rindge Adamson, the widow of the founder, in 1962. At that time it was the largest milk producer in the world and sold milk to other companies, such as Borden and Carnation, etc., as well as their direct sales. (During my marriage to Chuck, I learned a lot of Adohr (Rhoda spelled backwards) history, including the fact that she chose the distinctive color of the trucks. At a time when most vehicles were black, those green trucks really stood out. They had only Guernsey cows, which was one reason the milk was so good with a much higher butterfat content. I remember in the milk bottles that almost half would be cream, even with the jostling in the delivery truck.

Nifty find, Chris. I'm sure you will find many uses for it.

I'm baking both saffron bread and saffron cake tomorrow. The bread recipe is this one which I have prepared several times in the past few years. The cake recipe I usually prepare is a Cornish type cake with currants and mixed peel. I have decided to put this one aside this year and prepare this one which has been highly recommended by a friend. I just made the almond paste this afternoon.

I just ordered the recently published Encyclopedia of Sandwiches cookbook after looking at the book one of the members of my book club purchased a few days ago. I do have several other sandwich books (Nancy Silverton's, etc.) but this one has some content that appeals to me and the photography is exceptional - and inspiring.

The guy who gave me the information was a neighbor when I lived down in the Valley. He worked for Adohr Dairy for 20 years and then for Giacopuzzi Dairy for 15 years then worked for Southland Corp. that had bought several independent dairies, supervising the breeding programs until he retired in 1993. He emigrated here from Scotland at age 17 and went right to work for Adohr where his uncle had worked since the '30s. There isn't much he doesn't know about dairy. He lives in Castaic and guess what? He has a cow, which he milks by hand and has taught his grandchildren the technique. I found him a "vintage" electric pasteurizer similar to mine when he got the cow a few years ago. When I first moved up here there were several local farmers who would sell milk, until the county inspectors got so picky. I could buy raw milk and pasteurize it myself and it was fresh from the cow that day. Good stuff. In my opinion the LA Co. health dept has just gone way too far and they are a bunch of jerks when you try to ask them anything. Arrrrrgh!

I think there may be as many ways to peel a mango as there are mango varieties. There is one technique I saw performed years ago when I was in Mexico for a series of dog shows. We were having lunch at our hotel and a salad was constructed at the table, using fresh fruits, peeled and cut up by what I could only describe as an artist with food. The oranges, melons, papaya and etc., were done the standard ways but the mango was a surprise. He used an extremely thin, long knife, sort of like one of the skinny "tomato" knives, inserted it at the top and apparently cut the flesh free of the pit, then starting at the top, made a spiral cut from top to bottom which produced a long strip of mango, almost an inch wide, which he quickly sliced crossways, leaving the skin intact, then starting at one end, separated the flesh from the peel. I had never seen this done before and it took him less time to perform this task than it has taken me to write it. We had breakfast and lunch there several times during our two-week stay and all of us were impressed when we saw this server performing. None of my friends had ever seen this technique either. I tried to ask him how exactly he did it and he was willing to demonstrate but wouldn't let me try it with his knife. After I returned home, I did try it numerous times, and even bought a knife I thought would work (didn't) and could never quite figure out the technique. He also did a bit of a show with a whole pineapple and with green coconuts but I had seen those done before and had a vague idea of how it was done, so didn't pay much attention.

I have an answer from a real dairyman as to the purpose of carragheenan (his spelling) in cream and dairy products in his company. It's simply a stabilizer to keep the heavy cream from separating and becoming very solid at the top of the bottle or carton. Some years ago they had many complaints about the cream products becoming so thick at the top of the cartons that the only way to extract it was to either open the entire top (which was then difficult to close) or cut the top off and use a utensil to scrape out the caked cream. If allowed to sit in the container too long, whether paper or glass, the very top becomes so concentrated with butterfat that it develops a waxy consistency that is so thick it is difficult to mix it back into the body of the cream. Nothing will prevent this completely but carragheenan works as well as other ingredients, that might not be as acceptable, to keep the butterfat evenly distributed throughout the cream. He's a Scot and says his granny cooked the dried Irish moss (and other seaweeds) into a semi-solid gelatin that was added to gravies, soups, custards and other foods that needed a bit of thickening.

The amount of carrageenan in the heavy whipping cream I used is listed as 0.1%. It is listed as an organic product, undegraded food grade, refined from Irish Moss. I've got some antique cookbooks that mention Irish moss (dried) to be made into a thick drink to take as a remedy for "catarrh" or sore throat, etc. It seems that as an additive, it is fairly innocuous, compared to some of the other stuff that goes into industrial foods. This is probably the description that is easiest to understand.

You know, I should have remembered, when Fat Guy posted his photo of a grapefruit knife - I have a friend who uses one to dismember mangoes, then scrapes the pit with the serrated edge to recover as much pulp as possible. She lives in OC (Lake Forest) and has two lovely mango trees that produces lots of huge fruits. One is in its natural form and the other is espaliered along a 30-foot wall. One is the commonly seen green/red/yellow variety and the other is a solid golden color, very sweet.

This method works great for regularly sliced bacon but I find it makes shoe leather out of the thicker stuff. No way! This is a huge waste - no drippings for use in various applications, such as cornbread and flavoring green beans &etc. I will stick to my old fashioned method which gives me both the bacon and the drippings. Microwave bacon produces perfectly nice drippings. I've used microwaved bacon drippings for years--always have a container of it in my fridge. No different than skillet-collected drippings, frankly. I have a microwave bacon tray that's angled with a trough at one end, which makes it so easy to pour off the collected fat. I don't have a problem with microwaved bacon - I have a couple of the grill plates and also a couple of the gadgety things for cooking bacon. I also have an old Corning grill pan that does a terrific job and is usually my microwave bacon cooker. And it can go into a warm oven to keep the bacon warm, unlike the Nordic Ware bacon tray. My objection was to wrapping it in paper towels. The drippings can't be recovered from paper towels, sadly, they are gone forever.

Me too! I bought the Oxo GG Mango splitter and it did a very fine job until it had an "accident" (The plastic melts if it happens to be on a counter and 'someone' places a pizzelle iron in front of it, plugs it in without noticing that the iron is touching the Oxo item.) By the time the aroma of melting plastic alerted me, the splitter was a goner. So I replaced it with the stainless steel model - couple of bucks more, just as easy to use. And of course, it's a gadget and I love gadgets!

But in Northern California you can more easily find the Straus Family Creamery products.