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I have the jumbo Cusipro because it takes a bigger chunk of cheese. However for grating larger amounts, I use an electric cheese grater. I used to use a mini-prep food processor but it was too darn awkward because with mine I had to remove the grating blade to dump out the grated cheese. (I always seemed to drop the damm blade on the floor which then required washing, drying, etc., etc., etc. Very annoying.) So I bought one of these.

I have a wet salt grinder because it is easier to distribute the salt evenly over a dish because otherwise it clumps. I now use a salt grinder (perhaps mine is more efficient that others because it throws out enough for me) mainly because I have difficulty feeling how much salt I pick up in a pinch. I have lost some sensitivity in my fingers since developing severe arthritis in my right hand.

Melissa, I recall that one of the first posts I read of yours, soon after I joined eG, had a mention (whine) about the lack of TJs in your home city and how much you enjoyed shopping at the one located near your daughter's home. I truly believe that your posts about the many products available at TJs (and often unavailable anywhere else) has prompted more than a few eG members to venture into the stores and sample the varied and interesting (and reasonably priced) offerings. (just as an example, TJs sells the Kerrygold Irish butter for a dollar less than than other stores in my area and in some cases, well over a dollar less.) I love Kerrygold butter, it is almost as good as homemade! I know there are more than a few people who do not see the point of TJs, but having shopped at the stores since before they actually were named TJs, I think I have a pretty good picture of what they are about. I have friends who delight in fooling those people who have pretensions of expertise in wines by substituting TJs house label wines for more expensive.

There was a similar product mentioned on a thread here perhaps two years ago. As I recall, it was not offerend in colors - just translucent plastic.

I do think the water has an effect. When I first moved up here to the high desert in 1988 and began using the water from my own well - very good tasting, but also high in calcium - I had difficulty cooking dried beans, peas and noted that some of my teas did not brew as strongly as previously when I lived down in the Valley and had city water. In 1994 when I had my kitchen remodeled, I had a filter system installed on the supply line from the well tank. It made a tremendous difference in cooking many things, including dried beans, peas, etc. A Britta water filter is not expensive and does an excellent job and for anyone who is having difficult with cooking certain thing, it would not hurt to try it. Chemicals in water have an effect on many foods, it just seems to be most evident in these. I also noticed that cruciferous vegetables were not as bright in color as they are now and some colored root vegetables would actually acquire a sort of grey "skin" on the cut surfaces. That no longer happens.

I buy it at Smart & Final, it comes in half gallon cartons. I use it for making clotted cream, cream cheese, butter, cream fraiche, etc. Ultra-homogenized cream simply will not form curds, no matter what one does. If you try to make clotted cream with it, it does not form the solid thick and smooth curd on top of the cream, it becomes grainy and is not at all appetizing. When available, I buy raw milk and cream and pasteurize it myself (I have an automatic electric home pasteurizer). It does not keep as long as the market brands of heavy cream. I buy it only when I am prepared to use it immediately. I have found that it whips up greater in volume than the regular stuff and it seems to be much more stable, holding much longer in the fridge, without weeping liquid into the bottom of the bowl. However, I usually ladle it into a steel colander with very fine holes set onto a tray. It will hold for several hours this way.

Abra, That is the reason the Red Velvet cake recipe I posted uses canned cherries, not maraschino. Of course Meemaw canned her own cherries, but I have had excellent results with regular canned cherries in light syrup, NOT the prepared pie filling cherries. Meemaw's Red Velvet cake

Another thing you can do is steam dried fruits, or simmer them in water until they are soft and put them through the mill to make a paste or puree as this removes most of the frbrous bits. I do this with dates, because I want a paste without the papery skin that can be so annoying when one is trying to prepare a very smooth spread or filling. One of the ones I have has a superfine "disc" which will even catch the tiny fig seeds. (Tiny seeds like these are a no-no for people with certain intestinal problems.) One of the first things I learned to do with a Foley food mill back in the 1940s, was to put soaked (overnight) tapioca "pearls" through the mill to make a very smooth blancmange, because my great grandmother absolutely abhorred the "fish-eye" appearance of the pudding in its natural state.

