Appliance hell--or is it heaven?

Using the handcranked pasta machine is OK, but I like having both hands free to deal with the ever lengthening rolled out dough.

.

I would be lost without my 25 year old Atlas pasta cranker. Its part of the kitchen like my wooden pasta board.

Me, too. Mine turned 25 this year. My three-year-old son loves making pasta with me on it, too, so it's a great dining incentive.

Mark Lipton

[Jenise]

My three-year-old son loves making pasta with me on it, too, so it's a great dining incentive.

Mark Lipton

Not to parse, but the construction of your sentence caused me (who thinks in pictures) to imagine your son turning the crank while a miniature you rides the emerging pasta sheet like a magic carpet.

I'm with you on that! My Atlas is even older than that, probably has 200,000 miles on it, and still works like a charm.

You know what they say Stuart. If it ain't broke, don't fix it !! Atlas works fine, pasta is good. I have seen electric gadgets that mimic the same routine we use on the Atlas but I am not in that big of a hurry when I make pasta so why bother.

Yeah, my Atlas still works well too. But for a klutz like me, the motor drive makes it easier. Besides it was free!

I think you misunderstood me. It's the FoodSaver product that's the best. The rolls, just like you have--I bought the same multi-pak at Costco and those work in the Rival machine. The product that came with the Rival machine were actual bags, not rolls, made of a less substantial-feeling material.

Thanks.

My favorite new appliance, if you can call it that, is a hand-crank ice crusher. I love crushed ice in drinks, and when it's this hot out I like to put a few slivers in the evening martini and sit out on the deck.

I've never heard of such a thing, but can relate. I went through a stage of wanting all my ice crushed a number of years ago and would actually go a little out of my way to buy bagged ice at a liquor store that had a particularly clear crushed ice even though I had an ice machine in my fridge at home. The clear ice (without air bubbles, that is) melts much more slowly.

My parents used to have one of these, and always brought it out when they had parties. So retro. I think it may have had a suction cup on the bottom that you attached to the counter...

In my Nonna's kitchen, attached to the kitchen table with a special screw clamp, was a sliver metal (some sort of coated steel) 'meat' grinder that had a bell like opening on the top and at least two grinder plates on the end to provide fine and coarse meat grindings. You fed portions through the top into the screw 'grabber' and eventually out came the grind. I recall her spending hours using that 'machine' to make our sausage and salami as well as grindings for vegetable dishes such as winter salad. My Nonna would have marveled at a Kitchen-aid with a grinder attachement.

Things sure have changed !

I'd have actually preferred that, not that there's anything wrong with the Kitchen Aid but those old-timey hand crank C-clamp types are so rugged and elemental. There's a place up here that imports things and sells their wares to William-Sonoma and the like. They have a few of everything sitting around their warehouse that they photograph for their own catalog and once a year they have a sale to get rid of it. To tell you how good the deals are, I passed on an outdoor firepit for $25 that I saw a week later in the Williams Sonoma catalog for $300. I've never not found some things I couldn't live without for prices so low I just went "ho ho ho" all the way home. Well last year they had a bunch of those old fashioned C-clamp meat grinders, several sizes. They were probably all $10 or $15, but up to ten times more at regular retail. Dumb me, I passed.

I have one of those grinders that my grandmother passed on to me. I have never used it, though, as it's gotten rather nasty looking with age. It's in a box somewhere, I think. Very simple and sturdy units.

[quote="Carrie L]
My parents used to have one of these, and always brought it out when they had parties. So retro. I think it may have had a suction cup on the bottom that you attached to the counter...[/quote]

Same in our house! It was metal and was about the size of a small shoebox stood up on end. You dumped the ice in the top and there was a hand crank on the side. My parent used it for cocktail parties and my Sister and I would quarrel over which one of us would get to make the crushed ice for the adults.

You are right...Very retro. I wish they would have kept it. Sometimes relics like that are priceless simply because of the memories.

That's like the one I have! Except I didn't get the one with the suction thing.

I have been interested in a food saver, and based on the comments in this thread, I picked one up yesterday. Thanks for the positive reviews.

[Jenise]

I have been interested in a food saver, and based on the comments in this thread, I picked one up yesterday. Thanks for the positive reviews.

And you got the real Food Saver brand? I hope so. I've now had a chance to examine the difference between it and the Rival I bought, and the latter works okay but it's not nearly the machine the FS is. With the Rival, one has to hold the lid down manually for some time before a light comes on indicating you can let go--the Food Saver doesn't--and you have several settings. The Rival does not.

I have been interested in a food saver, and based on the comments in this thread, I picked one up yesterday. Thanks for the positive reviews.

