Kitchen Reviews

You rarely find this kind of quality in stainless steel non-stick but to find it in tri-ply and at this price is almost unreal. I bought one of these and promptly bought two more. They heat every bit as evenly as my All Clad stainless, the handle stays cool and clean up is a snap. My husband loves this pan as he had trouble with things sticking when using our All Clad. I can't recommend this highly enough. I'd love to see a larger one. This pan would be a bargain at twice the price. Buy them for gifts too!

Having recently started doing the Atkins diet, breakfasts in our house now usually involve cooking eggs of some type. Our old pans started sticking (a MAJOR problem for me), so I went looking for the ultimate skillet.

My criteria? A pan that would have outstanding non-stick properties, have solid feel, conduct heat evenly and well, would clean up easily, and if it looked good, so much the better. Fully expecting to pay dearly for an All Clad-type pan when I started looking, was pleasantly surprised to find this Cuisinart pan available for < $$$. I took a chance and I'm VERY glad I did!

The non-stick surface works wonders, heat conduction is even and efficient, the pan is not heavy and not light. It's got excellent balance... just feels right in my hands and on the stove. The handle feels terrific and stays cool. Have been using this pan at least daily for the past 5 weeks. It's performed flawlessly. As a plus, it looks good and cleans up easily.

The sides have a more abrupt taper than some pans, but it's not a concern... just something others should be aware of when shopping.

The size is perfect for one to two person dishes.

Overall, this pan has exceeded all of my expectations. It's a useful kitchen tool that works the way it's suppopsed to. Very highly recommended!

I have been so impressed with this 10" skillet. You can't beat the quality especially for the price. This was one of my first Cuisinart pieces and as a "cook-in-training" I wanted something that would help boost my confidence. Cuisinart cookware does it! I've never burned anything in this skillet and everything I cook in it has turned out right. I highly recommend it and am even considering getting another one myself!

I had a twelve year old hand blender from another company that just broke one of my favorite blades. The company is no longer around so I just couldn't buy a new blade for it. I waited a month to see if I could do without having one and found I could not. I was tired of putting my soups and spinach in my big blender (which did not do the best job) and cleaning up all the mess afterwards.

I also needed a new coffee pot so while I was online at Amazon.com looking at the Braun coffee pots, I looked at the Braun MR5550 MBC-HC and read the reviews. According to the reviews, this was Braun's best out of two hand blenders they carried.

I mostly use it to puree soups, cream spinach and to mix sauces and gravies. It's so much easier to just put the hand blender right in the pot and use it then to try to put everything in a traditional blender. Clean up is a lot easier too.

The motor is very powerful too. One day I used the wrong frozen spinach which had about 25% stems in it. The hand blender creamed the spinach and the stems to a perfect consistency in about one minute.

I have not had the chance to use the other attachments with it, but even without all the attachments, the blender by itself is worth the money.

I hope this review helps you!

Flo

At a friend's suggestion I recently bought the Braun Multiquick Professional Hand Blender. I wasn't sure about spending so much on a piece of kitchen equipment I had always lived without... but I finally decided to take the leap of faith. I couldn't be happier with the product! It's easy to use and easy to clean. It makes fantastic creamed soups. Because of the metal blending shaft, you can use this hand blender right in the pot of whatever you're cooking (thus saving you from the chore of cleaning another container!). I recently made a very inexpensive and delicious soup with onions, zucchini, eggplant, water, Thai curry paste and a can of coconut milk. I blended it with my hand blender and created a very rich-tasting, filling soup for pennies! Now that Autumn has arrived, I'm looking forward to making pumpkin soup with my hand blender! If you're considering the purchase, just go for it! I don't think you will be disappointed.

I know that it's not usually a good idea to buy appliances as gifts, but my wife had seen a lesser model and commented on how helpful it would be, so I ordered a Braun MR5550MBC-HC for her as a Christmas gift. It's turned out to be the gift she enjoys the most! For most kitchen chores it has replaced the cabinet full of hand mixer, mixer, food processor and chopper. Chores like finely shredding cheese were never easier, and as the family cheese shredder this is something I appreciate.

Making it even better has been Braun's customer service. When we opened the box on Christamas, we found that the large container was badly broken where the handle joined it. I e-mailed Amazon to see what to do about a replacement. I quickly got a response saying to contact the manufacturer, a response I usually dread as it means long hours on the phone and a big run-around. However, one short call to Braun later, where I immediately spoke with a real person, and we had a brand new container on our doorstep in less than a week at no cost to us. What a pleasant surprise! And this was just after Christmas when many manufacturers are to busy to even respond. Most manufacturers could learn from this experience.

