Shel_B

Although some of the new non-stick is advertisxed as dishwasher safe. Some new Calphalon pieces come to mind. http://www.calphalon.com/ProductSupport/Use%20and%20Care/UseCareDisplay.aspx?UseCarePageID=17

Hmmm ... Toots and I just recently joined Costco, so maybe on Tuesday, which is our day to run around, we'll take a zip over there. Thanks for the heads-up.

Your comment on the rotational speed of the blades is something I'd barely considered. I didn't realize that a regular blender spun so fast - 22,000 RPM. How does the slower speed affect the results? My daily blender is an older Waring professional bar blender, huge, heavy, and which can crush rocks. I wonder how fast that puppy spins.

Yes, it does look interesting, and were I not on a fixed income and if I was earning what I did before retiring, I'd buy two <LOL> I think I'm going to stick with something in the $50.00 or less range until I at least know what I want, both in terms of quality and features. Thanks for the link.

OK, thanks. I must have missed the manual at their site. I'll take another look, maybe see what else I missed.

After making my last batch of soup I decided that an immersion blender may be useful. I've looked on line and found good reviews for the Cuisinart CB-76, but thus far have not been able to determine if it is cordless. Does anyone know? I doubt that it is, but I'd like to be sure. If it has a cord, how long is it? It would be great if it could be used while the soup is in the pot and on the stove. Thanks!

Since posting my original questions, I searched and found a gelatine that listed the following ingredients: Ingredients: Gelatin (bloom scale 250), fumaric acid, sodium citrate, potassium sorbate (mold inhibitor), salt and dimethypolysiloxane (prevents foam) What is all this stuff?! Can someone explain the Bloom Scale?

Yesterday I discovered that gelatine is available in bulk, and since I'm tired of paying $$ for small packets of gelatine at the local supermarket, where I prefer not to shop anyway, I thought I'd ask about buying bulk. What should I be looking for? Is the gelatine available in bulk bins at some stores, or is it generally packaged in large bags - 5-lb bags seems to be common? How long can gelatine last when packaged in bulk and not protected by the sealed, paper packets that are found in supermarkets? Are there different types of granulated gelatine? What's "kosher" gelatine? Thanks for any comments ....

I tried again, this time using coconut water to dissolve the gelatine. I also used a wider vessel. Worked like a charm!

Thanks for all the input.

I'm making a potato dish for Xmas brunch, and while looking through recipes on the web came across the terms "gratin" and "scalloped." What's the diff between the two? They seem awfully similar to me.

I like making panna cotta. It's easy and people love it. I've been using heavy whipping cream and gelatine, and have been thinking about using a thicker, heavier cream and maybe less gelatine. I can get manufacturer's cream, about 40% fat content, but is there something thicker that's reasonably easy to come by. I can get Devonshire cream, although it's expensive. What about double cream? I've heard of it but never seen it. Any thoughts on these creams, or other ideas? Is a really thick, heavy cream even desirable for panna cotta? Thanks!

Savory Noodle Kugel 1½ packages broad egg noodles. (I feel the extra wide egg noodles work best) -6 eggs -two sticks of butter (if you’re a butter lover, 3 sticks are OK too) -one cup of half & half (you can substitute half & half with sour cream, too!) -8 oz. of cottage cheese (cream cheese is also acceptable — the effect is almost identical) 1) Boil noodles like you normally would 2) Melt butter (but only slightly) and mix in with half & half, eggs, and cottage cheese 3) After noodles are ready, mix in butter/half&half/eggs/cottage cheese batter 4) Pour into casserole dish 5) Cook for roughly 50 minutes. You can tell when it’s done because the top will be crispy For a sweet kugel, you can add vanilla, raisins, cinnamon, etc. Noodle kugel also reheats very well, so enjoy the leftovers! :-)

I may have mentioned this before. If you're looking for a canned tuna for sandwiches, simple quick meals or for additions to certain cooked dishes, give Trader Joe's a look. They have several varieties, all without added junk, and, if you don't like it, retrn it for a store credit or your money back, no questions asked. It ain't great tuna, but it's a LOT better than the junk we've been talking about.

So, why is there soy in canned tuna?

I've found that BB has pretty good prices for the tuna, as well as many other items. Stay away from Andronico's if you want to keep your paycheck <LOL> I don't give Buddy fish very often, just when I'm having some and then he only gets a little taste. His preference is salmon, and he goes nuts for the salmon juice. His tongue is laping the lquid so fast that it's just a blur ...

