ziggylu's Profile
What else can I brulee besides creme brulee?
He is a she...but yes we just pass the torch around the table and brulee them right on a plate.
We also toast the peeps over our firepit for smores as recommended by kattyeyes.
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What else can I brulee besides creme brulee?
Peep Brulee is an Easter Tradition for my family....
Simplex Tea Kettle Whistle
Nope, still doesn't whistle properly. It's OK, it's still lovely. I've learned to pay attention and have yet to boil it dry so far!
Leftover Fig flavored Goat Cheese
Thanks, I did make some pizza with it Monday night! IT was delicious...spinach, carmelized onions, the fig cheese, toasted walnuts and a drizzle of good balsamic when it came off our big green egg.
Leftover Fig flavored Goat Cheese
I have about 8oz of fig flavored goat cheese left from a party that I need to use up. Have thought about a cheesecake but am thinking we might prefer a savory use(other than crostini).
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Vegetarian/Vegan Marshmallows, i.e. marshmallows without gelatin
Great! Thanks for the feedback! I'll definitely plan to pick some up then!
Vegetarian/Vegan Marshmallows, i.e. marshmallows without gelatin
OK...this is a dumb question but does anyone know how these roast? I'm having a party next weekend and am planning a s'mores bar for our guests(to have fun with the firepit)....i have some vegan friends coming and am planning to pick up some Sweet and Sara marshmallows from Whole Foods to have available for them....haven't had a chance to pick them up yet and taste but am hoping they will do decently over the fire?
Chickpea flour
The new Hayden Flour Mill is offering chickpea flour. I've seen it at the downtown Public Market and the Urban Grocery. Pane Bianco also offers their flour. I don't remember if I saw chickpea on their shelf last time I was in but certainly they'd be able to get it for you.
http://www.haydenflourmills.com/
Now that you've had it awhile, how do you like your counter-depth refrigerator?
We just moved into a new house and my husband was pretty adamant he wanted a counter depth for aesthetics this time. I, on the other hand, was adamant we were not going to have an "extra" fridge or freeze this time and had to make due with just one(we're a two person household so really this isn't a difficult thign for us to do).
I went round and round in circles trying to decide what to do...I was leaving a 27+cu ft french door behind so it was going to be a big loss of space for us...though our old fridge was rarely stuffed to the gills. Since we were including aesthetics in our decision I was looking a lot at side by sides as I preferred the look to the french door(particularly without an ice maker which is difficult to find).
The cost of teh counter depth fridges was off-putting to me as well...particularly the higher end Electrolux and Bosch that we looked at (and even Kitchen Aid). Given the expected lfe of a fridge these days I aws having a hard time spending the money.
Black Friday we were at the Great Indoors(Sears) and spied the new Kenmore Elite SxS counter depth fridge. 25 cu ft and it held a cookie sheet in it when I tried one. Black Friday sale was $1650! It did have an through the freezer door ice maker which I would have preferred nto to ahve but for the price we decided to try it since it wasn't a huge investment if 1) we didn't like the SxX 2) we didn't like the counter depth or 3) it quit working relatively soon.
We've been in teh house with the fridge since late Jan. So far I've been really happy with. I don't freeze a lot of stuff(no frozen foods, no frozen leftovers, no big bulk purchases from costco, etc). I haven't felt any loss of space on the fridge side. I don't mind the side by side set up either and haven't missed the french doors. If anythign I like the freezer off the bottom and with shelves as stuff isn't getting lost in the bottom of the bin anymore.
Hospital Food Gift
My mother spent 5 weeks in the rehab ward at one of our local hospitals a while back. We kept her and the staff in assorted See's Lollipops during that time. They were a big hit with everyone(we know keep a bowl full of them in her assisted living apt as well for her and staff to share).
http://www.sees.com/prod.cfm/pops_and_candies/Lollypops
Simplex Tea Kettle Whistle
I have long admired the beauty of these kettles but resisted buying one as 1) I didn't have a gas stove and 2) didn't want to take up room on the stove storing it.
We will be moving into a new house in a couple weeks however that will have a 6 burner gas cooktop. I decided it would be great to finally indulge myself and buy one of these beautiful kettles for myself.
Of course, they are now no longer being made. I was sadly disappointed to discover this and have only been able to find a few selling for hundreds of dollars on ebay.
My husband however turned one up on the clearance rack at a Sur La Table earlier this week. It's the flat bottomed electric version and not the gas one with the coils but still lovely.
However it won't whistle. We can hear the whistle mechanism rattling around in the spout, which I believe it's supposed to do? But no whistle. We've tried varying the amounts of water in it. It didn't come in a box and thus no paperwork so we don't know if there's something particular we should eb doing in terms of water amount or ?