This very heavy skillet is phenomenal! The problem with the typical non-stick pan is that it isn't receptive to very high heat, but this pan will become non-stick and is most certainly able to sear foods over high heat. The word I hear is that these Pre-seasoned Lodge items knock 2 years off the seasoning process, which is quite nice. I own more expensive items like Le Creuset that are enameled cast iron, but this item is most certainly a staple for searing in a semi non-stick surface. As the Lodge sticker says, this item will last for generations with proper care, and it gets better over time.

Let me start by saying we have a kitchen full of 20+ pieces of Calphalon Hard Annodized Commercial cookware. I was always of the opinion that quality cookware carried a price that was justified by the performace of the cookware. So I thought if I wanted cast iron I should look at LeCreuset... wrong! Lodge blew that theory out the window! I can't express how well this simple pan works. Let it get hot and it will hold the temp like nothing else, oven to cooktop. I finally decided to get a good cast iron skillet after hearing Alton Brown (Host of Good Eats - ...- TV Food Network - ...) rave about cast iron for the last few years. He steared me to Lodge, Lodge's web site (lodgemgf.com) told me about the pre-seasoned "Logic" line. This stuff makes cast iron simple. No messing around with seasoning a new pan. Simple care instructions. And clear instructions to reseason should the need occur. At the price these pans sell, there is no excuse to not have one, (or more) in your kitchen. It will soon become your favorite pan. I bought a 5 quart Lodge Logic Dutch Oven at the same time and it is fantastic as well!

Having never used cast iron before, I was a little nervous about using this skillet. I was tired of non-stick pans that fell apart though, so I went for it. I love it! It is heavy, and you definitely need two hands to pour, but it cooks well and is easy to take care of. I was able to replace 2 old non-stick skillets with this one, and I haven't been sorry. The free shipping is great also - it makes it hard to pass up.

The Microplane line of zesters and graters is worth every dime. It has made life much easier. The design is effecient in all cases and easy to maintain at home without much fuss. Because of its stainless steel nature it does not acquire odors either -- though do wash it after garlic/onion to be safe.

This particular model, however, should be used with a certain amount of caution because there is NO handle. One must grip this thing carefully. The folded edges of metal along the side can be grepped though it is a small area. It can also 'fit' over a large bowl but you must have something to anchor it properly or it slips. Which is why it gets a 4star instead of 5 like the others.

The other models such as the cheese grater model, does a good job with fruit zest as well and for those who don't want too much thinking about scraped knuckles it has a comfortable rubber/plastic handle that is easy to grip.

On the cooking front -- because of the ease and quality of the zest one is getting from these microplane zesters some adjustment in the amount of zest in recipe maybe called for. Your orange or lemon shortbread cookies will have extra kick from the same amount of zest (You have a finer, more surface area amount available).

Get a microplane zester and you will never go back. Matter of fact you will be tossing out your other zesters and graters.

I have spent hours in my kitchen preparing lemon zest for a catering job, using a traditional garnish zester. But since I bought my Microplane, I have thrown all my other graters and zesters away. This simple little file, that looks like it belongs in a toolbox, not a gadget drawer, is one of the most useful tools in my kitchen. It is an amazing timesaver. Minimalist design makes it seem like a work of modern art. But, a warning for prospective users - if you've ever ground your knuckles into a box grater, be careful on this tool. I looked away from my work for one second and ended up grating down to the bone on the second knuckle on my index finger. This baby is sharp!! Really sharp!! Until they make Kevlar knuckle guards, pay attention to what you're zesting. I use it all the time, but I have a cautious respect for it now.

I was actually shocked by how well this zester worked when I first tried it because of all of the negative comments about how it will cut your hand off, etc.

It works effortlessly and is therefore very easy to hold. Just grip the sides, rub it over the fruit, and the zest practically falls off. The best thing is that it removes only zest, 100% of the pulp is left behind. Unbelievable!

The Microplane makes very fine zest that disappears into your recipe, so there is no chopping up zest-like strings as with my old Henckels zester (which is now just a bad memory).

