Share your cookware discoveries that you now can't live without

[whatevergirl]

I just went out and got a black and decker food chopper, the small 1-2 cup size. I had a cuisinart that does not chop well at all, it mangles food esp. veggies. Left my old one when we sold the trailer, and now I am a happy camper again. It is getting very hard to chop with a knife because of arthritis, so I love it.

we do have a kitchen aid food processor the big monster jobbie DH bought from a TV ad why I don’t know, but I have tried it exactly 3 times and give up, I just don’t do big jobs like that, so he took it to the parish kitchen and they use it frequently

I am not big on appliances but I use the George Foreman mini-grill at least twice a week. We got a Vita-Mix blender about 20 years ago and literally have used it almost daily since then. I used grind grains and make bread when we had a bread machine, but we don’t eat grain based food much any more. We make fruit smoothies and veggie soups virtually every day. Also wet-chop large quantities of cabbage for slaw, potatoes for hash browns, made enough for the parish fish fry in about 20 minutes.
We have sent it back twice to the factory for sharpening, cleaning and reconditioning–at no charge, and they replace the containers when they get grungy.

DD uses the quesadilla maker daily, or at least her kids do.

I also use an old fashioned apple-corer daily.

*Hi annie–the GF grill…we have that, and never use it anymore because clean up is so hard with it…how do you clean it without it being a pain? The problem I had with ours is it was hard for the wire to stay dry. I wonder if the newer models have a detachable wire…otherwise, I liked it a lot. I have the bella cuccina grill now, with removeable grill plates, and that makes clean up a breeze. *

 

[whatevergirl]

*This might sound silly…lol But, I watched ‘‘Cooking for Real’’ this morning with my hubby, and we both looked at each other and said…’‘there’s the pot you/I bought me/you.’’ (you start thinking alike the longer you’re married ) I am looking forward to cooking with this thing for Christmas…think I’m going to make braised beef. It seems to be a popular thing among the foodnetwork chefs to cook in this pot. *

 

[Rach620]

That wasn’t the pan, that’s only because butter has a very low burn point. Some fats can go to very high temps, but butter is not one of them. If you are doing a steak there is no reason you can’t just put it in a lightly oiled or even dry pan until if forms a crust and you can turn it over. I used to do blackened catfish in a black cast iron skillet - dredge the fish in melted butter, then in blackening seasoning. Drip off as much of the butter first before going in the seasoning. Then sear both sides in the pan, turning only once, until the fish is cooked through. It really is outstanding!!! But if you try to put butter directly into an extremely hot pan it will surely burn and smoke you out of the kitchen.

Try it again - just watch what you use in the hot pan. Cooking with non-coated cast iron is not an instant thing, it does take a little practice.

~Liza

Ooh, thanks Liza. From what I had read online I thought it must have been the butter, but then it was smoking a little before the butter even hit it…so who knows. I guess I should take that cast iron grill pan out of cookware purgatory and give it another shot…

Word from the wise: burned, smoky butter smells AWFUL. Iiiiiiick. It took a couple of days for that smell to get out of the apartment. Just because the professionals butter up their grills doesn’t mean YOU should too!

 

[kage_ar]

Ooh, thanks Liza. From what I had read online I thought it must have been the butter, but then it was smoking a little before the butter even hit it…so who knows. I guess I should take that cast iron grill pan out of cookware purgatory and give it another shot…

Word from the wise: burned, smoky butter smells AWFUL. Iiiiiiick. It took a couple of days for that smell to get out of the apartment. Just because the professionals butter up their grills doesn’t mean YOU should too!

Another trick, put a bit of olive oil in with the butter. The oil somehow protects the butter and you don’t get that smoking.

 

[whatevergirl]

Another trick, put a bit of olive oil in with the butter. The oil somehow protects the butter and you don’t get that smoking.

Thank you thank you! I am so over butter burning, and I can’t believe there is a remedy for that…uh, besides not burning it. lol

 

[whatevergirl]

uch:

*Oh brother, so I used dish soap cleaning this last night…and I let it air dry on the dish rack. My husband was reading the little instruction booklet on how to clean it, and he said…um, it says no soap, and we have to dry it as soon as we clean it! He said it’s because the exposed cast iron around the rim of the pot is exposed, and will rust. I hadn’t even given it any thought! Anywho…if you are just getting one of these yourself, and are new to the world of cast iron, even if it’s covered with enamel, you still have to follow strict cleaning instructions!

