We Love!
Favorite Tools
I've got two tools that I'm just loving: my microplane and my lemon squeezer. It's so nice to have at least a few tools that do what their supposed to do and do it well! The microplane has no substitute (believe me, I've tried). Today, I needed lemon peel for my blackberry pie and within seconds I had perfect peel. I use it for cheese as well. My lemon squeezer works on limes as well. And while it doesn't clean up really good, it does a great job of squeezing out all the juice.
Lemon squeezer is from Whole Foods (I noticed one on the Williams and Sonoma website like the one I'm using)
Microplane is from Williams and Sonoma
Vitamix
"Wow!" This may very well be your exclamation when you see the price tag for the Vitamix blender (minimum $300). It may also be your response when you see the size of this appliance (over 20 inches tall!). I was skeptical at first. Why would a kitchen need a blender that big or expensive? I'll tell you why...the Vitamix blends virtually anything into the smoothest, silkiest purees. On day one, my 9 year old daughter was so excited to finally have a blender that promised to effortlessly chop ice and frozen fruit for her almost daily smoothie making ritual. She excitedly flipped through the pages of the Vitamix cookbook and found "lemon ice" which consisted of cutting lemons in half, dropping them in the Vitamix along with a bit of sugar and water...and voila...within seconds we had delicious lemon ice. What happened to the seeds? The Vitamix pulverized them. Since then, we have made countless soups, sauces and smoothies. This blender puts all others to shame. A few months ago, I made "Top Chef's" (bravotv.com), Squash Soup with Miso (Season 4). The texture of the soup was incredible...silky smooth, almost mousselike. The guests at the table unanimously agreed that this soup was something out of a five star restaurant. Making nut based sauces, such as Mexican pipian sauce (toasted pumpkin seeds), is a breeze. If you are in the market for a new blender and can possibly find a few extra inches in your cabinets, you will not regret purchasing this gem of a kitchen appliance.
We Hate!
Martha Stewart Popsicle Holders (purchased at Macy's)
These unusually shaped holders seem to be more art than use. The popsicle molds do not fit tightly into the base, resulting in tipped over sticky fruit juices in the freezer. In several recipes we made using them, we had to literally carve out popsicles (or let them melt) to remove them from the holder. We tried running warm water on them and letting them sit out, neither method worked.
Review of the Weber Genesis
8/08 Just got a new weber. Our last grill was also a Weber and we were largely happy with it. We put the new one together on our own Sunday. It took the whole day, and there were three of us! My husband had read a review that said it would take one person, one hour. Well, that person must have lots of practice building grills or building something (none of us has any practice, and it showed). But finally, we completed it and it worked! What a surprise. We couldn't wait to anoint/test it with some meat. And last night was the night.
We cooked ribs. The grill was great. Lots prettier than our old one, for sure, but it took me a while to get the hang of it (well, actually, I still don't have the hang of it). The recipe did not say a temperature, just indirect medium. That doesn't mean anything to me (yet!). So, I was fiddling with the temperature, trying to watch the meat. I would like the Weber cookbook, of all things, to tell me what temperature for my Weber grill! Somehow we managed to turn the gas on the day we built the grill and then we couldn't turn it off. So now, the gas is on 24/7. Not sure what that means or why it won't turn off.
The grill surface is spacious and easily fit two racks of ribs, my rolled up wood chips and a small container of water (see picture). The knobs work easily but have no words, just symbols. The grill is very sturdy.
