Margaret Pilgrim

You make several, if unintended, good points. No, a pro would use one of his endlessly available side towels. AND/BUT a pro would have extensive practice in how to use a side towel as a hot pot handler. (I think I remember a conversation we had about your reticence with maneuvering 500degree cast iron DO's recommended in No-Knead bread production. I totally agree that I could never hoist my heated DOs with a well folded side towel or two, but I have excellent control using the quad-layered terry mitts. But we all agree that our mileage is idiosyncratic. ) I use these terry "mitts" more often as a super thick pot-holder than as a mitt. i use high oven and burner heat often and need something that allows me to quickly move vessels in or out of or on and off of heat.

As a live product, cheese has a continuum of characteristics. Appreciation is an extremely personal judgment re milk source, age, wine pairing, etc.. IMHO other than pedantic imperative, the only rule is to eat cheese you like how you like it. Our MO is to remove cheese hours before you plan to serve it. For a dinner party, i will set up the cheese platter immediately after breakfast. Cold cheese is a diva without her makeup.

Especially for turning off burners! If I leave the kitchen with something cooking, I set a timer. Better than getting involved with a puzzle or computer and returning too late.

IMHO, the biggest handicap most of us have in the kitchen is preoccupation. We are so accustomed to the chores at hand that we don't apply ourselves as we might once have done. Cooking on autopilot usually works for me...until something untoward happens and it doesn't. Attention to detail can prevent most burn, cut, fall mishaps if we approach our tasks as novices rather than the pros that we are or were. Sure, our paws, shoulders and backs ache. But we can work around aggravating them by slowing down, sitting down, working with them rather than against them. Like letting aching wrists and fingers soak for a few minutes in hot water between tasks. At this point in our lives, we aren't running dashes but marathons. Just thinking out loud...

I take very good care of Dear Husband because the last thing I need in my life is a replacement who is age appropriate.

I use them to move 500degree Dutch Ovens out and into the oven, by their "ears" and by their bales. For removing pies, cakes and cookie sheets from the oven For moving pots of boiling water. I often use them double rather than mitt, but mitt also at times. We keep several sets in town, in the country and our son relies on his several sets. BUT, listen to Tropicalsenior, as our mileage all varies.

These heavy-duty double layer terry pot holder/mitts are my salvation. They work with hauling super heated cast iron pots out of the oven, Heartily recommend.

The one behavioral change I've made recently is a no-brainer, except for slow learners like me. My biggest issue is lower back intolerance. I can't stand at a counter and work for the time it takes to, say, peel enough apples for a pie. So I now, duh, sit down! I put a bowl in my lap and another bowl on the kitchen table and pare away. Jobs seem to take much less time, although it's probably just that I'm not in increasing pain as while standing,

Husband has for several years warned of our need to make things easier in our "dotage". His major thrust was moving the freezer and stored groceries from the basement to the heretofore "breakfast room" . This required our getting rid of a piano and moving a monumental oak chest from breakfast room to piano's space. A fabulous team of movers (2) accomplished this,then brought the freezer, racking and groceries up from the basement. A cookbook wall in the now pantry stays intact as does my bike, which greatly enhances knee flexibility I am practically giddy as I now "think" butter or tomatoes or sausage, and merely walk 10 paces to retrieve them as opposed to navigating our narrow, almost circular stairs to the basement. THE POINT OF THIS is that we eventually have to give up the familiar in order to accomplish the practical.

I remember the strong ministrations of a cookware store owner re microwave cookware, circa 1975. She was adamant that you needed special vessels. Of course, I bought none from her, and have found her warnings paper tigers ever since. Common sense, not special cookware, is operative.

I guess I’m slovenly. Just ricing works for me (snd mine).

From all of these posts I get the idea that smooth mashed potatoes are not a goal. Shall we call non-riced potatoes "homestyle"? What's the aversion to using a ricer?

Fig and prosciutto pizza, Il Fornaio dough. Our standard for some 28 years.

I almost said that the juxtaposition made my head reel....

Ricer, no tamis followup. Results probably depend on the type of potato used and how well done it is cooked. No problem here making enough for one or two people. Much less effort than any "masher" IMHO.

My last "bounce" occurred in the country two years ago. I had crossed a snowy field to take husband a requested tool and had returned to the house, feeling triumphant that I had had no mishaps. Got across the icy deck and inside the house, onto a foot-stomp rug. Didn't realize that my boot had accumulated an ice-ball, onto which I stepped and pole-vaulted into the kitchen, landing on my shoulder. That one took almost a year to fully forgive me. Learned: watch boot soles; remove boots before entering house.

Thanks for these several cautionary tales. -> reminder to turn on lights, use handrails, lift long robes, wear decent slippers, etc, etc, etc.

Beer batter classic, for its fiz as well possibly flavor. Seltzer works equally well.

I may have told about having breakfast alone in a cafe in a small town. Not considering how unusual it was, I ordered poached eggs on rye toast. It took a LONG time to arrive, as the fry cook incorporated this order into his grill-centric routine. He also looked around to see who the oddball was who ordered this.

Sublime and culturally quintessential. Makes one want to book a ticket.

Rye toast is actually my first choice for poached eggs. My only niggle is the yolk that escaped to the plate. A sublime plate regardless.

There again is that stove that I covet. Glad to see it en situe.

@Kim Shook All reasonable experiences and good advice. Concern is for those less able in the kitchen than you and Mr. Kim. In fact, a heavy bird or ham and/or boiling broth are dangerous regardless of vessel. Planning work space, especially transfer spots and "landing places" are crucial before moving any hot foods. But planning or more important anticipating problems is often overlooked by novices.

Totally agree. And worse, they are probably used by novices who don't anticipate their instability when loaded.

This thread reminds me of our son's comment that there is good, fast and cheap. Pick two because you can't have all three. So, mashed potatoes and or flour and or fat?