lindag

I've been using my Breville now for two months nearly every day. It is a product that (assuming it lasts) was well worth the cost. Using it for toast, bagels, reheating pizza slices, braising, etc. I've only found a couple things that it doesn't do well. The broil unit doesn't get hot enough to cook salmon, I've had to return to using my oven broiler for that...it takes much, much longer in the Breville. Also, the breads I make are of the 9x5" loaf variety as a rule and get too tall for the height of the Breville resulting in overbrowning of the top. I have coveed the loaves with foil for the last minutes but prefer the consistency of my range oven for that task. Also, I like my toast quite brown; and even on the #7 setting it doesn't always get dark enough for my taste, not a really big deal as I can always re-start it and let it go another minute or two. All in all, I am really thrilled with my oven and have learned to rely on it for daily use. I only wish I had bought it sooner.

I had never used a pressure cooker before I bought my Kuhn Rikon a couple of years ago. I was AMAZED at how useful and versatile it is...as well as beautiful to look at.

Call Foodsaver Customer Support at 877-777-8042. If this product has a moedel number it should be on the bottom of the unit. I have a Foodsaver Professional II model that needed new gaskets (upper and lower). Their response was exceptional, parts were cheap, and they shipped to me at no charge. And their agent was REALLY pleasant and helpful.

Opened the bag of Vital Wheat Gluten to fill my canister and dumped the excess into the sink. Didn't realize that powdered gluten when mixed with water turns into CEMENT PASTE. Took forever to clean up the sink and had to throw out the sponge.

Coincidentally, I made Beer Braised Short Ribs in the crockpot yesterday....WOW!!! they were good. Short ribs, sliced onion, Newcastle Brown Ale, a little tomato paste, soy sauce, thyme, bay leaf, pitted prunes and a little Minute Tapioca to thicken.

Haven't done it in a long time but used to stop for a Sausage Muffin on the way to the slopes....it'd really hold you over til lunchtime.

The one I've been making for years and years: Two cans tuna minced celery minced onion 3-4 cups egg noodles 1 can cream of CELERY soup grated cheddar 1/2 cup mayo (added off heat to the soup and melted cheese) frozen peas, thawed in the pot with the noodles for the last minute or two of cooking

My dear late husband, who LOVED Reubens but was not ultra fussy about them, actually liked the Reubens at Arby's. I never tried one there. Do you have Arby's? Would you trust them to make a reasonably decent one?

If I were going out to buy one, THIS would be the one. I love everything Microplane makes. Oops...I just went back and read the reviews...it stinks!

Last winter I was having a problem with my in-the-garage refrigerator as it wasn't working properly when the garage temp got too low. (I also have a full-size upright freezer out there) What I had to do was go to Sears and purchase a "garage refrigerator". I understand the difference is that these units have a built-in heater to protect the motor. I live in Western Montana and my garage is well insulated but unheated. I don't believe the temperature has ever gotten down to freezing insided the garage but I'm not positive...we can get to minus 20 at times but that is not common anymore. The new garage fridge is a refrigerator-only model, no freezer. So far it has worked perfectly. The upright freezer has never had a problem and I don't know why one will fail and the other doesn't. How cold does your garage get? And what's the climate like where you live?

Yeah, but what's with Ed's jaw? Does he have a problem? I can't stop staring at his mouth. He's another whiney-ass that I won't be sorry to see go.

Brand new! Immersion Blender I like this, if I were in the market for a new model, I think I'd jump on this at $99. I have the Bamix which I really like but it doesn't have the removeable shaft which is a really nice feature.

In reading the instruction booklet that came with my 800XL (which arrived yesterday, thankyouverymuch) I see that they recommend whole chicken be no larger than 4.5 lbs. I'm impressed! That's pretty darned big for a toaster oven! Anyway, I plan to start putting my oven through its paces today; starting with a bagel, a fresh pizza...maybe some frozen fishsticks, a guilty fave from Costco. Speaking of the fishsticks, I'm thinking that they'd go on the bottom shelf on the 'bake' setting(?) Package instructions say bake at 400° convection for 9-11 minutes in a conventional oven.

Yup, when we re-did the kitchen in our previous home we used Travertine on the floor...BEAUTIFUL!!! Also, a giant pain in the ass. It tended to stain and discolored in some areas. Never again. A shame though because it was truly gorgeous.

Anna, Those are some killer loaves! Won't have my oven until Monday; were those baked one-at-a-time? It'll be interesting to experiment with different shapes, although mostly I bake 9x5 loaves for toasting or sandwiches. I did order the Breville pizza stone at the same time as I like to do homemade pizza as well.

I've been buying Tuna Guys Tuna for several years now. It's hard to find unless you live in the Seattle area (which I don't) but they'll ship. I've tried other brands like Italian packed in oil which is pretty good, but I like the Tuna Guys really well. They also have other types of tinned seafood available. (have no vested interest in the company)

After reading all the reviews shere I've placed my order for the 800XL today. One thing I'd particularly like to use it for is baking bread. Has anyone done this successfully? Any tips or comments would be appreciated.

I wouldn't say that THIS is an indispensible item but it sure has proven itself worthy in my kitchen. Bought it on a whim a few weeks ago and it's the perfect gadget to grab a boiling hot bowl of soup from the microwave - somehow mitts or towel just don't do the job here. Also, it's perfect as well for removing sheet pans or pizza pans from a hot oven. I clip it onto the edge of my tool caddy so I remember to use it.

I'm not a coffee snob but the K-cups, to me, always taste a little too much like instant coffee. I'll stick with my Mochamaster, great coffee in under 5 minutes.

I could post this in the "things I'll never do again" thread... I foolishly used Pam recently on my old Lodge cast iron skillet when planning to toast up some naan. Thought I'd never get the burned-on residue scrubbed off. Thanks goodness for coarse salt and lots of elbow grease. Sometimes we don't think long enough before doing something stupid.

I've been using my S/S on and off now for several years. I go off it for awhile especially when I want to use the counter space for something else. Initially I purchased the unit so I could make my own tonic water as a Gin & Tonic is usually my preferred cocktail-hour drink. Unfortunately the tonic syrup wasn't nearly as good as the brands I get at the grocery. I tried to get used to the taste but just couldn't. Then I tried their diet tonic for awhile but couldn't make myself like that either. Neither seems to have that 'bite' that real tonic water has; whether it comes from the quinine or what, I don't know. Some of the other syrups are pretty good but I'm not much of a soda drinker though I do like plain soda or seltzer especially when it's extra fizzy. Maybe they'll come up with a better formula for their tonic someday.

I have the basic Bamix that I've been using for many years. I like it for whizzing up marinades or dressings in its little beaker and, of course, for soups in the pot. The one thing it doesn't have that I wish it did is a shaft that disengages so it can go in the d/w. I know that KA models have that feature.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet. Comments?

I got a new pizza stone and was trying it out for the first time. I do not have a peel so I spread my pizza out on a sheet of parchment. When said pizza was ready I grabbed the edges of the parchment and lifted it out of the oven. Parched parchment ripped and pizza landed on the floor, upside down, of course. Hey, I put a lot of work into that pizza. Turned it over, used a spatula to pick up the toppings and put them back onto the pizza. Cleaned the floor (before the dogs could get at it) and ate the pizza.

Did you have the unit repaired? Or are you just trusting that it won't die again?