ChadHahn

For sometime I've been wanting a roasting pan but since I would only use it once every couple of years I didn't want to fork out the dough for an All Clad. Whenever I would see one at a thrift store it would be junk, until yesterday. I was at my local Goodwill and saw a nice stainless steel roasting pan with big tall handles. I pulled it off the shelf and saw that it was Chalphalon model 1805. Made in China but for $12 I guess I couldn't complain, especially since a quick Google search on my smartphone showed that they sell for around $150! The only problem was the pictures showed a roasting rack with it. I looked around on the shelves and there wasn't one. Oh well, I guess I can live with out it I thought. As I was walking to the check out they wheeled out a new cart and there was the roasting rack with a $2 price tag! I got it home and the rack cleaned up nicely and a little bit of Bar Keepers Friend made the pan really shine. I guess this means I'll have to cook a turkey this thanksgiving. Chad

Walgreens has a line of sodas that use sugar. I don't know if they have ginger ale but they have cream soda. Chad

I'm surprised that nobody has any input on this. I've been very happy with my two Lodge enameled dutch ovens for over a year. I have only limited experience with comparable Le Creuset models that I've used in other kitchens, so I don't feel comfortable making any detailed comparison. I just checked on Amazon, and a 3 qt Lodge runs around $40 while a 3.5 qt Le Creuset will set you back a whopping $175. That's a huge cost difference for potentially similar items. It would seem important then to identify actual differences between Le Creuset and other manufacturers, especially because so many people on this thread have intimated that they have had to stretch their budgets to acquire these items. Cost-benefit analyses come up often in this part of the eG forums and are inherently subjective. A Vitamix blender costs much more than department store models but is clearly designed and built to different specifications; likewise a knife made from high-end Japanese steel versus the conventional French/German offerings. Every consumer will have to decide whether the difference in performance justifies the additional cost. In these two examples, we have specific information about what makes a low-cost product different from its high-cost brethren. As far as I know, this is not the case with enameled cast-iron pots. So, what are the tangible differences, if any? Otherwise, the amount saved by going with Lodge over Le Creuset could be put to better uses if it buys one nothing but a name. ← The first piece of enameled cast iron I bought was the dutch oven recommended by Cooks Illustrated as a best buy from Target. It was good but almost immediately the enamel started chipping off the handles. I then bought a Le Creuset second from Marshall's and haven't had any problems with chipping. I gave the Target dutch oven to Goodwill and started acquiring LC. Some of my pieces are thrift store finds and have years of use in them and none have chips or missing enamel. You might save more up front buying a cheaper brand but if you have to replace it every few years then the savings disappear. LC has a hundred year warranty so if anything goes wrong return it and get a new one for the cost of shipping. Chad

I read an article online about ad agencies and drinking. It said that as the companies became public the drinking stopped. I guess the shareholders didn't think their employees should be drunk all the time. Also, I guess times change. I had a job in the early nineties and around Christmas they mentioned that company policy had changed the year before banning drinking at the Christmas party at the office. Everyone was disappointed about that. The article also said that not much work got done after lunch and often it would be a race to see who would pass out first. Chad