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Equipment Advice


goodeats

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If you are thinking of a deep fryer (I know, I'm responding to a post a couple months old), AND if you don't have a crockpot, I would recommend this:

http://www.gopresto.com/products/products.php?stock=06020

It deep fries, but I use mine to stew or braise meat overnight. I also use it for canning (if it can boil oil, it can sure boil water!), and it claims you can do rice in it, although I haven't tried enough times to figure if I like the results.

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Thanks for pointing this out, it looks very versatile. I didn't pick up the Aldi deep fryer, so I'll add this to my wish list (although I have way too many kitchen gadgets). When I went to the Amazon Presto page, first thing on the list was a PopLite electric corn popper-I have one that's about 17 yrs old & still cranking out the popcorn...

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What do you all make of the new non-PTFE (Teflon) pans that are all the rage now? I guess there's a push-back on Teflon these days, but are the ceramic nonstick pans as good and do they last as long? I see they're used on lots of cooking shows these days, so either they have a good publicist or they're reliable. Which reminds me, I need to comment on this season's Hell's Kitchen!

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I need a new disposal to replace an Insinkerator Badger of unknown age. It's leaking and really nasty looking, and attached with hard wiring and that three-screw plate at the top. Does anyone have a recommendation for a fabulous disposer, or does it really matter? I figure if I get the same brand, it will be that much easier to replace, but I'm open to suggestions.

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If you get the same brand, it probably won't even matter- hopefully, you have someone who is handy to install it, I had to get a plumber, & it was outrageously priced-but I couldn't do it myself (well, I guess I could, but it would have taken some research & sweating-I can handle most toilet problems, but just didn't want to try the disposal)....

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Ok, today I got a little frustrated with apartment living, ONLY because I feel that I have some appliance need that is not met AND appliances that aren't living up to their needs. I have a blender which I NEVER use. We maybe make frozen margaritas, daquiris or smoothies 3x a year. Not enough to warrant the large amount of space taken up by the blender. I also have a mini-prep cuisinart, which I feel just isn't large enough to do very much, so I don't use it that often, but I feel like if I had something better I might use it. I also have a madeline which I have never used and need to, it just scares me a little bit. I feel like none really meet my full needs, and take up a lot of space. I want to know what should I keep and what should go. I use the mini prep for things like chopping raw vegetables and making sauces in batches, smoothing soups, and chunky sauces such as pesto, etc. I would like to have a food processor that could chop, slice and grate, which my mini prep doesn't do (it's a 4 cup cuisinart).

I was thinking a stick/immersion blender could meet my blender needs and actually fit int he cabinet and also some of the things I currently use my mini prep for? That way I could get rid of the blender? And learn to use the madeline for slicing and grating or replace it and the mini prep with a better food processor that can do the things that both those items currently do? Am I crazy, would the stick blender work well enough to do that and if so which one??

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If you get the Cuisinart stick blender, it comes with a little mini-chopper bowl attachment and a whisk for whipping egg whites and cream. They make great smoothies in the glass, too. Another option is a new food processor that has nested bowls including a small one. I've been waiting years for my 20-year-old Braun food processor to die (a motor on the side - it's a huge footprint) so I can get one of those.

On another topic, can someone recoomend a toaster, not a toaster oven, but a toaster, that will actually make evenly-browned toast for longer than six months before it starts making streaky, partially burned, partially raw, crapola toast?

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On another topic, can someone recoomend a toaster, not a toaster oven, but a toaster, that will actually make evenly-browned toast for longer than six months before it starts making streaky, partially burned, partially raw, crapola toast?

We've had an Oster 2-slice toaster for 7 years and it still works fine. It was a pretty basic model and I'm not sure they still make the exact same one, but it has a setting for bagels and one for toasting from frozen bread. The slots are extra wide, so it fits a variety of bread sizes.

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For what it's worth, I think I use my mini food processor (it's ancient, a Hamilton Beach Emmie) & my Benriner more than my large food processor (Braun) & stick blender, those 2 live in the garage. But I can sympathize w/ having excess kitchen equipment, I have stuff stashed all over the place-everyone in the family knows I like to cook, so I've received numerous Xmas & Bday presents over the years, some of which I have been hard-pressed to find a use for-why on earth would anyone want a Twinkie mold & plunger (shaped like a twinkie cowboy) for stuffing them?

When my trusty little B&D toaster oven was set on fire by my DD (after many years of service), I replaced it w/ a Sanyo toaster/convection oven, that I still haven't quite figured out the convection oven quirks yet (for some reason, the time runs backwards, & you can only set a temperature range)-it toasts things excellently, though....

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I thought I had sent the Twinkie cowboy to the thrift shop rodeo, but when I poked around in the garage (which is scary), he was still there- maybe I have a soft spot. I'll bet if I pulled out all the banished kitchen equipment from the garage, I could find some treasures (& that's not even counting all the monkeypod serving dishes)....

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Thanks all for the advice. We just got a new toaster, don't know how much I like it yet, so don't want to recommend as it is still new, it replaced a very generic which I forget the brand of but worked great for a long time, I was sad when it died.

There used to be a little shop on the west side of 18th Street near the bottom of Adams Morgan that sold all kinds of old/retro stuff. Sometime in the 1990s I bought an old toaster there (I'm blanking on whether it's a Toastmaster or a GE), complete with the chrome exterior and the fabric-wrapped power cord. I'd guess it was new in about 1960. It still works great, although it has the narrow slots of that era that are useless for bagels, but then I never have bagels.

