Anyone want to chat about cooking, et all?

[bookworm]

Welcome, rachrich :). I'm no chili expert (as I hate beans, and finding a bean-free recipe is challenging), but here is an earlier thread to get you started. Chili thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/showthread.php?t=10736&highlight=chili)

[greenbunny]

Just wanted to update: I ended up buying a sharpener from Hainlin, because they are the only place I could find a Grand Prix II one, and I wanted everything to match. It looks really nice and I'll be tucking it away for DH's birthday. I have yet to get the credit card bill, so I'm not sure how much I'll end up paying since I think the CC company charges for exchanging. The total came to about 46 euro.

[pixielou]

i had a productive day at bloomingdales today - though i hope mr. pixie agrees when he sees the credit card bill!

bloomingdales is having their 5-day memorial day sale. lots of savings on things, plus i had a coupon for an additional 20% off. so i got a 3.5 quart le creuset casserole. and a 4.5" wusthoff knife - i think it's called the multi purpose knife - i figured for when the chefs knife is too big and the paring knife is too small. happy memorial day to me!

~pixie

[tlew12778]

I tried some new pots that I (er, we) got as wedding gifts and they are AMAZING. I am tempted to get rid of all my calphalon commercial hard anodized and get the entire line. I am using Lagostina Academy which is 5-ply: SS-Alum-SS-Alum-SS. The only company that I found in the US that makes something similar is all-clad copper-core (the 2nd layer of alum is copper in this case). Food just cooks and tastes better in these pots. It's incredible. They're non-stick too somehow... I burned tomato sauce and it came right off when I ran the pot under water!

[mgrace]

Anyone still around? Anyone want to join in?

[tlew12778]

Me, me! Not that I have anything to add write now. I used a new Wusthof bread knife SIL gave us and it almost cut right through my cutting board :/.

[Pineknot]

Oh...I want to talk! :p

I really want some of these new collapsible colanders made by prepology. I saw them on QVC the other day and now I've been watching for them in the stores.

They are silicone and will fold flat. That isn't the best thing about them, though. They can actually be put in a pot and cooked in. So, if you are cooking pasta or steaming veggies, you just put them in the pot, put your veggies in, then pull out the colander when they are done!

They come in three different sizes and they seem perfect for anything you need to drain. Has anyone seen them in the stores?

http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/main.detail.tpl.DETAIL.item.K1149/.ref.GBA//aol_refer.false/msn_refer.false/ref.GBA/?cm_ven=GOOGLEBASE&cm_cat=COOKING%20%26%20DINING&cm_pla=KITCHEN%20TOOLS&cm_ite=K1149

[tlew12778]

I have but this is Italy. They're pretty common here considering we eat pasta basically everyday.

[tlew12778]

I have a question for you all -

Does anyone really use their mandoline?

BC I have one and I find it's a PITA to use. It's faster for me to slice with a chef's knife. I tried using it for French Onion Soup and I thought I was going to DIE from the tears. It took me 15 minutes to slice up 5 onions, which I can do in about 5 minutes with a sharp chef's knife. But I think some ppl love theirs, so maybe it's my technique (or lack thereof?).

[CarlaB]

I actually do. Well, to be honest, my husband does. It's his baby and he loves to set it up and use it. I'd say we get it out about once a month routinely, but more during the holidays. In the summer when the garden is giving up cucumbers, we use it to slice those up and make salads. And always over the holidays for potato/fennel gratin, when it is essential to have wafer thin and even slices, IMO. I think it is a PITA but he loves to use it, so I get to benefit.

[katmg]

Ugh - I hate my mandoline. I was thinking that mine was just difficult to use, and maybe a different one would be better. I got it to help chop onions faster and with less tears...yeah right! It was so freaking difficult to get it to slice it at all, I was afraid I'd cut off my hand! Plus the pieces weren't at all uniform because of the difficulty I had getting it to slice.

Mine's a Cuisinart - does anyone like their's better?

[tlew12778]

I have a Rosle.

I don't have the hand guard. Maybe that would help. But I don't think so. That would just make it psychologically easier to use it. My food would still get caught up in it.

[CarlaB]

We have a Mafter (the professional one). It does come with a hand guard. I will add that whatever DH slices up with it goes quickly and slices well. Maybe the blade needs to be sharpened?

[vwinkel]

The only time I really use mine is during the Summer for a BBQ. I like to slice the onion and tomato thin and evenly for presentation purposes. That's about the only time I use mine though. :o

[katmg]

I think I need to play with mine more. I might have it set too thin? I used the handguard but it had a real problem slicing through onion and apple. WTH?

[tlew12778]

Ha. Well I also tried changing the setting to be fatter but I thought I had even less control that way. I think part of it is the width. I think my blade part is like 4" maybe? This (http://www.cookswares.com/individual.asp?n=RS79) is the one I have. It says it's 4.5". I still think it's too small for a big onion or an apple.

[njlorelei]

Like CarlaB, my husband uses ours a lot but I don't. I think I'm more afraid of chopping a finger off than anything. I don't even like to be the one to clean it. I know the biggest complain he has is that when he is slicing something like a potato he still had to cut it down to smaller pieces becuase it just won't slice if he tries to put the whole potato in at once. Also usually the first couple of slices he does do come out uneven but once he gets the feel of it they all come out nicely. I'm not sure what brand we have but it was from Williams-Sonoma.

[jenjunum]

I have heard that Japanese mandolines are better than the traditional metal ones. The Japanese ones are plastic. This is the type we used in the cooking class I just completed and the one the chef that taught the class recommended. They're a lot cheaper too.