Reddit mentions: The best bakeware products

>How strongly do you recommend needing a sous vide setup to start? Can I make it work with just the Instant Pot or do you strongly recommend the sous vide?

So keep in mind that I started using the Instant Pot about 5 years ago (I have 4 of them now...3 I use on a regular basis, plus a jumbo 14-quart model for big cooks) & started doing Sous Vide about 3 years ago, so I've had a long time to save up & learn how to use the various tools that I use today for meal-prep, so don't feel rushed into anything!!

The first thing to discuss is a Mellow vs. an Anova. The Mellow has 2 primary benefits:

1. Has a chiller
   
2. Looks like an appliance (typical SV stick setups with tubs look more like science experiments, lol)
   
   The Mellow has 2 primary negatives:
   
   
3. It's fairly expensive
   
4. It has a limited space in which to cook
   
   Unless you specifically want a model with a chiller in it to suit your lifestyle, I typically recommend going with an Anova. This is the typical Anova setup I recommend:
   
   

• Anova Nano ($100)
  
• 12-quart tub ($20)
  
• Top lid ($12)
  
• Magnets ($20)
  
  This is roughly half the price of a Mellow, but has a much larger capacity for bigger items such as pork shoulders & babyback ribs, as well as a larger capacity for more food, so if you need to cook more than two or three steaks at a time, you've got a LOT more room!
  
  Second, let's talk about lifestyle integration. The Mellow is convenient because it can hold food in chilled water all day & then be scheduled to cook. So I can pre-chill the water, drop in a steak before I leave for work, and have it be ready to sear when I get home. As I typically meal-prep my breakfast & lunch (either muggle food or complete foods) because I work away from home, I prefer to have family dinner at the table, so I can walk in the door, throw some veggies or rice in the Instant Pot, throw my no-knead bread or rolls in the oven, and then sear my sous-vide protein.
  
  However, that is not the only approach! First, if you're not in a rush to eat when you get home, then you can get away with a stick sous-vide machine. I like to have dinner at 5pm, which is pretty early, so having thing ready to go is a really big benefit for me. Second, if you're willing to plan things out a little, you can actually pre-cook your food sous-vide & then sear it later to both reheat it & to give it a crust. I've been working with this book for some ideas:
  
  https://www.amazon.com/Sous-Vide-Harness-Schedule-Cooking-dp-1466381280/dp/1466381280/
  
  Basically, for most proteins other than shrimp, you can cook the food sous-vide, then shock it in an ice bath (this quickly gets it out of the 40-140F "danger zone" for bacteria to grow), then stick it in the fridge. Most foods are safe for like 48 hours (time varies, I've done chicken up to 5 days in advance) in the fridge that way, so if you know you want chicken for dinner tomorrow, then you can grab some breasts from the freezer after work today, cook them for a couple hours, shock them, and stick them in the fridge for a quick meal tomorrow!
  
  I use both my Mellow & my Anova throughout the week. Like, if I'm having people over, I can cook up a dozen burgers in my Anova tub, shock them, and then all I have to do is throw them on the grill the next day & I have perfectly-cooked burgers in just minutes. Side note, I went to Five Guys the other day: one single-patty burger, one double-patty burger, one soda, one milkshake, and one large Cajun fry was $31. For comparison, 80/20 ground beef is $5 a pound at the grocery store...I could have bought 6 pounds of meat instead & made 12 (much more amazing) giant 8oz sous-vide burgers for the same price. SV burger reminder:
  
  http://i.imgur.com/fZsnPTm.jpg
  
  Anyway...lol. I make a wide variety of stuff as part of both my meal-prep approach & for my rotating family dinners, but most often, I use a combination of the sous-vide (mainly for protein, although it's good for so many other things like egg bites, dulce de leche, yogurt, tempering chocolate, etc.) & the Instant Pot for making perfect dinners on a regular basis. So if you an swing the cost of an Anova setup, it's a really nice way to go, and for most people, the cost-savings are easily realized within the first year, if not the first few months.
  
  >How do you sear a steak or burger? I know this is probably really basic, but cooking really isn’t my thing. Lol
  
  I literally didn't know how to boil water when I first started (I kid you not), so no worries! If you're not into cooking & don't plan on making it a hobby & view it as a necessary chore, then appliance-based cooking with freezer-storage is definitely an awesome way to go!
  
  So there are basically 3 ways to sear:
  
  

1. Searzall torch
   
2. Cast-iron pan
   
3. Gas grill
   
   I have a tiny, unventilated kitchen, which smokes out easily. The problem with searing is the smoke. If you have a ventilated kitchen, then great! If not, you'll have to get more creative. The Searzall torch is a decent option for searing one or two items indoors; the downside is that it's an expensive setup ($43 for the torch plus $75 for the head attachment, and then just pick up a green one-pound propane canister from Home Depot or wherever). It doesn't crust up as nicely as like a 600F cast-iron pan, but it also doesn't generate nearly as much smoke. Plus it's super fun to use (firepower!), can be used safely indoors, and is useful for a variety of other things. I use it for melting cheese all the time! (cast-iron skillet + Searzall = best, most gooiest grilled cheeses ever!)
   
   I have a high-wattage induction cooktop (basically a portable burner) that I use outdoors when the weather is nice. It heats up super quick (1800w Nuwave model that goes up to 575F). I use a 12" cast-iron skillet with it for searing stuff like burgers, steaks, porkchops, etc. Smokes a lot, but it's convenient that I can plug it in outside because it can smoke out like crazy. A grill can serve the same function, whether it's charcoal or gas (gas can be preheated fairly quickly, so that's a convenient "weekday" option).
   
   For most sous-vide'd meats, searing is an essential part of the process. I've tried just eating sous-vide burgers without searing & they're terrible, it's like eating mush. With a crust, however? Awesome! So you definitely want a good searing setup, which will depend on how many people you cook for (a Searzall may fit the bill if it's just two people & you don't mind spending 2-3 minutes per side to sear), if your kitchen has ventilation, if you have a gas grill available, if you have a plug available outside (or if you have an outside deck or patio available at all), etc.
   
   Side note, don't get discouraged by the wall of text above...the process is pretty simple. My setup is:
   
   
4. All meats are vac-sealed & frozen (flash-frozen on a Silpat-lined baking sheet first, to preserve the shape)
   
5. I drop the meat in the sous-vide & cook it
   
6. I sear it & then eat it
   
   Comes out perfect every time, once you nail down the formula for what you like!

I know you said no to utensils, but I think these are possible exceptions:

Microplane grater - Best grater ever. Amazing for garlic, ginger, hard spices, cheese, citrus zest, chocolate shavings, etc. etc. I have one, and would be happy to have another just because they're so useful.

Victorinox tomato/steak/utility knife - This knife is marketed in three different ways because they're just so damn handy. I'd just go for whichever is cheapest, they're all the same. Incredible knife for little jobs that always seems supernaturally sharp. Cuts cleanly through even the ripest tomatoes, sails through thick-skinned limes, dices ginger like no other, slices garlic paper-thin, neat and tidy (and un-squished) sushi rolls, bagels, etc. etc. I have 3 and would be happy to have another. I've given plenty of these as gifts and they're always appreciated.

Silicone spatula/spoonula - Pretty much every other cooking utensil has grown dusty and unused since I got my silicone spoonula. More heat-resistant than plastic or wooden alternatives, so nothing bad happens when you leave it resting on the pan. Insanely easy to clean. Amazing for getting every last bit of sauce/icing/batter/etc. Best thing ever for cooking omelets or scrambled eggs. I wash mine immediately after use every time because I know I'll be using it again soon. I would happily replace every wooden spoon and plastic spatula in my kitchen with one of these. Then I'd have 6, and I would be very happy.

SilPats. Best thing to put on your baking sheet, ever. Also provides a great work-surface for sticky doughs/batters, melted chocolate, caramel, etc. You don't really need multiples of these I suppose, but I certainly wouldn't complain.

Oh my god I'm so sorry about your puppy. ;_; a bajillion hugs I can't imagine that, I'd completely break down if I lost my dog.

I nominate /u/cats_and_vibrators for a wishlist item. She's amazing and I love her. She is always there for everyone, super supportive and caring. She deserves everything. Love you Maggie. <3

If I win I would love the kindle, I've had the paperwhite on my Maybe Someday... list for a while now. I love reading and having that would be amazing.

Congrats on the apartment! I love household-y stuff. You definitely need a good knife set!

And this awesome ice mold.

Mixing bowls are essential, and these are my favourite.

Cutest sushi service ever!

And for when you finally get a minute to relax, this bath oil would be perfect.

Thank you for the wonderful contest! I hope you have a really great week. :]

The best advice I can give you is to check out the America's Test Kitchen equipment reviews. Some of the things they recommend will be out of your budget, but most of the things will get you great quality at an affordable price. I'm very active in my kitchen and I don't buy anything without first looking to see if it's an item they've reviewed.

Example: Victorinox Fibrox Knives. Commercial quality, BIFL knives, and a fraction of the price you'll spend on department store BS.

$600 is a stretch to outfit a kitchen, but there are soooooooo many kitchen items sold that you DON'T need. Stay away from gadgets that only have one purpose. You can do MOST of what your really need with simple, multi-purpose tools. So here's the basics:

1. Knives (Victorinox Fibrox)Amazon This is a decent starter set that will give you versatility starting off. Add as you go.
   
2. Pots and Pans - All clad is the BIFL industry standard. I have them and love them. But a set will crush your budget. A starting set will usually be cheaper than one-piece at a time. For your budget I'd recommend the Tramontina tri-ply wich ATK rated highly right next to All Clad. At around $140, it's a great set. Also, get a non-stick skillet and whatever other non-stick pieces you can afford. The best rated non-stick cookware (better than All Clad, I've had both) is good old Tfal. Ask for the All Clad Stainless stuff if you ever get married.
   
3. Food Storage - I consider good food storage to be a kitchen basic, and the I like Snapware Airtight. But if the budget is tight, you can probably get buy on Gladware for a while.
   
4. Other Tools - This list should get you started without too much "fluff"
   vegetable peeler, grater, liquid & dry measuring cups, measuring spoons, thermometers (instant read), spatulas (plastic & metal), Wooden Spoons, Ladel & Larger Spoons, Tongs, Colander
   
5. Bakeware - at a minimum, get 2 commercial style aluminum sheet pans and I recommend 2 silpats to fit. These will make flawless cookies, roast vegetables, whatever in the oven. I'd also get some wire racks to fit as well. The rest depends on what you want to bake.
   
6. Small Appliances - this is where it gets tricky. Remember, focus on multi-purpose machines. I'd rather have one high-quality electric motor than many cheap ones - less to break. The first appliance I would buy are: a stand mixer (kitchen aid), a food processor(cuisinart), a blender (my favorite value, the new Oster Versa (a Vitamix without the price tag).
   
7. Dinnerware, Flatware and Glasses - Stick with classic stuff. White plates never go out of style and make the food "pop". Doesn't need to be expensive now.
   
   I'm sure I missed some things, but this will get you started. My recommendations added up will take you over your budget but you can decide what's most important to you. Don't skimp on the knives or the pots and pans.

I'll throw my vote in for a sharpening stone. If he doesn't already have a nice sharpening set, maybe consider getting him something like a nice diamond sharpening stone; I've seen them for $50 or less.

Tools are always nice. Here are some suggestions to think about:
~ microplane grater
~ Japanese mandolines can be fun to have around.
~ Fish spatulas can be a handy tool.
~ Does he have a good quality peeler? Everyone has a "normal" peeler, but I like to have a good quality horizontal peeler, like one of these, to use sometimes.
~ Does he do a lot of baking? If so, maybe some silicone baking mats for his baking sheets, or maybe some parchment paper.
~ Does he like to use fresh citrus juice very much? Does he have a citrus reamer?
~ Does he like to use fresh garlic? Maybe a garlic press?
~ Silicone spatulas?
~ Does he have a pepper grinder for fresh ground pepper?
~ Does he have a set of mise en place bowls or something to use to keep his stuff organized when he's working?
~ Does he have a scale? You can find plenty of options for home-use digital scales that can weigh up to 11 or 12 pounds, and use either pounds, or grams (if he's doing anything metric.)
~ Something like a good quality cast iron pan can be a lifetime investment, because if they're well cared for, he'll be able to pass it on to his grandkids someday.
~ A dutch oven will always be useful to serious home cooks. The enameled cast iron type are very popular, but they come in many different sizes and shapes, so keep that in mind when picking one out.
~ Knives are always nice. Paring knife, utility knife, serrated slicer, etc.

Those are just a few suggestions that popped into mind. Good luck, I hope you find something nice for him.

Almost every episode of Good Eats

Watch them all, even the ones that deal with non paleo foods because the techniques are all solid. There are three basic cooking methods you need to worry about. On the stove, in the oven and in the microwave.


For the stove, all you need is a good cast iron skillet, but I recommend having a teflon pan as well. The iron will cook everything you can imagine. I like having the teflon for eggs mainly, iron will do eggs as well, but it can take some practice getting the temperature and lubrication levels correct. Teflon is much more forgiving. I have not used any of the newer nonstick pans so I cannot comment on those.

For the oven, get a aluminum half sheet pan and a oven safe cooling rack. Also get some sort of glass dish or casserole. Always wrap your sheet pan in aluminum foil, or line it with parchment paper when you cook with it. Makes clean up so much easier. Always grease your casserole dish. Baking, roasting, broiling are all pretty simple. Follow the recipes, and keep your eye on it. Get a probe thermometer and it'll tell you when your meat is cooked to your desired doneness.

For the microwave, all you need is a microwave safe plate, plastic wrap and some parchment paper. You can steam so many vegetables just using the microwave, it's ridiculously easy.

I hope this helps out, feel free to PM any questions. Don't forget a good sharp knife too. I still can't stress enough to just watch all the Good Eats episodes, they really have a lot of good techniques and explain the science behind it all. And if you ever want and/or get to cheat, there are some pretty awesome cheats there too.

EDIT: Forget to add this It is a great article on some really cheap tools you should pick up.

"Homemade" pizza is one of my favorites to do if my parents are out and I'm home alone! Or sometimes I just like making it with my mom. =)

Ingredients:

• 1 pre-made pizza crust dough (our favorite is from Trader Joe's, but you can find these practically everywhere)
  
  
• Pizza sauce/spaghetti sauce of your choice
  
  
• Shredded mozzarella (or any cheese of your choice- you can even just get a block and shred it yourself if you want)
  
  
• Pizza topping of your choice (I'm weird and I'm a fan of pineapple)
  
  Directions:
  
  
• Take all or part of the pizza crust dough and spread out evenly across a round pan/pizza pan/pizza screen. You may have to knead the dough a little bit to make it workable.
  
  
• Spread your sauce (however much you want) onto the dough, leaving an edge as the crust. If you want a super fluffy, thick crust, roll the edges back onto themselves.
  
  
• Sprinkle your cheese on top of the sauce (again, however much you like) and then add your toppings (arrange how you like!)
  
  
• next, just follow the directions that come with your pizza crust! Just like beautiful snowflakes, each delicious pizza crust is unique. =)
  
  
• Let cool, the slice that baby up!
  
  
• Then stuff your face with your super tasty homemade-ish pizza. Om nom nom nom!
  
  I'm really bad at cooking (much better at baking!), but I can handle this, even when I'm by myself. I hope you try this out and enjoy it!
  
  And thank you so much for this contest! If I happen to win, I'd really love this! Again, I'm actually decent at baking, hehe. =) Butter Off dead!

Okay, here we go...

Mandatory items:

• Food processor or stand mixer
  
  
• Baking scale that measures in grams and ounces
  
  
• Baking stone ^1
  
  
• Wood pizza peel ^2
  
  
• Aluminum pizza peel
  
  Notes:
  
  ^1 Most people will swear by a baking steel instead of a ceramic stone. If your budget allows it, a 1/4" thick steel is much better than a stone.
  
  ^2 I linked to a fancy one, but it really makes dismounting your raw pizza onto your hot stone/steel an easy task. There are cheaper wood peels that don't have the canvas conveyor.
  
  Recipes:
  
  For the dough, my favorite is Kenji's. I follow it to the T, weighing out each item in grams, and it's perfect. Honestly, I've only tried two other dough recipes, and the differences between all of them are minor, but Kenji's is the lightest and crispiest, but not too crispy.
  
