Maison Rustique

I always brown in a skillet or roast in the oven. I've never simmered in stock, but I'm also not Irish.

There are some plastic bags that came with my A4. The only place I see them mentioned is on the box where it refers to Lazy-Cooking Bag. Any thoughts on how these are to be used?

Has anyone inquired about when the optional pans might be available? I'm anxious to get them!

I can't read the article (no account), but I would kill to have a Hoosier.

Mine just arrived this afternoon and I haven't used it yet, but I did turn it on to make sure it worked. I turned it on high for probably 7-8 minutes. When I turned it off, it stayed hot for probably 15 minutes and very warm for 25-30 minutes.

There may be a better place to post this but I couldn't find it. ABC News' David Muir had a delightful feature on Lodge cast iron company. Made me want to run out and buy one of their pans. What a cool company!

Just an FYI ANNIVERSARY5 still works for free unit, with shipping only ($44.99). I just did it. My consolation for losing Lucky this morning.

Does anyone remember the code to get it free and just pay for shipping?

Thanks for all the helpful info, @Smithy. I'm still on the fence. 🫠

Does it get hot enough to replace the Griddler with it?

You've got me still wanting one. Trying to figure out what I'll have to give up to make space for it. How big is it? With no handles on the insert, how hard is it to get it out when it is hot and full of food? My fingers are big and gnarled--they don't easily fit into small cracks.

@Tropicalsenior Beautiful quiche!! I am pastry-impaired.

I don't sous vide so certainly am no expert, but I think any sort of coating you'd use would just get gummy and gross. Try a dry rub instead. Then, if you're looking for crunch, sprinkle a little toasted panko or brioche crumbs over when you serve.

I sat in the dining room at the memory care many times this past year. You'd be amazed how many of the patients had a hard time eating--lots of choking at every meal. Some did have Parkinson's and I am pretty sure meds used for that are sometimes used for other dementia types, too. When they got to a certain stage, they would put them on liquid diets.

@liuzhou, thanks for sharing that. Fascinating stuff. As my husband got older, his mouth got very dry and what he would eat changed completely. I always chalked it up to his dementia, but now wondered if some it his eating habits were more related to dry mouth.

I love the idea of this! If I can ever make myself cook again, I'll put this on the list.

I haven't used it yet--I had too many appointments this week and bad weather here so just haven't gotten out to go grocery shopping. But soon!! I agree--and not easy to remember. I just refer to it as my Ninja pot most of the time.

I would like a house that is down-sized, packed up and ready to list for sale, though it is a terrible time to sell.

I would bite if I hadn't gotten the Cusinart Griddler a year or so ago and only just bought myself the Ninja Possible Cooker. No.More.Kitchen.Appliances.

Also, have you added any new medications lately? More often than people realize, a new medication can alter your tastes. My Mom had to stop eating meat when she started taking a certain medication because it made me at taste metallic.

Thanks, @rotuts and @DesertTinker!

@Smithy, That salad of beets, sauerkraut, capers, olives, etc. sounds intriguing. I need to do some Googling to see if I can find something similar.

Sorry I did not take any photos. Aside from a bit of family drama at the very beginning, our dinner at Lidia's was fantastic. There was entirely too much food. First course was served family style: Caesar salad; a walnut, celery and cheese salad ( I lucked out and got the leftovers); mushroom arancini, beef and pickled veggie toasts; tuna on toast; salami; mortadella ; and bread with a hummus and avocado-something and olive oil. All were wonderful. As if that wasn't enough, servers showed up with huge pans of pasts---a rigatoni in Bolognese and butternut squash ravioli in a sage brown butter sauce. The ravioli had a touch of cinnamon and something else slightly sweet in them. Delicious! By the time my short rib arrived, I took one bite and left it to get packed up. It is fabulous and I can't wait to have it for supper tonight. Pete had manicotti that looked wonderful, Heidi also had the short rib, my sister Kathy had pork loin that was stuffed with bourbon-soaked prunes and Aaron had salmon that looked lovely. They brought 2 trays of desserts--pumpkin cheesecake, various biscotti, tiramisu and candied orange peel. I had a couple of bites of tiramisu, but honestly at this point I was on overload. We had a couple of bottles of a very nice red wine (Montepulciano of some sort, though I didn't pay that much attention) and a wonderful time was had by all. And we all went home with lots of doggie bags and some turkey breast that Heidi had cooked, so we all get turkey sandwiches, too.

Happy Thanksgiving all!!

I might need to look into one of those grills now that it is just me. I'm not sure I'd fire up the regular Weber just for myself.