I often buy Ortiz and one or two other higher quality canned tuna, but that gets expensive for some dishes and ocassions for which I want to use tuna. It's been a while since I purchased from the Starkist/Chick O' Sea/Bumble Bee triumverate, and I never will again. Even 59-cents is too much for 5 ounces of garbage.

Mezz's Lokshen Kugel 1 stick butter, melted 1 pound broad egg noodles, cooked 3 cups (1.5 pounds) cottage cheese 3 cups sour cream 6 eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup (or more if you like) granulated sugar 1/2 cup raisins 1‑1/2 cups plain bread crumbs (dry) 1 teaspoon cinnamon (I use Vietnamese from Penzey's) 2‑3 tablespoons brown sugar Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Use some of the butter to grease a 3‑quart baking dish. In a large bowl combine the cottage cheese, sour cream, eggs, sugar, and raisins. Mix well. Add the drained noodles and mix well. Turn the mixture into the buttered baking dish. Combine the bread crumbs with all but 2 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter, the cinnamon, and the brown sugar. Cover the top of the pudding with this mixture and drizzle the rest of the butter over the top. Bake the kugel for about 1 hour, until the top is nicely browned and the kugel is bubbling. Makes 10‑12 servings.

Hi, I have about fifteen kugel recipes, so, if you give me some idea of the ingredients you like, or dislike, I could probably find one or two for you. Margaret Fox, former owner of the well-regarded Cafe Beaujolais in Mendocino, CA, used her Grandma Ida’s Noodle Kugel recipe at the restaurant. Let's start with that one, and go from there ... For Kugel 1 - 12oz pkg of wide noodles, cooked and drained 16-oz sour cream, and a little more maybe for dollops 16-oz cottage cheese ¼ - ½ tsp kosher salt 1 cup raisins 6 eggs, beaten grated peel of one lemon 1/3 cup sugar For topping 2 cups bread crumbs 1/4 cup unsalted butter 3 Tbs sugar 1 tsp cinnamon Put the noodles in a large bowl, add all the other kugel ingredients, mix well. Adjust sugar to your own taste. Put everything in a 9x13 inch baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night. About 1 ½ hours before serving, brown bread crumbs in frying pan with butter for about ten minutes, stirring frequently. Add sugar and cinnamon to bread crumbs and then sprinkle the topping over the kugel. Bake for about an hour @ 350-degrees F. Take out of oven, let stand 15-minutes or so before serving. Add a dollop of sour cream if you so desire.

A couple of days ago I bought some Bumble Bee brand chunk light canned tuna, and several days before my GF bought the Chicken O' The Sea equivalent. Wedon't usually buy this product, but a couple of stores had a super sale on the products and we decided to give 'em a try. So, the tuna (both packed in water) contained soy! WTF ... Soy in a can of tuna fish?! Why? Further, every can we've opened thus far has not contained chunks of tuna, but, rather, flakes. And all were watery, containing about 1/3 the can volume of liquid. The taste was insipid, if that. The flavor was dull, the smell musty, and, overall, the product was completely unappetizing. Oh, yeah, the cans only contained 5-oz of tuna (and my guess is that some of that was water). So what's going on with canned tuna these days? Are all the major brands similar? We sometimes buy Trader Joe's canned tuna, and the difference is substantial, with TJ's containing no soy, substantially less water, chunks (and firmess) that is lacking in the major brands, and better flavor and aroma. As a parenthetical aside, my cat wouldn't even eat the Bumble Bee.

It's a drawer.

My mom stored all sorts of things directly in the oven, and, I must shamefully admit, when guests arde coming by and I need to straighten up quickly, the oven is a great place to quickly stash a few items. So is the dishwasher, BTW <LOL>

Do you leave the items in the drawer when the oven is on?

Perhaps you're painting a generalization with too broad a brush. There are brands of beans packed without sugar, such as Eden organics, and I believe Trader Joe's have no sugar as well. There are only a few brands that I buy, and to the best of my recollection, none contain sugar. A couple of years ago I discovered fresh, raw garbanzos. They're sold in the various farmers' markets here in the San Francisco Bay Area, and they sure are a treat. Highly recommended - great in salads.

Based on some articles I read since posting the question, it's possible that there was too much fat in the coconut milk or that I didn't let the gelatine sit long enough on the coconut milk. It's also possible that I did not use a wide enough diameter container for the liquid thereby not getting enough of the gelatine moist. I used a different cup for the liquid this time, and the diameter was about 1/3 that of the vessel I usually use.