I want to get a steamer for steaming hot dog buns.

I see that West Bend, Oster, Sunbeam, all have steamer units. Anybody have experience with these type steamers and recommendations?

Are you allowing the unit to pre heat first?

Im a bif fan of the 6" Chefs knife too. I use it constantly. Sometimes the larger size helps, like with cutting cabbage heads, lettuce bunches, and greens.....but you can get by with a 6" most of the time.

So all the talk about trizor edges is BS?

Seems like the 120 is more versatile. Giving you the option of 2 diamond hone bevel angles, probably 15/20, then a stropping stage. Youve got lots of options. A 15/20 double bevel edge, a 15 or a 20, stropping or no stropping.

Great thread and great advice. I suggest you take it OnlyMe. I was going to post after reading over 3/4s of the way through, but then I read alanbarnes post and all I can say is...

Ditto!

Bravo alanbarnes!

Other exceptional mentions are the F Dick steels and sharpening rods.

I dont know about shipping to Ireland, but CutleryandMore has good sale prices on F Dick.

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/search....

One more thing, the type of serration on most good bread knives is called scalloped.....it is what someone was refering to as semi-circular serrations. All the serrations are the same largish size, they really bite into breads and tomatoes. Bread knives rock!

I use a Chef's Choice 100 Trizor. I like to skip the third stage and instead use a bi-beveled edge instead of the tri-beveled edge touted as Trizor. I generally only use the first stage for reshaping blades....in other words, the 2nd stage is the most used stage. The 3rd stage puts a more obtuse angle on the 20 degree 2nd stage....actually duling the blade. By not using the 3rd stage on a 100 or 110, you get a sharper knife.

From what I understand, the 130 and the 120 use a steeling 3rd stage, not a trizor 3rd stage...is this correct?

Great thread!

Thanks for all the info on the Waring Pro jayt90. I remmember you from the other thread.

Seems like the Waring Pro is a good alternative, if you dont have the dough for a Cadco.

Cinnamon, in your original post you state that you prefer using an 8" Carving/Utility knife over the 8" Chef's knife. I hate those Carving/Utility knives for anything but Carving....they are knuckle crunchers for me.

You might try a Standard German Style 6" Chef's knife. It has a wider blade than the carving knife, but not as wide as the 8" Chef's knife. It is also smaller, and you seem to prefer smaller blades from your discription. Smaller blades are more dexterous and weildy in the hands. And Ive found that the 6" Chef's knife is one of my favorite knives. And women with smaller hands really love it. However I prefer it often to a larger knife, myself. It will do most of what an 8" will do.

Another route would be a French Style Blade knife. Like the Sabatier Au Carbone 6" Cook's Knife. Be advised this is not stainless steel. However the blad is flat and not mezzaluna-ish.

And last but not least......here is a great site.....Cooking for Engineers....Chef's Knifes Rated. You will notice that the Wusthof has a more rounded blade than most of the others. Perhaps a Wusthof 6" Chef's knife is just what you are looking for.

The Victorinox/Forschner recommended earlier by alanbarnes, gets good marks.

http://www.cookingforengineers.com/ar...

Good Luck!

I dont know the inside dimensions of the Waring Pro 1.5. You could probably do a search and find out.

However, they do make countertop pizza ovens for commercial and home use. You can probably find one that can take a 14" pizza.

Here is an example at Amazon...

http://www.amazon.com/Fusion-Commerci...

Of the classic German/French style blades, the Wusthof has a more rounded blade than others.

However, you might like this from Dexter Russell (or something similar from another manufaturer). The DR Chinese Chef's Cleaver is pretty weighty.....but not so much as like a Butcher's Cleaver, its more for use chopping vegetables. It also has the rounded blade you are after.

http://www.amazon.com/Dexter-Russell-08040-Chinese-Chefs-Cleavers/dp/B00004RFR9

Here is a similar one by Victorinox/Forschner and slightly cheaper. Search Chinese clever at Amazon for more....

http://www.amazon.com/VICTORINOX-3-Chinese-Cleaver-40090V/dp/B000MD9J52/ref=pd_bbs_sr_8?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1240119042&sr=8-8

I like Nakiri knives too...these are lighter and have somewhat flatish blades. But they rock on vegetable prep. This is the Kershaw Wasabi version, there are lots of others.

http://www.amazon.com/Wasabi-Kershaw-...

Wooden Spoons and Wooden Cutting Boards FTW.

I also like stainless spoons and can abide plastics for cutting boards.

Thanks.

I need to pick up some for work.

Remember, the smaller the toaster overn the better toaster it makes. However the larger the toaster oven substitute it makes.

Given your limited information posted on your needs and wants....I would recommend a 0.5 cu ft toaster oven with the traditional 3 knobs.