I have a busy schedule, so I have found myself running out of the house with my coffee in an insulated mug - keeping it in hand as I make my way to the subway, since it doesn't have a sealed lid. After about a month of this charade, I decided to buy a thermos - a coworker had given a stellar recommendation to purchase a Thermos Nissan. I don't regret it one bit. I bought the 750ml model, and it fits upright in my messenger bag - but I have also had it completely horizontal in the bag without any worries about leakage. And the coffee is piping hot! Just make sure to prep the thermos with boiling water before you put the coffee in, and you're good to go all day. This is the best thermos on the market - bar none - except maybe for their Titanium model - but that's like [$$]! Unless you're some sort of uber yuppie, stick with the stainless model and use the extra [$$]towards detailing your Volvo!

When I bought this bottle I had pretty high expectations because of previously owning a similar one, and having been issued a much larger one of the same type from the Army. The Nissan Travel Companion met my expectations completely. It will keep coffee hot for 48 hours if you need it to and are leaving it full for that time. The time degrades from that to about 8 hours if you are drinking the contents. If you fill the bottle with hot water, let it sit for a few minutes, to heat up the inside of the bottle, and then fill it with your coffee, it will stay hot for as long as you leave it full and unopened. Sounds silly, but try it.

Most days, I actually want to drink some of my coffee before the day has passed and the thermos works well for that too. I make a pot (7 cups will fit) in the morning, rinse the bottle out with very hot water, and I drink my coffee throughout the day. It is very hot for most of the day, into the evening. If a cup or two remain at the end of the day, they will not stay hot into the next morning. It only works for more then a day, if you leave it completely full, and don't open it until you want to drink it.

The bottle is well made. I've had it for almost 6 months now and use it every day. I even use it on weekends so I can turn my coffee pot off. It keeps the coffee fresher and just as hot as leaving it on the heating burner.

I only recommend this thermos (or any stainless steel bottle) for black coffee, tea, or hot water. Add your cream and sugar or whatever afterwords. Vacuum bottles are not dishwasher safe and it is dangerous to put food stuffs in it because you won't be able to get it completely clean. Coffee and tea can be rinsed out without a problem.

Summary. Keeps fluids hot for up to 8 hours of normal use. Up to 48 hours of full quantity storage. Very durable and drip proof. Not dishwasher safe, and should not be used with soup, cream, milk, or sugar.

Conclusion. Is day old coffee still "day old" if it is still piping hot?

I bought the Nissan travel companion based on the reviews on Amazon and have no regrets whatsoever. I have been delighted with it. My friends were amazed when I told them that the steaming-hot coffee I was pouring in the late afternoon had gone in at 6 a.m. The stainless steel construction seems sturdy and gives the bottle a classy look. Plus, how often are you going to purchase a bottle that says has pouring instructions in Japanese on the stopper?

Being a wine lover, I've used all kinds of corkscrews, from your basic twist model to the kind with the "wings" to the two-pronged kind. Finally, I received the screwpull (minus the foil cutter) as a gift, and my search for the perfect corkscrew came to an end! As others have said, the screwpull effort lifts the cork up, so there's no pulling--all you do is simiply turn the easy-use-lever at the top of the device. The screwpull has never failed to remove a cork; on the rare occasions when it had trouble removing the cork on the first try, simply starting over solved the problem. Spend a little money to buy this corkscrew and you'll never need to buy another again.

The Screwpull corkscrew (okay, "wine opener") is by far the easiest and clever I've owned. Its non-stick coated and sharp-ended worm glides into the cork and pulls it out cleanly and effortlessly. Because of the coating, it is less likely to crumble a cork. The sides of the device keep the pull in place so you're able to guide the worm straight down the center.

As a former waitress, I always hated the metal and bulky corkscrews favored by most of my friends. The worms were always too thick and never sharp enough; the rings meant to keep the opener on the bottle neck had a tendency to slip or list, leading to a crooked insertion. I preferred the simple waiter corkscrew - until I found the Screwpull. Now I use nothing else. My only adjustment has been putting the bottle on the table to open it. (With a waiter's corkscrew, you hold the bottle.)

This is a great gift for the wine lover. While you're at it, buy one for yourself.

We purchased this wine opener 12 years ago on the recommendation of a sales clerk at a kitchen supply store. At the time I thought $20 was a lot to pay for a corkscrew, but after using it at least once a week for the past 12 years I can't imagine using another type of wine opener.

OK, you are not going to fool anyone into thinking you went all out and spent a large sum of money. However, if you have someone who likes to BBQ and you need a reasonably priced gift item then this is a great idea. This is especially true if the person is somewhat "blue collar" and won't mind the plastic industrial-looking case.