Or maybe it's just broken...in which case anyone have any luck fixing one? I called SLT to see about finding another one at another store somewhere but they showed no inventory in any of their stores.
It's still beautiful but after years of using an electric kettle with auto-off I admit I'm afraid of boiling it dry with no whistle....
Asian Cooking Classes in Phoenix?
My husband would like to take some cooking classes focused on Chinese and/or Japanese food. I thought House of Rice offered classes but don't see anything on their website. Any suggestions on places he could look into?
Thanks
Marcella Hazan Chicken Cacciatore
Yes, thank you so very much!! That site didn't come up in my googling last night. I really appreciate your help!
Marcella Hazan Chicken Cacciatore
I would like to make Marcella's classic cacciatore recipe(from the Essentials book) for guests Saturday night. Unfortunately my cookbook is in storage until my new house is completed and its been a couple years since I made this particular recipe. I remember it's very very simple with carrots, onions, just a couple peppers, and tomatoes but am not clear on the quantity nor exact ingredients....
Anyone have the book that they might be able to offer a very loose paraphrase to job my memory...haven't yet been able to find one online....
Which counter depth fridge?
Thanks. We're loking at that one too. It's more than I wanted to spend but am beginning to accept I need to increase my budget for the fridge. We're trying to find out if it will fit in the space we have(we'd like to get the 72" version if we go with KA) or if we can modify the space...
Which counter depth fridge?
In the market for a counter depth fridge. Frustrated by the choices. Really don't want a through the door dispenser, especially in a counter depth, but that seems to limit choices even more.
Originally thought we wanted a French Door but have been looking at the Electrolux side by side as well as it seems to be very generous in size for a side by side and appears as if it would hold a lot of my serving bowls and platters(they are in storage though so haven't had a chance to test this, need to borrow some and go try). Have been told the Frigidaires are the same manufacturer as the Electrolux as well.
Fridge is turning out to be the most difficult choice in our new house.
Pitta Souvli - Chandler, AZ
We'd never made it here over all these years as we just never came down to the Ocotillo area to eat in all our years in Chandler...but we just moved down here and are trying to figure out what the good neighborhood spots are. Remembered reading about Pitta Souvli over the years so we stopped in tonight for a quick bite.
Hello! Welcome to the neighborhood! Definitely agree with all the positive things I've read in reviews here and other places. We had some of the dolmades and split the lamb souvlaki plate. The lamb was perfect - tender and full of flavor. The lemon roasted potatoes were absolutely delicious and just like I grew up on. I felt like I was back at home eating dinner my mom had made...nice to finally find some real greek food in the area. Going back to soon to try the avgolemono soup...have high hopes based on tonight's dinner.
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Pitta Souvli
1940 S Alma School Rd Ste 5, Chandler, AZ 85286
Whirly Pop owners
I'm sitting here eating some popcorn my husband just made in our Whirley Pop. He often uses olive oil and while in theory it shouldn't be good in this application it always works well. Otherwise he uses Grapeseed Oil.
Cleaning laminate countertops
This is how I cleaned my white laminate. It was over 20 years old when replaced but didn't have any stains on it. Worked great!
Salt Cellar Groupon
we bought one and have never been there. Anything they do especially wel
Where to buy fresh/frozen anchovies ?
they keep them in the cooler by the fish counter. if i get a chance i'll go by this weekend and see if they still carry them. there's one up in north scottsdale though that's still quite a drive for you.
I have a friend that really loves them so when she comes over I pick some up for her and put them out with other good spanish nibbles. I haven't looked for them in over a year though so maybe they don't have them anymore. Like I said I'll try and check since I live very close to the Chandler location.
Where to buy fresh/frozen anchovies ?
I haven't looked for them in a while, but I've picked up fresh white anchovies at the Whole Foods in Chandler several times over the years since they've opened.
Double Oven vs Single + Speed ??
I just had to make this same decision myself. When we moved to the house we're in right now I left behind double wall ovens and couldn't wait to have them again. 11 years later however....
Well with a 30" oven and a countertop convection, I've never missed having the second full size oven actually. It was a rare time that I ran out of oven space despite regular large holiday, family and entertaining dinners. Admittedly we live in Arizona and do a lot of outdoor cooking as well so both our grills(gas and a BGE) serve as an extension of the oven too.
So, in the end for our new house we're buidling I went with a 30" oven and an Adventium on top of that. I do like having the smaller oven a lot as there are only two of us and it uses less energy, heats up my house a lot less, and is quicker than the big oven. Having it built in will free up some counterspace as both the microwave and countertop oven live on the counter right now too. We don't use the microwave much as well(heating water, melting butter and the like) so it was particularly attractive to get that off the counter.