Manufacturering cream is pasteurized but not ultra-homogenized and does not contain any of the additives that are put into "heavy" cream to make it whip with more volume. Usually this is carageenan or a type of gelatin. It has to be a minimum of 38% and is usually 40% butterfat whereas regular heavy cream is at least 36% butterfat. It behaves differently in sauces than regular commercial heavy cream, in heated sauces it does not "break" as easily. It can also be beaten into a very smooth sweet butter which with commercial heavy cream, that contains additives, will be slightly grainy. Here you can find nutritional facts about the Alta-Dena brand.

I wouldn't be without them. I have more than one pair. My favorite is the Wusthof professional (all stainless steel) for the toughest jobs, expensive but worth every penny. They are incredibly sharp and will shear through turkey bones easily. Wusthof. I have a pair of Forschner which are inexpensive but better than some more expensive I have tried. My local butcher uses them.

And because of the way it is made, you can put cooked fruit with the pits in and it will squeeze out the pulp and you can scrape out the pits. It's the easiest way to make plum butter because the best purple plums for that really cling to their pits. I cook them whole and use the food mill to remove the skins and pits. Lovely, smooth plum puree. Yours looks like a particularly nice one. Love the red knobs.

There are several types like this Scroll down to the second picture for the helpers on this site.

Meat and three was a term used in restaurants in the 40s, in Paducah, KY, Memphis, TN, and Stuttgart, Arkansas which were cities that I remember having these meals in family restaurants.

Just this stuff: luster & glitter dust I consider this a "hobby" store. I wouldn't use the stuff from regular hobby stores. It is non-toxic if you breathe it in - but I wouldn't use it in food. Unless you want to be sued.

(snip) If I had a client being as persnickety as I am, I'd go nuts. Well, the plumbing inspection went fine, though GC has to add shut-off valves for the wall-mounted faucet inside the cabinet. He also has the flu (or a cold), so went home and to bed as soon as the inspection was over yesterday. He sat in his truck outside for over two hours yesterday rather than come inside and risk infecting me. Hopefully he's feeling better today and things can keep moving along. ← I think you are simply being very, very wise and prudent. A well though-out design saves so many headaches down the line. Your design is inspired. I'm also just a bit persnickety (or as my contractor said, #@%$%$$ obsessed with piddley details!). Cut-off valves are indeed very important. Because my kitchen is part of the addition I had built in 1994, it is on a slab and as I did not want pipes going through the slab, the pipes run up the walls and over the ceiling, dropping down to the various points of use either inside the walls or columns to the point of use. The cut-off valves to each supply pipe are all located in one place, in the cupboard that also contains the water heater (tankless) for the kitchen and laundry room. We used ball valves instead of gate valves because it is takes less time to grab a lever and turn it 90 degrees. The name of each fixture is clearly marked on each handle. The water supply and water heater (also tankless) for the rest of the house, bathrooms, etc., are in a big "cabinet" that is accessible from outside and also has all the cut-off valves in one place as well as the main which comes out of a whole-house filtering system. Since I am on a well and not a municipal water supply, the back-flow stop valves are on the intake side of the filter. The pipes in the original part of the house are underneath in the crawl space. (I also had the entire house re-piped with copper during the remodel.) At the well head there is an automatic cut-off valve with TWO battery backups, in case of earthquake causing a rupture of the water tank or pipes. In January 1994 I learned the hard way that even if the tank doesn't rupture, the filler pipe can turn into a geyser if it breaks and with the temps in the 20s, it did not take long for a skating rink to form in my back yard. I just want to add that I highly recommend the tankless water heaters, which, in my opinion, are one of the greatest inventions to come along in years. Tank-type water heaters do not have a long service life in this area, even with a good filtering system, because of the high levels of minerals, mostly calcium, in the water. Replacing one, every 4 or 5 years, at a cost ranging from 400 to 700, really adds up. The tankless heaters were just a bit under 1000. installed and are guaranteed for 15 years, with a filtering system they should last much longer. I never run out of hot water, can run the dishwasher, washer and shower at the same time. And even better, it saves a lot of gas. The burners only turn on with demand, not just to reheat the same water in a tank over and over again.

I forgot to mention, in case you did not check the website, that these tables are also available in a 48 x 24 inch size. http://www.competitiveedgeproducts.com/detail.aspx?ID=11 They adjust up to 36 inches tall, which is a good working height. Note that these have a cross brace at each end that, on the two this size I have, is about 2 inches above the floor. When we used these at events, I had plastic-coated steel wire shelves (Home Depot, etc.) that would rest on the cross braces at each end. We stored extra supplies on the shelf to keep them up off the floor and this also added bottom weight so the tables were less apt to move if bumped.

