CentralMA

Does melting an aluminum flame tamer count? Happened on an electric coil stovetop, sandwiched between the coil and an enameled CI pot.

I'm kinda of the same thinking, though I don't think I'd send it back if I didn't like it. Too many people I could gift it to that really don't know I'm not fond of them. Me, I pick up the bigger RevereWare pots when I see them in the Goodwills, Salvation Army, Savers, etc. I grew up in a kitchen filled with RevereWare, I know how to use them and I know their limitations. When I moved out of the parents house (at 17) my mom set me up with a full set of new RevereWare. And 4 Sabatier carbon steel knives. Why the need for the glass top? I'm not a fan of them.

Okay. That one did it. Can I be Moe's best friend? Can I be invited for an overnight? I'll clean your bathrooms....whatever you need.

I've got a couple of these that get good use. https://tinyurl.com/vollrathweight

When I saw your original post with the pic of many tumeric it got me thinking... I've never used fresh turmeric. Powdered, yes. Never fresh. Did a quick Google of recipes, ran across what looked like a nice tumeric with green pea soup, and a chicken recipe exactly like the one you referenced, but on a different website (oh my, is there plagiarism on the internet?). Hit the not so local Indian Supermarket, picked up a packaged amount of fresh turmeric. And a bunch of other stuff, they've got the best prices around for fresh produce, other items. Had all of the other ingredients on hand at the house (with the exception of boneless thighs, another stop). Had fun, used the mandolin for the onions, micro grater for the turmeric. Basmati rice on the side, salad also. Came out great. Easy to put together (even went out for beer while it was on the 15 minute cooking stage, because you know, priorities). Tasty. I'll do it again, maybe adding a bit of fresh ginger next time. Thanks for the prod....and sorry for the terrible pic. My phone masquerades as a potato sometimes. And yeah. That's 3 Buck Chuck. 'Cuz if you're gonna cook with it you have to drink it, right?

Here's the recent cake.

Where have all the thrifters gone? The last post in this thread was Feb 28th... There's a ReStore near the Aldi's I frequent, made a stop in there today. Found this for $2.50. Vintage NordicWare Krumkake Iron. Doesn't look like it has ever been used. : We have a young man about 10 years of age across the street that really enjoys baking, cooking, all things kitchen. My wife and I have him (and his sister) over frequently, this past Friday morning he was over to make a 4th of July cake, multi layers, multi colors of cake, did all of the assembly and frosting, decorating. He's usually a scratch baker, adept with the scale and knows how much a stick of butter weighs both in ounces and grams. I'll try to find a pic of that cake. Other times have been to make Strawberry Shortcake, Christmas cookies, Abelskivers, pancake breakfasts, etc. Outdoor cooking, smash burgers, hot dogs, all the fun things. So for $2.50 I couldn't leave it on the shelf. He's been wanting to do Abelskivers again, these will be a nice addition to my arsenal of weapons of kitchen destruction fun. Also picked up a very nice paring knife, real good feel to the handle, sharp edge and a little bit longer blade than usual. 49¢

Not cheap out here on the East Coast. But they are beefy and tender.

Exactly. But no pinquito beans, alas. Will make do with another. I should look into Rancho Gordo.

Does my BlueStar count? Had it just a year now (or soon). Enjoy it more every day. And I even enjoy cleaning it.

Nay nay....marinating right now for another 15 hours, then going on a Santa Maria grill over live high heat charcoal fire. Pull at medium rare. Sliced thin on the bias, avocado salad on the side.

For a long time we had one local, Duffy's, sold the mis-goods from one of the larger grocery chains in the area. Lots of items, but you never knew what you'd find. Then about 15 yeas ago made a friend up in NH, he talked about the "used food" stores in and outside his town. Hit up those places many times, lots of good deals. Slightly dented, stained labels, off-runs, overstocks. Day old from local bakeries, scones, breads, etc. We're in a larger city of New England, the markets here will often put discount stickers on items in the meat case. Now known as "used meat". Just picked up a flat iron steak for very little money today.

I considered it myself, but 30" hoods with the BlueStar logo start at $2000, can easily reach into $3, $4, $5K. When I located a NIB JennAir 30" 600CFM for the price I paid I did a little dance. And I don't like to dance....

Wow. I hit the link and saw $250 for a slab of metal. I have something similar, possibly Lodge? I've used it once on the cooktop, and let it heat on the two burners (front and back, 22K and 15K right side) for an extended time on lowest setting. Again, only once, but I got good results. Next time might be better. I've been using a Weber branded two handled skillet (yeah, another thrift find...) that's fits over one burner. Again, leaving on lowest setting to evenly heat, then going for desired temp. I can only do 4 pancakes, or 4 arepas at a time. Such is life. https://grillpartsreplacement.com/products/weber-7421-gourmet-bbq-system-cast-iron-griddle-grate-for-22-5-inch-weber-charcoal-grills?currency=USD&variant=32509934567460&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google Shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQjw5auGBhDEARIsAFyNm9GsGDJEkfDZ7hfPjoTKxZd_94GkEoUQImlWYmBEpWjolzdJrpsN730aAtZlEALw_wcB#&gid=1&pid=1

Simple hood: I went with a JennAir 30" 600CFM that I found at a reseller. You may see a pattern here with me....my kitchen was in the planning stages for a couple of years, I was looking out for the needed equipment that I wanted. The hood, new in box, $300. Regular price would have been well over $1200 even at a discount. Simple controls, no LED display. 2 position for lighting (I changed the the halogen bulbs to LED soon after installation) and 4 position fan. Noisy as hell on 3rd and 4th, but that's what we're looking for, right? Stainless lined copper pans? Go for tinned, and be nice to them. And grease draining on a griddle. If you're doing bacon bacon bacon maybe look for another way. But basic griddle use doesn't need a lot of grease catch. Using heavy cast iron and heavy carbon steel implements is about containing the heat, regulating it. A heavy pan will hold the heat, a thinner (more responsive?) pan will not. A griddle put over a couple of burners will not be ready quick, it will need time to move the heat evenly to the better part of it. But once it's at the desired temp it will stay there with little fiddling.

We've got several planchas, some cast iron, some rolled steel. So we have lots of surface to put in place if needed. For a number of years we've had this also, for outdoor use. As simple as it is it has shown to be very useful. Called a MoJoe, from a guy out in California. Gets blistering hot if you want it to. We use ours on a 22" Weber kettle, as on the left in the pic from their website.

My wife likes a griddle for arepas, pancakes, bacon, flatbreads (as do I). Going from a 30" to a 36" would have taken up counter and cabinet space, something that was in contention at the time. Add in an expense of another $800 or so. But, now that we're here, we could have easily given up the counter and cabinet space, and the $800 wouldn't have been a dealbreaker. But, it was the time and place of a kitchen redo, with the majority of the design and actual labor our own. Not something I'd do again. Well, maybe I would. But I'd like to shoehorn in a 48" unit....that'd go over well.

Thrifting woks...it's the hunt, don't you know. I'm certainly not finding anything better in a product, but as I don't "need" them, I can wait for the fun to happen. Out in my area I can find good vintage carbon steel woks, most look like they've been used once or twice or not at all. Usually well under $5.00. I'm set, but I've been looking out for more for my youngest on their request. Same with other kitchen items. Recent finds have been a cast iron Weber branded skillet, designed to work with their "Gourmet BBQ System", I have the needed fixtures for my 22" kettle. Other recent Weber finds were a new in box vertical chicken roaster, and a new in box pizza stone accessory. Both vintage goods, and quite usable. Cast iron oyster grill pan? Got that too. Fun to use and looks great serving the table. And again, at less than 10% of what it would be retail. But, anyway. Talking about self installing... I went that route, but to an extreme. I picked up the stove at the dealer myself, got it into the back of a van, transported over state lines (sounds bad, huh? but saved a state tax...) and got it into my house with the help of a good friend. Saved me a bit over $600 (about 10%) off of other quotes in my area, that included delivery into the house, but not the actual installation. Remember that these stoves weight well over 300 lbs, getting them into a tight spot after hooking up the gas line is not easy. For our install I had a plumber in to extend our gas line to the kitchen area (we had electric stove previous). As part of the $500 charge he would come back for the final install, permit signing, etc. I rented an AirSled from a rental outfit some 30 miles away for a half day, about $30 or so. Scheduled the plumber for that time spot. With the AirSled and some extra shimming from scrap lumber for height the two of us were able to slide the stove in with just finger pressure on the front of the stove. It was like the 350 lbs was on ice. Once tested for operation, he left. I leveled it myself, again the Airsled in use. I also looked at getting the less expensive model, then eventually getting the hotter burner in by hook or by crook. But then the Gov't decided to pass out a bunch of $$$$, I decided to spend it on a true American made product (Something I don't usually look to do as a priority). That paid for half of it. And then incredibly enough, they gave me the other half this year? What's up with that? As part of the BlueStar purchase I agreed to put the electric oven in the basement, with 220v accessible. My wife was seriously concerned about the baking aspect. So far it's not been used. She also was somewhat against the purchase itself of the BlueStar. After the install and a couple of uses, she was going through the installation manual / instruction set and asked me why I didn't get the 36" with griddle? My oh my... And with the hot burners, get yourself some good thick carbon steel pans. Darto, de Buyer Mineral B, others. A pleasure to use. Indestructible.