  For the sauce, I've only tried a couple, but I love u/dopnyc's sauce. I tweak it a little. I use canned whole san marzanos, but only the tomatoes, I omit the juice they're in and the water in the recipe. I blend the whole tomatoes and then add all of the other ingredients. This makes enough for about four 12" pizzas. It will freeze well.
  
  For the cheese, the most important thing is you need whole milk, low-moisture mozz. Avoid pre-shredded anything, the added cellulose prevents proper melting. Avoid skim/part skim, and avoid fresh mozz (the stuff in water). It's kind of hard to find, but at my local grocery store, Kraft sells string cheese called Creamy that works great. It's delicious. However, it doesn't shred well, so I have to freeze it for about 15 min before grating. Now, I'm not saying that string cheese is the best option, it's just my only option at my local store. There are better options sold in a brick. Again, whole milk, low-moisture is the key.
  
  Toppings:
  
  Try to find a log of pepperoni and slice them off yourself. This will usually yield the coveted pepperoni cups once baked, each with their own personal portion of delicious pepperoni grease.
  
  I like Kenji's itallian pizza sausage recipe. It's very flavorful. You can make this with a food processor instead of a meat grinder/stand mixer.
  
  I gotta go for now, but let me know if you're still interested, I can write up some more on technique for dough balling and stretching and baking.

Do you have kids? Make cloud dough! 1 cup of baby oil to every 8 cups of flour. It's a very cool texture, and fun to play with. My son loves cloud dough; I can't wait till the weather warms up so I can make more for him to play with outside (get one of those cheapo wading pools, they're perfect for small sandboxes.)

Otherwise: Bread! I love to bake.

Quickbread
2 1/2 C warm water; 6 TBS sugar; 3 TBS yeast; 2 TBS oil; 6 C flour; 2 tsp salt; 1 tsp baking powder

Stir together water, yeast, sugar, and oil. Let sit for 5 min, until it becomes frothy on top. Add flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix well and knead lightly.

Pour into two standard loaf pans (I have one of these, and regular loaf pans just don't do it for me anymore. I love this thing so much) and brush (optional) with milk or honey (I mix milk and honey together and brush all over it. It helps produce a softer crust, especially in an open pan.)

Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes. I actually don't remember what I do for mine; it's different because of the pan. I prefer low temps and longer bake times. Took me a couple goes to get it perfect.

Also, here's a recipe for English Muffin Bread that is really easy and very, very good (and makes excellent French toast). Word of caution on that one, though, it does not keep very long (about two or three days), so I'd recommend freezing three of the four loaves that the recipe makes, or give them away. They do make excellent gifts.

I love baking. I ONLY buy 25 lb bags of flour, and hoo boy do I go through them fast. Glad flour is cheap!

Source: https://www.chipmonkbaking.com/blog/2019/8/7/low-carb-keto-blueberry-muffin-recipe

When prepared via the above instructions, each muffin clocks in at 230 calories, 21g of fat, 7g of protein, and just 2g net carbs. Compare this to a Starbucks Bluberry Muffin which has 360 calories, over 50g of carbs and over 30g of sugar!

Full recipe below. Feel free to check out the original source link for more details like nutrition and tips/tricks for making these! https://www.chipmonkbaking.com/blog/2019/8/7/low-carb-keto-blueberry-muffin-recipe

INGREDIENTS

Muffins

• 1/3 cup Coconut Oil (measured solid, then melted; can also use butter)
  
• 1/2 cup Granulated Sweetener (Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener, AlluMonk Allulose + Monk Fruit Sweetener, or pure allulose all work great)
  
• 3 Large Eggs
  
• 1/3 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (Almond Breeze is good though most grocery stores have their own cheaper private label brand that will work)
  
• 2.5 cups (280g) Almond Flour (Buy Nature’s Eats Blanched Almond Flour on Amazon Here)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (Most groceries stores sell McCormick which works great)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon Fine Salt
  
• 1.5 teaspoons Baking Powder
  
• 3/4 cup Raw Blueberries (frozen or fresh)
  
• (Optional but recommended) Set aside 1 Tablespoon of Almond Flour and 1 Tablespoon of your Sweetener to coat your blueberries before mixing them into your batter
  
  
  Lemon Frosting (Optional)
  
  
• 4 oz (113g) Cream Cheese
  
• 1/2 stick (57g or 4 Tablespoons) Unsalted Butter
  
• 1/4 cup (Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener, AlluMonk Allulose + Monk Fruit Sweetener, or pure allulose all work great)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (Most groceries stores sell McCormick which works great)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon Lemon Extract (Most groceries stores sell McCormick which works great)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon Lemon Zest (freshly grated or you can buy dried lemon peel)
  
• 1/2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice (fresh squeezed tastes best but isn’t necessary)
  
  
  

  INSTRUCTIONS
  

  
  Blueberry Muffins
  
  

1. Heat oven to 275°F (commercial convection oven with fan on low). Line a muffin pan with silicone or parchment paper muffin liners.
   
2. If needed, microwave the coconut oil for 30 seconds to soften, but it should not be melted if possible.
   
3. Place the coconut oil into a mixing bowl and beat with the sweetener and salt. Add the vanilla extract, egg, and almond milk. Mix together.
   
4. Mix in baking powder and then stir in almond flour.
   
5. In a separate small bowl, mix together 1 Tbsp of allulose and 1 Tbsp of almond flour
   
6. Roll your blueberries in the small bowl from step #5 to give them a coating (prevents them from sinking in the batter during baking)
   
7. Fold the blueberries into the batter mixture in your large bowl
   
8. Distribute the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Using a cookie scoop can help.
   
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes (at 10-12 minutes, take pans out, rotate positions, and put back in the oven), until top is golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
   
   
   Lemon Frosting
   
   
10. In a medium-sized bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese together with a mixer until fully combined. It helps if the butter and cream cheese have softened some before doing this (you can zap them in the microwave for 15 seconds to help)
    
11. OPTIONAL: Pour the granulated sweetener into a blender or food processor. Blend the sweetener until it is fine, fluffy, and powdered. Powdering your sweetener makes for a smoother frosting.
    
12. Add the sweetener, lemon extract, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest to your bowl and beat slowly until the sweetener is incorporated (go slow to avoid it getting blown into the air)
    
13. Once the sweetener is incorporated, beat on high for 2 minute or until fluffy
    
14. Use a piping bag (something like these) to pipe the lemon frosting on top of the muffins you baked in the steps above. Feel free to garnish the top with some fresh blueberries!
    
15. Enjoy! Keep any remaining blueberry muffins in an airtight container in your fridge. If refrigerated, they should be good for about a week.

Scavenger hunts are too much fun! I should be working! RAWR! Thanks for the fun break =]


1.) Something that is grey. My name is makeup and I am grey! WL

2.) Something reminiscent of rain. This color is called "Naughty Nautical". Nautical = water, water = rain. =D?? WL

3.) Something food related that is unusual. Pretty sure most people don't have teeney shaped veggie cutters. WL

4.) Something on your list that is for someone other than yourself. Tell me who it's for and why. (Yes, pets count!) This is for my two parrots! My quaker especially loves dried papaya. I'm teaching her how to fly right now and have been using food as a reward, but we ran out of papaya a couple of weeks ago, and our local bird store has been out of stock for a long time. Turns out that Whole Foods doesn't carry dried papaya either. Rawr! WL


5.) A book I should read! I am an avid reader, so take your best shot and tell me why I need to read it! The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I had heard about this when the movie came out in English. I liked the movie and then moved on with my life. Come this spring, I found myself facing a LOT LOT LOT of driving by myself, so I started borrowing audiobooks from the library. I borrowed all three of these books and REALLY enjoyed them. It wasn't at all what I expected. They're murder mysteries with a lot of themes about violence against women. When I learned about the author, it became that much more interesting. The author wrote these books with the intention of making 10, but died after the third one. They found them after he died. The themes about sexual violence stem from a gang rape he witnessed as a teenager. He never forgave himself for not being able to help her, so he channeled all those emotions into his writing later in life. Anyway.....interesting stuff. Good books. I recommend them :)


6.) An item that is less than a dollar, including shipping... that is not jewelry, nail polish, and or hair related! Pfft.


7.) Something related to cats. I love cats! (keep this SFW, you know who you are...) If I was a cat, this would be my JAM!


8.) Something that is not useful, but so beautiful you must have it. Dresses are admittedly useful for avoiding public indecency charges, but not really useful beyond that. BUT LOOK AT THE RAINBOWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WL


9.) A movie everyone should watch at least once in their life. Why? Not on my wishlist (it's on American Netflix though!), but everyone should be aware of the impact of plastic on the environment and our bodies. Education is everything. Plus, there's a newborn baby at the end.


10.) Something that would be useful when the zombies attack. Explain. 1. Stab zombie in the skull. 2. ??? 3. Profit. The reviews rave that it's super sharp and doesn't stick so it probably wouldn't get stuck in their skull like other knives. WL


11.) Something that would have a profound impact on your life and help you to achieve your current goals. I don't know if I'd use the word profound, but it would sure help me out. A big passion of mine is learning to ID birds. I'm pretty good at most birds, but finding information on juveniles is VERY difficult sometimes. I've used this book before to help identify birds in hand, but I think the information regarding juvenile plumage would help me identify young birds from afar. It's even part of my job to identify birds! WL


12.) One of those pesky Add-On items. This is an Add-On item, but it's also a hair addon =P Not on my WL, but I'm losing my hair like crazy so I might have to look into these >.>


13.) The most expensive thing on your list. Your dream item. Why? This isn't the most expensive item on my list (that was #8), but it's the one that would help me the most! When I do field work, I tend to have a lot of gear on me at once, and the extra strain of binoculars around my neck tends to give me some really freaking sore muscles. A harness would be MUCH easier on my shoulders/neck/back. I start field work again in October, so I plan on buying it for myself by then anyway =] WL


14.) Something bigger than a bread box. EDIT A bread box is typically similar in size to a microwave. This is larger than the average bread box.

15.) Something smaller than a golf ball. I am smaller than a golf ball! WL

16.) Something that smells wonderful. This smells amazing!!! I'm infatuated with cinnamon, but had to stop using cinnamon Crest YEARS ago because I developed a bad reaction to it. This stuff is expensive, but the company is very environmentally responsible and I feel good giving my business to them. WL


17.) A (SFW) toy. This seems pretty SFW unless you're playing Cards Against Humanity. evil grin WL


18.) Something that would be helpful for going back to school. I used sticky notes all the time in school! WL


19.) Something related to your current obsession, whatever that may be. I've obsessed with birds since I was 11. I've been obsessed with rainbows forever. I'm currently obsessed with sushi. THIS IS ALL THREE! WL


20.) Something that is just so amazing and awe-inspiring that I simply must see it. Explain why it is so grand. Hear me out! This baby can keep ice for DAYS. Sitting out in the sun for hours on end? NO PROBLEM! YOU'LL HAVE ICE AT THE END OF THE DAY!! Seriously, Thermos needs to pay me for how much I rave about their stuff. My water bottle has still had ice in it after three days AND being refilled twice. No joke.

BONUS
This beauty was made in OR.


fear cuts deeper than swords. She is my favorite character by far :)

I marked things with a [w] if they're on my WL!

1. Something that is grey. China Glaze Polish Ecollection Recycle [w]
   
   
2. Something reminiscent of rain. Hehe, a watering can [w]
   
   
3. Something food related that is unusual. Miracle Noodles - they're these weird low-carb noodles [w]
   
   
4. Something on your list that is for someone other than yourself. Tell me who it's for and why. (Yes, pets count!) LARPing Book for my friend Dennis. His is missing several pages, which is very frustrating to him. He's endlessly dear to me. [w]
   
   
5. A book I should read! I am an avid reader, so take your best shot and tell me why I need to read it! Other People's Love Letters - doesn't that just sound romantic? :D [w]
   
   
6. An item that is less than a dollar, including shipping... that is not jewelry, nail polish, and or hair related! Mickey Mouse Cookies!
   
   
7. Something related to cats. I love cats! (keep this SFW, you know who you are...) SmartCat [w]
   
   
8. Something that is not useful, but so beautiful you must have it. Triple heart necklace <3 [w]
   
   
9. A movie everyone should watch at least once in their life. Why? Love Me If You Dare. Everyone should have more French film in their lives. It's a beautiful, artistic, funny, romantic movie. The main characters are hot.
   
   
10. Something that would be useful when the zombies attack. Explain. Cast Iron is heavy! [w]
    
    
11. Something that would have a profound impact on your life and help you to achieve your current goals. For exercise, way easier on my knees than the treadmill [w]
    
    
12. One of those pesky Add-On items. Awesome fabric softener - and I really want it, too! [w]
    
    
13. The most expensive thing on your list. Your dream item. Why? A Roomba. I have pets. I need to vacuum more often. I'm lazy. Also he would be my robot butler friend. I'd name him Alfred or Jeeves or Pennyworth. My cats would be afraid of him. [w]
    
    
14. Something bigger than a bread box. A mattress is quite a bit bigger! [w]
    
    
15. Something smaller than a golf ball. Pearl earrings [w]
    
    
16. Something that smells wonderful. Lilac and Lilies! [w]
    
    
17. A (SFW) toy. Cat toy! [w]
    
    
18. Something that would be helpful for going back to school. Chromebook! It's actually for when my husband starts college. [w]
    
    
19. Something related to your current obsession, whatever that may be. Filter for my new fishtank! [w]
    
    
20. Something that is just so amazing and awe-inspiring that I simply must see it. Explain why it is so grand. Electric bike so, my comment on this is: “Theoretically I would like to bike. Realistically I'd like to bike, except up hills. Oh, here we are!”. Right?! Also what they sell electric bikes on Amazon? Damn! [w]
    
    Bonus:
    
    Oregon Chai!

Both I find. Just by doing the browned butter will give it the flavor but letting it it sit for 24 hours will make it so much better. I've not heard of others having problems, but something that I run into everytime I do them is that by letting them sit in the fridge for 24 hours the batter becomes like a solid rock. This could be due to:


Home made brown sugar. It's much more "fluffy" than store bought and you can choose how dark/light you want it. Typically I do 2tbps molasses per 1 cup of sugar for 1 cup of dark brown sugar. Some call for 2 1/2 or 3 for dark but its all your choice.


Personally I'm not a fan of them being nutella stuffed. Too strong of a flavor like you said. Skip the nutella part and you got some super tasty plain cookies though.


Lastly, some tips. A friend of my dads asked for the recipe after I made them and found all this out the annoying way.

• Use good chocolate. Nestle, hershey, ghiradelli is all low quality. I used this: https://www.chocosphere.com/default/brand/a-c/callebaut/1kg-2-2lb-fairtrade-semisweet-callets.html . The price may be off-putting but it's 2lbs/32 oz which is almost 3x the amount of the small bags at the grocery store. The quality is also tons better and very worth it.
  
  
• Even though the recipe calls for 3 different types of chocolate, just go with the above.
  
  
• Reduce the amount of chips. There is too many with the default. By taking all of what is there it comes to 1 3/4 cups of chips. I would drop it to 1 1/4 or even just 1 cup. Depends on how much chocolate you like.
  
  
• Always brown the butter. Guide to do so is on the site. Be sure to use unsalted or it wont work. Butter quality doesnt matter to my knowledge.
  
  
• Try using home made brown sugar. 1 cup brown sugar is 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons molasses. Use a stand mixer to mix otherwise arm will fall off. The freshness will help with flavor.
  
  
• Always put it in the fridge. 2 hours minimum. Doing it for 24 is best for flavor. If doing for 24 it may become very hard to scoop so use something that wont bend. A spoon does not qualify. Using a knife to slash it can help. If buying extra things is fine then look into http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Medium-Cookie-Scoop/dp/B0000CDVD2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1393910062&sr=8-2&keywords=oxo+cookie+scoop . A medium scoop is going for standard sized cookies whereas the large is good for gourmet sized cookies/the one I used. Medium is tricky to use when doing nutella stuffed due to size+amount of chips. The one I linked is also very sturdy and wont break trying to scoop out the 24 hour chilled dough.
  
  
• If doing nutella stuffed: get a ziplock back and put nutella in a corner. Squish it all down into a single corner. Cut a very small piece off of that corner. Squeeze the bag to get the nutella out. Any other way you will hate life making them.
  
  
• If doing nutella stuffed: you will want to get a plate with a ziplock bag on it. Scoop out the cookie down, put it roughly into a ball and then flatten onto the ziplock bag+plate combo. The ziplock is so the cookie wont stick to the plate.
  