PS–Oh, I made an eggplant/vegetarian type casserole last night using this…It was hard to clean, we’ll leave it at that. That is the only downfall with this, that I can tell. I just loved how I could saute the veggies right over the stove, then once I had everything added, I took the same pot and put it in the oven…Genius! *

 

[lizaanne]

uch:

*Oh brother, so I used dish soap cleaning this last night…and I let it air dry on the dish rack. My husband was reading the little instruction booklet on how to clean it, and he said…um, it says no soap, and we have to dry it as soon as we clean it! He said it’s because the exposed cast iron around the rim of the pot is exposed, and will rust. I hadn’t even given it any thought! Anywho…if you are just getting one of these yourself, and are new to the world of cast iron, even if it’s covered with enamel, you still have to follow strict cleaning instructions!
*

Pishaw!!! I never treat my enameled cast iron any different than any other piece of cookwear. Clean up a a breeze - just soak a bit and everything comes right off with dishsoap and a scrubby side of a sponge, and I throw them in the dishwasher too. I’ve never had a problem.

~Liza

 

[jilly4ski]

I can’t live without my 3 cast iron frying pans. The 10 inch is the most useful, though I really like the small one for frying individual eggs.

Also my kitchen Aid stand mixer. (Whatevergirl, I think the mixer has an attachment that makes(rolls out and flattens) noddles. my parents use it a lot, though they only made an egg noddle type noddle).

I have 2 stainless steal pans. They are heavy bottom pans, and hardly ever scroch or burn. I find they are easy to clean, I just soak them in water and they come clean very fast. I love them.

 

[monicatholic]

i soak mine, too. i use bon ami and if i’m outa that, i have used ajax cleanser.

if something is pretty stuck (because i didn’t grease it well) i simmer it on the stove with a big handful of salt in it. i don’t know why that works but it does.

the only kid-glove lesson i’ve learned, WhateverG, is to store the pieces in a way that they don’t clank on anything.

 

[kage_ar]

To get the cooked on food out of your enameled (or any other pan that is stove top safe)…

Put some water and liquid dish soap in the pan and put it on the burner. Bring it to a boil, then let it cool til it is cool enough to put your hand in the water - the food will come right out.

 

[whatevergirl]

Pishaw!!! I never treat my enameled cast iron any different than any other piece of cookwear. Clean up a a breeze - just soak a bit and everything comes right off with dishsoap and a scrubby side of a sponge, and I throw them in the dishwasher too. I’ve never had a problem.

~Liza

:tsktsk: What? You have broken the cardinal rule of putting your cast iron pot in the…gasp…dishwasher??? hahahaha Seriously, it states in the booklet, not to do that. I thought…what? And you have never had a rusting problem?? Liza, can you rewrite the booklet?

 

[DOShea]

*Food processor–my dh and I were talking about that, too…if the budget allows. lol What brand do you recommend? We have a very small one currently (very), and I don’t use it much, but my husband loves it. *

I owned a Cuisinart for years and when the motor finally went out I went to buy a new one but stopped short of the greatly inflated price they now have. Since my primary use for it is blending liquids with herbs and maybe some garlic, I went and bought this Black & Decker one for under $60 at Wal Mart. I figured if it lasts two years, that’ll do and I’ll go get another one.

That was a bit over a year ago. It runs flawlessly, and makes about 1/2 the noise of a Cuisinart. Doesn’t have the fancy storage thing for the blades in the bottom, but I have shelves and drawers for that. In actual performance, mixing or chopping, I can’t find any difference between it and my former $300 unit. I’ve used it for everything from chopping nuts to making dressings, flavored butter, chopping and shredding fruits and veggies, blending doughs… basically about everything you could use one for.

For 1/5 the price of one of those high-dollar brand units, you get a quieter unit with equal performance, at least in everything I’ve used it on. I grow my own herbs in the spring and summer, lots of them, so I bought a second one I keep out in the shed just for grinding up dried herbs. They work great, and everything goes right in the dishwasher for cleanup.

 

[puzzleannie]

agree whole heartedly about Black and Decker appliances, they make more than drills, quieter, processes food better, easier to clean. BTW when you simply cannot get a jar open, have your hubby drill a hole in the lid with his B&D and that breaks the seal (if he doesn’t break the jar first).

one thing I am looking for that also stayed with the old trailer is a self-cleaning garlic press, you flip it backwards and little teeth punch the goop out of the holes

till then I will stick with chopped garlic in jars from the produce dept, or roast whole garlic heads

I finally found a one-sandwich size electric fry pan, horrible, heats unevenly, burns half the sandwich, and the rest of the cheese does not even melt, nearly impossible to get the handle with the controls on and off

my GF grill is a one-steak or fillet size. when it is unplugged and cool I fold up 4-5 paper towels and get them wet, put them in the grill and close it and let it sit for a while. the goop wipes up with paper towels. then I spray the whole thing inside and out with spray kitchen cleaner like windex, wipe until there is no brown residue anywhere, and store it with a piece of paper towel in between the grill plates. I wipe with a damp towel before I use it, and never grease it or use pam. yes it could be easier to clean but even the ones with removable grill plates still seem to need a lot of cleaning of the base.

