That small appliance you thought you could not live without ... where is it now?

[Katie Meadow]

It seems to me that the only way a slow cooker would be an advantage is when using a "not quite simmering" setting or a very slow simmer, so you could either keep food hot for a crowd or be confident you could go away for a few hours while your posole or green chile stew was cooking. Most criticism of various crockpots is that the controls aren't accurate enough, and they are especially inadequate in the very low simmer stages.

Thank you Anna, you have succeeded in making me feel way better--and I mean that! Good riddance to a space hog.

[gfweb]

I only use a crock pot for dip for teenage girl parties. Big space hog indeed.

[rotuts]

Now Now people : re the Crock.P

 

I had one 'late'  and oval rival.  tried it twice and it did not agree w me.  maybe before the Internet.

 

there was a Bit of Buzz at my Local Library, and i re-cobb-webbed the CP, buffed it a little and it now

 

lives at the Local Lib. for 'Staff Check Out'

 

really.  someone checked it out and made MeatBalls, Swedish or not, for an 'Affair' they were said to be 'Good'

 

etc

 

etc.

 

 

I have a friend, who was a distant 'train-ee' of mine who later after getting a 'real-job' locally, used to

 

throw in ( I bet just like that ) a chicken, some carrots, some potatoes, etc and turn the thing on while working a full day.

 

when then collected her two small children  ( from the Green-eggs-and-ham ) vintage and had a home made dinner.

 

I was invited over once.  It was OK.  the Small Children liked it.

 

well  good for her.  McDonald's was about 4 minutes away.

 

she did not like to cook, much.  but as a pediatrician, even a young one, dinner was made at home and Sur-la-Plate

 

I do like the idea of a C.P. for teen-age girl parties, though.

 

did you add food color ?  edible glitter ?

[btbyrd]

Centrifugal juicer: I got it for free from a friend who upgraded to a nicer model. I've used it probably five times in two years. Part of me wants a nicer Champion juicer until I remember that I don't drink juice and that would be a tremendous waste of money and space.

 

Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker: I put it on my wedding registry before I remembered (too late) that we don't really eat ice cream. Much less make our own. We've made two batches in 6 years.

 

Kitchenaid Mixer: This is the one I grew up on... my mom gave it to me when she upgraded. I never bake anything, so it basically serves as a meat grinder about once a month. I use its stainless steel bowl for various things.

 

ISI Whip: I use this infrequently to make whip cream (which I seldom eat) or to injection-brine poultry (which I do more often). When I got mine, I hoped that I'd use it a lot more than I actually do. Even after taking ChefSteps' Whipping Siphon class, it sits largely unused. Mocking me.

 

Polyscience Smoking Gun: I got this as a gift for my dad, but he never used it so he gifted it back to me. Now I never use it. I've used it to smoke butter a few times with some success but I find that it's too subtle on proteins and too intense on cheese (for the most part).

[Porthos]

I own crock pots in 2 sizes. Don't use them all of the time but I do like them for a couple of things.

 

They are perfect for my slow-cooked-in-Guinness corned beef.

 

I make pot roast in them. I brown the meat first then in it goes. I deglaze the pan and add that to the CP along with reconstituted bouillon, sliced onion, carrots and potatoes, then set it on low. 5 hours later I have meat done to my liking. I pull out the meat and veggies, strain the broth and make gravy from it in a saucier.

 

I did think of something else that takes up space. It doesn't qualify for "had to have it" though. My DW gave me a KitchenAid immersion blender several years ago. I have used it twice. It sits in a bottom drawer. What do cooks who like them use them for?

 

edited for typos.

Edited December 9, 2014 by Porthos (log)

[andiesenji]

I own crock pots in 2 sizes. Don't use them all of the time but I do like them for a couple of things.

 

They are perfect for my slow-cooked-in-Guinness corned beef.

 

I make pot roast in them. I brown the meat first then in it goes. I deglaze the pan and add that to the CP along with reconstituted bouillon, sliced onion, carrots and potatoes, then set it on low. 5 hours later I have meat done to my liking. I pull out the meat and veggies, strain the broth and make gravy from it in a saucier.

 

I did think of something else that takes up space. It doesn't qualify for "had to have it" though. My DW gave me a KitchenAid immersion blender several years ago. I have used it twice. It sits in a bottom drawer. What do cooks who like them use them for?

 

edited for typos.

Perhaps it is because I am gadget-oriented or have a huge dose of nerd - cookingwise - but although I was born, raised and learend to cook on a farm where there were few kitchen appliances, I love them.