  
• If doing nutella stuffed: Get parchment paper and cut it to roughly the size of the flattened cookies (before baking.) Do all the cookie flattening in one go and between each flattened cookie put a piece of parchment paper to prevent them from sticking to eachother.
  
  
• Probably overkill but a good pan will help with even heating. Something like: http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Natural-Aluminum-Commercial/dp/B000G0KJG4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393910441&sr=8-1&keywords=baking+pan . Great if you use pans for other things.
  
  
• The lazy tip: Parchment paper when baking them. No need to clean the pan after.
  

I use either a food processor, a stick blender, or just mash some things like squash, banana, avocado and sweet potatoes. I roast lots of the root veggies or tubers (carrots, parsnip, sweet potatoes, etc) and steam most everything else. I also do larger batches and freeze them using these baking molds. Each little square is about a tablespoon, once frozen, it's super easy to pop them out, store in a ziplock and I'll be able to use the molds in the future for baking once we're done with purees.


For meat I steam or saute and then puree as well as I can in the food processor. LO doesn't mind a bit of texture so meat is usually still a bit lumpy. I then make tiny meatballs and freeze them on a cookie sheet and store in a ziplock bag.


When getting food together for a meal I just pull a few different things out and make some mixes that sounds good to me. Carrots with sweet potatoes or parsnip, peas with chicken, plums and oatmeal. I also give her avocado and bananas, which I just mash up as needed. We also add a tiny bit of spices sometimes. We have avoided cinnamon though since it is a pretty common skin irritant in babies. Some of it is trial and error, but it's such a small amount of food it's doesn't feel like you are wasting it if they don't like it.


Also, just a heads up but it's pretty common for babies to get constipated when they start solids. Make sure you are offering some water. We also always make sure we are giving her a "poo friendly" food at ever meal. These include peas, plums, prunes, peaches, pears; super easy to remember since they all start with "p" as does poo, haha!

Good luck and enjoy all the fun faces when you LO is trying new foods!

These are so fun

edit: also all of this is already on my WL, i forgot to say that. EDIT: I stopped being lazy and came back and found the ones I was missing, so they're not on my WL but I specified that by each of them

1. Something grey I guess this is really silver... oops.

2. Reminiscent of the rain Not on my WL

3. Something food related that's unusual

4. Something for someone else - My girlfriend had a stroke last year and when she was in the hospital on all her medication she was telling me she wanted a Pooh Bear pillow pet and her grandma got her a "happy napper" in the shape of a bee or something and she spent days telling me she needed a Pooh Bear pillow pet and I've looked everywhere for one for her since last July but I can't find one!

5. A book you need to read - This is the book A Christmas Story was kind of based on and that's my favorite Christmas movie because it's hilarious.

6. Under $1 Not on my WL

7. Something related to cats

8. Something not useful but so beautiful I must have it

9. A movie everyone must watch - My best friend saw this a few years ago on TV and when she was telling me about it I thought it sounded so stupid but she made me come over and watch it anyway and it's seriously the funniest movie I've ever seen. Anyone who likes movies that are kind of stupid-funny absolutely needs to see it because I laugh so hard every single time.

10. Something that would be useful when zombies attack - An external charger in case your phone dies when you're not around somewhere you can plug it in when you're out fighting or hiding from zombies would be super important so you can stay in contact with people and make sure they're not turned into/being eaten by zombies

11. Something that has had an impact on your life - Highlighting things for school so I can find them later has been more helpful than listening during class. Except I go crazy and highlight the entire page.

12. An add-on item

13. Most expensive item - My explanation for this is the biggest "first world problem" in the universe, but oh well. I'm a college student and my current computer is a desktop so I can't take it to class with me or work on stuff before class in the student lounge and I can't lay in bed and watch Netflix and when I move across the country soon after graduation, I'm gonna have to pack it all up and move it with me and it's gonna take up so much space and it's just such a pain. Plus, this computer is getting kind of old and slow and it'll randomly just turn off and it's so annoying and I've tried everything to fix it and everything that people who have looked at it have told me haven't been able to help and I'd really rather just get a new computer because it would be so much easier for the future. Wow, that sounded so whiny.

14. Something bigger than a bread box

15. Something smaller than a golf ball

16. Something that smells wonderful

17. SFW toy

18. Something that would be helpful going back to school. - I have class 3 hours a day, 5 days a week and I get starving sitting there that long so I always try to take something with me to eat, but it's so annoying to try and find something to put it in or have it get crushed in the packaging and stuff.

19. Something related to your current obsession

20. Something so amazing you must see it - IT'S A BIG BOX OF GEL PENS, NOTHING IS COOLER! I remember when they sold them at the store by my grandma's when I was like 8 and they were like $2.79 each so I could never get any, when I finally could get them they weren't cool anymore but I still loved them.

BONUS - Something made in Oregon. *Not on my WL

Fear cuts deeper than words ! :)

While they're a fantastic tool, a stand mixer is expensive. However, having a mixer on hand can be insanely useful. A decent handheld mixer can do the job for way less. Aside from that, these would be my suggestions.

1.) Knives. Get something decent and try to learn to keep them sharp. you don't need a huge knife block, 2 or 3 basics will do the trick. A small and large basic knife and a serrated knife will be plenty to start with. A set of basic cutting boards to go with these as well. Get more than one because you shouldn't cut raw meat on the same board as cooked meat or veggies and so on.

2.) Measuring tools. 1 set of measuring cups, 1 set of measuring spoons, 1 liquid measuring cup. I prefer metal for the first two and pyrex for the last. In my experience the numbers wear off the plastic ones pretty quickly and they stain. And yes you need all 3, liquids are measured differently than solids.

3.) Graduated mixing bowls. Pyrex are also great for these. I have this set and they have served me well.

4.) Pans. These really depend on what you want to do. If you want to focus more on cooking start off with a few basics. A larger stock pot, a sauce pan, one or two frying pans (i prefer to have multiple sizes) and some basic pans for the oven. A 13x9 metal or glass pan is a must have for me as well as an 8x8 or 9x9 square pan. If you want to bake as well you'll need to add cookie sheets and possibly a few more specialized items like muffin pans. Nonstick is sometimes frowned upon by chefs and cooks, but truth be told they're fine for most applications. Personally, I highly recommend against silicone pans. In my experience they smell foul and are a pain to clean.

5.) Utensils. Do not get the cheap shitty plastic set. Just don't. It's a waste of money. I cannot count how many cheap plastic spatulas I've thrown out because they melted or peeled or something. Go with silicone instead. You can use metal, but keep in mind metal tools+nonstick pans=scratched ruined pans. (This does not apply to spatulas used for things like stirring or spreading frosting btw, only to ones you will use on your stove). As for as what you'll need, I would suggest a set of wooden mixing spoons, and a set like this that includes the basic items; a normal spoon, a slotted spoon, a turner, and a pasta fork.

6.) Specialty utensils. Once again, these depend on what you want to do. Whisks are handy for a lot of things and a box grater comes in handy. A silicone pastry brush is nice for certain things and easier to clean than a normal one. A basic strainer was something I didn't realize how useful it was til I got it.

8.) Other Basics: Oven mits, towels, kitchen twine, tupperware in multiple sizes, egg separator, can/bottle opener.

9.) A basic cookbook. I'm a huge fan of this edition of the BH&G cookbook. On top of a lot of basic, fun recipes it includes a lot of extra information about tools, techniques, and some nifty tips and substitutions. I have a separate binder of my own recipes, but this is my most referenced cookbook.

What sorts of food are you hoping to learn to cook? I can expand on any of this depending on your interests.

I got some pretty good baking swag this year.

First up was a Kopykake. I will be making disgusting amounts of cookies over the next year putting this thing to the test.

A KitchenAid Architect was shocked to see it was the full set as these are stupid expensive.

Possibly my favorite gift for kitchen stuff this year was DrawerDecor which has finally made my drawers a non clusterfuck.

Steel prep table similar to this but not this model. Got it before Christmas but was told it was an early xmas gift.

Wire Shelving similar to this, but again not this model. Its 4' wide and each shelf can take 600. It freed up SO much room for me. I highly recommend more shelving for any of you guys/gals who have the room for it.

18" Magnetic Knife Strip, again more stuff out of shelves, off of counter tops etc.

Glass mixing bowls

Last but certainly not least, I finally got this cookie sheet from chicago metallic. Such a nice piece.


Now I think it is worth noting that I bake for a living, and that most people don't actually want a prep table or a 3' tall projector in their kitchen but damnit I love it! :)

The main theme for this xmas seems to be helping me get my kitchen to the OCD level needed in a professional kitchen. Not sure the missus loves the strict flow of kitchen as much as I do but man, it feels good and looks great.

It does depend on what she loves making for the most part, but greaseproof cupcake liners are awesome. You can get some here in some of here---> https://shopsweetsandtreats.com/ favorite colors. The benefit to greaseproof is that the color stays vibrant and doesn't dull down when baked (because it doesn't absorb grease).

Portion scoops in various sizes. I don't have a restaurant supply store by me, so I buy from webstaurantstore.com. This type of place would also be the place to buy stainless steel half-sheet pans. Note that restaurant supply stores are not necessarily the same as baking supply stores. One is geared more toward commercial users (but most sell to residential users), the other is likely a retail store that just stocks items commonly used in baking, but at retail prices.

You said she already has the stand mixer... if it's a Kitchenaid, you could upgrade the flat paddle and the whisk attachments. https://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KFE6L-5-5-6-Bowl-Lift-Beater/dp/B006HGZ7AY/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1511341329&sr=1-1&keywords=KitchenAid+Flex+Edge+Beater+for+pro+600+stand+mixerhttps:// and www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KN211WW-11-Wire-Whip-Bowl-Lift/dp/B000PJ6XGQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1511340838&sr=8-3&keywords=11+wire+whip+kitchenaid . Make sure you get the one that fits the right model number of the mixer you have (if you, in fact, have a Kitchenaid). These attachments are better because they are more efficient AND are completely dishwasher safe.

You could also get her an extra bowl for the stand mixer. Comes in handy more often than you might think.

Edit: Came back to say that if she's going to bake artisan breads, the best baking "stone" I've ever had isn't stone, it's cast iron. ttps://www.amazon.com/Lodge-P14P3-Seasoned-Baking-Pizza/dp/B0000E2V3X/ref=sr_1_3?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1511341833&sr=1-3&keywords=lodge+baking+stone

Hello! Southern Ohio'an here.

I'm going to speak to car camping, and camping in campgrounds. I know a lot of folks on /r/camping are more into back packing, but I'm more of a roll into a campground, setup, and have a few beers sort of guy.

Car camping is a lot of fun. We have a pop up camper that we tow behind our van. But a tent is just as good.

Look into some local state parks that have camp grounds. You can find them here. http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/

You'll definitely want to go scope out a campsite first. Like its already been mentioned, Ohio doesn't have a lot of land like out west, where you can just hike out and go camping. And, since your a newbie, I'd definitely stick to a state park campground to begin with. Before we stay at a local campground, we'll drive through and write down site numbers that we like. Then, you can book them online. I tend to look for private heavily wooded sites, where I have complete privacy from my neighbors. But, everyone is different.

Ohio doesn't have any scary animals like drop bears or snipes, really your only worried about skunks and raccoon. Raccoon like to get into garbage and coolers after dark. Usually I set a propane tank on top of my coolers so they can't open them, and either take my garbage to the dumpster at the camp ground before bed, or double bag it and put it in the back of the van.

There are no animals that are going to try to actively come into your tent, while you are in there. There's just nothing that aggressive in ohio. I believe the saying is "They are more afraid of you than you are of them." Skunks are about the same as raccoons, but they are a bit ballsier. I've had them come right up into our campsite while we're still up, and even walk right under my chair while I was sitting in it! DO NOT FREAK OUT. If you freak out, they'll freak out, and they might spray. If you don't freak out, they're just like cats. Just be calm, and go on about your business. As long as you didn't leave food sitting out, its no big deal, they'll get bored and wander off.

If you are staying in a state park camp ground, they will have showers at the bath house. There will be bath houses with toilets, sinks and showers. Works pretty much like at a gym. Generally I only get a shower if I'm out for more than 2 nights. Less than that, and I just change my socks and underwears and wipe down with some baby wipes.

We're actually considering a trip to Geneva state park soon, which I think should be pretty close to you. http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/geneva#reserve

Here is a pretty typical campsite that we stay at, at a state park - http://imgur.com/2zib5Jw You can see there is a spot to park, and then a nice shaded wooded area for you to setup a tent, a fire ring, etc. A bathroom was about a 100 yard walk away. In case you are curious, the orange tape is a boundary line for my 3 year olds. They know they aren't allow to cross the orange tape, so we can trust them to run around the site without going too far.

So some basic things you are going to want to bring -
A tent. For sure.

Sleeping bags.

A tarp to go under the tent.

An air mattress, unless you like hobbling around like an old man after your camping trip because you slept on tree roots and rocks.

A cooking grate. The ones they have on the fire rings at a campground are laughable. A nice chrome one is like $20. I think I have this one. http://www.amazon.com/Romes-129-Pioneer-Chrome-Plated/dp/B001ASDHU6

Firewood. You are going to need more than you think you will. I pack one of those large rubbermaid storage containers that an average person could sit inside of, full of wood for each night we're camping. One of those little bundles they sell for $5 at a gas station would last maybe half an hour. This is a huge mistake I see a lot of first timers making, when I'm camping. You are not allowed to cut down wood in ohio state parks. If you are caught, you will get fined. Don't risk it. I get a cord of wood delivered to my house for $60 from a local farmer that sells it.

Something to START the fire wit. Especially if you end up with green wood. Bring some kiln dried wood, like some 2x4s, and something to get that going with - some newspaper helps. Get the 2x4s burning, then add your regular firewood. I'm sure there are some folks on here that can get a fire going with 2 sticks in the rain, but when you have a hungry family sitting around staring at you while you are trying to make green wood light, it sucks.

Personal stuff. Deodorant, tooth brush, soap for the showers, sandals for the showers so you don't get athletes foot, etc.

A cooler. Gotta keep your food cold. And beer. Whats camping without beer?

Pots and pans, accordingly. Look at what food you are packing, and think about how you are going to cook it. An iron skillet might come in handy. Maybe a sauce pan. Don't overpack, here. Too many can be a pain.

When you are pack your food, Don't think just about main courses, but you'll want sides too. This is a mistake my wife always makes. We'll have chicken for dinner, but she never thinks to bring like...corn on the cob, or rice and beans, or SOMETHING besides the protein.

Water! Can't have too much water. Especially during the summer.

Can opener. My god, I've made that damn mistake too many times.

This isn't necessary, but fun - Pie Irons! http://www.amazon.com/Romes-1705-Square-Steel-Handles/dp/B000FNLXWG/ My wife will pre-cook sausage at home. Then for breakfast, I put an uncooked biscuit from a can of biscuits in each side of the iron, squish it out to cover the whole surface, then sausage, cheese and a raw egg. Put that over the fire, and 10 minutes later you have something that'll make a breakfast hot pocket go crying home to its mama. http://imgur.com/CgycHgI

Now, this is an investment, but a coleman camp stove is handy. That way you don't have to start a fire every time you want to boil some water or fry an egg. You can get one for $40 on sale at walmart, and they use little 1lb propane cylinders.

Chairs. Or something to sit on. We have a folding chair for each person.

Something to do. Snacks. Pack SMore stuff! Cards. Star gazing charts for after dark. Frisbees, foot balls, fishing equipment, whatever you want.

Silpat, hands down, you're looking for the clear looking ones with visible weaving and the brownish red borders. Many companies make them. There's other "Silicone" mats that are all red, or all blue, but are not a real silpat. And NEVER LET YOUR HUSBAND/SPOUSE/SO use them as a freaking cutting mat. Never cut on them even. Use em, wipe em off with a damp cloth and some soap, and put em away after they have dried. They will be with you forever. This is a nice size, and a two pack off brand, but it's a really reasonable price. I have four of them hanging around. Other supplies that are or should be standard that will come in handy are spring form pans. Great for cake, cheesecake, Galette's etc etc. I use mine all the time. A good set of measuring cups (Meant for dry ingredients), measuring cup for wet, measuring spoons - I like my metal ones that don't come off their ring. A offset spatula - to level your dry goods though the flat back of a butter knife will do in a pinch. A rolling pin - If you can splurge on marble, do it. If you can't, a nice good wooden one will do but marble is great because it stays cold, it's a lot harder for stuff to stick to it and you can chill it wonderfully for when dealing with pastry.

