favorite cooking gadgets

[ocnbrze]

lol i almost forgot about this thread. @Davdi, you might want to look into the Ninja Foodi. it is a 7 in 1 cooker. i mainly use it as an oven, and pressure cooker with the occassional air fry of potatoes, crispy chicken and such. it is better then a slow cooker because the pressure cooking speeds the process if you need to. if you want to slow cook you just turn it to bake and set a temp and time and forget about it until it is ready.

https://www.amazon.com/Ninja-Progra...la-815940397903&ref=&adgrpid=79166366074&th=1

 

[Davdi]

Looks very useful, but to paraphrase the famous quote from 'Jaws' - Looks like I'm gonna need a bigger kitchen.

 

[ocnbrze]

just bought a kitchen aide over the stove microwave/convection oven. it is super cool and i could use another oven. it can help when i roast a turkey and still bake some of the side dishes.

the only thing i need to learn is how to use the convection oven part. it supposed to cook faster and at a lower temp.

 

[Unforgiven]

the only thing i need to learn is how to use the convection oven part. it supposed to cook faster and at a lower temp.

A good starting point I use is to drop 25 degrees of any recipe and watch it because it will still cook a little quicker. The oven will use both the upper and lower burner and a fan to maintain a constant temperature throughout the oven. If you imagine a traditional oven will be hottest at the burner and cooler the farther you move away, which is why you can cook at a lower oven temp. Another tip is to make sure you don't block the airflow so the air can circulate.

 

[olbriar]

I need someone to educate me on the merits of an air fryer. I'm intrigued by the idea but afraid the cleanup will be a nightmare.

I recently purchased a couple of quality knives from Dalstrong. A chef knife and a slicer is what I bought but being a dummy, both knives are bigger that I anticipated. Both are super sharp and great tools but I wish both were shorter. I'll likely buy a smaller chef knife sometime in the future. Ten inch is just not deftly manipulated around meats and is an overkill for doing veggies.

 

[ocnbrze]

I need someone to educate me on the merits of an air fryer. I'm intrigued by the idea but afraid the cleanup will be a nightmare.

I recently purchased a couple of quality knives from Dalstrong. A chef knife and a slicer is what I bought but being a dummy, both knives are bigger that I anticipated. Both are super sharp and great tools but I wish both were shorter. I'll likely buy a smaller chef knife sometime in the future. Ten inch is just not deftly manipulated around meats and is an overkill for doing veggies.

its kind of similar to a convection oven.......there really is no "frying". just hot air circulating around the food......so you can't use batter in an air fryer. you can use bread crumbs or something like that. on my ninja foodi, i made coconut shrimp by air frying it. just coat the shrimp in flour, dip it in egg, coat the shrimp in a mixture of coconut shavings and panko and air fry it for a few minutes........hardly any oily mess and it comes out really crispy.

 

[Unforgiven]

...there really is no "frying". just hot air circulating around the food....

^^^that, but I think the burner to cooking area ratio is greater. So far I've made fries, hash browns, tater tots, and fried mozzerella and they are all better than in the oven. I little spritz of olive oil on the fries and you wouldn't know they weren't deep fried. I also made wings which came out great as well. Lost that smoke flavor but the skin is better, so now I'm going to experiment with smoking them to start then finishing them in the air fryer, but right now my basement project is occupying most of my time.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

George Foreman Grille but the grease trap didn't work right. Early adopter blues I guess.

 

[Milo Williamson]

So my mother bought a new Jenn air oven, we had our first one forever, but this one really it cooks with gas and it feels a lot better
I usually cook eggs and simple meals with it, she does the complex ones too

 

[Milo Williamson]

We are also a Pamperchef favorite too, we fell in love with the Pamper chef of virtually every item we have of theirs.

 

[olbriar]

I mentioned a couple of years ago a spatula that was great to turn frying eggs over. I marveled aloud about the tool sometime last summer while preparing breakfast at the cabin. It was overheard by one of the guests who bought me one quite similar for Xmas. It is billed as a cookie spatula. I found the exact one I was gifted at Amazon for 9 bucks. I hope it works as good as the cabin spatula.
https://www.amazon.com/OXO-1147100-...keywords=cookie+spatula&qid=1641191289&sr=8-2
I'm anxious to give mine a try.

 

[olbriar]

Everyone need an extra large cast iron skillet!

 

[Unforgiven]

Everyone need an extra large cast iron skillet!

That's one I don't have in my collection.

 

[ocnbrze]

That's one I don't have in my collection.

just ordered 2 of those. i'll keep one outside for the grill and the other will be inside.

 

[Unforgiven]

just ordered 2 of those. i'll keep one outside for the grill and the other will be inside.

I'll fire up the grill.

 

[olbriar]

I have a jar opener ordered that should arrive Monday. Either they are super tightening lids lately or I'm getting weaker. This one looked like it might do the trick. It clamps onto the lid by sliding the gripping area closed across the lid and then a lever clamps it. Being adjustable, clamping, and long, it should grip tight and provide the needed leverage to easily open the most stubborn lids.

 

[ocnbrze]

I have a jar opener ordered that should arrive Monday. Either they are super tightening lids lately or I'm getting weaker. This one looked like it might do the trick. It clamps onto the lid by sliding the gripping area closed across the lid and then a lever clamps it. Being adjustable, clamping, and long, it should grip tight and provide the needed leverage to easily open the most stubborn lids.

Let me know if this works or not. I'm interested in one as well.

 

[olbriar]

Will give a full report. I have a jar of salsa that the brand is notorious for tight lids waiting for a trial.

 

[Clementine_3]

@olbriar - is the egg spatula you recently got the same as the one you have and love already? I need one of those!

 

[AugieTN]

I want to know about the jar opener too. All we have is a round 4" piece of flat rubber

 

[olbriar]

@olbriar - is the egg spatula you recently got the same as the one you have and love already? I need one of those!

It is Clem. It was called a cookie spatula. The one I have at the cabin is green and the one I bought is charcoal in color. Beyond that, it's the same spatula and I highly recommend it.

https://www.amazon.com/OXO-1147100-Silicone-Cookie-Spatula/dp/B001QTVT4K/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1Y6JD9U2DJGIN&keywords=cookie+spatula&qid=1677976215&sprefix=cookie+s%2Caps%2C124&sr=8-3

 

[Clementine_3]

Perfect! Thanks