 

I have two immersion blenders, one hangs it the little thingy that came with it over the prep area and the other - longer stem - hangs next to the hood over the stove top and I had an electric outlet installed up there just for that.

 

I mix all kinds of things in either a malt cup (I have a dozen of the steel ones) or in the plastic container that came with the one in the prep area.  I used it today to blend arrowroot into some fruit juice - I don't want any little "beads" of the dry stuff in my pie - and I will probably use the other tomorrow because I plan to make mushroom/shallot soup and I like it creamy with no lumps and I blend it right in the pot in which it cooks.

 

I could of course use my Thermomix but I am used to this method and I stick with what works. 

 

There is a delightful article about using stick blenders in The City Cook, to which I subscribe, and it was so informative that I printed it out and gave it, along with an immersion blender to a new mother who wants to try making her own baby food and had difficulty with a regular blender (her husband broke it trying to crack ice).  So far she has had great success and raved about the appliance so much her mother bought one...

[Porthos]

Andie, thanks for the link.

[ElainaA]

I use my Kitchen Aid immersion blender often. The blender attachment for soups - my favorite is Sweet Mama squash and apples - but  various veg and bean soups too pr anything else you would do in a blender (the clean up is So much easier than using a standard blender) ; the mini processor attachment has taken the place of my (now dead) mini Cuisinart  processor to chop up small amounts of garlic or veggies for vegetable cream cheese or other uses and the whisk attachment is perfect for small amounts of whipped cream. (The one phrase I learned from a lengthy visit to my daughter in Vienna is that everything is better "mit schnell" (with whipped cream in Viennese argot). 

Elaina

[Joe Blowe]

(The one phrase I learned from a lengthy visit to my daughter in Vienna is that everything is better "mit schnell" (with whipped cream in Viennese argot).

 

Mit schlag? Although I wouldn't mind yelling out MIT SCHNELL the next time I'm in Vienna!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

ISI Whip: I use this infrequently to make whip cream (which I seldom eat) or to injection-brine poultry (which I do more often). When I got mine, I hoped that I'd use it a lot more than I actually do. Even after taking ChefSteps' Whipping Siphon class, it sits largely unused. Mocking me.

 

 

M.R.

 

(I hope you have the liter one.)

[gfweb]

Stick blender?

 

I use it every few weeks for sauce or soup homogenizing. Cleans up easier than my supersonic blender, though it doesn't make the stuff nearly as smooth.

So I use it for rustic stuff.

 

More sauce than soup. I'm not a big soup guy. Except right now because I'm perfecting butternut squash soup for Xmas dinner's first course. Bacon fat seems to be key BTW.

 

And I use it for emergency mayo...or elective aioli.

 

[btbyrd]

M.R.

 

(I hope you have the liter one.)

 

 

No, I've got the pint/.5 liter one (which seemed to be the one that most of the recipes I found used). It's a great product and I appreciate the build quality every time I use it but I just don't use it as much as I could.

Edited December 9, 2014 by btbyrd (log)

[EnriqueB]

My Sous Vide Supreme?  Since I've received the Anova circulator, I doubt it'll be coming down off the shelf...anyone want a nice SVS, practically new, cheap?

 

My Omega juicer - this has been sitting on a shelf for years, but now I make all juices in my Blendtec.

 

Really? I have SVS and a circulator (and several other SV machiens) and SVS still gets constant use, if nothing else because it gains any circulator on long cooking process: totally silent, very well insulated, doesn't reset if electricity goes down for just a few seconds...

[JoNorvelleWalker]

No, I've got the pint/.5 liter one (which seemed to be the one that most of the recipes I found used). It's a great product and I appreciate the build quality every time I use it but I just don't use it as much as I could.

 

I have a 0.5 liter that I don't use very frequently.  Subsequently I bought two 1 liter iSi but one of them seems to be defective.  It leaks pressure through the valve.  (Note to self:  call them while it's still under warranty.)  The other 1 liter I use early and often...such as tonight.  It's never been sullied by anything but M.R.

 

How did I ever get along without it?

[rotuts]

""  What do cooks who like them use them for? ""

 

I use them for pureeing soup

 

oddly favorite soup is Campbells Bean&Bacon.  i add things to it like spanish smoked paprika etc

 

the use the stick blender to about 80 % puree.

 

[lindag]

Oh yes, I forgot about the iSi whip 1.5 liter and the soda siphon, both of which have never been used!

