Here's what you really wanted for Christmas

[Jenise]

Best line: "Let's face it, we all love our soups and sauces but who wants to stand for minutes or hours stirring when you could be doing something else?"

Behold, the Robo Stir!

(link to crappy website removed, see video link about three posts down)

[Robin Garr]

But will it make a good risotto?

I'd like to see it better, but for some reason I'm getting a very disabled page in my browser - no pictures, just little broken-image icons.

[Jenise]

But will it make a good risotto?

I'd like to see it better, but for some reason I'm getting a very disabled page in my browser - no pictures, just little broken-image icons.

I didn't download the pictures so I don't know if it's viewable or not. I went looking for it when I saw a commercial for it on TV yesterday. Hey, maybe I can find a vid on YouTube. Hang on.

[Jenise]

Okay, forget the website. Just watch this segment from one of the shopping channels. It's even better (cough cough) than the commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXdhtWUxvAM

My need for that thingamajig is at about the same level as my need for an additional hole in my head.

yes, fish and bicycles come to mind after watching 45sec's of the video.


-mike

[Jenise]

My need for that thingamajig is at about the same level as my need for an additional hole in my head.

Isn't it amazing the contraptions people think up to make tasks you and I didn't even know were hard, easier? Worse, they sell.

[Robin Garr]

Isn't it amazing the contraptions people think up to make tasks you and I didn't even know were hard, easier? Worse, they sell.

I don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed that we own neither an electric can opener nor a garbage disposal.

I don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed that we own neither an electric can opener nor a garbage disposal.

Now that's something we can agree on!

[Jenise]

Isn't it amazing the contraptions people think up to make tasks you and I didn't even know were hard, easier? Worse, they sell.

I don't know whether to be proud or embarrassed that we own neither an electric can opener nor a garbage disposal.

I can help with that:

Electric can opener: proud.
Garbage disposal: not so proud. It's a wonderful tool. Even if you compost, it's an effective convenience to not have to worry about the little things that go down the drain anyway.

I really don't see anything wrong with that thing...might be great when the phone rings and I am making risotto or a gumbo rue. I don't mind telling people I am cooking, and anyone that knows me will just get off the phone. It might be just the ticket for a busy, young mom who makes her own baby food, or the elderly with arthritic wrists. I suppose if you are not into making complex sauces or megamixes, it would just take up shelf space. Pretty cool idea, I think.
Robin, I don't own an electric can opener either, and probably never will, with the pull tabs now, there is not much use for one at this house. Garbage disposal is another story. Since we are a little rural and still have a septic tank, I put very little down the disposal. However, when I want to use it, it is there!

[Jenise]

I really don't see anything wrong with that thing...might be great when the phone rings and I am making risotto or a gumbo rue. I don't mind telling people I am cooking, and anyone that knows me will just get off the phone. It might be just the ticket for a busy, young mom who makes her own baby food, or the elderly with arthritic wrists. I suppose if you are not into making complex sauces or megamixes, it would just take up shelf space. Pretty cool idea, I think.
Robin, I don't own an electric can opener either, and probably never will, with the pull tabs now, there is not much use for one at this house. Garbage disposal is another story. Since we are a little rural and still have a septic tank, I put very little down the disposal. However, when I want to use it, it is there!

I'll bet you five bucks that thing wouldn't stir a risotto, Karen or be effective on low quantity like a gumbo roux. Too heavy. I'm pretty sure it needs volume to work at all.

I was just going to post thoughts about that Jenise, after I got to thinking about it. I bet you are right, the laws of physics just won't allow that thing to stir anything as thick as a risotto, etc. Who needs to stir water anyway!

[Jenise]

I was just going to post thoughts about that Jenise, after I got to thinking about it. I bet you are right, the laws of physics just won't allow that thing to stir anything as thick as a risotto, etc. Who needs to stir water anyway!

I think that's right. So it's just doing something for you that you can easily do yourself. I've burned a thing or two (one of the creator's arguments in favor if you got that far), but one of these wouldn't have saved me in any case I can remember. For most of us, the typical problem is that our fire was too high or we should have pulled whatever it was off the heat altogether. But not stirring often enough? No.

My own two cents--I can't see any need for this gadget. Ever.

-Paul W.

I have extended family members who are addicted to gadgets. As far as I am concerned, they just clutter up kitchen drawers. But here's one given to my spouse recently - I make no comment, just stating our facts:

http://www.asseenontvguys.com/bacon-genie.aspx

This is the stirrer that one of them had in the past - it rests on top of the pan:

http://www.gadgets-reviews.com/index.php?page=post&id=232

This is an item that came and went quickly in their household:

http://www.amazon.com/One-Touch-29109-Can-Opener/dp/B002LHEJSY

I was gifted with a pancake turner set - I'm not even going to look for a link but I still have the stupid thing.

I like both a garbage disposal AND an electric can opener, the latter of which I have for tall cans and don't keep on the kitchen counter. I've developed issues with my right hand that make an electric opener nice to have on hand - along with the KitchenAid Professional mixer that I finally purchased a few months ago.

[Jenise]

I have extended family members who are addicted to gadgets. As far as I am concerned, they just clutter up kitchen drawers. But here's one given to my spouse recently - I make no comment, just stating our facts:

http://www.asseenontvguys.com/bacon-genie.aspx

You've been holding out on me! I had no idea you had such a device--can I come over and watch it? I'll bring the bacon.

It's not the gadets I object to (after all, we have free will) -- it's the pitchmen (mosly women) who try to make you feel you don't have time to do basic things. AFter all, how much time does it take to stir a pot? Just listen to the blather.....Okay, you've got the baby in one arm, and a cell phone in the other hand and a pot burning on the stove. Hello!!! Which of those things might scream -- Priority?! And, if it's burning, it doesn't need to be stirred -- it needs to be removed from the stove!! Unfortunately, I know people who would see this as a genius idea!

You've been holding out on me! I had no idea you had such a device--can I come over and watch it? I'll bring the bacon.

No. You will never get those minutes back in your life and I refuse to do this to you.

It's touted as a way of reducing the fat. If you insist on microwaving bacon, what is so hard about lining a plate with paper towels, placing the bacon, and covering with more towels? The fat is in the towels, you throw them away, and you wash the plate. You don't have this plasticky, rapidly warping doo-dad to deal with. I emptied the dishwasher this morning, and there it was. Yech.

The solution? Gus! You know that Gus has eaten everything under the sun including a 5# bag of King Arthur, a whole watermelon, avocados, cans of tuna, chocolate, and has lived to tell the tale (but not hide the evidence). I think a Bacon Genie should be added to his diet.

[Jenise]

I think a Bacon Genie should be added to his diet.

Easy: next time don't wash it, then just leave it on the counter. No more bacon genie!

Thanks for the gadget tip, Jenise. Yeah, the acting on the video is lame, but I have often wanted just such a device when making béchamel or similar sauces.