A hand mixer, that can convert to a stand mixer ( Or hell a stand mixer!! I use mine a lot ) some spatula's and mixers/scrapers (I am partial to the GIR spatula's. They're about 20 bucks a pop but they can withstand 500 degree + heat, single piece, fantastic edge, I have like 8 of them in different sizes and colours and they're on Amazon!) Cookie sheets, I use these ones, I prefer them over the "jelly Roll Pan" style ones. Oh and always keep parchment paper. For when you don't have a clean silpat. It makes clean up so much easier. Slap on a sheet, lay down your stuff to be baked, BAM, take it off, crumple, toss in the garbage! Can make an oven bag in a pinch with it too.

there is so much more that I consider essential in a kitchen, but that many people don't but then again, I live in my kitchen and love to bake and cook. I have a food processor, and even a cricut cake machine to cut shapes and words in fondant/gum paste so.

Oh and a good set of biscuit cutters will come in more handy than you can imagine.

Anovas cool, theres also a third party app you can use to change the LED color on the scroll wheel. If you get bored on the color. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.palagraph.anovaremote&hl=en

You can get a torch if you want, i have the TS8000 plus the searzall attachment. (http://www.amazon.com/Searzall-Torch-Attachment-Small-Stainless/dp/B00L2P0KNO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450820865&sr=8-1&keywords=searzall) The searzall is nice cause its like a handheld broiler but its a gentler flame.Downside is it takes about 3-4 minutes for each side and youll end up feeling that heat. Its also nice to use on pizza, gets the cheese nice and melty.
Or you can get something cheaper like this torch, its smaller too.
http://www.amazon.com/Iwatani-Cooking-Torch-Professional-Culinary/dp/B00BBJC1CY

but you dont NEED a torch. Most of the time, i prefer to sear on a pan. So, you want to pat dry out your food once its out of the bag (paper towel), then i usually rub it down with oil (dont do EVOO though) or clarified butter, then sear in the pan and throw in aromatics. Usually sprigs of thyme or rosemary do well, and just baste the food with it for about a minute to minute and a half each side.

You can get some recipes/info here in case you need it. Kenji does a great job on his recipes
http://www.seriouseats.com/tags/sous%20vide

Chefsteps has some awesome stuff as well.
https://www.chefsteps.com/sous-vide

and you can find recipes on the anova site as well.
http://recipes.anovaculinary.com/

Stone for pizza is kind of two thousand and late :)

Some ovens aren't suited to steel, because the broiler is in a separate compartment, or because the peak temp isn't high enough to make the most of it, but, other than that, there's very few reasons to choose stone over steel.

The price of steel might be off putting, but, a quality stone will run you around $40. If you source the steel yourself locally,

https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=31267.0

you can get one for as little as $60. If you buy one online, you can get a pretty good sized steel for $90. All stones will eventually crack, while a steel will last you lifetimes, so, for the price of 2 stones, you can never have to purchase a stone again. Another big selling point is that, while a stone can't do everything a steel can, a steel will give you every bake time that a stone can and considerably more. Lastly, steel pre-heats considerably faster than stone, another big plus.

Can you find out the specs of the giftees oven? Peak temp? Does it have a broiler in the main compartment?

If you're truly are dead set on a stone, this is good one:

https://www.axner.com/cordierite-shelf-16x16x34square.aspx.

I think, though, with handling charges and shipping, it will run you at least $45.

Before it sold out, this stone

https://www.amazon.com/Pizzacraft-Round-ThermaBond-Baking-Pizza/dp/B005IF2ZNM/

was selling for $23, which, considering it's width and 5/8" thickness, was an amazing deal.

This one

https://www.amazon.com/Pizzacraft-Square-ThermaBond-Baking-Pizza/dp/B005IF3086/

is from the same company, but it's smaller than the other stone- 15". Pizzacraft sells a measly 1/8" steel sheet that they fraudulently advertise as being 'steel plate,' so I'm not a fan of the company, but the page does reference this stone as being cordierite, which would be very difficult to lie about- and would be quickly evident in the comment section if they did.

If you're up for a bit of a gamble.

https://www.amazon.com/CucinaPro-533-Extra-Thick-Baking/dp/B005CXCZLW/

The brown color seems to point to it being cordierite, as opposed to being a poured refractory, which is incredibly fragile, and is usually grayish white (and very cheap). At the same time, though, the company doesn't mention cordierite, but the comments section does. Cordierite usually has a slightly warmer color, but, if I had to bet, I'd probably bet on this being cordierite.

I'm also not that amped about advertising a 3/4" stone, but shipping a 5/8" one. 5/8", for this price, though, is a good deal.

Lastly, Old Stone is a very respectable brand

https://www.amazon.com/Old-Stone-Oven-Round-Pizza/dp/B0000E19MW/

but, the comment section references a 3/8" thickness, which, imo, is too thin. The thickness of the stone speaks, to an extent, to durability and it governs the number of pizzas you can make at one time before needing to give it time to recover.

Like steel, a huge component of the cost of online stones is shipping. If you can find a ceramics supplier locally, you might be able to find a better deal on a cordierite kiln shelf. The cordierite kiln shelf you find at a ceramic supplier is the identical material retail baking stones are comprised of.

But, imo, steel is the better gift- if your friend's oven is a good candidate.

I've found that one of the keys is to get them involved with the cooking. If you make it fun for them to cook while camping, they'll eat every bit of what they help with. I threw in a few ideas that you can cook without any pots/pans (just a fire and grate) which has the extra benefit of cutting down cleanup. It's advisable to bring some fire gloves and tongs, though.

WORD OF CAUTION: These are great meals for the kids to help with, but closely supervise them around the fire. Depending on their ages, only the adults should be placing or removing food from the fire/coals.

For dessert - all kids like dessert:

Baked apples - core an apple. Mix brown sugar and cinammon and fill the core. Plug each end with marshmallows. Wrap in aluminum foil and let it sit in the coals until done (turn over in 5 minutes, remove in 10). They taste like apple pie.

Banana boats - Pull one peel of the banana (leave it dangling). Scoop out some banana to make a sort of canoe. Fill it with marshmallow pieces and chocolate chips. Put the peel back together and wrap in aluminum foil. Put it in hot coals until done (about 10 minutes)

For dinner:

foil packs are good for kids because they make their own and they can be rather creative. You'll need a selection of sliced foods for them to build their meal. Slice the potatoes, add veggies and even meat (hot dogs, hamburger, etc.) Season to taste and put the entire foil pack on the hot coals. Turn about half way through. Let it on the fire until the meat (if any) and potatoes are cooked (about 30-40 minutes.) My kids have even thrown in the occasional chocolate chip. Note that you might want to spray some PAM or butter the inside of the foil before assembly.

Steak - This normally isn't a kid favorite, but if you involve the kids with the dry-rub preparation before you go on the trip, then they'll be looking forward to helping to cook their meal. Before you leave home, get some steak and dry rub a mix of paprika and salt on both sides of the steak. If you don't have a means to keep cold food, freeze the steak and eat it for the first meal since it it will have thawed by dinner time. Just put the steak on the grill and cook it, flipping it once. Cook to desired doneness.

Bonus - if you don't mind buying some extra equipment:

Mountain pie makers - get a couple of these and the ideas are limitless. My kids love making their own - mini pizzas are among their favorites.

Enjoy!

I'm not going to say the obvious like knives, basic cookware and large kitchen appliances. If you're in this subreddit, chances are you already have those. Instead I will tell you about my not so obvious but much beloved kitchen gadgets.

A set of nesting tempered glass bowls. Mix ingredients in the big or medium ones, mise en place with the little ones, serve things like tossed salad or mashed potatoes also in the big ones. If you need a bowl, chances are one of these will be the right size, and because they're glass they don't hold on to odors or stains like plastic does.

The Wonder Cup! If your recipe doesn't have weight measurements and you're measuring something like molasses or peanut butter that would be a pain in the ass to get out of a normal measuring cup, Wonder Cup will be your salvation. I would not want to make peanut butter cookies or BBQ sauce (I like molasses in mine) without my Wonder Cup.

Following the same theme, my Mini Measure, aka that measuring shot glass thing. Measures in mL, fluid oz, teaspoons and tablespoons. Sure, you can use a measuring spoon, but I'm kind of clumsy and tend to spill those. Lot less spillage with my little shot glass.

Silpats. I bake a lot of cookies. Grease flat out doesn't work as well and I have almost lost several sheets of raw cookies due to parchment paper slipping and sliding around. Silpats stay where I fucking put them.

Wire baking racks, I prefer the kind that have a grid of wires as opposed to wires only going one way. Thin cookies have a tendency to slide through the latter.

A KitchenAid stand mixer, I could not make meringue or lebkuchen (German spice cookies, the dough is really stiff) without it.

Probe thermometer, I have a Lavatools one and it works quite well. Is the lamb done? I dunno, poke it and find out!

Digital kitchen scale that easily switches to different units. I freaking love European recipes, weighing my ingredients is so much faster and easier than messing with five different measuring tools.

You can cut butter into flour with knives or a fork, but it's easier with a pastry cutter. Several of my go-to baking recipes require cutting butter into flour, if you don't bake much you probably won't use it as much. Also excellent for making egg salad.

Garlic press! Given half a chance I would put garlic in every savory dish I make. I adore garlic.

Now this is a conversation I can get in on.

Let's begin with my stainless steel measuring cups. I bake a lot so these are so useful. The 1/8 cup comes in so much more use than I ever imagined it would. And they're just so much nicer than plastic ones. I want to get a set of stainless steel measuring spoons but haven't yet.

Next, I would probably say my French Press. Coffee is important, and my French Press makes some delicious coffee.

I absolutely love this skillet. Works like magic.

I also recommend this 3 tier cooling rack to everyone. It's so useful and stores so well.

In the fall/winter I use my crock pot a whole lot. I also find having large mason jars to be useful for storing food, though I also have this tupperware.

Finally, my KitchenAid stand mixer. Self explanatory. It's fucking awesome. I just want to spend every waking moment putting it to good use and baking everything under the sun.

Let's do it in the kitchen.

I see you have a kitchen list and a baby list so here are two ideas:

Small veggie shape cutters for making fun finger foods and cute veggie soup. Free shiping.

Banana Slicer. I know it seems like a silly thing, but my eldest loves bananas but likes them sliced and this would be a time saver for sure. PRIME

For me, if I win:

Love this grey nail polish, only $4.90 with free shipping. Somehow grey feels a bit more grown up then pure black? I don't know, I covet it.

EDITED TO ADD: Doodlebug

Okay, so the point of most of these things is to increase the rate at which heat can be transferred into your dough and get that pizza cooked as fast as possible. I think that for your standard thin-crust pizza, most people would agree that the faster you can cook the dough, the better it's going to be. Heat it really slowly (say, by taking it out of the Elio's box and baking it at 350 or whatever), and you get soggy, lame pizza. Heat it really quickly, and you get the ideal thin-crust pizza, with a nice airy crust and little charcoaly bits of deliciousness.

The problem is that really good restaurant pizza is cooked at insanely high temperatures (800 ºF, maybe? I don't know) in a wood- or coal-fired oven, which of course you can't do at home. But what you can do is build a reserve of heat in a baking stone or pizza steel, which can then conduct heat into the pizza and get it cooked much faster than you could otherwise. Baking steels retain the most heat and apparently work great, but I think they're a little unwieldy, especially at school. (I wouldn't bother with the regular, thin "pizza pans", perforated or otherwise—I've never read anything good about them.)

Personally, my device of choice is this pizza stone. It's $40 and works just fine. Another option that people will tell you is to go to Home Depot and try to find an "unglazed quarry tile" there. Worth a try if budget is a concern. Either way, they're not as heavy as the steel, so they're easier to store. You can get really good results if you heat them at the top rack at the highest your oven will do, then switch on the broiler (if you have a top-mounted broiler) to heat it even more for the last ten minutes of preheating. Kill the broiler just before adding your pizza.

EDIT: If you want to really make the best of whatever you buy, I suggest this recipe as your starting point. The key step is to let it rise in the fridge for up to five days, which allows all kinds of wonderful flavors to develop. If you don't have a food processor, you can just knead the ingredients by hand into a shaggy ball before putting it in the fridge. You'll have to experiment to get it just so (I cut down to about 1/3 of the yeast because it rose too quickly in my fridge, and also add a little less sugar and oil), but once you dial it in, it'll be better than all but the best pizzeria in town, I gar-on-tee.

Hello!

You can use anything. Most of my bread is cooked on things like this. Just regular old sheet pans. You absolutely do not in any way need anything more than this. Undoubtedly some of the best crust comes if you have access to baking stones and cast iron, but you can achieve perfectly wonderful results without it.

Bread tins are also perfectly fine! Just make sure if you are usign one you give the loaf a nice deep cut on the top before you put it in the oven. You want to make sure there is plenty of room to expand.

Nah it's not difficult. It takes a while but most of the time is inactive, just waiting for things to rise.

Tools will make things easier and give more consistent results, but all you really need is a bowl to mix in, a baking sheet to cook on, and an oven to bake with.

I prefer baking sheets to loaf pans, as they give you control over how you shape the loaf. Some of the additional tools I use:

Air Bake baking sheets. These guys are the best baking sheets. I love them for cookies. They're two sheets of metal pressed together with some air in between. I find them great for even baking and no burned bottoms. A regular baking sheet will do you just fine.

Silpat silicone baking sheets. Total luxury, but they give you a 100% nonstick surface to bake on. Without these you'll want to put baking parchment paper (easy to find at any grocery store) and a little cornmeal down on your baking sheet. Alternatively you can use a well oiled loaf pan.

Orbital Mixer These have dough hooks and will knead for you. Totally unnecessary but it does speed up the process so you don't have to knead yourself.

I also use a thermapen that I got for BBQ for checking doneness. I'd never bother at all if I didn't already own one.

All of these things make baking easier, but aren't necessary at all.

For actual baking, here's all most baking recipes are:

Mix some flour, water, yeast, and salt together. Some breads might also include eggs, sugar, butter, or oil. You can mix by hand or with a mixer.

Knead the dough. Basically you work out your aggression on the dough until it's smooth. Push it flat, fold it over, squish it down with the heels of your hands. Takes about 6 minutes (but 6 minutes is longer than you think).

Leave the dough alone for around 2 hours.

Shape the dough. Put it in a loaf pan, shape into a ball, whatever.

Leave it alone another hour or so.

Put it in the oven. Usually for around 20 minutes or so.

If you're more interested PM me and I'll point you at my favorite books/recipes/etc.

Ingredients:

2 and 1/4 cups all purpose flour.

1 teaspoon of salt

3/4 teaspoon of baking soda

1 1/2 sticks of room temperature unsalted butter.

1/4 cup of room temperature cream cheese (regular, not reduced fat. These are cookies, not vegetables)

1 cup packed brown sugar. (light brown sugar preferred)

1/2 cup granulated sugar.

2 eggs.

One teaspoon vanilla extract.

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I like to put some extra)

Cooking Instructions:

Wisk all dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda) in a separate bowl, be sure to mix it well.

Mix all wet ingredients (butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla) in a mixing bowl (preferably an automatic mixer with a paddle attachment) until light and fluffy. Add both eggs, one at a time, be sure to mix well in between each addition. Add the flour mixture, beating well to combine. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.

Now, here is the MOST IMPORTANT PART. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for MINIMUM 2 hours (overnight would be better, and no more than several days).

When ready to bake - preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Create 2-3 tablespoon mounds of dough and spread evenly (at least 2 inches apart) on a greased cookie sheet (or silpats. Link below)

Cook the dough on the center rack for between 9-11 minutes. Take the cookies out of the oven when they look like they would be done in 2 minutes. They will continue to cook once out of the oven. Allow to cool for several minutes, than transfer to a wire rack for further cooling.

If cooked properly, you should be able to pick these cookies up straight off the cookie sheet with your hand, without the need for a spatula.

Yield: 1 1/2 Dozen cookies

LINK TO SILPATS: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00008T960?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00008T960&linkCode=xm2&tag=jusatas-20

The cookies should look like this when done: http://imgur.com/h4M1VAA

Best of luck, let me know how they turn out!

Smoking weed is something I do regularly, but I really like to pair it with something delicious. Often I bake but sometimes I want something cheap and easy, that's when I reach for my good, devoted, friend Little Debbie. Not good for me, way too much corn syrup but I can't help myself. Especially if you pair it with some chocolate milk. Yum!

