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I Want One Of Those


delyn

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Heavy cleaver suitable for chopping through bones.

Or through hard winter squashes. I have one that I picked up in a second hand store or a farm sale--so long ago I can't remember. But it is clearly a professional butchers' tool and is meant to be used by someone with major upper body strength. I hardly ever use it--but it is hanging on the wall in my kitchen and makes a clear statement to anyone entering who does not know me: Don't provoke!

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I must be losing my mind. This morning I was watching the Biography Channel special on the making of Animal House and I saw an infomercial for the Titan Peeler and for a brief second I was tempted to buy it. What the hell is wrong with me?

Go to TJMaxx, look in the cooking gadget section, and buy a Kuhn Rikon piranha peeler for $3. They have the little serrations (AKA "micro-blade technology"), and they work great. I've bought two and use them all the time. That could satisfy your gadget craving without costing you $40 in shipping charges. ;)

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Back near the beginning of the decade, I decided I couldn't live without a mezzaluna. The one I have looks close to this.

In any case, I rarely use it and keep it in a miscellaneous gadget drawer. The plastic cover that came with it split apart within a year or so after I got it, and (stupidly) instead of taping it back together, I threw it out. Does anyone have any suggestions for what to use as a protective cover? It's rather dangerous to have it loose in a drawer, though I haven't lost any fingers yet ;).

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Back near the beginning of the decade, I decided I couldn't live without a mezzaluna. The one I have looks close to this.

In any case, I rarely use it and keep it in a miscellaneous gadget drawer. The plastic cover that came with it split apart within a year or so after I got it, and (stupidly) instead of taping it back together, I threw it out. Does anyone have any suggestions for what to use as a protective cover? It's rather dangerous to have it loose in a drawer, though I haven't lost any fingers yet ;).

Fold a piece of corrugated cardboard around the blade and tape it in place.

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I must be losing my mind. This morning I was watching the Biography Channel special on the making of Animal House and I saw an infomercial for the Titan Peeler and for a brief second I was tempted to buy it. What the hell is wrong with me?

Could have used that at DCCK yesterday. After an hour of peeling potatoes the size of shallots, I resorted to bribery and groveling to trade off the task... in favor of cutting carrots or onions or even opening cans. Alas, to no avail.

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Could have used that at DCCK yesterday. After an hour of peeling potatoes the size of shallots, I resorted to bribery and groveling to trade off the task... in favor of cutting carrots or onions or even opening cans. Alas, to no avail.

You know it was bad if legant was looking to chop ONIONS! That was the first DCCK lesson she taught me: "avoid onion duty at all costs!"

You definitely learn to appreciate the value of a nice sharp peeler after several hours/pounds of peeling potatoes.

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Fold a piece of corrugated cardboard around the blade and tape it in place.

Thanks. I guess that should have occurred to me by now ;) I don't think we have any corrugated cardboard, but I'll keep my eye open for the next piece to come into the household and grab it before it gets recycled.

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You know it was bad if legant was looking to chop ONIONS! That was the first DCCK lesson she taught me: "avoid onion duty at all costs!"

No Grasshopper; it was avoid carrots at all costs. The knives aren't sharp enough, the carrots stain your gloves and they're the size of a baby's leg.

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I was so impressed with a cavatelli (ricotta dough pasta) dish that I had at the Little Owl in NYC, I went ahead and bought a cavatelli maker. Pretty fun device. Mine's a hand crank one that I got for about $35, but you can see a homebrewed electric one do its thing here. Used the dough recipe found here.

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I don't know why I am so obsessed with getting outside cooking gear-as hot as it is, I don't even GO outside, let alone cook there-but for some reason I felt compelled to add another outside camp stove-Sierra Trading] to my collection. I think it started after I saw the camp stove that ol ironstomach brought to the picnic for the bacon-tasting, which inspired me to get this,(I didn't pay this much, got a closeout deal at Lowes), along w/ misc. dutch ovens, skillets, gridddles....After a disaster, assuming my propane holds out, I'll be set....

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You can get an immersion blender for about $20 and it will make mayo in seconds flat.

I key word in my comment is "some" - I have no problem making mayo, for me the most annoying part is drizzling the oil, plus this might allow for the use of extra virgin olive oil without the mayo being bitter.

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I key word in my comment is "some" - I have no problem making mayo, for me the most annoying part is drizzling the oil, plus this might allow for the use of extra virgin olive oil without the mayo being bitter.

With an immersion blender, you put everything in the little jar, place the bottom of the blender on the floor of the jar, turn it on,and slowly draw it to the top of the jar. That's it. I watched José Andres make allioli like that on Made in Spain, and tried it with some Spanish extra virgin olive oil. It worked and tasted great - not bitter. (Photo for emphasis.)

post-3913-0-60525600-1293472991_thumb.jp

I know I sound like a shill for immersion blenders, but if you would use one for other things, which I do, it makes emulsions so easy.

(YouTube video for more emphasis.) And that guy did more prep work than I did, I just threw everything in.
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With an immersion blender, you put everything in the little jar, place the bottom of the blender on the floor of the jar, turn it on,and slowly draw it to the top of the jar. That's it. I watched José Andres make allioli like that on Made in Spain, and tried it with some Spanish extra virgin olive oil. It worked and tasted great - not bitter.

