Community » Tools of the Trade

Got a favorite appliance? Pots and pans you can't live without? Questions about knives? Let's talk about it here.

Join the discussion... Post a new food topic!

(or click on a Recent Topic, below, to reply)

New Topic:

Recent Topics In This Group

I'm looking for a good mandolin that won't cost a fortune. I've looked at a bunch of them on Amazon and read all the reviews. It seems that all of them have reviews that rave as well as reviews that pan each one. Does anyone have one they love?

My most recent one (now defunct) was a "V" slicer, and I found that food got stuck in the "V", especially hard vegetables like raw potatoes and sweet potatoes. So, I think I would like a slant blade rather than a "V" blade.

I'd LOVE to have one with a dial (or something) that allows for variable thicknesses. Any suggestions?

Stainless Steel Cookware

Hi all,

I am new and I need help in making a decision on changing from teflon coated aluminum cookware to stainless steel. I am looking at the Cuisinare Multiclan Pro stainless. My concerns are: sticking, learning to cook with it, and clean up. Also what extra pieces to purchase or should I even do it. Please comment on your experiences and advice.

Thanks, Sally in NE TN

Instant Read Thermometer

Every now and then I get a gadget that I just love.

About a month ago, after letting the chicken dry out on the grill one too many times, I finally broke down and ordered the relatively expensive (approx. $90) Instant Read Thermometer. This thing rocks! The last month of cooking has been much easier, with far less waste. I'm able to predict with much greater accuracy when things will be done, and I'm much less likely to undercook or overcook things, particularly when grilling. Highly recommend it.

(BigOven has no association with the manufacturer, though we do get a very tiny "thank you" commission when purchased via the link above. This is mostly just a personal recommendation from one cook to another.)

General Help

I have a few questions

1) If I have a qustion which tool should I use to ask that question.

2) I have used Pocket Cook for years as my recipe cookbook and am in the process to converting all to BigOven. I have a whole libruary of pictures I have created and downloaded over time. Is there a way to use these pictures in the BigOven that runs on the PC.

3) Over time I have downloaded many really tasty recipes from the internet. Is it ok to upload these recipes to BigOven if I credit thje sorce of the recipe (example

Recipe and Picture By KrafFoods.Com)?

Uploading recipes

Is there any other way to get some of my personal recipes up to BigOven wiitout having to re-type all the informatiom....

Dumb Dumb

I am confused

How do I add someone's recipe to my favorit list???????????????/

Performance knives

Hi all. I'm new here and this is my first post. I somehow arrived here thanks to my iPhone and the bigoven app. I'm a fair home cook. My main interests other than preparing food are high performance Japanese knives, extreme sharpening, cutting boards, and induction cooktops. I have quite a bit of knowledge on all except the cooktops.

There is a lot of bad information about knives in particular. What is advertised to be the good stuff at places like Macy's is actually quite mediocre in the vast arena of cutlery. I'd be happy to comment on anything along my lines of knowledge that you come up with.

Looking forward to the future here.

Buzz

Ovens/Stoves

I'm beginning to research a new stove. I'm leaning to a French one, mostly because of aesthetics. What kinds of stoves do you have and do you like it?

The New Foodsaver

I'm excited. Yesterday, QVC had the brand new foodsaver as the "today's special value." It's now on the way to me.

This one is a small footprint, so can stay on my counter top, and it does it all automatically. I've been eyeing it for awhile now, and finally decided to bite the bullet. That handi-vac thing just wasn't doing it for me.

For you Foodsaver addicts out there, check it out:

Food Saver

It's still cheaper on QVC than on the foodsaver site, although it comes with a little less accessories (which I don't need anyhow).

Anne

Cuisinart Toaster Oven

After much prodding by my wife, we purchased the Cuisinart Toaster Oven for our kitchen. Seems to be working well; I would recommend it. I would recommend buying the Non-stick Oven Liner as well.

Espresso Heaven

I just came home from Williams-Sonoma with a gorgeous new Jura Z5 fully automatic Espresso Machine. I am sitting here working on some code, and enjoying a delicious cappucino, which was made with a single press of a button. Wow! I'm in espresso heaven. It's terrific. It is also ridiculously expensive, but I think it just may be worth it.

[edited May-26-2008]

thoughts on silicone ???

Hey you fellow gadget-freaks ... any thoughts to share on silicone pans? I have two loaf pans that I use all the time, both are teflon coated. the one with the darker insides makes the bread too crusty, so was thinking of replacing them with silicone. Also I bake muffins quite a bit and was thinking of getting some of those.

haven't cooked with silicone ever. love gadgets, but also am a pretty traditional kind of cook. I try them and ditch them if they aren't really awesome.

Stand Mixers

I'm sooooooo excited. Been wanting a stand mixer for I don't know how long, and I just bit the bullet and ordered the Cuisinart 800 watt mixer, along with the food processor and blender attachments. It's time to toss out all those ancient appliances that have been cluttering up my pantry.

The mixer has recently taken top honors away from the KitchenAid on some testing sites, so I'm thrilled to be getting it. I wonder if my cake decorating/teaching "I love my KitchenAids mixers" (she has at least two that I know of) daughter is going to be jealous. LOL

Looks like I'm going to have to actually start cooking, to make my more recent purchases worthwhile, although I do believe my Zojirushi Mini Bread Maker has probably already earned it's cost back, as I use it almost daily.

What's your favorite kitchen tool?

I admit it... I am the world's biggest gadget freak. I'd rather buy gadgets and tools than clothes.

Won't you share your favorites with us? What you like, and even those you don't (but please tell us why).

One of my favorites (or it was til it stopped vacuuming) is my Food Saver. The non working vac is probably my own fault, as I accidentally allowed it to fall off the top of the fridge. It still seals though.

Now, this may have a silver lining, because the new models have some great features, such as being able to fold it to a vertical position so it won't take up your whole counter (and so you don't have to keep it on top of the fridge where it's likely to practice for the olympic diving team).

Knives

I was just reading one of Anthony Bourdain's books, and he highly recommends the Global knives. In fact, he suggests that if you're only going to purchase one good knife at a time (or at all), the Global Chef's Knife is the one to have.

I then proceeded to read some online reviews on the product, and it's got mostly raves. Since I'm desperate for a few good knives, I'm now leaning towards taking Chef Tony's advice.

Anyone here have any opinions on the subject?

Anne (who wishes she had the money to go to culinary school at the nice young age of 65, now that she has the time)