This would be great.

It doesn't go boom when it goes on the floor (or the grill/broiler like some stones) . Also, it transfers heat more quickly, which is good for pizza, but not for croissant, cookies and bread. Also, you need to season it (like a cast iron pan), otherwise it'll rust.

Generally speaking, a good pizza stone (or steel) should have two qualities:

• rough surface (smooth one will trap steam)
  
• at least 1/2 thickness (1/4 for steel, although 3/8 is preferable)
  
  If you want the absolute best pizza, The Original Baking Steel 3/8 is the best choice (for ~110USD).
  
  But since you said affordable, you'll probably like this more (~40USD) - it doesn't transfer heat as quickly as some other stones, but the difference in crust quality won't be noticable, as long as you let it reheat for longer between the pies (about 7 minutes).
  
  But the slower transfer means that it's better for croissants etc, so it's more versatile.

You need a nice set of mixing bowls! And Pyrex are the best. Seriously, I love those bowls. I used to have a set, but gave them to my sister when she got her first apartment. I'd love to have them again and I think you would love them too! They're on my "household-y stuff" list.

Thank you for the contest! :)

Nordic Ware makes really great sheet pans, make sure to check that the size you buy will fit in your oven. I also recommend getting a Silpat for easy cooking with no sticking and easy cleanup. As far as gloves, this is the one I have and it is very good quality.

You may also want to get some muffin tins, just in case. Honestly, I have some cheap trays, but I have silicone liners that are also great for easy baking and cleaning.

Hope this helps!

I don't have an actual recipie handy, but a few key tips:

-If you're gonna google a recipe, just bite the bullet on buying xanthan gum. Its ~$15+ for a small package, but you'll use it a teaspoon at a time and it really is the best thing at its job. Lots of people try to find ways around it, but nothing is really a good substitute.

-Its pretty much gonna be thin-and-crispy crust. If you're aiming for thick, puffy, bread-like 'pan style', I haven't got one to work well yet (but haven't tried much). I prefer thin and crispy anyway though.

-http://www.againstthegraingourmet.com/ actually makes a pretty decent frozen cheese GF pizza. Its nice becausue you can dump your own toppings on to make whatever variety you want.

-They seem to undercook in the middle really easily (including the frozen one above), and are slimy when undercooked. You really need a perforated pan. I think a pizza stone (or pre heated cast iron pan like http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Pro-Logic-P14P3-Pizza-14-inch/dp/B0000E2V3X/ref=sr_1_3?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1368297372&sr=1-3&keywords=pizza+stone) would work too, I want to buy that one I linked there.

Sous Vide - $100

Basically, it's a precisely controlled water-oven, where it keeps water at a very precise temperature. Your food goes in a vacuum sealed bag (or use water-displacement method). You can make some amazing rare steaks, or make cheap cuts of beef turn out tender and juicy with a long-term cook (24-72 hours).

It's also good for cooking a variety of other things, where precision temperatures, and ensuring something is fully and evenly cooked are important.

I have zero complaints about the above Sous Vide linked. If you want something a little pricier, the Joule ($200) is a very nice one.

Vacuum Sealer $70

Vacuum Sealer Bag Rolls $18

This vacuum sealer is okay, no real complaints. Seems like there are probably better ones, but probably not at this price point.

A grill works great for finishing meats after sous-vide them (they're fully cooked at that point), but some people use a food-torch, like this one to finish after sous-vide.

A meat thermometer is also very important/useful for ensuring you don't overcook meats. Always use a digital thermometer, not a mechanical one, and preferably one with good ratings.

Digital Thermometer ~$10

An electric smoker is another good option if you're into that.

I have a similar system, but mine is a rectangular Rubbermaid container, about 15x20 inches, and about 6 inches deep. It’s the perfect size to fit two cooling racks for baking (like this), so I have a handy draining rack and don’t have to hold the plants while they drip. I also use the lid of the container, it’s a nice strong one, not a wobbly one, with another couple of racks so I can do more plants at the same time. :) I wonder if your bucket could fit a round rack?

I have that exact griddle and it's great. I don't have an oval burner (yet! my new stove is coming this weekend) so it's a little awkward to get the heat right across two burners, and having two hotspots is a little annoying. It's still great, but not optimal.

However, I also bought this lodge 14 inch pan and I may like it better than the griddle, at least if you don't have an oval burner. You get a single hotspot, plenty of room to cook and can move stuff off to the sides to keep it warm while you cook in the center. Preheated right it's a great pizza pan, too. Great purchase!

Hello Beautiful Bombshells!

I see 1987 Members...not quite 2k as of yet. That was a good year :) The year I graduated high school and made the decision to move from Indiana to Florida.

I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 5 am after hitting the sack at 9 pm and not waking up a single time during the night. Yahoooooooo! Thank you so much to all who responded to my frustration with explaining why I'm not starving myself to my husband. I sent him a long email explaining what was happening with my body and articles to back things up (thanks u/BRC_haus) that I was sent, as well as more that I found. I think he gets it now. Who knew it just took me explaining things? I guess we're never too old to learn over and over again that communication is the key :)

I also OMAD'ed yesterday. Dinner was Crockpot Mississippi Pot Roast with Cauliflower Mash and Roasted Delicata Squash (roasted with butter, sugar free maple syrup, thyme, salt & pepper). It was not a pretty plate (or picture). but man was it damn tasty. I actually ate the fat on the beef and enjoyed it. Normally I spit it out and give it to my dog :D I also had a SlimFast Fat Bomb Snack of the Peanut Butter Cup, as well as a Pumpkin Pie Fat Bomb. I made the recipe (I got 24 fat bombs even though the recipe yields 12 because I used a smaller silicon mold) and froze them. Hubby hasn't really been eating them, so they'll last me for awhile :)

Today is hair day! I need a touch up on the purple so bad. It's faded to lavender and I can't wait until it's dark purple again. I hope ya'll have a wonderful Thursday and KCKO! XOXOXO

>Looks awesome! Would you please share the dough recipe?

I did.. over here.

>Do you use a stone?

Absolutely. I use this one.

>Any other special techniques?

I'm glad you asked! My whole procedure from front to back is documented in pictures here.

Hope that helps! :)

Amazon. I know it's a sin to actually order stuff off of teh Interwebs instead of physically going to a store, but you can find almost anything there that would be next to impossible to find in most stores -- and you can usually get then at a discounted cost far less than Williams-Sonoma, plus free shipping with Amazon's "super saver shipping." Some of the things I've ordered from there that simply could not be found in a typical store: Bayou Classic 16-quart cast iron dutch oven, Reddit's favorite Victorinox chef's knife, the Lodge "double dutch" oven combo, and two cast iron items that were far less expensive at Amazon than you'd find at Williams-Sonoma -- the Lodge cast iron wok (purchased with a 2010 Xmas gift card) and the Lodge cast iron pizza pan (purchased with a 2011 Xmas gift card).

If I'm eating things that are liable to spoil, I include an icepack, or use my Zojirushi Mr. Bento ( https://www.zojirushi.com/app/product/sljae ) for hot items.

As far as using your existing glass container, but wanting dividers, you might look into getting some silicone muffin / cupcake cups or pinch bowls. They're very affordable, and can be trimmed to fit your favorite container.

Example:

• $5.99 12 reusable silicone muffin cups (Amazon)
  
• EDIT: You can get them in various fun shapes as well (Amazon)
  
  
  For some more detailed guidelines on food safety, JustBento has a good rundown of how to handle prepping and packing for food safety

I have the joule, it's easy to use and small. Rated the best by America's test kitchen.
You can save $50 by opting for the non stainless steel version. The internals are exactly the same, just cosmetic on the caps.

I personally opted for the Rubbermaid Commercial containers
https://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Commercial-Container-12-Quart-FG631200CLR/dp/B000R8JOUC/ref=mp_s_a_1_3 the 18qt is perfect for most cooks. For long cooks you might want some insulation, like a wrap or something. A 12qt is likely too small for a turkey. My 18qt can barely fit a small one.

I don't use a rack very often. It can be good if you cook a lot at once.

Don't forget a searing method! I have an iwatani torch, https://www.amazon.com/Iwatani-Culinary-Butane-pastries-camping/dp/B01HVZR3DI/ref=mp_s_a_1_3
A good cast iron skillet, and a homemade yakitori grill (most just use a starter chimney).

The basic foodsaver is good enough, though some don't have enough sealing power for wet foods. Some models have a wet/dry setting. All else fails you can get an impulse sealer. I use mine to double the seals on Ziploc bags, which their quality has been questionable and leak sometimes.
So long as the sealer has an accessory port, you can get a handheld attachment later. I actually don't recommend the fancy models with auto seal or bag detect, they tend to have more issues and less control over the process.

If you're looking to do a whole turkey, you'll need to get a big bag, or a vacuum sealer with at least 15in width. Cheaper just to get a big bag.

Not a meal, but the kids will love it if you get some cookie dough and a pie iron. There's almost no way to screw this up and it's fantastic. :) Makes good biscuits and stuff like that too.

Honestly, the "recipes" aren't complicated. It's mostly cutting and punching. A few tools go a long way.

You can find all kinds of fun bento toys on Amazon. Here are my faves:

Kotobuki Egg Mold, Rabbit and Bear
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002TZ04J6/

SCI Cuisine International 2.75 Inch Square Egg Press
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002C8ZDQE/

CUTEZCUTE 10-Piece Bento Decoration Box, Animals Food Picks and Forks https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0038LNVR2/

Happy Sales Stainless Steel Vegetable Cutters
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00095VK7S/

CuteZCute Animal Friends Food Deco Cutter and Stamp Kit
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CDPNA70/

Kotobuki Crayon Bento Box, Black Ninja
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C61CP3G/

Sushi Grass Baran Garnish Short
http://amzn.com/B001F73TX2

If you enjoy this sort of thing, it's easy to get lost in Amazon's lists of related products.

Spend $30 on those tools and these lunches should take 10 mins to assemble in the morning. One of my biggest challenges is keeping a variety of foods on hand.

Today I broke my dresser by attempting to use it as a step stool to get to the top shelves in my closet. Why was I using my dresser as a step stool? Because I couldn't afford a step stool :| Which means now I get to buy a new dresser, and until then the drawers are just stacked up in the back of my closet.

So, as much as I hate my most useful gift being a gift card, a gift card would really really help put a dent into the $60+ I'll need to spend on a dresser soon.

A real, actual item that I think is very interesting (and entertaining!) is The Princess Bride <3 And for a useful item, this silicone brownie mold solves the problem of who gets the edges and whose piece is bigger :-D

0.54

0.60

0.62

I'm queen of attention to details! I do not know that song... so I will not google it. I have already been gifted those three things so you are welcome to choose something else to gift me, choose a gift card, or gift someone else! Thanks for the awesome contest!

1. Good, I will take a break from writing my speech for communications class :)
   
   
2. I plan on taking some time to relax and spend time with my family. Between work and school, I have been absolutely stressed to the max. I want to cook, bake, decorate, send cards, and enjoy the people and beasts in my life!
   
   
3. I make a lot of cookies, specifically chocolate chip. My cookies are legendary in these parts, and I like to bake a bunch and pack them up in pretty boxes for holiday gifts. I base my recipe off [this one here] (https://www.guittard.com/in-the-kitchen/recipe-detail/the-original-chocolate-chip-cookie) though I tend to use a tad more salt, real butter, and Ghiradelli chips if I can't find the Guittard chocolate disks.
   
   4.[Holiday related baking item, because baking and holidays just go together!] ( http://amzn.com/B00629K4YK)
   
   What are you and /u/WMichaelis going to do tonight, Brain?

As a professional baker, there are two books that I recommend:

• I'm Just Here for More Food: Food x Mixing + Heat = Baking by Alton Brown (gets into the science of baking, it's entertaining, and has some great recipes)
  
  
• Baker's Manual by Joseph Amendola and Nicole Rees (has the most classic recipes, and covers a lot of the things I learned in culinary school)
  
  I doubt it's in your price range, but every baker absolutely needs a kitchen-aid standing mixer.
  
  Other necessary items: wire whisk, rubber spatula, good set of bowls, various pans, or at least two half sheet pans, measuring cups, measuring spoons, bench scraper, etc.
  
  Wilton has a good cupcake decorating kit. Offset spatulas are necessary for any decorating, 4" for cupcakes, 8" for most cakes. If she likes cake decorating, then she needs a cake wheel and a decorating comb.
  
  I personally go for more practical items as opposed to novelty items. I hope some of that was useful.

Woo! One of the best parts of camping: Eating :)

One of the easiest things to do is kinda like your apple idea; potatoes in the fire. Simply stab a raw potato a bunch with a fork / knife. Put it on a sheet of foil and drizzle some water over it, rub some butter on it, spice it if you're savvy and roll it in a few layers of foil. Toss it in the coals and rotate every now and then. It's ready when it's soft.

You can also do the same thing with a whole onion. Remove the woody core and replace it with a wad of butter (see a pattern? Heh..) and wipe whats on your hands around the rest. No need to poke or drizzle with water but you'll wanna add spices. Wrap this guy in a bunch of foil to prevent burns and toss next to your taters. Pull this out when it's squishy and enjoy.

Get one of these, we call 'em hobo makers.

Butter some bread on one side and set it off for later. Conscrapulate some fillings. Ham and cheese. Feta and spinach. Pepperoni, cheese and pizza sauce (Aka "The Classic"). Peanutbutter and jelly. Bacon and eggs. Pouch (tyson) chicken and franks hot sauce... Anything!

Set irons in coals, closed. Let em heat a bit. Remove; drizzle a bit of (hopefully bacon) grease on the inside and wipe with a paper towel.

Place your bread on the irons butter side down and quickly place the fillings on one side. Crimp closed and set back in the coals. Flip regularly and check. Thump the iron gently on a log to dislodge the hobo.

I've been using these things since before I can remember. They're a bit heavy but worth it. I'll drag my square one around and fry an egg in one side of it.

They even have waffle irons. Just drop some bisquick in there and you're off.

I myself have four. A square, a round, a belgan (square) waffle iron and a sausage iron (holds four sausages). Mine are all hand-me-downs that were made before I was born and have been in the family for ages except for the square one which I recently bought.

Only buy cast iron; don't get the aluminum ones with the non-stick coating. Do yer due diligence and season the iron ones. The aluminum ones will warp, the non-stick coating chips off, and they're made like crap.

Hope that helps :D

Peaches! <3 You're art is lovely! Congrats on your sales!

Not quite $5.

You make good art. lol Thanks for the contest! :)

Flipping multiple times will help that issue with burnt edges but no crust in certain spots - as will adding more oil. I use avocado oil. The oil helps to transfer heat; if part of your steak has no crust it's probably because it was not exposed to the same heat as other areas, ie it wasn't touching oil.

Unfortunately it's tough to make 4 steaks at once with one cast iron. If you have access to a grill; I'd suggest a reverse sear finishing on the grill OR I like to use a cast iron pizza pan for multiple steaks.

As for the temperature take several readings from different areas and defer to the lowest. If the issue persists, get a new thermometer.

If you need to get 4 steaks ready, you can always reverse sear in the oven (lowest possible setting for 1-2 hrs depending on thickness), bring them to like 115-120, take them out, sear them quick (one by one), and back in the oven all together to warm them slightly (monitoring temp). Could even broil them for a couple mins right before serving. Regardless, if you're searing them separately, the steaks will be slightly different - but you can minimize that by a super hot, super quick sear while relying on slow heat to cook the inside.

The deal, from my perspective is that it was impossible to get a pizzeria pizza from a home oven, even with the use of a stone. And that is consistent with my long experience. A home oven will typically not go over 550F. A pizza oven can reach to 800F and up, and as anyone with discerning taste will tell you, it makes a world of difference.

Recently though, there was a post here that outlined the technique for baking a pizza under the broiler using a preheated cast Iron pan and I want to tell you. This makes a pizza that compares with any pizzarea pizza. I have made three pizzas so far with this method using my 10 X 15" flat cast iron grill.

The difference in taste is incredible. The increased heat leaves the crust crusty on the outside and bottom, yet a bit chewy underneath. The increased heat will just start to burn the very edges of the crust and impart that "smokey, pizza oven flavor" I am totally hooked on this. I made one for my wife and her sister two night ago and they were like OMG! Good!

The beauty of making your pizza at home is your choice of quality ingredients/ sauces- home made crust is soooo good.