I use my countertop oven daily so that was really key in my decision. For her that may not be as much of a reason...
Chef Curtiss leaves Noca
I've only done a tasting menu at Noca once. It was too much food for me(4 courses). when we go, we typically split a starter, enjoy our individual mains, and split a dessert. It's more than enough food. I'd say we're avergage eaters. I've never found the portions to be lacking.
johnseberg, thanks for the update. Our last visit was right before Chef Curtiss left. Good to know things are still good at Noca! We liked Metro under Matt Taylor so are looking forward to trying what he has to offer here. As others have mentioned Noca has always been high on my list for fish and seafood and I've told many I felt Chef Curtiss handled fish and seafood better than any other chef in town(I see in recent comments that other Chowhounds seem to share my sentiments on this). I hope the offerings in this area continue to be stellar!
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Noca
3118 E. Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85016
Mauviel on Glasstop?
I use my Mauviel on a glasstop electric stove and have for several years now. I was able to buy most of my copper at a large discount(why I have it to be honest, would not have paid full price for it). I've been happy with the performance.
I went from coils to flat top in this house. It was the first thing I changed after we bought the house(gas not available in this neighborhood). I personally would never go back to coils and am not sure what the advantage would be?
I am moving to a new house soon however that has gas and am looking forward to being able to use all the copper on a gas cooktop finally. With that asid, I've turned out some mighty nice meals in the eleven years we've been in this electric only house. As others have said, give it a chance and you'll be fine. For items where you need to quickly cool or heat up pans learn to use multiple burners set at different temps. Works really well.
Does anyone else use an iced tea maker?
I had one of these I used to use for similar reasons - it was simple, quick and easy and didn't heat up my kitchen in summer. I hated having it out on the counter though...but we used it a lot during the summer so I left it out during the hot months even though it annoyed me to see it there
Like you I preferred loose leaf to bags and used a coffee filter with the loose leaf teas. It only brews at one temp so is best suited to black teas or tisanes rather than green teas if you want to be a purist about brewing temperature.
I quit drinking coffee early this year though and bought myself an electric kettle for drinking tea. Once I had this on hand it became even easier to boil a pot of water(the electric kettle doesn't throw heat either) and use a glass pitcher to brew the tea. I've been doing that all year both with bags and with loose leaf. I'm happy not to be using the plastic pitcher anymore as I prefer to avoid plastic when possible.
I just gave my iced tea maker to Goodwill this past week when I was cleaning out closets
Anyone use GE trivection oven?
Thanks for the reply...you've reinforced my thinking that having both the adventium and the trivection would be overkill. B/C I use a small oven so much here I think I'll go with the adventium. It will be nice to get the countertop oven off the counter...
Anyone use GE trivection oven?
I"m trying to pick appliances for our new house. We have to go with builders options...I have the option of a convection wall oven with an adventium oven or a trivection oven with an adventium oven. I didn't think I needed the trivection as I was getting the adventium as well....should I rethink this?
I can also get a trivection oven with just a standard built in microwave. But I thought I wanted the adventiumm for sure. We live in Phoenix and I use a counter top oven a lot, especially during the summer to reduce heat in my kitchen and for less energy use since I can often cook whatever we're using in the smaller oven. So I think I'd definitely still want the adventium for the small size. This is where I'm not sure the upgrade to the trivection would be worth it?
GE Monogram?
We are in the process of selecting design elements of a new home. Since it is a tract home I am limited to the builder's choices. On the high end I can do Monogram or Viking. The next step down is the GE Profile.
I think I'd rather do the Monogram of the two high end options. In the end, by the time everything is said and done there's not a huge price difference between the Monogram and Viking packages because of the way the packages are put together and the pieces not included in the package we would need to add (Monogram doesn't include the fridge nor hood, Viking doesn't include the dishwasher). In a similar price range I can do a 6 burner gas cooktop for the Monogram or a 6 burner range with the Viking. I'd prefer the cooktop bu the Viking cooktops would push the pricing beyond what I want to spend).
A lot of people I've talked to over the years have been disappointed with their Viking cooktops and ranges. I don't know a lot of people with Monogram though. Reviews seems mixed when researching on line.
Anyone here have experience with Monogram and if so has it been favorable? We're looking at the Euro line, though the Pro line isn't that much more expensive if it's performs significantly better?
Should I stick with Profile and save my pennies? I"ve been cooking for years now on a 30" Kenmore flat top electric range so any gas cooktop is actually a signficant improvement for us! This is my chance to finally go high end if I want though...just want to be sure it's worth it since I have such limited choices. I know I could go Profile and upgrade later but hate to put something in knowing from the get go I'll want to rip it out and upgrade.