Those are 2 good units.

You need to determine your needs and wants better. If you primary interest is toast (4 slices) then your best bet is to get a dedicated toaster and not a toaster oven....which almost universally does a poorer job of making toast than a dedicated toaster and takes much longer to do it.

You also need to determine if you prefer the 3 knob classic style operational control.....or the new digital which allows you to do more and better. However if you are just doing very simple things then maybe the classic 3 knobs is the way to go.

You also need to consider the size of the toaster oven. The larger the oven the longer it is to heat up. The smaller the oven the less you can fit in it. For instance do you want to be able to cook 12" pizzas in your toaster oven?

We went over some larger toaster ovens in depth here.

Toaster Oven vs. Countertop Oven

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/5869...

Sunbeam T-35, best toaster ever made. End of thread.

Sets are for chumps.

Get one large Cast Iron skillet.....or 2

Some Aluminum or Stainless stock pots.

A good sauce pan.

And if you must a non stick skillet.

Dont waste yer money.

Im pro wood as well, though not anti plastic. I love cutting boards and collect them.

Soft plastic is preferable.

Bamboo and Hard Plastic is harder on your knives, but not terrible.

Please dont use glass like my sister n law. For the love of God!

In toaster ovens and space heaters? What are the differences?

Thanks for sharing your experience and or expertise.

EV

After much research, I went with the B&D 6301. Ill let you know how it goes.

I found that Bed, Bath, and Beyond had the best selection of Toaster Ovens to physically inspect. Including the B&D 6301, Krups FBC2, Cuisinart 195, Cuisinart Brick 200, KitchenAid, and a couple of others. The Oster can be seen at Walmart.

One note I would like to make, is that the Krups has 3 elements on top and 3 on bottom. And they are the quartz style elements, not the traditional elements. The B&D also has Quartz elements, 2 top + 2 bottom(4 total). The Cuisinarts have traditional heating elements.

From my research, the Sanyo 3 is the way to go. It is good to use out on the patio for apartments and such where gas and charcoal is forbidden.

The Waring Pro will probably be longer lasting, more reliable than the Breville, because of its simpler controls. Heat and electronics dont mix well. However Im smitten with the Breville.

The truth of the matter is that cast iron is easy to use and clean. There is a bunch of superstitions surrrounding its seasoning and care. The fact of the matter is that normal use, is all you need to keep it seasoned and performing well. You dont need special seasoning sessions, avoiding washing, or any of that other crap....though it wont hurt it.

Dont believe the hype.

BTW, its ease of care is probably exactly why there are so many opinions on how to keep care of it, because it is so easy to care for and tough virtually anything is fine.

The Wooden Spoon

What you need to do, is get that sucker over to the sink with some Dawn dishwashing detergent and hot water, and scrub it vigorously with a steel or brash scrubby. Rinse it off, towel it dry, and sit it on the stove till the next morning. Then fry up some bacon in it the next morning....and do a quick light soap wash and rinse afterwards(no scrubby). Back in business!

You need to think of seasoning a pan as a continuous process....not something that you do once and then never wash again. Cast iron isnt delicate.

People tip toe around cast iron too much. You are not cleaning it thoroughly enough. Which is understandable given all the non sensical recommendations for cast iron care.

Cast iron is great for simmering and slow cooking, dont listen to Zeldog. In fact Boston Baked Beans are traditionally cooked in cast iron.

Cooking acidic tomato sauces in it can pick up iron into the dish, though it isnt anything to worry about. Not that this modern culture wont post dire warnings and fearmongering about it.

Seasoning a pan isnt about creating a layer of gook on the surface of the cast iron, but rather having that gook in the micro cracks and crevices of the porous cast iron.

Sheesh!

My favorites are the

Breville 800 & Cuisinart 195

The Cadco is just too expensive, but I bet its a real performer and built to last.

The Hamilton Beach is a Best Buy Value.

So to break it all down we have in the larger .8 to 1.1 cu ft size we have the

Cadco 250 $600+
Waring Pro .9 $250+
Breville 800 .8 Digital $250+
Cusinart Brick 300 .9 $250+
Cuisinart Brick 200 .9 $225+ (no convection)
Hamilton Beach 1.1 $100+

On the smaller .5 to .6 cu ft side we have the

Krups FBC4 $175+ Digital
Cuisinart 195 $175+ Digital
Cuisnart 155 (no convection) $150+ Digital
B&D 6301 $90+ Digital
Oster 6897, 6898, 6899 $90+ Digital
KitchenAid $90+ NOT digital (no convection)

Here is a video on the Breville Smart Oven...

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/produc...

There is also a good video and some thorough reviews towards the bottom of the Amazon page.