[ElsieD]

[quote

- and then there was a breadmaker someone gave me - never used - bread was always the ONE thing that I think should always be made by hand - literally (with the exception of the cinnamon rolls I make in the Thermomix) - it was given away pronto.

Deryn, any chance you could post or PM me the link to the Thermomic cinnamon rolls?

[Shel_B]

Back around 1978 I acquired a Krups coffee grinder, like this one:  http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/krups-coffee-grinder/100211?mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_coffeetea_&adpos=1o1&creative=39230273869&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKEAiA2JqkBRDshIOY_9eMghkSJABvNd1Qt0VCLLPoCb9dm362tEC9W0ofqfQF12bQWrU33gkCNhoCqQvw_wcB

 

I used it for a couple of years and then replaced it with a burr grinder, and put the workhorse Krups in a cabinet somewhere, out of sight, out of mind.

 

Some years ago I started to use it as a spice grinder, and after a while it disappeared.  When I moved into my retirement apartment, the Krups reappeared, and now it's on it's third cycle, being used once again as a spice grinder.  Works great, but that puppy is showing its age.

[GlorifiedRice]

Since you brought it up:  Detergents suck because manufacturers were forced to remove phosphates.  Turns out that the household discharge of phosphates weren't doing nearly the damage to the environment as preached by the Greenies.

 

The work around is to buy commercial detergents, which are exempt from phospate regulations, or buy your own phospate and add it to your detergents

 

I know that, but since Washington State housewives have been arrested coming back over the border from Idaho with Phosphate rich dish detergent, I didnt wanna post out loud about it.

[btbyrd]

The other 1 liter I use early and often...such as tonight.  It's never been sullied by anything but M.R.

 

How did I ever get along without it?

 

What's "M.R."?

[rotuts]

its here :

 

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/149804-methode-rotuts/?hl=%2Bmethode#entry1998515

 

go to the top OP entry

 

a method of using a Pure Fizz to make 'bubbly wine'

 

and else where before this .

 

well worth it Id Say.

Edited December 9, 2014 by rotuts (log)

[Toliver]

I own crock pots in 2 sizes. Don't use them all of the time but I do like them for a couple of things.

 

They are perfect for my slow-cooked-in-Guinness corned beef...

I use my West Bend slow-cooker (it's not a real crock pot) to make my twice yearly corned beef (for St. Patrick's Day and for New Year's Day). It makes it so easy and the meat is fall apart tender. Plus, the pot can be used on the stovetop to make the potatoes and carrots with the water/broth from the corned beef. That makes my slow-cooker valuable to me though I don't use it as often as I did in years past.

 

The crock pot can also be used for Onion Confit (click).

[Lisa Shock]

I did think of something else that takes up space. It doesn't qualify for "had to have it" though. My DW gave me a KitchenAid immersion blender several years ago. I have used it twice. It sits in a bottom drawer. What do cooks who like them use them for?

 

 

I use mine all the time for:

• making nut butters from my home-roasted nuts -much tastier than store bought, and I can make amounts as needed, keeping fresh nuts in freezer
• making smooth soups -I have a friend who doesn't like chunky tomato bits in soup or sauce
• hummus -I start by roasting nuts, then making nut butter, then adding the garbanzos and seasoning
• homemade sauces like BBQ sauce from scratch and ketchup
• purees to add to pasta dough for flavor, or as pasta filling
• pureed raw onion in quantity as a base various Indian dishes

I got myself a couple of sizes of steel milkshake cups to use with the immersion blender. In some cases, like soups, you can just blend inside the cooking pot. As others have mentioned, it's a LOT easier to wash than an old-school blender.

[ElainaA]

Joe Blowe : Of course "schlag"! How can I manage to confuse what are about the only 2 words I know in German! Ouch!.

Elaina

[Okanagancook]

I too have the Cadco countertop 1/2 sheet pan size which I have had for years and I love it.  My first food processor was a Cuisinart, made by Robot Coupe in France and converted to U.S. current in the 1970s before they were sold for home use here.  I still have it. 

 

 

Thanks to your post on this wonderful machine I too have one that I use more and more especially since I found that oven cleaner works a treat to make it like new again.  Wish it had a light inside though.

 

I have some shelves out in the dog/laundry area where my not so favourite/under used gadgets go to.  When I get something new I usually have to more another underused gadget back there so the someone has to go out the door!  Last out the door was my parents' old Braun Juicer.  Coming in is a Lodge dutch oven so my DH can make bread from Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast.