lindag

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?

Making bread. Every part of the process, from start to finish. But especially the aroma of the loaf baking in the oven. Divine.

The KA 7-quart mixer is available thru Sunday at Williams-Sonoma at 10% off. Reg. price is $549, so a $55 discount. This may be more than some want to pay but for a hefty mixer it's a great deal.

I buy my Noah's bagels from Costco...two bags of 6 bagels each. At home I line up the 12 bagels and slice each using Scoop's method, i.e., bagel on its edge, hand over the top, slice down with my serrated deli knife. I've never cut myself doing this (however I have cut myself MANY times doing other chores)...my thinking is that when I'm doing the bagels I am totally focused so I have no slip-ups. When I've cut myself I've found that I was distracted.

I recently installed an airprinter for use with my ipads. It's fantastic; I find a recipe and touch print and there it is (two sided option as well). One of the best purchases ever. Now I don't have to run upstairs to my office to fetch my copies. Mine is the HP Envy all-in-one color - connects via Wi-Fi.

I made a rustic potato soup with kale and kielbasa and chicken broth instead of milk/cream. Recipe from Cooks Country. Just wonderful!

Due to my location I find that I do most of my shopping for dry goods on Amazon. There simply is no shopping here that can approach their selection. Like you folk, I opted for Prime several years ago and it has saved me lots on shipping though I've no way of knowing just how much but I do buy a LOT from Amazon and they have waived my annual fee as well. It's a wonderful deal for my situation. I also have received truly amazing customer service from them, unlike that which I've gotten anywhere else. One of my Kindles stopped working and they replaced it at no charge plus overnighted it to me...no questions asked, just that I return the old one to them (also at no charge)...this was a value of over $400. Edited to correct spelling error.

Set my electric pressure cooker on my ceramic stove top (to save counter space) and accidentally bumped the knob turning the element to HIGH. Went outside to do something in the yard and when I returned the entire cooker was melted onto the burner...I was able to save the lid for whatever that was worth. I was also able to save the stove top; there was no discernable damage done and it actually cleaned up perfectly after a couple hours cool-down time and a bit of scraping with a paint scraper and some cleaner.

I have continued to watch The Chew despite the REALLY bad premiere and it has gotten a lot better. I agree with everything you've said, Pierogi, about the show. There is a lot less of the everyone-talking-at-the-same-time and less chaos. Now it seems to move along more smoothly. The hosts seem to understand their roles better.\ Now, if only they'd stop with the screaming and yelling audience! Why do we need that? It's the main reason I can't watch the morning network news shows...all those people jumping up and down, screaming and waving and mugging for the camera. I often wonder what it is that makes them act like that in public.

Bill44, or anyone else who knows: I have a 9-inch Pain de mie. Can you help me determine how to scale a recipe to fit this pan? Is it possible that the weight of the dough is the key? Say, using a 1.5 lb. recipe? Many of the recipes I've seen are written for a 13-inch pan. Is there a formula similar to that given for the larger (15-¾) pan?

Agreed. The premiere episode was bad, bad, bad. And I really wanted to like it. A lot. Let's just hope that there will be a lot of tweaking going on over time. Too many cooks spoil the broth. Get rid of Daphne, she adds nothing to the experience.

Bob's Red Mill has them. Here.