Cooking season

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

There's an instant pot thread here

I really need to start up a brownie thread

[DreamWriter]

My favorite small appliances:

• 6-Quart Instant Pot 7-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker (Love it!)
• Epica Personal Blender with Take-Along Bottle (It's fantastic! I use it every day to make veggie/fruit smoothies.)
• Cuisinart Chef's Convection Toaster Oven (I don't use a full-size oven anymore)

I recently purchased a Cuisinart TOA-60 Air Fryer Toaster Oven, which will arrive early next week. Can't wait to experiment with that!

As far as Thanksgiving dinner goes, I'll be pressure-cooking a turkey breast and making potatoes, dressing, green beans, etc. Pumpkin pie for dessert.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I really need to start up a brownie thread

I was a brownie when I was 7 or 8 years old. Were you one too?

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

I'm having baked french toast for dinner made in the slow cooker. I'm going to try putting cream cheese in the middle. I forgot to put the cream cheese in the freezer last night, so I hope it's frozen enough to slice easily this afternoon.

Has anyone else ever froze cream cheese to make it easier to slice? I haven't but I'm hoping it will work.

I find frozen cream cheese tends to crumble.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

I find frozen cream cheese tends to crumble.

It was so hard when I took it out of the freezer I couldn't cut it. I left it out for a little while longer than I planned and the exterior was completely thawed. So it was sliding as I cut it.

Then when I put it on top of half the bread, raisins, and nuts it was too cold. I got a hairdryer to thaw it out! Since it's cooking in the slow cooker, I didn't think it would come out ok otherwise. I'll see in a few hours if it's ok.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

It was so hard when I took it out of the freezer I couldn't cut it. I left it out for a little while longer than I planned and the exterior was completely thawed. So it was sliding as I cut it.

Then when I put it on top of half the bread, raisins, and nuts it was too cold. I got a hairdryer to thaw it out! Since it's cooking in the slow cooker, I didn't think it would come out ok otherwise. I'll see in a few hours if it's ok.

You should be ok. Though it dawned on me after I posted, thawed frozen cream cheese crumbles.

[Cinisajoy]

Bumping for any questions or comments on either cooking or small appliances bought during the Black Friday season.
My question is how do you keep from pureeing everything with an immersion blender. It is super quick.

[tempest@de]

What are you using it for? I thought that the point of using an immersion blender was to puree things, I used mine for making soup as I don't like soup with chunks I like a smooth puree, although the one that I have now has never been used for that, I mainly use the other accessories.

[Dr. Drib]

I'm been looking for a crock-pot to purchase here in Peru, but it's like trying to find a clean bathroom - a hopeless endeavor.

They have rice cookers galore, which resemble crock-pots, but that's all about steaming.

My question is can something like this be used as a crock-pot?

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by tempest@de

What are you using it for? I thought that the point of using an immersion blender was to puree things, I used mine for making soup as I don't like soup with chunks I like a smooth puree, although the one that I have now has never been used for that, I mainly use the other accessories.

I tried to use it to make creamed peas the other day. It went from barely touched to soup in about 2 seconds.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I'm been looking for a crock-pot to purchase here in Peru, but it's like trying to find a clean bathroom - a hopeless endeavor.

They have rice cookers galore, which resemble crock-pots, but that's all about steaming.

My question is can something like this be used as a crock-pot?

Don,
Two totally different cooking methods.
It won't be quite as slow but those recipes could easily be done in an oven.
Do you have or can you get a Dutch oven or casserole dish?

Alternatively, can you order a slow cooker from Amazon?

You will need one with a crockpot insert not one with a base for most of those recipes.
Rival and Hamilton Beach both make very good ones.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Don,
Two totally different cooking methods.
It won't be quite as slow but those recipes could easily be done in an oven.
Do you have or can you get a Dutch oven or casserole dish?

Alternatively, can you order a slow cooker from Amazon?

You will need one with a crockpot insert not one with a base for most of those recipes.
Rival and Hamilton Beach both make very good ones.

I always had a crock-pot, even in my 20s, so - in my ignorance - I thought that something this seemingly universal would be available here. Now that I've gotten into cooking things I've never cooked in my life, I really miss it.

Casserole dishes are no problem here in Peru.