I have 4 of these folding banquet tables that adjust to 3 different heights. From my days when I did some catering and fund-raising breakfasts, etc. We used the higher setting for buffet service. Check at Costco or Sam's Club. One of the stores had adjustable height tables similar to these a couple of years ago - I haven't looked at them lately. A friend bought a couple for work tables in her T-shirt silk-screening shop so they had to be very sturdy.

Crust for sure! In fact, I have mastered the art of the "rolling crust cut" That removes the crust from a rustic "batard" loaf (from which the ends have been cut) leaving the crumb in a sort of log shape, which I slice and allow to dry a bit to make crumbs or croutons. Buttered on the crumb side, this crust can be placed on an oven rack to heat so that the butter melts into the crust.

I have one of those "Copco" step stools in emerald green and white. I bought it in the 60s and it was really beat up. I took it to an auto paint shop and had it powder coated - the emerald to match the sinks and a stove I had then. Now it doesn't match anything but I like it. It originally had a padded seat that was really chewed up (actually chewed, by one of my great danes). I still have the seat base plate that can be bolted to the stool but haven't gotten around to it. (in 18 years!) I saw one in Target and lifted it. The one I have is much heavier although it has the same lines and proportions.

I have been sitting on the edge of my seat since I read this early this morning. (Couldn't sleep). Breathlessly awaiting updates!!!

I came across this on ebay - people remodeling what appears to be a rather new kitchen have had their builder remove the cabinets, island, appliances and etc and store then in their garage. They are offering the entire package and so for have received only one bid. take a look: kitchen components on ebay

I have a very nice little cookbook titled Unbelievable Desserts with Splenda, authored by Marlene Koch These range from smoothies to fruit sauces. I have prepared many of the desserts and every one has been excellent. Peanut butter cookies, Lemon chiffon pie, Applesauce snack cake, just a few of the ones I found to be as good as any made with sugar. the author's web site the book at Amazon I have Graham Kerr's Splenda cookbook too - I have not made as many of the recipes but the couple I tried were very good. I also have Type II diabetes.

I have been using Splenda and the Splenda/sugar and Splenda/brown sugar baking mixes (which work much better than the plain Splenda) since they became available. I have relatively sensitive taste buds and I have not been able to detect the so-called "artificial" aftertaste that some people have mentioned. In fact, unless people know it is in the product I have not heard anyone mention it. One person, who told me in no uncertain terms that she won't use Splenda because of the "horrible" aftertaste, used my flavored Coffee-Mate at work, apparently unaware that there is an obvious lable on it that states it is sweetened with Splenda. I didn't mention it and she drank the mug of coffee without complaint. The combinations are specifically formulated for baking and help to keep the product moist and retard staling. Sweet One (Acesulfame potassium) is another one I have used and is stable at cooking temps. However, baked goods stale rapidly, if you like hard cookies use this one - it is just fine in egg custards, puddings, etc.

I have round Cambro containers in every size they make. They go from the freezer into the microwave (but on the lower power "defrost" setting to thaw the stuff, then on high for heating. I also use the square clear Cambro containers for storing some things but for grains, flours, etc., which I always store in the freezer for a few days, I like the seal on the round ones best. They are tough and do not crack, even when knocked off a high shelf when full of flax seed (yesterday morning). (King Arthur Flour sells them at an inflated price for proofing dough.) I use full-size sheet pans some black steel (old) and some aluminum (newer), as my big oven will hold them. I also have a stack of half-size sheet pans that fit in my Cadco convection oven. I use the heavy weight steam table pans, especially in the barbecue/smoker because they are inexpensive and easy to grab and lift because of the deep rim and an 8 oz ladle fits perfectly into the rounded corners - something that really annoys me when trying to ladle liquids out of most roasters. One of my favorite places to shop is Star Restaurant supply in Van Nuys - on Sepulveda Blvd. and open to the public since 1963. On the web at starkitchen.com.

I love the Stella Kasseri that one finds in the deli section of the supermarket. And there is a smoked provolone that one buys sliced-to-order and I like it very thin, in the service deli at Albertson's that is very, very tasty. I like string cheese too.