And you got the real Food Saver brand? I hope so. I've now had a chance to examine the difference between it and the Rival I bought, and the latter works okay but it's not nearly the machine the FS is. With the Rival, one has to hold the lid down manually for some time before a light comes on indicating you can let go--the Food Saver doesn't--and you have several settings. The Rival does not.

Yes, I got the Food Saver. I don't remember the model, but it is the one that you can flip to a vertical position for storage.

How's Kirk's mom doing in her new apartment?

She's doing OK. My only real quibble is that she is addicted to frozen dinners, if you can call them that, every one of which comes in a plastic container, wrapped in plastic sealer, then in a box. What a waste of resources. No amount of wheedling will get her to actually cook anything, even though she has a well equipped kitchen. I bring her vegetarian leftovers when we have any, but her eating habits are horrible (and seem to have no ill effect on her health since she is now 88). Beyond that it looks like she'll last at least another decade...

[Jenise]

I hate those dinners for the reasons you do, but at least she's feeding herself and there's at least some nutritional value in what she's eating. My grandmother was 91 when she passed away, and at the point where we had to move her into a nursing home we were horrified to realize that she'd been pretty much living on Fudgsicles. She wouldn't cook, and was too afraid of the microwave I'd bought her to use it. Somewhat deliberately, I think--she was really loved those Fudgsicles!

I hate those dinners for the reasons you do, but at least she's feeding herself and there's at least some nutritional value in what she's eating. My grandmother was 91 when she passed away, and at the point where we had to move her into a nursing home we were horrified to realize that she'd been pretty much living on Fudgsicles.

My parents were quite alarmed when they found out that my Grandmother, who lived alone several hundred miles away, was subsisting on a diet strictly comprised of pickles and Sun Chips. Oddly, she was a fairly healthy eater and great cook in her younger years, but when she got into her mid 90's she would only have pickles and Sun Chips at home for meals. My parents moved her into a resort-like assisted living center and she hated it because she thought everyone was so old compared to herself. She was about 95 at the time and complained that the dirty old geezer men, that were "MUCH older", were hitting on her. I had lunch with her one day in their shared dining room and she pointed out a fellow sitting by himself eating. She informed me that his name was Walt and he was one of the offenders for being so old and making advances on a young woman such as herself.

Walt did not appear to be a day over 70.

Hey Jenise!

I was just thinking of posting about some of my new found kitchen friends when I saw your thread. First, I'll tell you some of the ways I use the two you mentioned:

KA meat grinder attachment: I originally got it to grind beef and pork for Frank's favorite Chasen's Chili. Store ground meat is put through the grinder twice. When it's ground just once through the larger blade, you get little tiny cubes, just the right texture for chili. Since then Frank and I both hate the store ground meats because there's so much gristle and sometimes even bone in it....yuk. So for the past few months, I grind my own beef chuck, pork shoulder, and veal, great for burgers, meatloaf, home made sausage, etc.

Food Saver: Those bags are really the best made and if you do it right, you can use them over and over. For anything that contains liquid, I first freeze servings for two in those Glad or ZipLoc plastic boxes overnight. The next morning, I run hot water over the bottoms and push the contents out onto a sheet of Stretch-Tite and wrap tightly. BTW, over 5 years ago Frank found that they make a plastic dispenser called Stretch-Tite Wrapmaster 2500 that is a must have for ease of use, no pulling and tearing of the wrap, just pull and shut the lid to cut. Anyhow, the individually frozen blocks then go into a Food Saver bag (made from rolls). I allow lots of extra room so that each time I remove a block I have plenty of room to re-seal and to reuse when the bag is empty. When the bag is empty, it's very easy to wash since the food was wrapped. Also, the blocks don't stick together. For all meats, burgers, and meatloaf, I first freeze on a sheet pan overnight. Next morning I wrap enough for two servings in Stretch-Tite and vacuum pack. If I'm going to freeze bone-in chicken breasts or chops or ribs, I try to find all the sharp places and cover them with aluminum foil or multiple layers of plastic wrap so they won't poke through the bags and ruin the vacuum.

I've had the opportunity to research and test some basic equipment as I continue to equip the cottage in Duck. Here are some of the basic things I've discovered:

Messermeister *serrated* veggie peeler is it! I've had one Ecco peeler since the late '60s and have never found any other, even same brand, that works as well. That's one thing I've looked for for 20 years and have thrown or given away every one of them....until a couple years ago. The Messermeister's blade is an extension of the handle, not perpendicular to the handle. The trick to using any of these is to peel with your thumb on the end of the veggie closest to you and peel pulling forward from the end farthest from you. I use it to peel ripe tomatoes and peaches when I need only a few and the boiling water dip is too much trouble. I challenge anybody with any other peeler to beat me at potato peeling speed.

