Favorite Gadgets of 2019

[Thargor]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

(Xiaomi) Pocophone for me and Mi Max 3 for my wife. Both are outstanding value for money, especially since bleeding edge camera greatness is not important to either of us. I'm actively trying to buy less and to decrease my consumerism generally, but my Huawei M3 tablet is starting to show signs of age, so I may need to buy a replacement next year. Probably a Lenovo Tab P10.

Mi Max 3 is the best thing I ever bought apart from the Kobo Forma, no going back to sub 7" phones for me from now on.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by leebase

No venting in my kitchen

What does that mean? I'm sorry...I know it's a little off topic, but why does your kitchen have to be vented in order to pan sear meat?

Shari

[leebase]

Originally Posted by shalym

What does that mean? I'm sorry...I know it's a little off topic, but why does your kitchen have to be vented in order to pan sear meat?

Shari

The copious amounts of smoke have nowhere to go. It is quite unpleasant

[shalym]

Originally Posted by leebase

The copious amounts of smoke have nowhere to go. It is quite unpleasant

Ah...ok. I don't generally generate copious amounts of smoke when I pan sear meat. Maybe I'm doing it wrong?

Shari

[leebase]

Originally Posted by shalym

Ah...ok. I don't generally generate copious amounts of smoke when I pan sear meat. Maybe I'm doing it wrong?

Shari

Or me 😎

[Deskisamess]

Originally Posted by leebase

The copious amounts of smoke have nowhere to go. It is quite unpleasant

The heat is too high or you are using an oil with a low smoke point (such as olive oil).

We do steaks in a cast iron skillet on our gas stove all the time, without smoking ourselves out.

[Tarana]

My sister reads while soaking in her extra-deep tub. She does a lot of hard manual labor, so the soak at the end of the day helps. I, on the other hand, had a fall in the tub some years ago, permanently damaging my leg. So, I never use one.

My new tech this year was my Iphone 8Plus. I needed to replace my flip phone which wasn't going to work in 2020 so bought Iphone with prepay plan instead of planned Itouch purhcase. This has been great - not only can my Mom hear me when I'm shopping for her, but Miracle Ear upgraded my hearing aid to bluetooth for free so I can hear audiobooks while driving and doing errands right through the hearing aid!

The new tech for my Mom was an ereader holder that held her ereader up higher so she isn't bending her neck. She's 85 and reading was becoming painful. She has a board that rests on the chair arms and then she puts the ereader holder on that. There are plenty of different designs, but look for tablet stand to get the most variety.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

The heat is too high or you are using an oil with a low smoke point (such as olive oil).

We do steaks in a cast iron skillet on our gas stove all the time, without smoking ourselves out.

I'm all ears. What oil would you suggest, how hot do you get your pan?

[leebase]

Opened my Christmas Homepod....two together sound amazing. There is the increase in volume and the stereo separation. Can't wait to try it on a movie. With just one home pod, it's not QUITE loud enough (I like it loud).

I hope Apple comes out with a HomePod Subwoofer at some point. There is plenty of base -- but I like to FEEL THE RUMBLE

[Deskisamess]

Originally Posted by leebase

I'm all ears. What oil would you suggest, how hot do you get your pan?

I don't add oil to my cast iron skillet...it's well seasoned and doesn't need more oil. I do rub veg oil on it after each use.

There are many cast iron cooking sites out there on the interwebs.

[haertig]

Originally Posted by leebase

I'm all ears. What oil would you suggest, how hot do you get your pan?

Here's a table of the smoke point for various oils:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templa...f_cooking_oils

The Extra Virgin Olive Oil that many people have around the house has an extremely low smoke point. It is not really for heating. You look at it crossways, and it smokes in retaliation.

The highest smoke point is for Avacado Oil. You can buy this at Costco. Personally, I use Peanut Oil most of the time.

When heating my cast iron, I use an infrared thermometer to check the temp, so I don't heat above the smoke point. Infrared thermometers are cheap and work well. Here's the one I have:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Apache]

Originally Posted by leebase

I'm all ears. What oil would you suggest, how hot do you get your pan?

I put my cast iron pan in the oven at 500 degrees to heat it up. Then pull it out and put it on the burner on high or medium high and cook till done to your liking. Or you can pull the pan out of the oven, put the steaks in for two minute, flip and put it back in the oven till done to your favorite temp.
Apache

[Deskisamess]

Here is how I do strip steaks:

http://www.offthemeathook.com/2011/0...cy-restaurant/

[silverraven]

Originally Posted by leebase

I'm all ears. What oil would you suggest, how hot do you get your pan?

I don't use oil for steaks, but hubby does. I just heat the skillet up then put the steak in, don't touch it for 5 minutes, no sticking. He only uses avocado oil, no smoke.
Julia Child swears by a pinch of salt in the bottom of the skillet before putting the steak in. I've never tried it myself.
S

[Apache]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

Here is how I do strip steaks:

http://www.offthemeathook.com/2011/0...cy-restaurant/

When you’re ready to cook, heat a pan to very very hot over the highest heat your burner can muster. I prefer a nonstick skillet. Hold the steak with a pair of tongs above the hot pan. Find the edge of the steak that has a strip of fat on it. Hold the fat-covered edge of the steak in the pan with the tongs until it releases some grease and browns. (I praise the day nearly 10 years ago when I read about this Alain Ducasse trick in the New York Times.) Then, lay the steak on a flat side and cook it for a few minutes, until it browns. Flip it over and cook it on the second side.

Getting a nonstick pan super hot is dangerous. More so if the pan doesn't have fat or something else in it to absorb heat. The non stick coatings start to vaporize at around 450 degrees and can cause serious health problems if you breathe them in.
Apache