Here are pictures of my cast iron grill, the grill under the broiler, and the finished product.

<a href="http://imgur.com/RAPJy" title="Hosted by imgur.com">http://imgur.com/RAPJy.jpg</a>

<a href="http://imgur.com/7Q9BU" title="Hosted by imgur.com">http://imgur.com/7Q9BU.jpg</a>

<a href="http://imgur.com/Pzld8" title="Hosted by imgur.com">http://imgur.com/Pzld8.jpg</a>

I heated the grill on the stove top to very hot and sprinkled some corn meal on it. I then shaped the crust on a sheet pan sprinked with corn meal. I then slid the crust onto the cast iron. Then I added the sauce and toppings while the bottom was starting to cook.

I am lucky that my broiler is in the actual oven and not underneath as some old ovens are.

I put the pan about 6" under he broiler checking frequently especially the first time. It took about 3 1/2 minutes untol smoke started to whiff off the edges of the crust and some of the toppings. Next time I am going to drop the rack down one notch and broil it longer, just to test the difference. In this case though, the pepperoni, onions and mushrooms were well cooked and he Mozz cheese was bubbling.

It was a eureka moment for me- Maybe that's not something you can get excited about, so be it.

Sooooo, I got curious and started looking around and lo and behold, there are actual 14" cast Iron pizza pans for sale and I ordered one yesterday, since round crusts are far easier to shape than rectangular ones, and I have some other uses in mind for the round cast iron pan.

It weighs 11 lb and you can buy it here:

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Logic-Cast-Iron-14-Inch-Pizza/dp/accessories/B0000E2V3X

Yes the cast Iron is hot to work with but so is every other pot we use.

Hope this is helpful!

Dieting! I wish I would never have to work out or worry about what I eat again. I wish I could just be the perfect size and shape for the rest of me life!

If I won, I'd like these sushi molds or these cute vegetable cutters Seems fitting for my wish!

Cast iron pizzas are the best. I researched pizza stones, but Amazon convinced me to get a Lodge Cast Iron Pizza Pan instead. Best homemade pizza by far. :)

Instant Pot Oxtail Pho. serves 4

Broth:
1 pound brisket
2 pounds marrow bones
2 pounds oxtail
1 large onion
2 inches peeled ginger
3 tbsp fish sauce
Pho spice pack

Garnish:
1 onion
5 green onion
Half a bunch of cilantro
1 bunch Thai Basil
1 bunch culantro
1 bunch bean sprouts
1 lime
1 large jalapeño

Noodles:
2 packs of fresh Pho noodles.

Blanch bones, oxtail, and brisket in boiling water for 10 minutes. Discard water and wash bones and meat in cold water. This removes impurities.

Roast halved onion and peeled ginger til slightly blackened. I use a 25 dollar amazon blowtorch for this. You can also use a broiler or your stove top. Roasting the veg adds toasty flavors.

Put everything in the instant pot and fill almost to the top with water. High pressure for 1:30.

Remove brisket. You must remove at 1:30 or else it becomes too soft to cut. This brisket is so flavorful and perfectly tender. Adds a lot to the broth and is delicious when sliced thin and added to the bowl.

Fill water back up to replace volume of removed brisket.

1:30 more high pressure.

Remove marrow bones and oxtail. I usually eat the bone marrow at this point on toast. The oxtail is saved for eating in the bowl. Oxtail is so uniquely delicious. Discard onion and ginger.

Refrigerate oxtail, brisket, and broth overnight. This helps solidify fat for removal and lets flavors mingle longer.

Next day, 1 hour before eating, reheat broth. Add spice mix. Simmer with spices for 1 hour. I use an Asian market store bought spice pack that has Star anise, cardamom, cassia bark, fennel, coriander, clove all inside. You can find this on Amazon. Sieve the broth. Taste for seasoning. I usually add 4-5 more tbsp of fish sauce. The broth should be 1-2 tbsp beyond perfectly flavored ie. too salty. When the broth is added to the bowl all the other ingredients dilute the saltiness.

Slice white onion paper thin.
Slice green onion, use just the green parts.
Slice jalapeño thin.
Finely chop cilantro.
Quarter the lime.
Wash and serve the culantro, basil, and bean sprouts
Put all garnish on a plate.

Slice brisket thin and reheat in boiling water. I hold it in a sieve over a boiling pot.
Reheat oxtail in similar manner.
Plate these.

Cook the Pho noodles and add to bowls.

Let people add their own garnishes and meats at the table. Bring the boiling Pho pot to the table and ladle it over each persons bowl.

Enjoy!

Some people swear by this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00L2P0KNO/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?pc_redir=T1


But I use this. Works perfectly, and is more convenient.
https://www.google.com/shopping/product/7703789581971919845?q=heat+shrink+torch+kit&client=safari&hl=en&biw=320&bih=460&prds=paur:ClkAsKraX4Bs9jI7W5Gg6iWsXU-w08XNbu8FlSBB5ducpXHC7WScW45AciNbPxlIkc-eAs8T4V5fJQup5wCfrWk_TIDyjOJ-VPM4igbkdeRPN3UI4d7EBt0h6BIZAFPVH73oRU7lMu9VeQ2h-ZGLe3DV1fa-Kg&ei=XUy_VNbiLoufgwSNooKYDg&ved=0CHYQpiswAA

Either way, make sure to use map pro gas, it burns much hotter than propane.
http://www.ntxtools.com/network-tool-warehouse/VCT-0916-0122.html


If you use a regular focused torch head it can burn the steak and cause an off taste. These two attachments spread the heat out better. Also only salt before the sear, season right after because the torch will burn pepper and garlic.

If you have a hard time justifying the cost remember there are a lot of uses for a push button torch in the kitchen. I use it to sear roasts, melt butter onto food, melt cheese on hamburgers, warm plates, heat spoons (so fat doesn't stick to them), solidify the tops of eggs so I can flip them easier or eat the sunny side up. Its the most used tool in my kitchen.

I don't use a pizza stone. Personal preference. it is Not necessary but some do love them and swear by them. I just put the dough right on my oven rack or on a cake cooling rack placed over a baking sheet. Like these items.

Baking sheet:
http://www.amazon.com/Excellante-Inch-Half-Size-Sheet/dp/B001BR10DW/ref=sr_1_4?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1458588276&sr=1-4&keywords=half+sheet+pan

cake cooling rack that I set inside the pan.

http://www.amazon.com/Bakers-Secret-1061483--16-Inch-Nonstick/dp/B00091PNTI/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1458588324&sr=1-1&keywords=cake+cooling+rack

Hope it helps maybe give you another option.

I'd say probably this: http://www.amazon.com/Kotobuki-Plastic-Mold-Rabbit-Bear/dp/B002TZ04J6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1397DHHEDD03M&coliid=I5TWTTUX9MMJZ

I make lunch for our foster kids... and would like to say that these would be for them... but really, I love opening my lunch to fun bento meals!! :-p

The Great Barstool Brownie Debate - Center Pieces vs. Corner Pieces

Pretty heavy CW in the article.
> Now over the years I’ve had my fair share of disputes over arbitrary opinions such as this, but this one is disappointing and flat out scary. I cant believe we live in world where people want corner brownies with burnt, crunchy edges.

and

>The center brownie embodies everything that makes a brownie a fucking brownie. And thats why its superior.

and

>And dont you dare…DONT YOU DARE…bring pizza into this.

The cultural homogeneity on this is becoming really scary. The center culture has captured the mainstream. Here's Buzzfeed with So, Brownies On The Edge Of The Pan Are Trash And I'll Tell You Exactly Why. Here's Delish.com with 5 Reasons You Should Never Eat The Edges Of Brownies. And more, and more, and more. Everywhere - you - look, the center culture reigns supreme.

I work at a large technology company, and in office discussions center culture is just automatically assumed. I'd love to be able to talk about what I like, but I'm afraid that any deviation from the center line will get me branded an edgelord. It seems that just five years ago or so, it was OK to cautiously admit that edges aren't that bad, but nowadays the best I can do is to try to quickly change the topic.

For now, Edge Culture can still use technology, but now that the Overton window has shifted away from it, I worry this solution won't last. These devices already have to carry cancer warnings in California, and I think the state legislature is mulling over an outright ban.

I can only hope that some of the IDW members will adopt Edge Culture and help counterbalance the relentless drive to the center… although I doubt even that will help, at this point.

Silicone ice cube trays or bite sized brownie moulds are great for smaller stuff like black beans. I have this one. The wells are the perfect size for a small baby portion, you can use a couple squares if baby eats more.
https://www.amazon.com/Wilton-Bite-Size-Brownie-Silicone-24-Cavity/dp/B001T4URXG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=wilton+brownie+bite&qid=1567638440&s=gateway&sr=8-1
For larger things like sweet potato spears or baked pears spread them out on a cookie sheet, freeze then transfer to a freezer bag. If you put them directly in the freezer bag instead of doing the cookie sheet first they will all stick together :p

Replace all meat with tofu/vegetarian similars (ie Beyond Meat, Gardein, Morning Star Farms, etc) -- I sometimes imagine Red Kibble being similar to Vegan/Vegie Crumbles (I think Morning Star Farms or Gardein makes it) mixed with some curry powder, paprika, cayenne pepper for the spiciness and color....maybe in a tikki masala sauce....

If you have deep pockets (Mr Mao style): lab grown/cultured meat

oh yes....Mushrooms of all types (visit an asian grocery store for a wider selection) cooked in different ways (sauted, soups, seared, fried, etc)

For Alex's lasagna, just swap out the meat for non meat mentioned above and swap out the cheese for soy cheese or artificial cheese (I guess Velveta like products would also be ok)...add some sauteed mushrooms for good measure...the noodles and tomatoe paste/sauce would probably be the same?

....and of course "tubes of goo"... You could make it fun (not really) - taking labels off/tape over all tubes and let folks figure out what they are sucking down (squeeze cheese, frosting, applesauce, yogurt, etc...if feeling passive aggressive...throw in mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, hot sauce into the mix...)

​

//update

one more thing about Alex's lasagna - if you wanted to make it true to the episode, I remember he baked/served it in one of those all edge brownie pans: https://www.amazon.com/Bakers-Edge-Nonstick-Brownie-Pan/dp/B000MMK448

Alex's Lasagna Image reference: https://www.syfy.com/sites/syfy/files/styles/1200x680/public/wire/legacy/beauty_shot_lasagna_0.jpg

​

For the real cheese - I think I recall Miller saying they confiscated "Wheels of Cheese" (think it was cheddar from Vermont...or maybe Wisconsin?)that was bound for Titan- that could be kinda expensive....maybe stop by costco and get a good sized wedge or small wheel/ball and make labels (to stick to the outside plastic) saying things like "UN Customs clear", "Inventory ID: Earth-Titan23of67", "Ceres Customs Cleared", "Evidence - Star Helix - DO NOT REMOVE", generate barcodes and folks can decode with barcode apps, etc.....

I put one pound of chicken breast in a crock pot with about 3/4 of a jar of medium spicy salsa and let it cook for 4 hours on high. I shred the chicken about two hours in and it soaked up all the salsa juices. This yields four servings.

I have thrown in — corn, cauliflower florets, salsa, pinto beans, riced broccoli and cauliflower, and some lettuce. I like to put lettuce in those reusable silicone muffin holders so I can easily remove it when I warm my lunch up and then I pop it back on time ready to eat.

I’m trying to do dairy free of sorts so this is missing cheese and sour cream. I’ll let you know how it tastes!

Edit —
Tastes great!

For anyone interested in my silicone muffin cups.

I love cast iron and use it frequently for making pizza. I think they are beautiful pieces and really inject heat well into the base of the pizza. I have these at home:

1. https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Baking-Pre-Seasoned-Round-Handles/dp/B0000E2V3X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=lodge+cast+iron+pizza&qid=1563143291&s=gateway&sr=8-1
   
2. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GKZZMSF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
   These are both great for me. My oven goes to about 585-600F. The first one is thinner. The second one is thicker at about 0.3 inch, which retains more heat.

Absolutely. The final step with any sous vide cooking (of meat anyways) is to take the fully cooked steak/chicken/whatever out of the bag and then sear it. For a steak I generally use a cast iron pan with olive oil just below the smoke point. You cook it just long enough to get nice browning on both sides and all the way around the edge. Obviously this differs a bit for fish. I'd give it 30-45 seconds in a broiler on high. Chicken is a bit different as well because you might have some fat that you want to render out. Experimentation is half the fun.

There are other options as well. You can sear the meat on a grill, though I wouldn't bother with charcoal. Why heat up all that charcoal just for 30 seconds of cook time? Propane works great there. I just got a [Searzall] (https://www.amazon.com/Searzall-Torch-Attachment-Small-Stainless/dp/B00L2P0KNO) for Christmas that I'm excited to try out.

I’ve been sharing this a lot but I recommend buying these. They’re amazingly non stick and everything will just slide right off of them when done cooking and to wash as long as it’s right after cooking you can give it a good rinse and wipe it down and it’s clean. Much better than std parchment paper

This is the set I got. It is big enough to cover the bases but small enough to add things to down the road.

And since you aren't a big baker I would recommend just getting one of these. And two of these. That way you are pretty much covered for your baking needs.

Oh and you can get a lodge 10 or 12 inch for like $20. Really cheap. You are better off getting a really old one from a thrift shop or goodwill.

Don't forget to value and treat yourself with as much love and care as you give your adorable daughters :)

Item

For essentials I would suggest a half sheet pan for things like cookies and brownies and a 9x5" loaf pan for things like banana bread, lemon loaf, pound cake, etc. Those are good starting points! Oh also maybe a cupcake/muffin tin?

Parchment paper is also great to have on hand to line the half sheet pan so that the cookies don't stick.

I have these awesome silicone mats: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00629K4YK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1419478312&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX200_QL40

Which literally nothing sticks to them.

So what I do is throw the mat on a cookie sheet, and then grab a handful of shredded mozzarella cheese on there, put some pepperoni, mushrooms, and Italian seasoning on there, then sprinkle a little more chease on top off all that to keep it together.

Bake at 375 °F for 20 min. And you got yourself a perfect keto pizza. Just let it cool a bit and slide the pizza right off the mat. :).

I ate this for dinner almost every single day for 6 months.

Enjoy!

Wow thanks! I love sharing my bento on here.

Yes, I used these to cut the carrots.

65 cents and free shipping is the best I can do off the top of my head! Thanks for the contest :)

I'm a big fan of using card stands/holders for tableaus so that they can be passed around easily rather than everyone having to stand up and hover over them.

Alternatively business card racks are super handy for that type of thing as well.

Also, +1 for silicone cupcake liners being awesome.

What kind of things does she like to bake? Cookies, Cupcakes/cakes, breads/pastries/doughs, pies/tarts...? Anything and everything?

Aside from an awesome KitchenAid mixer, my personal favorite baking tool is a Silpat (and having two so you can rotate pans easily is nice. I'm always putting a second pan in after the first one, so it keeps things going.) After getting those, I almost never have to wash my baking pans, and crap doesn't occasionally stick to the pan while baking like it used to. I usually end up moving baked goods to the rack with my fingers because a spatula isn't even necessary with a Silpat much of the time. Freakin' awesome.

If she rolls dough often, she might enjoy one of these pastry mats. I use mine a lot (almost as much as my Silpats), but I roll out dough like every other day.

I wonder if the Searzall from David Chang and his culinary skunk works would allow you to use a hand torch more evenly. It works great for food and might in this application too. Here's an Amazon link for the tool. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00L2P0KNO/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1458918635&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=searzall&dpPl=1&dpID=41LBZGN%2B97L&ref=plSrch Whoa... That's a huge link. I need to learn to do the reddits better.

Get on Amazon and buy some of these.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0001MS3DI/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1462935978&sr=8-2&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=half+sheet+pan+and+rack&dpPl=1&dpID=41PBvlflBmL&ref=plSrch

And an equal number of these.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000G0KJG4/ref=pd_aw_fbt_79_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=18X6H5MZZ2GQTT8RGT0D

Put the one in the other and put whatever you're drying on the rack and put one on each rack in your oven. Set the oven to the lowest temp possible. Prop the door open with a wooden (not plastic) spoon and wait.

Ovens are usually a little hot for fruits to do well so you can go on for an hour, off for an hour, etc... Until it gets dry to keep from cooking as you dehydrate. Ovens work well for meats and jerkys as I feel most home model dehydrators don't get hot enough to dehydrate meat.