 

[dixieagle]

What a fun thread! (WG - I love the creative threads you start!!!)

I’ve always liked cooking, and now have more time to do it, with the empty nest and all that. I remember my mom using a cast iron skillet, with tons of butter, and then scrubbing the heck out of it after she’d use it; she could not bring herself NOT to scrub! I have a cast iron skillet, and use it occasionally. I like it for scallops, as I can get it searing hot, which is necessary for that nice brown crust. I usually clean with a nylon scrubby and actually do use dishwashing liquid…I’m my mother’s daughter! I make sure it’s dried immediately, and it works well. My biggest worry is accidentally dropping it on my smooth ceramic cooktop (which I HATE; there’s something very wrong when water can become a burnt-on mess!!!)

My pots and pans are all stainless, and I love them. I think they’re just FarberWare, as I am notoriously cheap. They do an excellent job, and aren’t hard to clean at all. If something sticks in the skillet, I bring water to a boil with a little baking soda, let it cool, and, Voila! - cleans up beautifully.

My daughter and SIL gave me a pizza stone for my birthday; I could exist on really good, New York style pizza daily, and am a total pizza snob. I love the stone, and have had luck with home-made crusts, but it is a lot of work! After 35 years of marriage, I told dh that, for Christmas (early) I would love a good stand mixer. I looked up Consumer Reports ratings and found that the Hamilton Beach Eclectrics got ratings nearly as high as the Kitchen Aid, but for considerably less (right up my very cheap alley!) I went onto eBay and bid on a white (“Sugar”) one, and ended up getting it for $127 with free shipping! I was thrilled, as the least expensive one I’d seen up to then was $140, plus shipping, all the way up to $220. I’ve used it several times, for pizza dough, cookie dough and cinnamon rolls - thrilled!

I have a George Foreman and agree that it is very difficult to clean; I understand that the more recent ones have grill surfaces that can be removed for washing.

I have had the same Cuisinart food processor (bought for $40!) for 25 years - still going strong. I have a small, 2-cup food processor (may be Black and Decker) that I use far more often. My Vidalia onion chopper is terrific, and I use that at least once a week.

Recently, I bought one of those apple slicing machines; while it works, I find it messy and am not really sure it saves me time. I do have one of those corer-slicer gadgets - love it - as we are big on apples, as well. For cheese, etc., that microplane grater is unbeatable.

I have got to look into some of that enamled cast iron; we don’t eat a lot of meat, but some of those braised beef dishes sound so good I have to try. (I currently use my big covered stainless pot, or the slow cooker for pot roasts, etc.)

OK…I’m hungry again. Guess I’ll have to cook something really good tomorrow.

 

[baltobetsy]

My pots and pans are all stainless, and I love them. I think they’re just FarberWare, as I am notoriously cheap.

I can remember when Farberware was one of the nicest things you could get for your kitchen. A set was an amazing wedding gift. No, I did not get a set, but I do have a couple of pieces, which have served me very well for a long time. My MIL had it, too, a whole set, and she used it to death for 50 years.

My mother had cast iron skillets, which she washed and scoured every time she used. She never complained about sticking, but then, she used butter by the ton. I never heard of not washing cast iron until just a few years ago, but I did oil mine a little and wipe it with a paper towel every time I washed it.

Betsy

 

[GratefulDad]

What a fun thread! (WG - I love the creative threads you start!!!)

I’ve always liked cooking, and now have more time to do it, with the empty nest and all that. I remember my mom using a cast iron skillet, with tons of butter, and then scrubbing the heck out of it after she’d use it; she could not bring herself NOT to scrub! I have a cast iron skillet, and use it occasionally. I like it for scallops, as I can get it searing hot, which is necessary for that nice brown crust. I usually clean with a nylon scrubby and actually do use dishwashing liquid…I’m my mother’s daughter! I make sure it’s dried immediately, and it works well. My biggest worry is accidentally dropping it on my smooth ceramic cooktop (which I HATE; there’s something very wrong when water can become a burnt-on mess!!!)

My pots and pans are all stainless, and I love them. I think they’re just FarberWare, as I am notoriously cheap. They do an excellent job, and aren’t hard to clean at all. If something sticks in the skillet, I bring water to a boil with a little baking soda, let it cool, and, Voila! - cleans up beautifully.
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.
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OK…I’m hungry again. Guess I’ll have to cook something really good tomorrow.

