Shel_B

Which model do you have? What do you use the oven for? Thanks!

Problems with the Breville Ovens: I went down to the local BB&B and had a good look at the Breville ovens, then I went home and examined my counter space. It looks like I can handle even the biggest oven, and that's good news. However, I've been reading lots of reviews about these ovens, and there seems to be a large number of people complaining about a short life span, with numerous people complaining that the ovens lasted less than two years. It seems the mid-size oven has had the most complaints, although I didn't count 'em. In addition, there have been a number of reviewers complaining that the oven temps are way off - sometimes by as much as 100-degrees. Plus, many people have complained about poor customer service from Breville. To an extent, these things don't bother me very much because, if I do have a problem with the oven I purchase, BB&B will stand by it. But what if Breville changes their models, or discontinues the model I've purchased? However, the idea that I'd be paying a premium price and still having to deal with a mediocre product annoys the hell out of me. It's a PITA to pack one of these puppies and drag it back to BB&B. I want to be happy with my oven ... I like good quality and things that work as they are supposed to. So, who has had problems with their Breville ovens, and what problems did you have? Has anyone owned one of these things for a few years and not had any problems?

What does the fan do for the veggies? What does it do that a non-fan oven can't do?

Thanks for the link. I only had time to briefly skim the article, but will give it my full attention after the weekend.

That's a good idea. I've tried hickory nuts before, but not in the Three Sisters Stew. In any case, I'd like to try acorns as well. Thanks!

Hurray! I found the original company that made these pans, and they are still making them. They're in upstate NY, and they are more interesting than I ever thought. They are made with a special clay from a quarry owned by the company, and this clay has non stick properties. Oh, I am so friggin happy! Tomorrow I will contact directly and order a couple of pans. etc.

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/144857-copco-loaf-pan-wanted/

I'm guessing that pimento cheese is the Southern cousin to California's Pepper Jack - Monterey Jack with peppers finely diced and mixed in to the loaf. Most pepper jack I've had has been pretty insipid, with mild, almost flavorless peppers and weak, lowest-common-denominator Monterey Jack. Trader Joe's has a version that I use sometimes when making a cheese and spinach frittata for potlucks. It's pretty good as it contains habanero peppers. Now, I say pretty good because, even though it's quite a bit better than the typical store bough stuff, it probably has room for improvement. Learning about the Southern pimento cheese has given me thoughts about making my own pepper jack, and how I may go about it. It never crossed my mind that people would make a "home made" version of this. So, with thoughts of pimento cheese and pepper jack dancing through my head, I'm off to explore the possibilities of a cheeky cheese with a little kick-ass bite to it. Thanks for your Southern Hospitality ...

Pouch + cookie sheet = Great Idea. Thanks!

Thanks, Andiesenji - I sent your suggestions to Toots and she'll try cooking the soup further. If she follows her usual routine, she made enough to freeze a batch, so that'll be tried too, I'm sure.

Is it possible to braise vegetables in the small- and medium-sized Brevilles? I hadn't thought about it before, but it's fall, and Molly Stevens' book made it from the book shelf to the dining table ...

Toots made a cauliflower soup this evening, and when the soup was done cooking, she added raw garlic as an afterthought. Now the soup is too garlic intense. How might she subdue that intensity? Might cooking the soup some more mellow it? Perhaps cooking some potatoes in the soup as well, and then blending some more?

The article reads more like an opinion piece, but the new KFC Go Cup does sound innovative. There's nothing else out there that's really like this already. Has the Go Cup made it to your neighborhood, yet? So, I read the article, and what appeared to be missing, is what the Go Cup contains. Chicken? Fries? Vegetables? So sure, the Go Cup may be a Great Idea! But tell me, please, what's in the cup?

I'll look into this and see if there's anything here that fits my vision and gets me excited. Thanks!

EXCELLENT!!! Many good ideas here ... Thanks

First, thank you so very much! This may be just the source I need. I'll contact Sue and start a relationship with her. It's an easy car trip - Toots goes out there once or twice a month. You are correct in thinking that acorns are bitter. They have a lot of tannin, and to make them palatable, they must go through a time consuming series of steps, including leaching. That's why my original request was for White Oak acorns - they are quite a bit less tannic and bitter.

And what is the "beeping/buzzer problem?"

80% of the time, I'll just be using it for me, the balance for two people, when Toots is here. The more I look at this, it becomes clear that the small one will do everything I want, and do it with some headroom. It's already an upsell, and it doesn't seem necessary to go larger.

I believe many people use the term "rubber" to describe or define many things that have similar properties to rubber, such as flexibility, degrees of softness, and which are now used instead of similar items that, at one time, were, indeed, made of rubber.

I've not yet decided which to get. Space in my apt is at a premium, although I could make the mid size oven work. The smaller one is more than I even originally wanted, or felt that I needed, and it already costs more than what I intended to pay as a maximum. My inclination is to go with the small one, but I want to take another look at the two at BBB. As was pointed out upthread, BBB will allow an upgrade at no cost to me, so what have I to lose if I decide to get the bigger one later, some time? And time is something I have plenty of, and I'm close to BBB (within 100 feet) at least once a week. But I'll take another look, bring my coupon ...

I live in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. We don't do 110-degrees. I'm not sure if we even hit 90 this year .

I make a pretty good Three Sisters Stew, which, for those who are not familiar with it, is a vegetable stew with its basis in corn, beans, and squash, the "three sisters" that the native Americans planted together. For centuries, native cultures in the Western Hemisphere survived on the interdependent cultivation of corn and beans. In the Iroquois tradition of upstate New York, corn, beans, and squash, known as the "three sisters," were a staple source of food. Grown together, the beans wound their vines around the sturdy corn stalks and the squash leaves shaded the ground, keeping it cool, moist, and free of weeds. I usually make the stew a few times a year, and this year I want to add acorns to the recipe, perhaps just for something different or, perhaps, to add to the "authenticity." I've decided that what I want are White Oak acorns, with the caps on, or, a somewhat distant second choice, would be White Oak acorn flour. I've not been able to find a reliable source for these items, and the White Oak is not local to California. Does anyone, perhaps in the Midwest or along the east coast, know of a source for these items? Thanks!

We shop mostly in El Cerrito, and sometimes in Berkeley. There are a number of staples we get there, although Toots and I each have our own preference. She gets eggs, various crackers, a special lactose free milk, and a few produce items that satisfy here desires. I like(d) their packaged leeks, get their carbonated water, sometimes, for convenience, I'll grab a bagged salad mix, and I used to by my Greek yogurt there. Even that seems to have changed with their new package, so now I buy Straus Greek yogurt. The items I mentioned in my original post are not things I usually buy. Generally my fruit and produce comes from the local farmers' markets, Monterey Market, or Berkeley Bowl.

My store doesn't do such things. Pity. Never had a problem getting money back for anything, for any reason. Usually no one asks for a reason. Perhaps they should - might learn something useful, eh?

What kind of peaches have you been eating that those picked so far from ripe can be some of the best you've had? You need to try some fresh picked, tree ripened, "Bend Over" peaches, so ripe, fresh, and juicy that you have to bend over when taking that first bite lest the juice run down your arm and run down your face and neck.