Kitchen Acquisitions

New choppablock tasmanian oak board.



And it comes with a very nice packaging from the maker.

 

Tassy oak?That's what my flooring is made of haha.

Very nice!

 

A gift from my girlfriend.

Cast iron casserole.

 

Nice. Is it sharp, Greg, carrying Sabatier brand?

 

1983 baby weber at a garage sale. Not to bad for 3 bucks.

 

Just to save a Webber from the dump it's worth it.

 

Your all starting to piss me off, I haven't gotten any new kitchen toys in a long time!

 

I used to have one of those baby webers that I used for tailgating. load it with charcoal and bungie cord it together and carry it by the handle.

 

They have a model now with a lid holder that doubles as a clamp/handle for carrying when not in use:

http://www.amazon.com/Weber-1211001...id=1406213621&sr=1-10&keywords=weber+charcoal

I've been pleased with mine...though I much prefer my Weber Performer...but not as portable

 

Found these silver plated poultry shears for a couple of bucks at a flea.

 

Amazing. And that pot rocks.

karring

 

Had a gift card, and picked up the charcoal starter called the looftlighter. Not so much a kitchen need, as a cooking-related accessory. Very curious to see how well this thing works. Intend to use it for grilling/smoking (quick lights in evening home from work) as well as for fireplace in the winter. Anyone have experience with it? http://www.looftlighter.com/

 

I've used my Wagner heat gun to start coals. It works well, if you spend about two minutes making sure it is good and started it will go from there. I think it is the same idea behind the Looftligher. Looftlight might be quicker as it seems to have the heating element right at the end where it is able to touch the coals. Wagner heat gun is very rugged. don't know about the LL as it seems to be a modified hair dryer. The heat gun will get my coals going faster than other methods I've used but requires a couple minutes of attendance right at the start. Now I just put two sheets of news print in the bottom of my chimney starter, light it and walk away for 15 or 20 minutes and they are ready to go.

 

Not a tool, but I will have lots of fun with this in the coming couple of years. Fresh saffron from Afghanistan, picked a few weeks ago.

Stefan

 

Man that is a lot of saffron! A nice big paella is in order!

 

Yep, that will probably make more than one paella . It was $10 for 1g or $77 for 1oz, what could I do? But it is very fresh, so it should keep a while and I love the stuff. Btw, would it be smart to stick part of it into the freezer, does anybody know? I got it from www.rumispice.com - absolutely no affiliation to these guys but I do like their business concept and the product quality is excellent.

Stefan

 

I don't know about freezing, but I was warned not to put it in the refrigerator. I've have purchased saffron a couple times over the years. I don't use a lot and have had pretty good luck keeping it in an air tight container in a dark cool pantry. I've kept it for years. I think it does change over the years, but still adds that saffron something.

 

Got my first cast iron Casserole Pot/Dutch Oven yesterday, I ended up with a brand I know nothing about as it was an impulse buy. It's a Kuhn Rikon and looks like a Le Creuset copy to me, it was quite cheap but it's very heavy and the enamel coating looks pretty good, there were a few in the store that had been handled pretty rough, lids lying about, pots in pots etc but I couldn't see any chips in the enamel on any of them, so seems reasonable quality.
I used it for the lamb shanks I posted, worked great!! I always take care of my kitchen equipment so hopefully it will last a long time even though it's not a top brand.

 

I've often wondered as to the material difference in those dutch ovens. I see them for hundreds of dollars and for $40 and everywhere in between. I'll probably get a good flogging for this, but how much different can they be?

 

From what I have gathered the enamel can be less wear resistant on the cheaper ones? I guess if I don't run it under cold water while it's still hot and not bang the enamel about with metal utensils too much it should last well, hopefully!!