Shel_B

Definitely worth looking into. Thanks!

Yeah, Romertopf - that's the other terra cotta pan I have. There is really no comparison between the Tufty ceramics terra cotta and the Romertopf - they are worlds apart.

The terra cotta pans I'm referencing are a little different than others, certainly different than the other terra cotta pan I have. http://tuftyceramics.com/ and http://tuftyceramics.com/history.html to give you some general idea about the pans. I don't know if the manufacturing technique would be considered glazed or not. What I do know for certain is that I have been using one of their loaf pans for almost 30-years and have never found a need to soak it in water. While not having made a clafoutis in the pan, I have used the one pan for bread, sweet, dessert bread, vegetable and meat terrines, meat loaf, and probably some other dishes as well. It's one swell pan, and I like it so much I just bought three more after looking for the pans for many years.

Thanks for the tip... looks pretty complicated to me.

That looks about my speed, and is pretty much as I imagined what I wanted. Thanks!

That's not the info I'm looking for. I want to measure actual use while the appliance is running, i.e., how much juice the fridge uses when it cycles on, how much the toaster uses when it's toasting, etc. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Is there some way to measure the amount of electricity that an appliance uses by adding something to the line - something that plugs into the socket and then the appliance plug will plug into that, or some similar device? Thanks!

Toots got me a Breville oven - just the one I wanted. She's such a dear. Her daughter is getting me "something" for the kitchen. Amongst other things, I got Toots her most favorite alfajores, direct from Argentina. She's been wanting them for a while, and now she'll have them. Can't wait to see her expression when she unwraps the box. I also got her a new skillet. Technically, it's not a Christmas present, just something she needed (my word, not hers) and that I wanted for her place so I can cook for her a little easier and she can have a skillet that'll go into the oven. Oh, and while it's not directly related to kitchens or cooking, I got her a pair of warming boots that heat up in the microwave oven. Her feet sometimes get cold and these might help a bit. Finally, I got tickets to see Baryshnikov at the Berkeley Rep theater later on. She's going to enjoy the performance, I'm sure. I'm making lemon curd to give to the family - something like 7 or 8 jars of it. Mmmmmm ...

I subscribe to their email newsletters and have yet to receive any coupon or offer for 20% on-line discounts. I'll probably get around to using it for the first time tomorrow or Wednesday. I'll see if I can get creative, and do something more interesting than making toast ... at minimum I'll knock off some potatoes or try roasting some vegetables.

The 20% off coupons are not for on-line purchases, as you discovered. I posted an email from BB&B about how those coupons work, and how you can, under certain circumstances, use them for on-line purchases, but their on-line use is quite limited. http://forums.egullet.org/topic/145904-bed-bath-beyond-coupons/?hl=%2Bbed+%2Bbath+%2Bcoupons#entry1935781 As for Breville being excluded from the 20% coupon, we bought a Breville toaster oven on Saturday and got the 20% discount.

Yes, that one ...

In the FWIW department, I took home the small Breville today and set it up a few hours ago. I am very pleased with the size, and am looking forward to trying it out. Unfortunately, it'll be a few days, maybe a week, before I'll have a chance to fire it up. Thanks to everyone for the advice and suggestions.

Analyze the heck out of it! You've got to live with your decision a lot longer than we do <LOL>. Hey, I do pretty much the same thing, and when I finally do make a decision, I'm much more likely to be happier and have a more suitable product than not. And everything I've taken careful time to decide upon, gives me pleasure every time I use it - every time!

http://www.notyourmotherscookbook.com/its-all-in-the-pan/ Second paragraph from the end of the article, above the pic of the bread in the pan.

I'm planning to make a Flognarde Pommes, or Apple Clafoutis, and I have plenty of pans in which I can make the dish. However, I just read that clafoutis "need" an earthenware pan to bake properly. I am sure that there have been countless clafoutis baked in many other materials, but I'm curious about the statement. Might an earthenware baking dish be a better, or best, choice? What characteristics of an earthenware dish make it desirable for a clafoutis? Why would earthenware be needed for a clafoutis to bake properly? And what is "proper" for a clafoutis?