I may just have to buy a crock-pot from Amazon, but since the good ones are bulky and weigh a lot, the shipping will be outrageous. Plus, in this country, there's no certainty that it will arrive - to me, that is.

I'll check out your suggestions.

Thanks!

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I always had a crock-pot, even in my 20s, so - in my ignorance - I thought that something this seemingly universal would be available here. Now that I've gotten into cooking things I've never cooked in my life, I really miss it.

Casserole dishes are no problem here in Peru.

I may just have to buy a crock-pot from Amazon, but since the good ones are bulky and weigh a lot, the shipping will be outrageous. Plus, in this country, there's no certainty that it will arrive - to me, that is.

I'll check out your suggestions.

Thanks!

Or next time you visit the states pick one up.

Crockpot high 4 hours = roughly 1 hour in the oven on 350° F.

[tempest@de]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I always had a crock-pot, even in my 20s, so - in my ignorance - I thought that something this seemingly universal would be available here.

I think the crook pot is well known in the US, Canada, England and Australia but not so much in other countries. The first time I heard about one was when reading a book whose main character was from Texas and mentioned a crockpot, I had to look it up has I had no idea what it was, never had heard of such thing as a slow cocker. In Europe it is not a very known appliance, although in the last few years it started to change, the world is truly a global place now.

A few years ago started appearing the all in one appliances that do a lot of things, those are much more common here than the crockpot and some can be used to slow cook.

I never saw a crockpot in a physical store, I know that there is at least a chain of stores that sells them online, not in the physical stores, and they only have 3 choices.

Other thing that I found that is quite common or at least known in the US is the pressure canners, never saw one here and I looked in several European stores when I decided to can some of my parents vegetables. I found that in Germany they sell several models off pans that can be used for water bath canning, and they are so common in Germany because they use them to make cider and beer at home.

It’s interesting that when we are used to something we assume it is common everywhere but not always. Cinisajoy mentioned the immersion blender the other day, that is probably the small appliance more common in household here, everyone has one or more. I tought it was like that everywhere but in Brasil they are not so common, in Brasilian cooking sites I found that to make soup they usually cook the ingredients in a pot on the stove and then transfer them in batches to a blender to puree, for me it was very strange to see this, especially since here it is common to eat soup and most people cook a full pot of soup, normally in the pressure cooker (easily 4 litres of soup) and I can't even think how many batches I would have to make to puree it in a blender.

Other thing that almost every household has is a pressure cooker (the stove top kind) the electrical ones are relatively new here, I found that for us using a pressure cooker was very common but for many Americans the pressure cooker is a little scary.

So after all this, what are the appliances or kitchen gadgets that are common for you but maybe not so known for other people, I’m sure there are a lot off them and I’d love to know more, I love kitchen gadgets.

[Cinisajoy]

Oh yes, the Instant Pot has its own thread here. That is the major multi-cooker. It is also a newcomer.

Now as to things found in kitchens:
Electric tea kettles are common in the UK. They are starting to find a market here. Stove top kettles have been around for years.
A coffee maker is much more common in the US.

Stove top canners have been around for years. Funny thing though, the new multi-cookers are not recommended for canning only cooking.

Now stand mixers in Germany are what we would consider a blender. (Or at least some stand mixers in Germany are blenders.) Stand mixers here are usually big heavy things with beaters. (Kitchenaid makes the most popular one.)

Another item more common in the southern US would be a barbecue pit or grill. (Not grilling like in the UK). Grilling here is on top of the fire not underneath it.
Grilling is for faster cooking, a barbecue pit is for slow cooking. Now I could grill on my outside barbecue pit but I can't barbecue on my indoor/outdoor electric grill.

Microwave ovens are found in almost every house in the US.

We also have deep fryers, steamers, food processors, ice cream makers, pasta makers, air fryers, toasters and toaster ovens. Halogen ovens. I almost forgot juicers. Also hand mixers. The latest fad seems to be ice makers.

Now you can buy kitchenaid accessories to do everything from grind meat, shred or slice or spiralize or juice vegetables and fruits, make pasta and ice creams. I think there is even now a cooker accessory.

The two appliances you will find in most American kitchens are microwaves and coffee makers.