Dixieagle maybe you are related to my wife, for some reason she hates our new Ceramic Cooktop too. See my post on page 5.

We had to part with all of our Cast Iron pots and pans when we got the Ceramic Cooktop, I could not see taking any chances, so we got the Cuisinart 14 piece SS set. You don’t have to cook things on high, so you don’t heat up the whole kitchen if you have 3-4 burners going at the same time. And as long as you do not over cook things. Clean up is a cinch with a glass top stove. I agree SS is pretty easy to clean up.

I just bought this Cuisinart 6qt. pot, to have under the tree, from Bed, Bath & Beyond for $39 using my 20% off coupon.

bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=14131604&RN=915

This matches our set. I also remembered the why we went with Cuisinart. The price of Calphalon and All-Clad You can really tell the difference in the construction and material of Cuisinart and All-Clad, but I am not sure how you can justify a $380 pot? Oh well, I am more than happy with our cooking stuff.

 

[BBaller]

one thing I am looking for that also stayed with the old trailer is a self-cleaning garlic press, you flip it backwards and little teeth punch the goop out of the holes

till then I will stick with chopped garlic in jars from the produce dept, or roast whole garlic heads

Does yours really work that well? I have a garlic press (well, it’s in storage for another month until we can actually move into the house we bought Friday ) that never seems to get clean. I flip it around and try to get the “goop” out, but there are always some stragglers.

Someone mentioned silicone, I have a silicone muffin pan and really don’t like it at all. I thought a different brand of silicone might be better, so I bought the individual muffin cups. They work, mmmm, okay, but my muffins/cupcakes still stick! I’ll stay with paper cups and aluminum pans.

Although this isn’t a cookware discovery, I love parchment paper! Love, love, love it! I made a traditional Yule Log over the weekend in a parchment-line pan and it turned out beautifully! Makes clean up a snap, which is always a plus in my book!

 

[whatevergirl]

Does yours really work that well? I have a garlic press (well, it’s in storage for another month until we can actually move into the house we bought Friday ) that never seems to get clean. I flip it around and try to get the “goop” out, but there are always some stragglers.

Someone mentioned silicone, I have a silicone muffin pan and really don’t like it at all. I thought a different brand of silicone might be better, so I bought the individual muffin cups. They work, mmmm, okay, but my muffins/cupcakes still stick! I’ll stay with paper cups and aluminum pans.

Although this isn’t a cookware discovery, I love parchment paper! Love, love, love it! I made a traditional Yule Log over the weekend in a parchment-line pan and it turned out beautifully! Makes clean up a snap, which is always a plus in my book!

*I love parchment paper too…it is cool how it ‘‘works.’’ lol I also love wax paper for laying down hot Christmas cookies out of the oven.

I am unfamiliar with silicone cookware? *

 

[whatevergirl]

Someone in this thread (sorry, too lazy to scroll back up) mentioned the store…’‘Home Goods?’’ I was looking for the UPS store the other day, and ended up in the ‘‘wrong’’ plaza, and drove right by this! I’m excited, I’m going to check it out when I have time over the Christmas break. I didn’t realize we had one here in Tampa.

 

[dixieagle]

Dixieagle maybe you are related to my wife, for some reason she hates our new Ceramic Cooktop too. See my post on page 5.

We had to part with all of our Cast Iron pots and pans when we got the Ceramic Cooktop, I could not see taking any chances, so we got the Cuisinart 14 piece SS set. You don’t have to cook things on high, so you don’t heat up the whole kitchen if you have 3-4 burners going at the same time. And as long as you do not over cook things. Clean up is a cinch with a glass top stove. I agree SS is pretty easy to clean up.

I just bought this Cuisinart 6qt. pot, to have under the tree, from Bed, Bath & Beyond for $39 using my 20% off coupon.

bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=14131604&RN=915

This matches our set. I also remembered the why we went with Cuisinart. The price of Calphalon and All-Clad You can really tell the difference in the construction and material of Cuisinart and All-Clad, but I am not sure how you can justify a $380 pot? Oh well, I am more than happy with our cooking stuff.

I just hate the way that any little spill - even water, for Pete’s sake - will burn on the smooth cooktop eternally! I have all the fancy cleaners, etc., and can get it shiny, but there is always something that refuses to come off, no matter what. And the idea of having to use a razor blade on my stove…crazy!

For a pot of any sort to be worth $380 to me, it would have to be made of solid gold.

I am going to have to look into one of these enamel coated dutch ovens, though…