I almost bought a 10-inch D5 skillet last week - big sale somewhere - but I just could not find a way to rationalize the purchase. Kind of a bummer <sigh> The size and shape decision is so very personal a thing. However, I like the idea of similar capacity saucepans - I have a 1-qt, 1.5-qt, 2-qt, 3-qt, 4-qt, 5.5-qt, and an 8-qt. Most of my stovetop, saucepan cooking is done in the 4-qt and lower range, so the closeness in capacity is really useful. I frequently use lids, but it really comes down to what I'm cooking. They all came with lids, so the lids are handy.

Keeping it a secret! Gotta <LOL> on that. No "brand" of butter, really. It's made by a small, artisanal producer located some miles north of here who makes small amounts for sale at selected farmers markets. When she gets down here, I like to buy a few of her products, but since I'm not using butter very much these days, I have a need to store it. Who's Jack Bauer? The name rings a bell but I can't place it.

I have two such pans, a 1-quart and a 1.5-quart. I use the 15-quart so much that it lives on the stove top. I use the 1-quart somewhat less as it doesn't fit my burners quite as well as the 1.5-quart. In my previous place, the 1-quart got a little more use only because of burner size. The 1.5-quart is a little wider in diameter between the two. Both pans are used for most every purpose, melting butter, making simple sauces, boiling water, making hot cereal, reheating certain leftovers. I have a 2-quart pan, but it's a little too big and bulky for much of what I described, but much of my cooking here is just for myself. The 1.5-quart pan is an All-Clad D5 model, and I love it. It heats very evenly, I can cook things at very low burner settings, and it cleans up beautifully. The 1-quart pan is an older, all SS, Simply Calphalon model, and I have been very happy with that pan as well.

No, not this time.

I want to get a specific butter that's only produced a few months out of the year, and now's the end of the production for six or seven months. If I buy it now, how long can it stay in the freezer without compromising the taste or texture? What's the best way to wrap it? I thought that I'd leave the butter in the original wrapper, put it into a Zip bag with as much air expelled as possible, and the put that into a lidded storage container in the freezer. Any other ideas?

Thanks!

So many people lobbied to get BPA out of cans that manufacturers are removing the chemical. Very nice ... but, have you asked yourself what BPA has been replaced with. In many instances it's BPS, which is in the same family as BPA. It's not very good stuff either ... but now our cans are free of that nasty BPA. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=bpa-replacement-also-alters-hormones http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/manufacturers-replace-bpa-still-highly-toxic-bps What are your feelings about this? Do you care about these chemicals being potentially dangerous? Or do you feel that these chemicals are safe to use, perhaps a loud few are blowing the issue out of proportion? Do you seek out safer packaging (whatever that may mean to you) or just reach for a favorite brand or what's on sale with little thought to the packaging? Do you trust certain brands to do the right thing, or are you skeptical of any claims that may be made?

This morning I discovered that Trader Joe's canned coconut milk is preservative and additive free and packed in BPA-free cans http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread56566.html

Time is not an issue for me. I am retired and am in a position to do what I like, what gives me pleasure. I get pleasure from making certain things myself - almond milk is another example of something I enjoy making. And, if time were an issue, it should be pointed out that it takes me less time to make the milk myself than it does to go to the store and buy it. As noted above, I will eventually get around to using frozen and fresh coconut meat, which may offer a fresher taste than dried. And since most of my uses for coconut milk are for using the milk straight rather than in curries and other cooked dishes, a fresher more lively taste than canned would be welcome. And, for what it's worth, I found the coconut milk I made from dried coconut to be fresher tasting than the canned milk I had on hand. YMMV, and probably will. In addition, I think it's fun and educational to try and make a more satisfactory product.

Made a variation of Ramsey's broccoli soup tonight and the leaves were a nice addition.