The Fumbling Foodie

Merry Christmas To Me

This is the Viking 7 qt stand mixer that I have been lusting over for some time. A couple of days ago, my wife mentioned that she would be making the Christmas cookies soon and the old hand mixer was just about dead.

With barely concealed glea, I said "It Is!?!?!?!?!"

My wife then said she would go to the local discount store and purchase an inexpensive hand mixer, to which I replied, "Oh No You're Not!"

Now I can make more of those great cinnamon rolls.

Knife Care

Adam on Men In Aprons has a great post today about knife care.

One thing he forgot to mention is that some cutlery manufacturers will re-sharpen your knives at no charge other than shipping. LamsonSharp calls their program Sharp For Life. I am told that Messermeister has a similar program.

The Spatula Museum #6

Welcome to the modern art section of the Spatula Museum. While technically a spoon, this specimen from Cuisipro it has been serving as a spatula here and seems well-suited to the task. The handle is reversable (right now it is set up for a righty) and is very ergonomic. I was making madeleines yesterday and it worked wonderfully, replacing both a spoon and a spatula.

Palm-Held Vegetable Peeler Part II

I picked this gadget up a few weeks ago at Plate It Up! but I have not had a chance to use it until now.

It is a vegetable peeler designed to fit in the palm of your hand. It has a little loop on the back side designed to fit aroung yor middle finger.

I used it Sunday to peel the carrots and instantly promoted it to my favorite. The hand motion is very natural and for those that might have a problem with maintaining a grip or have wrist problems, this thing is perfect! I could peel all day with this thing and never get tired.

My New Roaster

So as I walked in the door of my favorite kitchen tools store Heather said, "Oh Dave, you were asking about oval roasting pans a few weeks ago and I have one you cannot resist." She was right. Chantal has a new enameled steel roasting/broiling pan. And even though I already have Viking's poasting pan, I instantly knew I had to have this one. If you are a tool junkie then you understand. Notice the white band.
That is a stonware insert. (Chantal also make some very nice stoneware.) I can think of all sorts of uses for that.
And notice that the lid can be inverted and used under the broiler.

Palm-Held Vegetable Peeler

I picked this gadget up at Plate It Up! yesterday. It is a vegetable peeler designed to fit in the palm of your hand. It has a little loop on the back side designed to fit aroung yor middle finger. I have not tried it yet but when I doo I'll report back with the results.

I Love My Food Processor

I have this recipe Roasted Carrots and Parsnips in an Herb-Shallot Butter that my family just loves. I have not made it very often because cutting up all those carrots and parsnips by hand is very laborious.

Well, Cuisinart to the rescue. Earlier this week the French-Fry Disc arrived. The first thing my wife said was, "Good, now you can make that carrot and parsnip recipe this weekend." Well, I did. And I have to tell you it was a cinch. Here is a photo of all those carrots and parsnips (four pounds total) after running them through the food processor.

I have saved this dish for special occassions because it is in the category of "Serve this to get forgivemenss from any transgression." Now it will be very easy to get forgiveness.

And here is a photo of it ready to serve:

Hey Cuisinart, Get With The Program!

I purchased a food processor a few weeks ago a Cuisinart MP-14N Limited Edition Metal model and I have a couple of gripes.

First: Cuisinart offers a julienne disc for the 11-cup models but not the 14-cup models. Hey Cuisinart: I am a tool junkie. If I am going to have one food processor in my kitchen, I'm going to get the biggest baddest model you offer. So how come no julienne disc???

Second: I have already ordered a couple more discs, which means I will have four. I would be nice to have some sort of storage container for all the accessories. Cuisinart offers this but it holds only three discs and there is no place for the whisk attachment. Come on guys, make a holder that will hold ALL the discs and ALL the accessories and I'll buy one in a minute!

My Favorite Peeler

The Kyocera Perfect Peeler.

I bought one the instant they showed up at Plate it Up! and I love it. It has aceramic blade that can be rotated thru 180 degrees, making the peeling motion independent of wrist angle.

The First Product from My New Food Processor

Gazpacho, straight out of the Cuisinart recipe book.

I will say that to finely chop or mince small quantities (like a single garlic clove) my Cuisinart Min-Prep does a better job.