Now if I could only find Poivrot Farci's Aioli rant...
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I key word in my comment is "some" - I have no problem making mayo, for me the most annoying part is drizzling the oil, plus this might allow for the use of extra virgin olive oil without the mayo being bitter.

Use your Vitamix blender, take the plastic button off of the lid and drizzle the oil in through there. Be sure that your egg is room temp before you start. If your olive oil is bitter, the mayo will be--I don't think the technique is the problem. I generally use a mild, buttery Spanish oil for making mayo, rather than a spicy, grassy Italian oil.
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Use your Vitamix blender, take the plastic button off of the lid and drizzle the oil in through there. Be sure that your egg is room temp before you start. If your olive oil is bitter, the mayo will be--I don't think the technique is the problem. I generally use a mild, buttery Spanish oil for making mayo, rather than a spicy, grassy Italian oil.

I do not like bitter, so none of the olive oils I use are. As for technique causing the issue, I will point to James Peterson's Sauces (page 372 in the second addition under "A Note on Using Extra Virgin Olive Oil")

Mayonnaise containing extra virgin olive oil should be gently worked by hand, using a wooden spoon or a mortar and pestle, once the olive oil has been added. Strange as it may seem, when olive oil is beaten with a whisk or in a machine, it loses its fruitiness and turns bitter.

I certainly believe you that your mayonnaise have turned out to be fine, but so far my experience mirrors what Peterson wrote.

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Soy milk maker. We use a lot of soy milk and I'd like to make my own, but the prospect of squeezing pounds of hot boiled ground soy beans through cheesecloth is daunting.

Googling around it appears that the better quality ones cost hundreds.

Which isn't surprising, better quality kitchen appliances are not cheap.

And something tells me that I won't be seeing results from a comparative test of soy milk makers from Consumer Reports or Cooks Illustrated anytime soon.

So, to you I say, the best rice cooker is Zojirushi with neuro fuzzy logic. I know this from experience. Speak to me about soy milk makers. Thank you.

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Soy milk maker. We use a lot of soy milk and I'd like to make my own, but the prospect of squeezing pounds of hot boiled ground soy beans through cheesecloth is daunting.

I hate to say this, but it's not worth the cost, figuring in the amount of time it took to feed it through the machine + additional labor that got there. My mom bought one when we were much younger, and we used it only twice. The two memories I have was that it was messy, it took half a day, and some burnt skin from the cheesecloth squeezing. And the result was something that lasted only a day or day and a half, based on my family's consumption. It was easier to have a bigger facility to do this -- one footage I saw was really old-fashioned: stone mill grounding soybeans in the courtyard (lots of space). If you have a tiny kitchen, I just feel like you might be miserable. But the current machines might not be as labor intensive as ours was. Just sharing a thought.

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I hate to say this, but it's not worth the cost, figuring in the amount of time it took to feed it through the machine + additional labor that got there. My mom bought one when we were much younger, and we used it only twice. The two memories I have was that it was messy, it took half a day, and some burnt skin from the cheesecloth squeezing. And the result was something that lasted only a day or day and a half, based on my family's consumption. It was easier to have a bigger facility to do this -- one footage I saw was really old-fashioned: stone mill grounding soybeans in the courtyard (lots of space). If you have a tiny kitchen, I just feel like you might be miserable. But the current machines might not be as labor intensive as ours was. Just sharing a thought.

The new one automatic soy milk makers grind and cook and strain (not sure in what order?) and don't appear to be any bigger than a blender.

Elizabeth Andoh recommends them in Kansha, but doesn't recommend any particular brand.

The only place I have found a lot of reviews is on Amazon. Lately when I search for reviews using google I get a lot of redirects to fake sites. Not sure what to do about that.

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Elizabeth Andoh recommends them in Kansha, but doesn't recommend any particular brand.

Ilaine, here are some review sites I found that might help. Front runners appear to be: Soyajoy, SoyQuick and Soyapower.

Review of Popular Soymilk Makers

Buzzle's soymilk maker reviews

Bryanna's Vegan Feast blog review

Eta: Soyajoy review on Yahoo!

Hope this helps!

Edited by goodeats
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I received one of my 'I want one of those' items for Xmas-a La Chamba pot & I made an impromptu dish w/ chicken, potatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms, rosemary & oregano. It was pretty good & I followed up w/ another braised dish of beef w/ veg. My husband asked me the other day, 'So, is that pot sort of like a crockpot?' , & I had to agree that it was, but w/out the heating element. I just need to dig up some other long braised recipes. It's a beautiful pot....

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I received one of my 'I want one of those' items for Xmas-a La Chamba pot & I made an impromptu dish w/ chicken, potatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms, rosemary & oregano. ... It's a beautiful pot....

I agree - they really are pretty. I wonder if you could use it for no knead bread?

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Ilaine, here are some review sites I found that might help. Front runners appear to be: Soyajoy, SoyQuick and Soyapower.

Review of Popular Soymilk Makers

Buzzle's soymilk maker reviews

Bryanna's Vegan Feast blog review

Eta: Soyajoy review on Yahoo!

Hope this helps!

Thank you! And, in the meantime, I discovered that google redirects are caused by trojans, so had Kaspersky do a full scan, and they were hiding in my Java cache! Did not even know I had a Java cache. Brrr. Stay safe!

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