Like most cheap things made in China the metal is of fairly low quality.

Everyone is giving this set perfect reviews and for how much I paid... I would say it is worth it and then some...
However, I would not say this set is perfect.
First off, it is Made in China. Considering this, I would say the construction of it is very well, the wood doesnt feel cheap and seems durable enough (haven't used it extensively yet). The metal/blades are usable, but I would not consider it ideal or the best for a cook or anyone who barbeques frequently. Pretty much it does its job.
I have two major beef(s) (no pun intended) with this set would be the case and the tong. The case is plastic and is reminiscent of a cheap tool case that comes with tools you buy, but isn't made well enough that you'd actually use it to hold all your tools in. I see the case as being important, and I am not sure this one will last. (barbequeing can get messy)
The second thing is the tong. I would say the tong is probably the most used tool when I barbeque. I use it as a catalyst throughout and even to move things around. This tong hurts my hands and requires quite a bit of grip to even hold comfortably.

Overall, especially for the price, this baby is a steal and a really good present to give anyone who barbques. Despite my two complaints, I use this set whenever I barbeque.

I just got this wonderful BBQ set today - I am simply amazed at the quality & abundance of utensils for the money [$$$] I could seriously see this set in [stores], etc for over [$$$] + tax! I got it for [$$$]... This BBQ set looks very expensive and would make a wonderful gift for your family or a friend! The first thing I thought when I got this set was "WOW, this set is gigantic and looks expensive!", each utensil is extra large and solid and the case is huge. The quality looks great! The handles look like redwood and they appear very sturdy like they'd last for years and years, which is what I and most of you need! There's even an oven mit included! Also, the corn holders are not cheapie plastic like in the store - they're real wood! Don't go out to the store and buy one tool for [$$$] or more....definitely buy this set- you won't regret it! I am BBQ'n tonight!! On a side note, we are a one income family and every dollar counts - that's why I went with this set after searching on Amazon.com - and honestly, it does NOT look like a cheap [$$$] set....this set is QUALITY!! Good luck w/your purchase; it's a MUST have for summer! :-) Enjoy!

I wanted a hand-held can opener that would leave no sharp edges, & after reading reviews I chose the OXO Good Grips Smooth Can Opener.

This can opener lives up to its name! Absolutely no sharp edges whatsoever, and it is incredibly easy to use. After having an inexpensive Swingaway brand for so long, this one is a dream. I no longer have to fight with opening cans....this one glides effortlessly around the lid---very, very smoothly. I actually look forward to opening cans now! I am amazed every time and wish I had known about this one long ago.

Another added bonus worth mentioning is that after opening the can, you are able to lift the lid off & throw it away without ever having to touch it. This can opener opens cans cleanly with no mess, smooth lids/cans, with very little effort to do so.

OXO Good Grips Smooth Edge Can Opener is well-worth the [money] paid for it!!!

I can't believe I used to struggle with a super cheap metal no frills can opener. I also can't believe I almost bought an electric one because I was tired of hurting my hands turning impossible knobs. I was trying to stay away from electric openers because they're almost impossible to clean and seem to get gunky really fast. I had almost lost hope. Then I found this little wonder....
The best features of this can opener are:
-Super Easy to turn handle, almost feels like nothing's happening but then pop! the lid is off! I think I gave a little yipe of surprise the first time I used it and my husband thought I'd cut my finger off! No way, I don't think you could cut yourself if you tried using this thing.
-The lid NEVER falls into the can, never again do you have to fish the lid of the can out of the soup or tomatoes, or peaches..
-Super sleek looking, super comfy to hold
-Little metal 'jaws' to pry the lid off the can
-NO SHARP EDGES, nothing to cut holes in your garbage sack, no little fingers getting cuts, it's great.
Do your hands a favor, buy this super easy to use super fabulous can opener. The amazon.com price is a steal for what they sell for in my local stores.

Hi. After years of fighting worthless electric can openers that accomplished less than a hand can opener, I bought one of these can openers. This can opener works so well you don't even think it is doing anything, but then, voila! the entire can top is unsealed smoothly and just lifts off the can! It is simple to operate, and works perfectly everytime I use it! It actually had me looking for excuses to open more cans. lol It is a large size can opener and easily gripped and operated. You can't go wrong with this baby. I plan to buy them as Christmas presents for everyone this year. You'll be happy with one too I bet.