Also get one of these.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B019DT4EBE/ref=mp_s_a_1_17?qid=1462936323&sr=8-17&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=mandoline+slicer

Makes uniform slices and you can julienne things like carrots and potatoes.


These really help for doing fruit as well.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00629K4YK/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1462936445&sr=8-2&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=silpat&dpPl=1&dpID=41MTUhWaO%2BL&ref=plSrch

If you do something that's really sticky like pineapple or mango, put the slices on this in the sheet pan. You'll have to turn your pieces a few times but they'll make cleanup so much easier.

If you're gonna buy a dehydrator. Get this one.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001K246KW/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1462936599&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=lem+dehydrator+10+tray&dpPl=1&dpID=51XOjbSNSdL&ref=plSrch

Has 10 trays, easy to clean, all stainless, and has a thermostat. It's pricey, but if you make all your meals for one or two trips instead of buying freeze dried, it will pay for itself.

I make all my meals for big trips for 4-6 people for 6+ days. Mine paid for itself the first trip.

When roasting potatoes, I do the following:

1. Place the cut potatoes in a mixing bowl along with the oil, spices, salt, etc. Mix well.
   
   
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Drizzle 1 Tablespoon of Oil on the foil. Using a paper towel, cover the entire surface of the foil.
   
   
3. Place the potatoes on the baking sheet, making sure none of the pieces are touching. Place in the oven and roast accordingly.
   
   Potatoes can stick to the baking sheet for a number of reasons. Oil is a barrier which helps keep the potatoes from sticking, which is why the above process assures all the potatoes are covered in oil, and a barrier is formed between the foil and potatoes. Sometimes, the amount of starch in a potato can cause the potatoes to stick. However,the above procedure should eliminate this sort of technicality. If the temperature of the oven changes when the potatoes are cooking, this can cause sticking. Once again, not a huge problem when you use the above procedure. Finally, mixing the potatoes when roasting in the oven will help eliminate any sticking. Just make sure to roast the potatoes for 15 minutes or so before mixing. From here, move them around the pan every 5 minutes or so. Works every time;)
   
   Personally, the easiest solution is to replace the aluminum foil with a Silpat: http://www.amazon.com/Silpat-AE420295-07-Premium-Non-Stick-Silicone/dp/B00008T960
   
   Nothing sticks to these!
   

Just curious, are you cooking in that oven? How hot - 525 max probably? What kind of surface - you using a stone, quarry tiles, screen, pan...? I bet the 18"-er barely fits! :)

I recently got a Lodge 14" cast iron pizza pan, and it works pretty darn good, especially if I kit out the upper rack with tile. Good times. Rock on there, fellow pizza-bro.

* Edit, just saw your other comments about how you use a 23"x18" pizza stone on a grill.

• [My favorite silicon mold on Amazon] (https://www.amazon.com/Wilton-2105-4923-24-Cavity-Silicone-Brownie/dp/B001T4URXG/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1522278177&sr=1-1&keywords=Wilton+2105-4923+24-Cavity+Silicone+Brownie+Squares+Baking+Mold)
  
• Dr. Berg Keto Chocolate Fat Bombs
  
  Note on Fat Bombs: I've noticed the recipe listed on their website for fat bombs is different than the youtube video. I prefer the one on the website. But experiment around and see what you like best.
  
  
  Enjoy! :D KCKO!

My favorite sports memory was going to a 49ers game when I was ~10 with my mom and step dad. We didn't have a lot of money and didn't get to go to a lot of big games like that, but it was my step dad's favorite team and somehow they got us the tickets to go. I remember how excited they were to take me. I fell and scraped my knee badly and had to visit the first aid tent, but I made it on the big screen that night! I'm 24 now and my mom still asks if I remember everyone seeing me up there. It was a good family memory :)

Under $10

This is seal-iest contest ever.
I love animal puns too.
And I always do them on porpoise.
I usually can't stop myself and it gets pretty hawkward.......



I love animals too! [And that's why I really want this.] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002TZ04J6/ref=aw_ls_8_5?colid=5FGF6LYZ2D07&coliid=I24Z4OVN2JFS1Y)

I have been making pizza for about 5 years with my kamado. Finding the method that works best for you can be tricky (and fun!).

Here's my method: I usually buy dough from a pizza joint. I heat the kamado to about 500F with a heat deflector in place and let it stabilize. Then I put this Lodge cast-iron pizza pan in to heat for 10 minutes before placing the pizza on it. I use parchment paper to help transfer the pizza to the hot pan, then I slide the paper out from under the pizza after a couple minutes. With practice I can now cook the pizza joint's dough better than they can.

Would love to hear your method when you get it dialed in.

Oh neat! Seems fun. Fear cuts deeper than swords.

1. Something that is grey. - Wishful Thinking list
   
2. Something reminiscent of rain. - Priority Items list
   
3. Something food related that is unusual. - Health/Beauty list
   
4. Something on your list that is for someone other than yourself. - Priority Items list. For my cat Little because she gets urinary tract infections so I am always trying to find ways to keep her well hydrated.
   
5. A book I should read! - DVDs/Books list. I've wanted to read it since it came out, just haven't gotten the chance to. The movie was fabulous too.
   
6. An item that is less than a dollar, including shipping... that is not jewelry, nail polish, and or hair related! - Not on any of my lists
   
7. Something related to cats. - Priority Items list.
   
8. Something that is not useful, but so beautiful you must have it. - On a Private wishlist because the price is ridiculous.
   
9. A movie everyone should watch at least once in their life. - Already Owned. Because it's my favorite movie.
   
10. Something that would be useful when the zombies attack. - Wishful Thinking list. Because I could throw it at their faces.
    
11. Something that would have a profound impact on your life and help you to achieve your current goals. - Health/Beauty list. Because I get bad back pain and muscle knots from my scoliosis and they can sometimes prevent me from doing what I need to do properly. Alternate from a Private wishlist because I may have to quit my job due to respiratory irritation from the chemicals.
    
12. One of those pesky Add-On items. - Health/Beauty list. I hate Add-on Items.
    
13. The most expensive thing on your list. - On a Private wishlist simply because it is so expensive. It's my dream item because I want to replace my gram's old one which I accidentally shattered the bowl for. /:
    
14. Something bigger than a bread box. - Priority Items list
    
15. Something smaller than a golf ball. - Health/Beauty list
    
16. Something that smells wonderful. - Priority Items list
    
17. A (SFW) toy. - Miscellaneous list. SFW to look at, not necessarily to play haha.
    
18. Something that would be helpful for going back to school. - Wishful Thinking list
    
19. Something related to your current obsession, whatever that may be. - Miscellaneous list. I have always been obsessed with writing lists. I have these markers and I love them but a lot of them are dried out/won't write. I haven't thrown them away because it makes me sad.
    
20. Something that is just so amazing and awe-inspiring that I simply must see it. - Priority Items list. A bag that I absolutely crave with every fiber of my being. I want it soooo bad. It's pretty and comes in other pretty colors and looks cute and comfy and wonderful.
    
    BONUS
    
    
21. Anything that has my real name on it. I don't know your real name, sadly. ): Maybe someday!
    
22. Anything made in Oregon. - Filmed in Oregon.
    
    
    Any of the things I have noted being on Private lists I would be happy to send you the link to for proof can be seen here. :) Also your wishlist names made me chuckle. :D
    
    Also also Happy Birthday to my dad! <3

$.64 free shipping!! and right now, i'm watching as my kids and friends kids run around with glow sticks and glow wands! lol it's fun! first day of summer break!

Let me know how it goes!

Lots of different things to experiment with. I personally like using turbindo sugar on top :)

Also... if your planning on doing a lot of creme brulee, I really recommend a blow torch. It’s easier to control than broiler.


Skip the gimmicky little ones from bed bath and beyond (though they work) and get something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Iwatani-Culinary-Butane-pastries-camping/dp/B01HVZR3DI/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?keywords=cooking+blow+torch&qid=1562865412&s=gateway&sr=8-9

I'd say the essentials include a non-stick frying pan, a smaller pot (2-3 qts), a larger pot (5qts+), a cutting board, a chef's knife, measuring cups, measuring spoons, mixing bowls, a whisk, heat resistant silicone spatula, stirring spoons, serving spoon, ladle, aluminum baking sheet, tongs and can opener. With all of the above, I can cook ~ 90% of what I usually cook.

I, personally, don't care much for cast iron skillets. They require too much care and too much oil to keep up to snuff. I prefer a nice three-ply fry pan (This is what I own). A couple splurges on my part were a 2 qt saucier (was on sale for $50) which is great for making sauces of any sort because the whisk can fit in the rounded bottom of the pan. I also like the All-Clad 4Qt. Essential pan, with the tall sides and wide top. It's easy to make something a bit larger with this pan.

Finally, I bake all of my pizza on a cheap round pizza pan. It's not the fanciest, but it gets the job down well.

Oooh, make her a mixtape! Buy songs that remind you of your relationship & purchase them on the Amazon Digital Music. Depending on what songs you choose--you could end up with enough $ left over to get a mix of things for her!

A cute bento box may also be nice choices. Especially if you whip her up a nice lunch to put in it! Take her on a picnic date! They also have molds for different types of food in the shape of cute animals.

I think there's the foundation of a good idea here, but I think it needs more work. One of the attractions of al pastor is that it's broiled on the trompo, so the bits of meat are seared at high heat, which lends them a lot of flavor. I think it's great that you're smoking the meat, but after it's cooked, I still think you're missing out if you skip the sear. You could hit it with a Searzall, ideally, or just a plain propane torch.

I use this. It allows me to maintain a high temperature in my charcoal grill, but won't crack or break like a typical pizza stone (I have had 2 cheap ones break). I use lump charcoal and can get my grill well over 500 degrees. The only shortcut I sometimes take, is buying fresh dough from my local grocery store in order to save time. Cheaper and tastier than 75% of the pizza places I find here in Minneapolis.

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Pro-Logic-P14P3-Pizza-14-inch/dp/B0000E2V3X/ref=sr_1_25?ie=UTF8&qid=1413991783&sr=8-25&keywords=lodge+cast+iron

Sure. I use this one. I didn't choose it as it was a gift but it has worked well and also makes great bread. My pizza crust recipe can double as a bread recipe. Here's the stone http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0000E19MW/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1426110572&sr=8-3&keywords=pizza+stone&pi=AC_SX200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=41JEJM7BVWL&ref=plSrch



Here's a pic of a pizza crust dough ball cooked as bread instead (you cook it as a ball, score the top with a knife and spray with water every 3 mins for the first 9 mins. Cook at 425 for 50 min) http://imgur.com/3whZ7di

Click Here this one is perfect for pizzas, breads and all things stone worthy. It's large, it's thick and it gets hot. Make sure you preheat the stone for at least 20 mins.

If you can afford a stainless steel plate get that instead. Otherwise this is the best option I've found.

Looks good! I would personally have let mine cook just a tad longer, but I like mine a little crispy. If making pizza is something you really enjoy, I'd suggest getting a pizza stone and a peel. Preheating your oven with the stone in there for a while lets you get the surface really hot, then you drop the pie on there with the peel, and that's how you can get a good crispy bottom. I dunno, that's how my Sicilian cousin taught me to make it. Also, get some basil!

Honestly, instead of putting together a cookbook, why not buy him some outdoor cooking equipment like a campfire grill or some pie irons. Or a dehydrator to make jerky or trial mix or other things that will keep while camping. If you still want to go the recipe route, then pick up a few recipes specific to that equipment.

Like /u/apocalypso points out, I just don't see it being incredibly useful to put together a cookbook like that without a really clear theme or something that would make it more than just a lesser version of what they could find on their own online.

You'll be needing a pizza stone and a pizza peel. Use the stone every time you bake pizza, to season it. Even if you're heating up a boxed pizza, use the damn stone.

Next, you want to make sure you're using a good recipe. This is one that I have used. It's damn good. Just follow the directions.

As for sauce, I prefer a white sauces to red, but that's entirely up to you. Find a recipe that you fancy, learn it, and be ready to use it.

As for the rest of the ingredients, I'm not going to tell you to spend a bucketful of money to make a pizza, but better quality ingredients yield better flavor. Keep that in mind.

Every week I make a pullman loaf. It's a perfectly square bread which is excellent for sandwiches. It's also quite delicious.




Here is the pan I use and also the recipe that I use.

I use the ziplock method, I tried doing a vacuum sealer but it got expensive and the ziplock method actually ends up working better. Couldn't get a good seal with the cheap vacuum sealers on amazon. No problems, I use a searing attachment on a propane torch (https://www.amazon.com/Searzall-Torch-Attachment-Small-Stainless/dp/B00L2P0KNO) and it sears beautifully. I've also done a sear in a really hot cast iron pan and that works really well on fattier steaks like ribeye. The pan tends to cook the meat a bit but the torch keeps it medium rare throughout the entire steak.

Thanks for the contest!

I love baking for my book club, and my new bingo group. This wire rack would make it a lot easier to cool cookies and cupcakes!

Kitchen stuff along with the effort put in to learn can pay dividends. You'll probably end up saving money, impressing dates, and just enjoying life more.

Example of things in this category:

• Cast Iron Pan (~20$)
  
• 1-qt Pot (~10$), I've actually found my Ikea one to be extremely well made. General rule is that you should feel comfortable fighting zombies with it.
  
• Chef's Knife (~40$)
  
• Sheers (~20$)
  
• Cookie Sheet (~10$), I find a secret to eating healthy and cheaply is to just roast a bunch of vegetables.
  
• Rice Cooker (I'm Chinese and biased on this one)
  
  The above makes up the core of my BIFL kitchen stuff. I have other stuff, like cutting boards, sous vide, grater, blow torch, etc. But those things are not necessary and don't last for life.
  

Brownies are easy to make, easy to portion, have enough butter to properly carry the THC & the chocolate helps cover up some of the flavor. They freeze well & are easy to wrap up if you're making big batch.

...and you can bake them in these things to make the portioning really consistent

They're from Amazon basics! I got the 12 pack but I think there are other options. I like them a lot, they're super flexible
https://www.amazon.it/dp/B01KWTGAVQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_8z1MX6PCKUpvv

Agree with all of the above. I have a standard oven (nothing fancy, no big commercial sized cooker) and a half sheet pan fits quite nicely in my oven with room to spare. And I find a half-sheet is the perfect size for almost everything.

Ditch the non-cook stuff, buy basic aluminum sheet pans like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Fat-Daddios-Aluminum-Gauge-Sheet/dp/B001IZZGKU

And get either a Silpat:

http://www.amazon.com/Silpat-AE420295-07-Premium-Non-Stick-Silicone/dp/B00008T960

Or a box of parchment sheets:

http://www.amazon.com/2dayShip-Premium-Quilon-Parchmet-Baking/dp/B00UVTEPXS

(or both, really - the parchment is useful for so many things)

Check out Lodge's pizza pan:
http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Logic-Cast-Pizza-Black/dp/B0000E2V3X
I have been using a stone for years, but this pan has given me a consistently better result. Similar concept as the pizza steel.
Edit: There are 209 reviews on Amazon filled with some great information and tips.

I believe they have a few different names, "Hobo Pie" is another I've heard. We make them when we go camping in things similar to this.

Basically you butter some bread, put them butter side down in the cooker, and put your toppings in. Personally I like pizza pies but I've made some with apple pie filling and some cinnamon, om nom nom! Then after you have your toppings, you put another buttered slice of bread on top (so the butter side is touching the top of the maker), and close it up. Cook in the dying coals of a camp fire and eat pure perfection. :)

I have a 5+ year old one by Old Stone Oven that looks a bit different but here is the current one: https://www.amazon.com/Old-Stone-Oven-Rectangular-14-5-Inch/dp/B0000E1FDA

I had a few cheaper ones crack on me in my early pizza-making days, but this one has been a champ and is a lot thicker (which equals more heat retention).

Definitely recommend going with a rectangular one opposed to a circle.

>If you aren't, a 4-5 minute bake could mean either steel plate or aluminum plate

I have a home oven that reads 525; Should I get a Steel or aluminum plate?

• Stove info: https://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/PRG304GH.html
  
  Recommended Plate Thickness? (1/4, 3/8, 1/2 inch?)
  
  Are there any best bang for buck plates that I should consider? OR is best DIY?
  