Another basic piece of equipment is a toaster. I keep trying new ones, and they're slow and/or inconsistent with browning settings. My SIL gave me a gift certificate to Williams-Sonoma, so I read the reviews of the Breville die cast 4 slice toaster there and on Amazon. Great reviews, so I got one. It is amazing! Does bagels on just one side if you use the bagel button, electric lowering of breads when you push the toast button, a lift and look button that raises the toast for a couple seconds and then automatically lowers it (have you ever tried to see how toasty the bread is when it's down?), and "a bit more" button to extend toasting time a little. The surprise bonus is that when the toast comes up, it comes WAY up so even small pieces are easy to remove by hand, no more tongs and broken toast tops. And the browning is totally consistent. Once you've found which setting you like, it's always the same. And of course you can set one pair of slots for one setting and the other for another setting. The plan was to put my old toaster at the beach, but I couldn't resist ordering another for that.

Not a better mouse trap, but a better can opener, really! The Zyliss Safe Edge Can Opener cuts around the can just below the lid. No sharp edges, the opener also pulls the lid off, and absolutely none of the contents get on the opener. I just love it. One of those also went to the cottage.

And now for the really back to basics piece of equipment. I got an All-Clad double boiler top pan that fits in their 3 qt sauce pan. I don't have that pan but had already bought a set of Kirkland stainless fully clad cookware (about $50 more for the whole set than the A-C 3qt pan and lid), and the Kirkland 3qt lid fits the db pan perfectly. They sell two kinds. The other just has a thick clad bottom, but not clad up the sides, no good IMO. The pans are within an ounce or so of being as heavy as the A-C and the handles are much better. I bought the set for the cottage and kept the 3 qt and the 1.5 qt here. All-Clad doesn't make a 1.5 qt, and the 1 qt is identical to their 2 qt but just half as tall, uses the same lid. Frank got me the A-C 1qt saucier, and I really like it, but the A-C lid doesn't fit. Turns out the Kirkland 1.5qt lid fits it perfectly! Anyhow, for the back to basics part, I almost never use my microwave for thawing soups, stews, etc, any more. They all taste much better thawed in the double boiler and keep nice and warm and moist for seconds.

That's is for now, but I may come up with more goodies as I stock the kitchen in Duck. If any of you WLDGers plan to be near the Outer Banks this fall through next spring, shoot me an email and maybe we can come down and put you up for a few days. We rent the cottage out from June 1 through Aug 31, but the weather in spring and fall is much nicer. I haven't been on any wine buying binges for some years, but the cellar is bursting with loads of bottles begging to be drunk.

Linda

Jenise, does your Rival allow you to do other things while it is sucking and sealing? My new Food Saver does this and it is so great. With my old Food Saver, I had to use both hands to hold the lid down tight while it did the work. Now I have time to do a quick clean-up or put something away. It is much easier on my hands.

I used my food saver for the first time yesterday to bag aliquots of pulled pork. Worked really well. This is a nice addition to my kitchen. Thanks again.

60-quart ice chest full of deboned venison we brought back from a successful hunt.

Successful for you Robert! For Bambi, it was not so successful.

Mike, I still use my grandmother's meat grinder attachment. It fits right on my new Kitchen Aid mixer. My grandmother died 20 years ago, and probably used it for decades. Besides meat and fish, I use it for potatoes and onions to make latkes.

The other old-fashioned appliance I use is my hand-cranked apple peeler/corer. I couldn't face my apple tree without it.

[Jenise]

Jenise, does your Rival allow you to do other things while it is sucking and sealing? My new Food Saver does this and it is so great. With my old Food Saver, I had to use both hands to hold the lid down tight while it did the work. Now I have time to do a quick clean-up or put something away. It is much easier on my hands.

No, it doesn't. I have to hold the lid down like you used to. Btw, was at Costco yesterday and they have a new shipment of the Food Saver you must have--instead of short white plastic, it's a tall stainless model? Looks nice.

[Jenise]

Since then Frank and I both hate the store ground meats because there's so much gristle and sometimes even bone in it....yuk. So for the past few months, I grind my own beef chuck, pork shoulder, and veal, great for burgers, meatloaf, home made sausage, etc.

That's really the best way to go. I'm getting into it now, too.

Food Saver: Those bags are really the best made and if you do it right, you can use them over and over. For anything that contains liquid, I first freeze servings for two in those Glad or ZipLoc plastic boxes overnight. The next morning, I run hot water over the bottoms and push the contents out onto a sheet of Stretch-Tite and wrap tightly. BTW, over 5 years ago Frank found that they make a plastic dispenser called Stretch-Tite Wrapmaster 2500 that is a must have for ease of use, no pulling and tearing of the wrap, just pull and shut the lid to cut.

