MSRadell

I've never used a mixer of any type to make mashed potatoes, nor have I ever used a ricer to make them. My wife and I both prefer a few small chunks of potatoes in our mashed potatoes instead of ones that are perfectly creamy. For that reason we always use a hand measure when making them. It's just like most other food items, everyone has their own opinion. I certainly do like the idea of using the Instant Pot for cooking the potatoes however!

We have one similar to that, the top of square instead of round and is opened on the top but other than that it looks very similar. It works great for chopping nuts. The only disadvantage is there is no way to just what size it chops them to. The pieces are a little smaller than what you normally chop them to with a knife but they work perfectly for cookies etc.

I don't have any direct experience with the Breville but a friend of ours bought one a few months back and returned it to buy a Vitamix. They said they really prefer the Vitamix over Breville. I know we have a Vitamix and really love it.

Just buy a new one with the step on pedal. The ones that are battery-operated are nothing but a pain!

I didn't see where it said that the rechargeable battery would only last about 100 hours, maybe I missed it. They said that the battery in the charger base will only last for about 100 charges which means a device must use very little electrical power. Overall the device seems very interesting but I certainly would be worried about its longevity in a hot environment. Would be nice to see their testing results. That is one thing that concerns me, they do a lot of promotion in the video and in the text but very little discussion about the technology nor testing results. That kind of makes me skeptical.

Thanks for the information about the different bakeries. I know one of them is actually located here in Louisville but unfortunately according to the chart provided we get the Thin Mints that have more of a chocolate flavor which is what I remember in them but the peppermint punch is definitely lacking, probably because of the change to vegan. Other than that I'm glad we get the cookies from the bakery we do, there other flavors are excellent, especially the Savannah Smiles.

I certainly agree with you on the Samoans but I really think that the Thin Mint cookies have really gone downhill recently. They used to be one of the favorites of mine and my wife but it seems like they are nowhere as near as minty as they used to be, it's a shame.

The problem with Teflon and fry pans is not actually the flaking off of the Teflon itself. The problem with more about some of the things it gives off if it is heated to her too high of a temperature. Also, the Teflon used in cookware is a much different type of Teflon than that used in implants.

Inverter technology is something very desirable to have in a microwave. When you set the oven to operate at something less than full power older style microwave just cycle the power on and off. Inverter technology instead reduces the actual output power and keeps the power on consistently at a lower level. It produces much more even cooking and defrosting without the dried edges you quite often get with the older style ovens. The technology was invented by Panasonic but many of the other manufacturers are now licensing it from them.

Great looking eggs Anna, what procedure do you use to do them in the pressure cooker? I love post eggs but have never done them in a pressure cooker, maybe I'm missing a great technique!

We've been playing around trying to get the perfect burger cooking it SV and then doing a quick sear on the outside at the end. We've yet to come up with the perfect combination however. What time and temperature combination are you using? Are you doing a sear, if so are you doing it prior to or after the SV cook? We are also using a approximate 80/20 blend (just a guess because we are fresh grinding it ourselves).

We use that exact same one in our Smart Oven and it works great!

The Prince Edward Island Scalloped Potatoes flavor certainly sounds very good! I wouldn't mind trying them myself. Certainly sounds better than any of the flavors that they are trying out here in the states.

What you thought about doing is exactly what we did! When our double oven died we replaced it with a warming drawer, single oven and a place to put the microwave! That's the best thing we ever did and it also has the advantage of being able to replace any of the individual pieces in a much lower cost in the future.

Like many others I normally disagree with the stance of the federal government on food regulation but in this case I certainly agree with Them! If I was walking down the aisle in a grocery store looking for a new type of mayonnaise to try I might consider picking this one up. No, I probably wouldn't read the label because it says that it's Mayo, which it truly isn't! There are other products on the market that would like to be considered Mayonnaise but they can't because of this regulation so why would the vegetarian option be considered any different than the others? The regulation doesn't need to be changed, the product just needs to be relabeled.

The lemon ones are like Crack! Once you start eating them you can't stop. I hope they are not just a summer treat and they keep having them all year round.

I agree with the concept of just setting the temperature and leaving it there instead of changing it. At the very end you could turn on the broiler for a minute or 2 just to crispy outside if it's not crisp enough for you. You definitely want to cook with the door closed that will keep some of the humidity in the oven instead of letting it all escape. It doesn't help a lot but it certainly doesn't hurt any and is no real need to open the door except when you are broiling.

A friend of ours has the VERSA and really likes it. I haven't personally tried it but I've had a few things made in and it seems to do a pretty good job. I'm glad we have a Vitamix but I do think that the VERSA is a really good alternative for the price.

I only eat hamburgers at places that grind their own meat daily or ones that I make myself from eat I grind. I don't eat burgers at fast food places or places that make them from commercially processed ground beef nor do I buy ground beef. That's probably one of the reasons I don't mind having them pink on the inside.

I don't think there is an agreement on the first part of your statement. I think everyone will agree that cast iron is slower to heat up but I don't think there's any consensus about cast-iron be able to store half the heat per given weight. I think it can be proven that it stores more heat based on how long it takes it to cool down. Even a thin section of cast-iron takes a considerably longer time to cool down and the same thickness of aluminum does! The ability to store the heat is why cast-iron works better for cooking certain items.

I certainly agree that adding more fat to the mix allows a burger to be cooked more while it still retains juiciness. I do think however that it is not as tender when it gets cooked more and I certainly prefer to cook leaner meats for health reasons. We do a technique very similar to yours as far as cooking them frozen if we are cooking them on a pan out over if we are grilling them we prefer them to be defrosted first. I'll take my mustard and onions over your mayonnaise and dill pickles anytime but differences are what makes the world go round!

You are certainly correct, aluminum has a much higher Specific Heat than cast-iron does. It excepts heat much quicker than cast-iron, no question about that. However on the same basis it gives up heat much quicker than cast-iron to for the same reason. Thus cast-iron holds heat better which many times for cooking you want. Both materials make excellent cooking surfaces but for very different reasons. It all depends on what you need for what you are cooking as well what type of heat source you have available.

Your first statement is certainly correct. Cooking hamburger completely through ruins the texture and flavor in my opinion. They have to have at least some pink in the middle to maintain the perfect texture, flavor and moisture! Of course I also like Steak Tartar so that probably influences my cooking choices a little.

Aluminum isn't even close to cast-iron as far as storing heat goes. It transfers heat very effectively as does copper but cast-iron definitely holds heat much better. There's a big difference between heat transfer and heat storage, just portable textbook and look at the properties of the various materials. The same principle applies in that aluminum and copper are good conductors of electricity but cast-iron isn't.

Smokers, at least those used at home always maintain temperatures much lower than 700°F. Normal smoking temperatures are in the 200° range I normally smoke between 225° and 250°. When you get up to 700° you certainly are not smoking.