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I find myself with a set of Christmas china, and I need to choose some storage containers for dinner and salad plates. Looking online, I found round, soft, quilted ones as well as rigid boxes, both with felt dividers for in between the plates. Does anyone have experience with the various storage options? Pros and cons are welcome.

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I find myself with a set of Christmas china, and I need to choose some storage containers for dinner and salad plates. Looking online, I found round, soft, quilted ones as well as rigid boxes, both with felt dividers for in between the plates. Does anyone have experience with the various storage options? Pros and cons are welcome.

I don't have the boxes; however, I finally got around to getting sets of the quilted ones for my two different sets of china (they were on sale a Bed Bath & Beyond), when we moved. I just love them, but neither came with a container for soup bowls. They do a great job of keeping the dishes dust-free between uses and seem to help accidental chips from happening. I guess it depends on how much space is taken up and how much you are willing to spend on storage.

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Is it Bowery Kitchen Supply in the Chelsea Market that's the do-not-miss store in Manhattan, or am I forgetting something better?

I ended up getting a few things at Bowery--it's a winter wonderland...loved it!

Winter wonderland is a perfect descriptor. Overwhelming is another. :)

I was at Bowery Kitchen supply for the first time yesterday, and could easily have spent an hour, except J. was restless and agitating to to leave. I had just been to Buon Italia, another fabulous store in Chelsea Market, and he had two heavy bags to carry. The day before I went a little bit berserk at Kalustyan's, so quite a fruitful trip to Manhattan.
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I had just been to Buon Italia, another fabulous store in Chelsea Market

I've been to Buon Italia at Chelsea Market twice, I believe, or maybe thrice. I loved it to the point of going gaga. Another Italian store that would quickly lead me into bankruptcy if it were in Washington is the wonderful Formaggio in the South End of Boston.

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The Cuisinart food processor I have had for 21 years broke apart. (The plastic piece that connected the bowl to the top had become increasingly difficult to use and tonight it just snapped.) I'm not sure what to get to replace it. The Osterizer blender I have is even older. Mostly I use the fp and blender for soups and sauces. Sometimes I use an immersion blender for those. I'd rather get one piece of new equipment than two.

Suggestions?

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The Cuisinart food processor I have had for 21 years broke apart. (The plastic piece that connected the bowl to the top had become increasingly difficult to use and tonight it just snapped.) I'm not sure what to get to replace it. The Osterizer blender I have is even older. Mostly I use the fp and blender for soups and sauces. Sometimes I use an immersion blender for those. I'd rather get one piece of new equipment than two.

Suggestions?

Maybe not this one but something like this?

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Although I love my Vitamix, it simply can't process food in the same way the FP can. I use the FP for chopping jobs where I want the food chopped or blended* equally. I also love the shredding it can do. So, I think the blender and FP are the right tools for the right jobs.
Obviously, storage isn't an issue for me, so B)
*thinking of faux mashed potatoes made with cauliflower last week. I steamed a head of cauliflower and let it sit on a hunk of cream cheese and a bit of butter until they melted a bit, then whipped them up in the FP, which is an old Cuisinart model that Mr. MV had. It's a solid piece and takes a licking, but keeps on ticking.

eta: "Doh!", the FP does dough too.

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The Cuisinart food processor I have had for 21 years broke apart. (The plastic piece that connected the bowl to the top had become increasingly difficult to use and tonight it just snapped.) I'm not sure what to get to replace it. The Osterizer blender I have is even older. Mostly I use the fp and blender for soups and sauces. Sometimes I use an immersion blender for those. I'd rather get one piece of new equipment than two.

Suggestions?

Given the conversation, this caught my eye.

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Wow. I want to see some consumer reviews on this one.

They have not reviewed it, on the other hand the Ninja 1000 (which Consumer Reports calls a "Food Chopper") got a 21 with a fair rating for chopping and pureeing, poor for grating, and average for noise.

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I want to buy myself a present- which would you pick? This one-http://importfood.com/cwkk1201.html Or this one http://importfood.com/satay_grill.html ? & I'm also considering http://importfood.com/cwfp1601.html

I have small grills & I also have cast iron cookware (although not in this shape). I should probably cross post this on Thai noodles 101. I know I can cook good Thai food on all of the stuff I already have, but I've been thinking about these items for awhile.

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Well, since I don't have an abelskiver pan, either, I went w/ the kanom krok pan & the aluminum fish warmer (& some Tom yum paste, since my favorite was discontinued by my local market, I'll see if this is better). I do covet the satay grill, but I have 3 grills of this size- a cute terra cotta pig from World Market, an Ikea globe grill, & a folding portable grill. So, I will have to wait on this one....

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I never would have appreciated the fish warmer pan but for grilling 2 whole fish last week. I'm not adept at getting the flesh off, so by the time I got the (mostly) boneless fish on the plate, it was tepid at best :(

Ah, practice will make perfect, or at least better!

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I want a knife that will slice baked goods like brownies and cakes without crushing them or getting half the thing stuck to the knife. I understand this may be a pipe dream, but I'm wondering about the hollow-edge slicing knives that people use to slice meats. Has anyone tried them in other capacities?

Edited to say - I've tried the hot water trick, those weird comb-looking "cake slicers," and I'm too impatient to freeze everything so I get clean cuts. So not only am I demanding a lot from a knife, I'm going to be a bit of a pita about it. :ph34r:

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