OK. As the original poster I'll add in here. I love my BlueStar. I did go with the big burners, and Im glad I did. I've sourced two woks, thrift store finds (months of searching, I'm picky), sizes vary by about 2 to 3 inches. Maybe 4. My wife works with some lovely people that have been instructing her on the finesse of Vietnamese eggrolls. With the woks and the BlueStar the results have been very nice. My wife, the baker, has adjusted to a gas oven. Great results. My recently acquired heavy Darto pan has become the implement of choice. It just gets better and better. I should have bought this years ago.

Did a quick Google on these, one of the first hits was a link to Amazon. They've got a current offer, 2 for $5.99. https://smile.amazon.com/LARGE-Premium-Original-Danish-Dough/dp/B0881JW89D/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=(+"2+pack+13.5+inch+The+Original+Danish+Dough+Whisk%2CStainless+Steel+Dutch+Style+Hand+Mixer+Bread+Dough+Whisk"+)&qid=1620306669&sr=8-2 Must hit the thrift stores first though, I know I've seen them recently.

And as long as I'm in the gloating stage, I found this just after New Years up at the MA/NH border. $40.00 Another garage queen, no porcelain chips. Early 2000's 22" Weber Performer Charcoal with gas assist for easy lighting. New never used 22" cooking grate. I've got the 5lb gas canister in the garage, it's out of date for refilling but I'll just needto grease a palm or two. It too needs a full clean, restore. Stainless nuts and bolts etc. Just one more project. My wife tells me I have a problem. Those barrels in the back? Gonna be rain barrels. Yep, another project. Maybe she's right.

You betcha. We love to gloat on that forum.... Been a member there for years, but primarily on the charcoal side of the world. Picked up my first gas Weber about 16 months ago, another vintage 2002 year Genesis.

Yes. I'll be running a dedicated gas line under the deck for the grill. It will have an easy hose disconnect at the deck location. Last night I put a couple of things on the LP Weber (about the same vintage) I have in the driveway. Gas tank ran out. Put on another tank, half full that was acting funny a few months ago. Still acting funny. Into the house I go with the food to finish it up. I had been eyeballing this grill on Craigslist for a few weeks now. It was still there this morning, so I sent a low ball offer. It was accepted, to my surprise, as long as I could come immediately. The guy selling was not getting good a Craigslist experience with it. Lots of eejits out there don't you know. I've done full rebuilds on more than a few of these. This one is going to be easy.

Stocking up pieces and parts for a possible back deck off the living room I caved for a vintage Weber Silver sidewinder Natural Gas grill. Craigslist, well less than $100 (though I drove an hour to get it, then spent too much $$$ at IKEA), and this grill looks like it's been used 5 times in the past 25 years, and cleaned thoroughly each time. Very nice gentleman seller, we chatted for a good 1/2 hour after loading it in the car. It'll be broken down to it's parts, all nuts and bolts replaced with stainless, brass gas valves pulled apart and lubed. Repainted where needed to freshen it up. A rainy day endeavor. It'll outlast me, I hope. Now I just have to build the deck....

We recently redid our kitchen, I intended to put another filter on the cold line to the kitchen to further condition the city feed. I put a whole house filter inline just after the meter and master shutoff when we moved in 30 years ago, basic filtering just to reduce the debris that can result from street work. I change that twice a year. Whole house filtering has done me well, my hot water heater is quite happy. Draining and flushing one a year shows very little sediment accumulation. The one for the sink will be used with a filter that will reduce the finer particles, possibly clean up the taste. We are lucky to have very good quality water, it tests with high marks. Reservoirs and treatment / pumping facility within 2 miles of the house. I'll drink straight from the tap, have been for years. I refuse to purchase bottled water for home use, can't see wasting the plastic. So thanks for starting this thread, it'll give me a kick in the backside to finish the installation. Easy install, I replaced a lot of the 66 year old copper pipe with PEX. No more than a half hour in the basement cutting and crimping.