An old (high school) girlfriend of mine, Andrea, just sent me the cutest link to these fabulous cookie cutters at William Sonoma, and I just have to share it with you:
I know, right?! Must have them. NOW.
You freaking get to decide WHAT THEY SAY! How cool is that?!
Here’s the full link in case you have to have them too!
A funny thing happened last night…..
When I got off work, I headed to the grocery store for some items I needed to make dinner for a friend of ours that we were seeing later that night.
I grabbed the handful of items and scurried back to the condo to pull together a quick meal.
As I got off the elevator and turned the corner, I saw a flat-ish, rectangular box propped up agianst the door…as I got closer, I noticed the box was an All-Clad box. I checked the label and it was addressed to me. However, I had not ordered anything.
The box had a picture of this on it:
Yes, that would be the All-Clad Stainless Gourmet 12 x 15-in. Lasagna Pan.
I thought maybe it was a Christmas present Paul ordered for me, but came late….so I called him, but of course he didn’t answer! So I had to let it sit there till he got home. He assured me that he did NOT buy this for me (if I were him, I would have taken the credit…but whatever).
We racked our brains a bit, and then I found a note inside the box (that I read about 45 minutes later, after I stopped carressing the pan and talking to it in a baby voice). It turns out that when Paul bought me this:
There was a rebate for this:
A cast aluminum Au Gratin pan. So we filled out the rebate and sent it in….back in AUGUST. And just the other day I was thinking, “what ever happened with that?”
As it turns out, the company had such a great response to the rebate, they ran out of the Au Gratin pans. FINE BY ME! I’ll get WAYYYYYYYYYYYY more use out of the lasagna pan: it’s bigger, wider, and just as shiny as could be.
I can’t wait to make something in it and get it all stained and cheesy……MMMMMMMM. Now I’m hungry!
I was reviewing a post from last week (you know the one, “I’m Comin’ Out!”), when I realized that I hadn’t shared with you what kind of slow cooker I have.
First let me show you what I bought:
This, my dear friends, is the Hamilton Beach 6 Quart Stay or Go slow cooker. I bought mine at WalMart on sale two years ago at the end of summer. It was on sale for $19.99. What a great deal.
Now, I don’t go to WalMart often, but I happened to see this ad for the sale, and realized I was dumb for not having purchased one sooner. We all know how valuable they are. So, I made a special trip for it. Totally worth it’s weight in gold.
The thing I really like about this (well, there’s more than one thing):
-The part you cook in is removable which means you can wash it in the dishwasher if you want.
-There are clamps on the sides, so you can cook up some lil’ smokies (don’t even GET me started on how much I love those) and then close the clamps, take it to the potluck, and then of course there’s an insert area on the front so you can write on a piece of paper what you brought and everyone will know!
-There’s handles that are far enough away so you don’t burn your hands when you pick the whole thing up.
-It’s got a sassy finish.
-They include about 15 pre-made tags for the front that you can slide in like “BBQ Beans” “Chili” (you get the idea). Such a great idea.
-There’s a spoon that goes with it, and a spoon rest on the top of the lid.
What HAVEN’T they thought of? Seriously! This is a total bang for your buck, and I couldn’t be happier with my purchase. The next recipe I’m making is some white bean stew Paul found in this month’s Martha Stewart Living magazine. (I get a subscription, he was reading it over coffee in the morning last Sunday) (I think the recipe I linked to is correct, if not, I’ll repost later).
Anyway, I’ve got one simple piece of advice for you if you’re in the market for a slow cooker: Don’t buy it at a garage sale or estate sale, unless it’s still in the box and doesn’t have any soot like stains on the bottom. If you absolutely can’t help yourself, and see a good one at a garage or estate sale, plug it in, see if it works. If it does, then ask yourself this question: “does the cost of a new one versus this cost warrant the possibility that this used one is old and might start a kitchen fire while I’m asleep or at work, and burn my house down?” if the answer is no, then buy a new one. It’s only $20-$30.
Lets talk shop for a minute.
There are so many blogs out there that give great cooking advice, recipes, feedback, tips and tricks, but I rarely hear people giving recommendations for the actual materials you’re cooking with.
So “Pot Rack” will be a type of post that allows discussion and exchange of ideas on equipment for cooking and eating.
Today I want to share one of my favorite things with you: a cast iron skillet.
There are probably thousands of recipes that are great for cooking in a cast iron skillet, but a couple come straight to the top of my list: corn bread, and braised chicken with a caper sauce.
Before I get to those recipes/meals, let me give you a couple of notes: You may have seen America’s Test Kitchen do an equipment corner segment on cast iron skillets, to test which one is the “best.” And this is fine. Take their recommendations. But, it can be easier. Two things to remember when looking for a cast iron skillet: (1)pre-seasoned is key and (2)the older the better.
The pre-seasoned attribute (which can be purchased new) adds to the overall flavor and quality of dish. The age of the skillet which denotes how much it’s been used (in most cases) adds to the “non-stick” quality.
One more note: you don’t wash this in the dishwasher EVER, and you don’t wash it with a scrubber and soap. You wash it BY HAND, with scalding hot water, and if you must, a soap free wash cloth or soft sponge. Using soap can ruin the stick-free patina as well as strip out the pre-seasoned quality.
Now, cornbread is an old family fave. I’ve been having it since before I can remember….We had it on chili night, and I would soak a slick with butter and honey, then stick it in my chili so the bottom would soak up the savory flavors. It was basically the 4th of July in my mouth. YUM.
Now, I’m from Seattle, so I don’t pretend to have a great secret recipe for this or anything. But, now is the time of year to be making this. You can really go two ways here: buy the Jiffy box mix, which serves you JUST FINE. It’s really good, and that’s why it’s been around for who knows how many decades. Somehow, the price is still only $.69 a box.
The other way to go is someone’s mother’s or grandma’s recipe. That’s what we’re going to do this time around. Stay tuned next week for Lauren’s mom (Cathy aka MomBun) recipe. Lauren’s birthday is this Saturday (yes, Halloween) and Cathy sent her a birthday present in the mail that was a little worse for wear when it arrived (the box was torn up a bit and we could see the corner of the cast iron skillet. Lauren predicts the recipe and mix are also in the box, but has to wait till Saturday to open.)
![[kpo+wedding.jpg]](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_o4VUaBt-p_E/SuTXrn3o4QI/AAAAAAAAAdY/e210zzLHpfw/S220/kpo%2Bwedding.jpg)
Lauren will be guest posting for us, with MomBum’s recipe, her favorite memory and tips for making the best cast iron skillet corn bread.
The week after that, we’ll discuss the second recipe: braised chicken in a caper sauce.
Any questions, comments, feedback? Discuss!
