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GwennP

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Posts posted by GwennP

    Top Chef : Season 8 - All Stars

    in Food Media & Arts

    Posted

    And I am thrilled for Carla, I loved her in her first round and I still love her now. I would LOVE to see her win it, or Antonia, who I also think is under-rated and under-respected, and who I wasn't tremendously impressed by the first time, and now just kicks butt.

    I was very impressed by Antonia at judges table. She did not throw her teammates under the bus and was clearly not happy that they asked her to.

    Top Chef : Season 8 - All Stars

    in Food Media & Arts

    Posted

    I'll be honest, I first thought it was going to be Jamie and Marcel packing their knives and leaving. When they mentioned Tiffani's name, I was damn outraged and was pretty sure Jaime would be saved -- yet again -- because I didn't expect (for whatever weird reason) that the two being kicked off would be from the same team. Also, to be honest, I really started to think that Jaime was the John Gotti of Top Chef.

    I'll spare you the incredibly excited, almost embrassing outpourings of joy that I shrieked out when Jamie was actually told "to pack your knives and go." Or how thrilled I was for Carla, the perpetually underestimated dark horse. I adore her, but, that said, I really want Richard Blais to win. You have NO idea how relieved I was that he wasn't eliminated.

    Totally random thoughts:

    -- Marcel was damn lucky. Also, he needs to stop channel GaNgStA rappers so much. Marcel, you're a white boy and far from the projects.

    --So... "angry Dale" has had Anger Management courses. Huh. I'm not sure they totally worked. Although.... if he managed to stay calm in the face of Marcel's "Vanilla Ice" rendition, maybe he should get some sort of award from his sponsor.

    -- If Angelo has some sort of weird Russian mail order bride, should he be trying to hit on customers? Also: is it possible for Angelo to get weirder? Ever time I think "Not," lo' and behold... he does.

    -- I was strangely and unexpectedly moved by Tiffani's goodbye speech regarding how she's changed. And I truly wish her a huge amount of success.

    I can't believe you just said almost exactly what I said to my husband as we watched this episode right down to Angelo and his Russian fiance. I stood up and cheered for Carla - even said Hooty Hoo and applauded and cheered as Jamie was told to pack her knives. I too love Carla but am rooting for Richard.

    Kitchen jobs you hate beyond reason

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Right there with the shallots and squash, but I also hate washing and spining herbs dry. Also, I just remodeled my kitchen and love it but the sink we had to get is deep but small. I get very wet when I have to wash my all-clads by hand and I hate it. I'm thinking they may have to learn to like the dishwasher.

    Technivorm vs Bunn Coffee Makers

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    Gwenn, I just did a search and found that Sweetmarias has a replacement spray head for the Technivorm with 9 holes for $15

    Thank you!! I actually took a walk over to William Sonoma and the new models come with the 9 hole sprayer. The coffee pot is quite small,though, more like an 8 American cup!!!

    Technivorm vs Bunn Coffee Makers

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    I don't know anything about the Bunn but we have the Technivorm and love it. We have the thermal carafe and it keeps the coffee hot. We had gone through a few coffeemakers before this one and none performed as well as this one does.

    I think I am really leaning in this direction but I'm not sure about thermal or glass. Is the coffee really hot in the thermal? Also, I have read that the Technivorm has issues in totally saturating the grounds because the water does not spray out but comes out as from a faucet. Perhaps that was an older model. Do you find this to be true? Thanks agian!

    Technivorm vs Bunn Coffee Makers

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    I have searched the forums and can't find anything on these coffee makers. I am redoing the kitchen and need to replace my Kitchen Aid Professional series coffee maker. I grind my beans each day and like a hot, strong cup of coffee. I have narrowed by search down to the Techinvorm and a Bunn, but I'm not sure which is best. Does anyone have any information on this? Also, I know a thermal is preferred for keeping coffee fresh, but it does not make it hot enough. Any thoughts? Thank you!

    Top Chef : Season 7 - Washington, D.C.

    in Food Media & Arts

    Posted

    2) What was up with Bourdain? It was like he and Ripert got in a lover's quarrel on the cab ride over to the ironically named Ronald Reagan Building. Bourdain seemed to just want to shit on Ripert for the sheer pleasure of doing so.

    I loved having Bourdain back. Even if he and Eric had a spat. I loved how he looked at Angelo as he described making love to his short ribs. Classic! I thing Angelo is talented, maybe should win, but he is nuts - and BTW, I really liked Tiffany - not so much her cooking but her personality.

    The State of Rangetops and Cooktops

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    A lot of us fancy ourselves fancy cooks!

    For flambé, I'd use one of those butane-powered barbecue lighters like this one, which looks classy enough for indoor use.

    Lifting and tossing can be a problem on induction. I was working on an induction unit just last night, and concluded that I had about a second of non-contact time before the range decided that there was no longer a pan on the burner and turned itself off. If I had an induction cooktop at home, I'd probably have to retrain myself.

    For the benefit of others' concerns here, I'll also point out that since induction relies on contact, warped pans and pans with lips or ridges on the bottom are problematic. The former heats only where the pan is flat, which can lead to unexpected performance issues; the latter won't work at all (that includes most any reversible grill/griddle and some cast-iron skillets).

    ETA: I've never used a standalone induction wok burner, but I remember being pretty impressed with one Ming Tsai used on his show a few years back.

    I think you just changed my mind about the induction. I think I'll stick to the electric - it's hard to clean but at least my pans will work!

    The State of Rangetops and Cooktops

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    What do you hate about your electric? I've got an electric smoothtop and you couldn't pay me to replace it with gas.

    I hate that you can't really regulate the temp - if you're on high and you need to reduce the heat, etc. Also, put a pot on top and turn it on and the white top gets streaked with brown. It's a pain to clean.

    The State of Rangetops and Cooktops

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I have the new Kenmore (Electrolux) induction range, and I LOVE it. I will never go back to gas. The precision and range of the burners is incredible, it's easy to clean, and not insanely expensive (I think we got ours for $2700). When I'm cooking something that will make a spattery mess, I spread paper towels and put the pan on top--imagine that! Cooking pasta is now a 15-minute project from the the glimmer in my eye to lifting the first forkful. It used to take longer than that just to get the water to boil.

    The only thing I don't like about it is the exhaust fan makes a high-pitched whine. It got on my serious nerves for the first couple of weeks, but now I don't hear it anymore. Beyond that, it's perfection.

    Edited to add: The low is so low that you can melt chocolate directly over the burner. The high is so high that I'm still learning how to deal with it. Used to be I could barely get a wok hot enough and it wouldn't stay hot enough once the food was added. The first time I tried it on this range, I incinerated everything within about ten seconds. And I was deliriously happy about it! The oven has true convection, too.

    So, does Kenmore make the Electolux or vice versa? I am considering an electrolux. Ihave electric now and I hate it, but I have no choice so I thought induction might be the way to go. Am I correct?

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