I have won Christmas two years in a row (Instapot and a countertop oven) with recommendations from this list... Already got a third gift lined up for this year...
So, the rather pedestrian answer (in comparison to the previous years - she uses her Breville oven at least three times a day) is the Instapot accessories, because she likes those Starbucks egg bites and lacking the tools, hadn't considered she could make them herself.
But you you are going to laugh when I say that I see the clinching play coming from teaming that up with the combo electronic toothbrush / water flosser.
I just want to say that if you have a large family, go with a Bosch instead of a KitchenAid mixer. They're the favorite of Utah housewives, which I didn't understand until I became a mother of 5 and the Kitchen Aid just wasn't large enough for 4 loaves of bread. My friend went with the largest KA and after using our Bosch a couple of times said she'd wished she had listened to me and gone Bosch.
Your lists have provided years of gifting ideas for me; and they introduced me to Thermomix, which has been a life-changer for my family and me. When will Part Four come out?
I've purchased a few of the stocking stuffers that you recommended here. Past purchases of the other big ticket items were also courtesy of your earlier gift guides. Thank you so much for this and the Japanese cheesecake tips. Merry Christmas to the three of you from the two of us in SW Colorado!
I have, and absolutely love, the Shun 8" chef's knife. One does need to be mindful about proper technique and tucking the tips of one's fingers that are holding what you are cutting fully under. Managed to pare a little corner of my left index finger off. Quite quickly. This knife is like the Bride's sword in Kill Bill: "If on your cooking journey you should meet God, God will get cut."
Sure! 8 oz bacon or pancetta, cut into a quarter inch dice; 1 tablespoon sugar or Lyle's Golden Syrup (optional); enough onions, cut into 2-3 inch chunks, to fill the bowl.
1. Cook the bacon/pancetta at 100c for 5 minutes, Speed 1.
2. Add in the onions and chop, 3-5 seconds Speed 5
3. Add in the sugar/Lyle's if using, and whir for a couple of seconds, Speed 3, to distribute
4. Cook at 100c for an hour on Speed 1, take a look to make sure it's browning and nothing is burning, then cook another hour and check again. I usually cook it a total of three hours this way, until it is a dark brown, delicious sludge that is gorgeous with cheese, in meat pies, or on steak or pork loin. Would probably be good with chicken, too, but we've never done that.
"The more moving parts a machine has, the more parts can break and the shorter its likely life. "
The oldest machine in my kitchen is the Mr Coffee 4 cup I use to make 2 mugs a day of decent coffee that I bought in the summer of 2000. Has a switch, a heating element to boil the water to steam, and a warmer. Note: Decent coffee. At 0430 I'm not going to grind my own beans, weigh them on a scale to the milligram, and fiddle with all the controls. Heck, I don't even need to put my glasses on to use it! Just put 2tbs of coffee in the filter(with a pinch of salt), fill the carafe to the "2" line, hit the button, and it's ready to drink when I've finished breakfast. The only problem is that no local grocery stores carry 4 cup filters anymore. It's annoying to have to go to Amazon to order coffee filters.
I have won Christmas two years in a row (Instapot and a countertop oven) with recommendations from this list... Already got a third gift lined up for this year...
Glad to hear that! Which one?
So, the rather pedestrian answer (in comparison to the previous years - she uses her Breville oven at least three times a day) is the Instapot accessories, because she likes those Starbucks egg bites and lacking the tools, hadn't considered she could make them herself.
But you you are going to laugh when I say that I see the clinching play coming from teaming that up with the combo electronic toothbrush / water flosser.
I just want to say that if you have a large family, go with a Bosch instead of a KitchenAid mixer. They're the favorite of Utah housewives, which I didn't understand until I became a mother of 5 and the Kitchen Aid just wasn't large enough for 4 loaves of bread. My friend went with the largest KA and after using our Bosch a couple of times said she'd wished she had listened to me and gone Bosch.
Shipping alone has more than tripled. Also for some items demand was really high and its hard to keep stock of product.
Your lists have provided years of gifting ideas for me; and they introduced me to Thermomix, which has been a life-changer for my family and me. When will Part Four come out?
I've purchased a few of the stocking stuffers that you recommended here. Past purchases of the other big ticket items were also courtesy of your earlier gift guides. Thank you so much for this and the Japanese cheesecake tips. Merry Christmas to the three of you from the two of us in SW Colorado!
Thanks for resuming your kitchen guide! My wife doesn't need to know how such thoughtfully-chosen gifts keep appearing each year at Christmas.
I have, and absolutely love, the Shun 8" chef's knife. One does need to be mindful about proper technique and tucking the tips of one's fingers that are holding what you are cutting fully under. Managed to pare a little corner of my left index finger off. Quite quickly. This knife is like the Bride's sword in Kill Bill: "If on your cooking journey you should meet God, God will get cut."
Thanks for the guide! Any chance you could share the bacon-onion jam recipe?
Sure! 8 oz bacon or pancetta, cut into a quarter inch dice; 1 tablespoon sugar or Lyle's Golden Syrup (optional); enough onions, cut into 2-3 inch chunks, to fill the bowl.
1. Cook the bacon/pancetta at 100c for 5 minutes, Speed 1.
2. Add in the onions and chop, 3-5 seconds Speed 5
3. Add in the sugar/Lyle's if using, and whir for a couple of seconds, Speed 3, to distribute
4. Cook at 100c for an hour on Speed 1, take a look to make sure it's browning and nothing is burning, then cook another hour and check again. I usually cook it a total of three hours this way, until it is a dark brown, delicious sludge that is gorgeous with cheese, in meat pies, or on steak or pork loin. Would probably be good with chicken, too, but we've never done that.
"The more moving parts a machine has, the more parts can break and the shorter its likely life. "
The oldest machine in my kitchen is the Mr Coffee 4 cup I use to make 2 mugs a day of decent coffee that I bought in the summer of 2000. Has a switch, a heating element to boil the water to steam, and a warmer. Note: Decent coffee. At 0430 I'm not going to grind my own beans, weigh them on a scale to the milligram, and fiddle with all the controls. Heck, I don't even need to put my glasses on to use it! Just put 2tbs of coffee in the filter(with a pinch of salt), fill the carafe to the "2" line, hit the button, and it's ready to drink when I've finished breakfast. The only problem is that no local grocery stores carry 4 cup filters anymore. It's annoying to have to go to Amazon to order coffee filters.
"moving people and goods between borders is now"
should be "across borders", or "between countries"?
"I wanted to puree soup the soup I made him"
should be "puree the soup".
"relatively poor conductivity means t heats slowly"
should be "means it heats".
"or have at timer, or an alarm, nor does it latte or espresso."
should be "have a timer". Verbing nouns is okay, but maybe you want "does it [do/make] latte".
"Woodmans of Essex, $60-$350, plus delivery charges. Woodman’s is legendary"
"Woodman's" is correct.
But the noun verbing was deliberate! I'm glad someone noticed :)
Next year I'll hire a copyeditor--this year, I thank you. :)