I have one! A few years ago, I lamented here long and loud about Costco discontinuing the sale of my beloved Stretch Tite and having no other local source. Well, apparently a bot picked up my complaint and delivered it to one Jim Baldwin, president of Polyvinyl Films who make Stretch Tite, who in turn contacted me via this site because, he said, brand loyalty like mine "must be rewarded"! He sent me a year's supply AND a Wrapmaster, which I couldn't live without.

Messermeister *serrated* veggie peeler is it! I've had one Ecco peeler since the late '60s and have never found any other, even same brand, that works as well. That's one thing I've looked for for 20 years and have thrown or given away every one of them....until a couple years ago.

You sound like me. I've never seen a Messermeister, but for years I had a peeler that had once been my mom's, and I grew up with it. It eventually broke and I've bought peeler after peeler since looking for something half as good, but to no avail. Where do you buy Messermeisters?

Another basic piece of equipment is a toaster. I keep trying new ones, and they're slow and/or inconsistent with browning settings. My SIL gave me a gift certificate to Williams-Sonoma, so I read the reviews of the Breville die cast 4 slice toaster there and on Amazon. Great reviews, so I got one. It is amazing!

Wait til Celia sees this. She's not a fan of Breville stuff (it's an Australian brand). Sounds like a nice toaster.

I haven't paid any attention to the pans at Costco in years--since a friend asked my opinion about them about 4-5 years ago, I guess. What I remember thinking was that all the pans were like a whole size smaller than what I got when I bought my beloved set of Magnalite about 20 years ago. The stew pot was 5 qt where mine had been 8, and the medium sized sauce pan was 3 qt instead of 4.5. It caused me to wonder if this was indicative of what people want today, or if it's about selling less for the same price. This may not be the set you have.

If any of you WLDGers plan to be near the Outer Banks this fall through next spring, shoot me an email and maybe we can come down and put you up for a few days. We rent the cottage out from June 1 through Aug 31, but the weather in spring and fall is much nicer. I haven't been on any wine buying binges for some years, but the cellar is bursting with loads of bottles begging to be drunk.

Now that's an offer I might not be able to refuse! We're not free to do much travelling right now, but next year that should change. Would love to visit your part of the world again.

Linda[/quote]

Kirkland pans: Some are at the beach so I can't remember exactly. The ones I have here are 1.5, 2, and 3 qt sauce pans and the 8 qt stock pot with draining insert. I think there were 2 or 3 sautes. We don't entertain here at home like we used to, so I don't miss a big sauce pan. If you see them at Costco, look closely because there are two types. The ones with that thick bottom (sort of looks like an afterthought to me) are not the good ones. The good ones are fully clad and only $20 or so more than the others for the whole set. Normally I don't buy anything in sets, but this set filled in a couple of holes in both the Powhatan house and the Duck house.

Messermeister: I have some of their knives and like them very much. All Meridian Elite, granton edge Santoku style, big chef's granton edge, and a couple knives that I've been unable to find elsewhere. Their granton edge salmon slicer that's 12+" long and flexible. It's perfect for slicing Smithfield ham paper thin. The other is a very flexible fillet knife. You can get them at either Amazon or CuttleryandMore.com. Right at the top of my favorite tools list is their utility shears. They cut things that no other scissors I've ever had could do. I can clip apart chicken wings really fast, just one click goes right through the joints. It also makes quick work of cutting up a whole chicken. Also, they come apart for thorough cleaning in the dishwasher or by hand. I don't usually put them in the dishwasher because I use them so often. CuttleryandMore gives you a free peeler if you buy $50 or so of other Messermeister stuff, but I don't know if it's the serrated one. You should make sure because I have a non serrated peeler and it can't compare to the serrated. Anyhow, they're only $6. I got a dozen to keep around and give away.

Oh, here's where you can see the new (to us) house: http://www.chatterboxtoo.com

Thanks,
Linda

That's is for now, but I may come up with more goodies as I stock the kitchen in Duck. If any of you WLDGers plan to be near the Outer Banks this fall through next spring, shoot me an email and maybe we can come down and put you up for a few days. We rent the cottage out from June 1 through Aug 31, but the weather in spring and fall is much nicer. I haven't been on any wine buying binges for some years, but the cellar is bursting with loads of bottles begging to be drunk.

Linda

Linda, you are the third "name from the past" that I have seen on the forum of late.And, it is very nice to know that you haven't gone away so far that you couldn't find your way back. Welcome back, you have been missed.

Bob, do I know the other names from the past? If so, who are they? Frank and I miss the wine travels and you guys. We don't travel much at all since the house in Duck takes just about all our time and $$.

Thanks,
Linda