MSRadell

We have solid hardwoods (oak) which is probably one of the most common hardwoods available. Since it is very light it can be finished to what every shade you prefer. Unless you're on a concrete slab it's certainly the way to go. Engineered hardwood is about the same price and only offers an advantage if you are on a slab or thickness is a consideration for door clearances. My opinion laminate flooring should only be considered as a last resort, it doesn't look anywhere near as nice and despite claims otherwise it is really not that were resistant to scratching. One thing everyone to look at is prefinished hardwood flooring. The finishes are actually harder than what can be applied in your home (because of the curing process) and the amount of mess is greatly reduced because no sanding is required. In addition it can be put down in a day and used that evening instead of having to wait four or five days for the finish to dry.

As said by the previous poster putting a piece of any material in the top will not make any difference at all in your scenario. Without additional heat from the top you're not going to accomplish what you want to. The only thing you might try is putting the pizza in and a cold stone so the pizza sees more heat from the top while the bottom stone heats up.

18 gauge is pretty thin you probably want one quite a bit heavier. Unless the 18 gauge has awful good support underneath it it will not support very much.

Almost any scale should have a tare function, so I wouldn't think that it would be an issue. The problem is he put the items in the jar in the bulk food department then they weigh the product at the checkout. Any of the scales I've seen do not have a way for the cashier to manually enter the tare weight and they cannot memorize the tare weights if you weighed the container on the way in. This may only work in the deli section where they could preweight the container and tare it out.

How about one of the Heineken beer serving devices that dispenses from a mini-Keg? Certainly sounds like a good addition to a well stocked kitchen.

The wild boar meat should work fine. I've had it before and it's quite good in a stew or braised, it's a meat that from my experience needs to be cooked for quite a while to become tender. Its flavor is a little stronger than pork but really it should be quite good in chili. I might have to try it sometime myself.

We have found that adding the Guinness beer makes a huge difference! We discovered that trick a few years ago and have been using it ever since. It gives the meat much more flavor and makes it very tender. You certainly don't get a beer taste from it when the cooking is done so you can do it even if you don't like beer.

For those looking for recipes, here's a website as a good place to start: Slow and simple. It is quite a few interesting ideas and will definitely be a starting place to create your own!

BOTH! That way it's a one dish meal.

Of course here's the sister product for those who like hardboiled eggs! Just as useless and it takes up a lot more room!

I came across this device while on the Sur la Table website: SousVide water oven Looks like manufacturers are finally recognizing people want to use this technique at home without having to spend a fortune or make their own devices.

Penzey's is certainly on the top of the list. Great service and quality with a wide selection of products. Their shipping charges are also quite reasonable.

Actually I've found that using a wax pencil is the best from marking stuff going into the freezer. They will write on wet or dry and don't come off very easily. They are relatively inexpensive and you can actually buy them in different colors if you want. Another advantage is they don't try out like a Sharpie can sometimes.

How do you boil eggs in the microwave? You should put them in a pan of water or is there a special technique? I've always heard if you put an egg in its shell in a microwave without piercing the shell it will explode.

Just a good example of how we all cook and like different things. In my opinion if Mac and Cheese comes out in a square it's way too dry and possibly overcooked. I like and make mine so it's nicely scoopable and still soft. Leftovers are normally quite firm but when it's fresh and warm it's quite soft. I used Coleman's and so many other things I don't know why I've never used it in Mac and Cheese but I certainly will. I normally use a little fresh ground white pepper to brighten it up and it also works quite well.

I've tried many vegetarian items that were very good but I really don't believe that it would be possible to create anything near the texture and flavor of a real scallop. They may be good in their own sense but.... Because they obviously will be very different than a true scallop I think you're just going to have to play around a little to see how to prepare them. I think that limiting yourself to the same preparation methods used for traditional scallops you may not take full advantage of these Skallops.

Imagine that, the Manufacturers Association says that a process can be used to make a consumer product! I wonder what the consumer product safety commission or some of the other consumer organizations think about this? It is certainly not as good as the original product, only cheaper.

For just my wife and I I'm definitely a board person, even if I need to use a couple of boards (of course I always separate proteins on their own boards). When of cooking for a larger group it depends on on how complicated what I'm preparing is. Preparing on the board just seems simpler to me.

I've ever tried frying them after scooping them out but I don't see why it wouldn't work and it could certainly help make them very crisp. You probably have to be careful to get most of the meat out of them and make sure they're pretty uniform in thickness for to work well though. I would think you would want a pretty hot fryer, probably around 375°or so.

Bland, dry and overpriced about some of my thoughts of hotel Turkey. Never had a good Turkey in one and don't even bother looking anymore. I'm not sure why they would even claim to be Hotel Style for any food item, especially Turkey. Hotels aren't generally noted for having great food unless you go to some of the very exclusive ones. Normally the food is fairly generic. Maybe that's their thoughts for the Turkey?

Maybe for making tea? The strainer was to keep the tea leaves from being poured out?

Just add some peanut butter and you better really good sandwich with lots of protein. Just spread peanut butter on one side of two slice of bread, add three or four slices of bacon and away you know!

Value is in the eyes of the beholder. Some people may feel that All-Clad is a great value in others may not. Some people will say that having a 25 year old All-Clad pan is great value but I'm sure there are others out there who have a 25 year old $10.00 Revere-ware and say it is a good value. It's an argument where everybody is right and should see each others' side. One thing I indefinitely sure of however is that there isn't any 25 year old non-stick cookware out there still in use that's in good shape. If it is the person who owns it isn't a cook. Wait a minute, real cooks don't use non-stick anyway so it's not an issue!

Running your hot water system at 150°in the non heating time of year is certainly a huge waste of energy. It may help reduce the time to get the water to boil but it wastes an awful lot of energy to do that. I'm assuming you have a hot water baseboard heating system which actually are quite efficient for heating, however their energy benefits are offset if you keep the system running during the warmer months. Not trying to be critical, just trying to help you save some money.

If the meat you buy has a bone leave it in, it really doesn't matter and removing it is a pain. Definitely leave the fat on, put it on top while you cook and it will add moisture to the meat to keep it from drying out. I have never brined pork, only poultry and have never had a problem. Put the wood chips in immediately when you start cooking meat. That's the most important time and it's when the meat will absorb the most smoke, later on it won't absorb the smoke flavor. Putting the wood chips in foil is a good idea and I personally do soak them for a couple hours before using them. Everyone has their own way of doing things but this is how I do it with good results.