  
• Nerdchefs Steel Plate - .25 - https://www.amazon.com/NerdChef-Steel-Stone-High-Performance-Standard/dp/B00JXVNUHW/ref=lp_9453142011_1_1?srs=9453142011&ie=UTF8&qid=1549303763&sr=8-1
  
• Lodge Cast Iron - Pizza Pan - https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Baking-Pre-Seasoned-Round-Handles/dp/B0000E2V3X
  
• Baking Steel -.25 https://www.amazon.com/Baking-Steel-Original-Ultra-Conductive/dp/B00N205G22/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1549304615&sr=1-4&keywords=pizza+steel
  
  ​

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Happy happy cake day And thank you!

Hey, off-subject, but I was following your post history to see if I could find the drama, and noticed the bit about culinary torches?

I think this is the answer to your problem.

The Kickstarter is long over, but the page gives an excellent overview of what it is, what it does, and why.

It's now on Amazon.

If you thought /r/slowcooking was fun, wait until you get a load of /r/sousvide!

.223 are going to be pretty hard to pan lube no matter what because of the small size mixed with the length. You could dip the bullets into liquid lube, but doing that is pretty slow and not really something you will want to to with bullets you will shoot mainly in bulk.

Another option would be use some small wire strung across the pan to form a grid pattern, drop the boolits in nose up to each square before pouring lube into the pan. Along the same lines as that, a baking cooing rack or some hardware cloth should work great and be easier than wire.

That said, is there a reason that you don't want to powder coat the .223 bullets?

Takin' care of business!

I would like to get these for my mom, I believe it would make her life easier because she's always cooking and doesn't have many bowls. So this would help! :) she's also a stay at home parent

Ugh. Paying for life and grad school at the same time and trying to save money for student teaching when I'll have zero income is really dragging me down and pumping up my anxiety on days like today when there are very few jobs posted, and I find myself sitting at home instead of working like I planned (I'm a substitute teacher). Now I'm going to spend half my day just stressing about finances because I'm out a day of potential pay. I do have some things pre-booked the next couple weeks though, so I will have less days to fill in on the fly. But still. Stressin'.

One of my favorite stress relievers is baking. I get in the zone of just getting through the recipe, and I get to eat all the good stuff through the entire process... from cookie dough to brownie batter to whatever the finished product is. And then I usually ditch the batch on someone else so I don't have two dozen cookies to myself, and I make other people happy. It always cheers me up a bit. :) This isn't an actual food, but I have these baking mats on my kitchen list because they'd make baking loads easier and I wouldn't keep going through parchment paper to line my pans.

We have one of these and use them to make any variety of sanwiches. Pizza with sauce, cheese and pepperoni is a personal favorite, but you could easily do turkey and veggies for a healthier option.

Ninja edit: PBJ is awesome this way. Yuuuum!

If you want to make pizza at home on a regular basis, I'd go to a gourmet/kitchen shop and get a stone and a peel.

The other piece of equipment I like is a Kitchenaid mixer. I can do it by hand, but it makes a bigger mess. Using the mixer with a dough hook, I can make a 2-pizza batch of dough, get it in the refrigerator (to let it rise for a day), and clean up in 30 minutes, and that's counting 15 minutes to let the dough rest in the mixing bowl before mixing again.

Watch some Youtube videos. Youtube is a great resource for techniques.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Efw5NLf004o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrEmMXSgRmU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSxx2BB_PSY

I've helped with cooking for 50+ youth groups. This is spot on advice.

Pasta is a no-go. Giant pots of water take way too long to boil.

Sandwiches benefit from a side of soup. Canned soups don't have to boil. Heating should be your watchword.

Also, camp pies are awesome for groups. Bring some canned pie fillings and white bread, and butter or pan spray. Lots of apple filling, everybody loves apple pie. Buy a few of these and you are set.

Someone already posted this [item] (http://www.amazon.com/SODIAL-Mickey-Mouse-Cookie-Cutter/dp/B008RULTL4/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=EYB47AJ077Y1&coliid=IK6AI13NTPWUI), but my step brother (age 3) comes over every weekend and he loves when he gets mickey mouse pancakes and I saw this and knew he would blow a gasket over it! :)

FYI I use this stone I got an Amazon and I love it. I've only cooked with a steel a few times and find the stone does a better job of drawing the moisture out of the dough to crisp up the outside.

It's too quiet in here!

...or is it?

This would make my cookies better, so you'd make me and those I give my cookies too very happy. But then again so would this, so I'll let you choose. xP

Spiralizer
http://www.amazon.com/Spiral-Vegetable-Slicer-Cleaning-Zucchini/dp/B00GHA3S4C/ref=sr_1_9?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1426886578&sr=1-9&keywords=spiralizer

Silpat http://www.amazon.com/Silpat-AE420295-07-Premium-Non-Stick-Silicone/dp/B00008T960/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1426886612&sr=8-2&keywords=silpat

Xanthan gum http://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-Xanthan-8-Ounce/dp/B0013JJZWG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1426886645&sr=8-2&keywords=xanthan+gum

Just Like Sugar, Brown http://www.amazon.com/Brown-Sweetener-Just-Like-Sugar/dp/B004307EL6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426886738&sr=8-1&keywords=just+like+sugar+brown

Amazon also has the best prices on all Bob's Red Mill products versus any store I've been in, across the board. I get all of my Chia seeds, flaxseed meal, almond meal, etc from Amazon.

How do I pick one? oh yeah

Edit: "I ain't no damn clown" and link although feel free to pick anything else. I just like mail :)

Here are some ideas:

• Shun Nakiri knife?
  
  
• Microplane grate. This is what I use for finely mincing ginger and zesting citrus
  
  
• Spice dabba, indispensable for keeping whole (i.e., unground) spices in a compact form factor.
  
  
• Silpat baking mat, great for converting any baking pans into a nonstick version. I've used it to roast vegetables, bake cookies and even macarons.
  
  
• Mandoline, self-explanatory. Great for making uniform slices or strips of vegetables for gratins or casseroles. I made the ratatouille in Pixar's Ratatouille with this!
  
  
• Combination pressure-cooker/steamer/rice cooker/slow cooker. This is an electric pressure cooker that has the advantage of not requiring the same amount of babysitting as a typical stovetop pressure cooker. If your GF cooks with a lot of beans and lentils, then pressure cooking is something she'll appreciate.
  
  
• Plenty by Ottolenghi features highly inventive vegetarian cooking using a wide assortment of vegetables. The book has a middle eastern emphasis, but still contains recipes from all over the globe. My favorite is the Soba noodles with mango and eggplant.

You can buy these for a reasonable price and they accomplish the same thing. Love them for making oil-free sweet potato fries.

Happy Zambambo!

I hope you have a loverly birthday and thanks for the contest c:

Cookies are delicious, but they're even better when they look like this!

In my experience it's all about the baking.

• Very easy to over cook brownies, they need to be hot lava when in the oven, and cool to a semi-solid when taken out.
  
  
• The best brownie is an edge brownie, thusly the best baking pan looks like a snake
  
  
• never listen to anybody that suggests using dark chocolate in brownie mix, find the nearest trout and start attacking them.
  
  
• Use a low protein flour, you don't need a gluten network crumb like in sandwich bread.
  
  
• Pecans or Walnuts add a nice touch, but don't crush the nuts too much, nor roast them too much prior.

It's one of those kitchen tools that you don't use very often. I got it as a gift, so I've found a few occasions to use it. It's good for toasting marshmallows or meringue. Also good for melting and toasting cheese on top of french onion soup.

https://www.amazon.com/Iwatani-CB-TC-PRO2-Professional-electric-Stabilizing/dp/B01HVZR3DI/

AmazonBasics Silicone Baking Mat Sheet, Set of 2 https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0725GYNG6/

I just bought 2 of these and they work great. Lots of my terpine sauce drips on the map and you can easily scrape it off later to get a big dab :)

I love camping! Am getting old enough with my creaking bod that it's not so easy to do anymore though haha

Get yourself one of these and pack margarine, bread and canned pie filling...of course a can opener and your campfire snacks will rock! They are so awesome. You can make hot sandwiches in them too!

Take tons of pics!

1. I've heard this before from people, but it's nonsense. I can easily make things bitter from too much smoke if I want to using my Traeger. But there's no way I can go back to a non-pellet smoker giving the convenience. Sometimes I have a lot going on and the smoker is only part of that day, not the center of it. The hands-off nature achieves that. And the smoke flavor is plenty enough.
   
   
2. I wouldn't recommend trying it. I can get mine up to around 500F on a hot day, which is not nearly enough (and it takes a while). If you're just looking for something that will put a high-temp sear on a piece of meat (like for finishing it off, searing scallops, etc) you could try something like a Searzall. You could also just use the broiler in your oven (it's basically just an upside down grill). Or if you want to be a little more traditional, just put a cooking grate top of a charcoal chimney starter.
   
   I cook a lot of things sous vide the last few years. I've found myself searing the meat that comes out of the bag in a cast iron skillet on a portable butane burner that I can take out onto the back porch if I'm searing something like steak. I also sometimes will use that to put a crispy exterior on things that have come off the smoker. It's only 11K BTU, but it does a very good job at making the cast iron extremely hot.

Have you tried a silicon baking mat? I love them. I also use a lot of silicon baking tray molds and cupcake molds. They're great of the oven or for the microwave.

I bought parchment paper several years ago and almost never use it.

http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Bakers-Half-Sheet/dp/B000G0KJG4/

These cookie sheets are great, though they did discolor in my dishwasher, that's not a big deal and they work great. Never a popping sound from the oven.

A half-sheet pan might actually work out too. Rolled rim so it doesn't cut into your legs.

Bonus that it's one of the most useful pans in a kitchen as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Natural-Aluminum-Commercial/dp/B000G0KJG4

While chemical sensitivity is a rare thing that is often overblown (much like gluten), there are people who actually are sensitive.

However I'd ask why not a better induction plate system? If your pots and pans will not work with the induction, are they non stick pans? I'd be much more concerned about chemical outgassing from non stick pans.

I'd suggest a larger inductions surface like this and the use a flat surfaced cast iron griddle

You'll find your induction system is much more flexible if you use a cast iron griddle or pan as an interface with your older equipment. I know a freidn of mine uses this exact system to heat up a huge stainless steel 12 qt pot for canning.

Whipped cream siphon. Homemade whipped cream is great, and you can do a lot with flavors, or get into more exotic recipes.

A Searzall torch lets you apply direct flame to food without scorching one tiny spot. I like it for when I don't want to flip something but want the top to cook, like an omelette that's a little too thick.

This is less that $0.84 but I'm not sure how much shipping is? But isn't it cuuuute? My daughter would loveee to have Mickey Mouse shaped foods. :) Thanks for the contest!

This thing gives you perfect control over the sear:

https://smile.amazon.com/Iwatani-Culinary-Butane-pastries-camping/dp/B01HVZR3DI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1525957494&sr=8-2&keywords=iwatani+torch

I like it better than the cast iron searing methods. It's very precise and a lot less smoke and hassle. The butane is cheap at asian supermarkets.

[a cooling rack]
(http://amzn.com/B00030CGKY) because I bake a lot of cakes and don't have one and this would help the cooling process. :)

Home sweet home :)

this may not help now, but later for sure. amazon has an affordable set of silicone sheets people use for baking, but i've found that theyre wonderful for keeping stuff submerged if youre willing to destroy one. link if you care:
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Silicone-Baking-Mat-Sheet/dp/B0725GYNG6

i cut a circle that fits the container so nothing slips through and cut a fast food cup straw hole style x in the middle so gasses can pass through the sheet as well as a weight on top. some people do the same thing with cabbage leaves in their kraut ferments

I'm an old hand at pretzel making. Throw away the paper, and bake your pretzels on these on cookie sheets. They'll allow a little air to circulate on the bottom, while letting excess water from the bath to drain through without making a sticky glue. Your pretzels will come right off the rack with a lovely cross pattern on the bottoms.

The most beautiful orange thing I know of, it would make delicious meals.

Thanks for such a detailed reply. I'm looking specifically at these Artisan silicon mats, not actually Silpat, since they're less than half the price and have equally good Amazon reviews. I've seen customers' pictures so I'm familiar with the size relative to half sheet pans and although they're a little smaller than Silpats I don't think it's a difference worth $25 to me.

I plan to use it mostly for roasting vegetables and baking breads, so the tip about the bread is especially helpful, but I believe my oven heats from the bottom so I should be good.

Is there anything stopping me from using silicon mats on nonstick pans? Just so I still have the option of the nonstick if I don't like the mats.

This is a really cool thing (self-explanatory haha).

It's on my main wishlist. Thanks for the contest! :)

If you want really squared-off sides, you want something like this pan. I've got one, and it makes the slices perfectly square; the coating is extremely non-stick to the point where I don't even bother greasing the pan.

Amazon sells them as well, a few bucks cheaper if you factor in shipping. I've been wanting to get one of these for a while. They also sell lasagna pans in the same shape. Looks like a great way to make a deep dish pizza.

This, please! I love baking ;)

(It's under the list 5 Dolla Dolla Bills, Y'all)

Your title is confusing. From what I've seen on this subreddit I think the Sansaire searing torch is just a BZ4500HS torch painted white and branded for Sansaire.

The Searzall appears to still be available (from 3rd party sellers including Booker and Dax) for $75 from amazon but like /u/afrayed said, you still need a torch to use the Searzall. The TS8000 would work just fine with the Searzall... http://www.amazon.com/Searzall-Torch-Attachment-Small-Stainless/dp/B00L2P0KNO

As I was typing this one of the page keeps changing so maybe they don't have any more left. You might try contacting Booker and Dax directly to see if they know when they will have more available on Amazon for the normal $75. Here is a link to their seller page http://www.amazon.com/sp?_encoding=UTF8&asin=B00L2P0KNO&isAmazonFulfilled=1&isCBA=&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&orderID=&seller=A3MJLCUZ9F3OOJ&tab=&vasStoreID=

Amazon. The 13" was only $25 with free shipping. They're just fantastic.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UNMZPI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The edges are chewy and I like that. I like gooey too but I prefer chewy.


The perfect brownie pan

Mochiko is available at most Asian markets, you can find it in plastic bags as the Southeast Asian staple "glutinous rice flour." I use a California brand, blue star, but the others are fine too. All the other ingredients are standard, all purpose flour, baking soda, vanilla extract.

Recipe for pumpkin mochi, feel free to cut the sugar by half!

Recipe for butter mochi.

I like baking it in a bakers edge pan, for lots of crunchy chewy goodness.

I have these and I highly recommend them:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00629K4YK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are a lot of similar ones out there though and they all do the same thing. I got those because you can get a set of two cheaper than buying just one Silpat mat (which is the original I think?).

It prevents things that you bake on them from sticking, and it also makes cleaning up a lot quicker since you can wipe off the little bits that stick on there way easier than if they get baked onto a baking sheet. I use them when I make fathead pizza, cookies, jalapeno poppers, roasted chicken etc etc.

silpat is great, i learned about 'em in culinary school when we had to make parmesan tweels and similar items...pick one up on amazon for a few bucks, here is the one i have, you'll be glad you bought it, stranger danger, have an upvote, cheers

https://www.amazon.com/Silpat-11-5-Non-Stick-Silicone-Baking/dp/B00008T960

If you haven't picked out a stone yet I'd recommend the one from Old Stone Oven:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0000E1FDA

You might be able to find it cheaper elsewhere also, I got mine on eBay.

I've gone through 3 stones before this one, this is by far the most solid I've used and has already outlasted the other ones. Works great for baguettes and other bread, too.

I highly recommend something like this

Never ever need to refill, just pop the empty can off, put the top on a new can and you're good to go.

This right here is your new best friend.

When I was last looking for a pizza stone, I read reviews and lots of people preferred cast iron pizza pans instead. I bought one and recommend it, and you don't have to worry about it breaking like a stone will. Makes a nice crispy crust.

Here you go. http://smile.amazon.com/Old-Stone-Oven-4467-14-Inch/dp/B0000E1FDA/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1425798820&sr=1-1&keywords=pizza+stone

Half the price and twice as useful. Just buy a damn pizza stone if you make your own pizza.

Edit: Check out the price zombie below, you can get this stone for cheap, or other pizza stones for a third the price as this stupid appliance. Pizza is really fucking easy to make. Making dough from scratch and freezing it works awesome.

It's actually three regular racks that stack on top of each other! I LOVE them!

Edit - link - https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00030CGKY/ref=s9_top_hm_awbw_b1DMv_g79_i3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=mobile-hybrid-11&pf_rd_r=2251DGTVFGPYZPD0XVE9&pf_rd_t=30901&pf_rd_p=09ed5729-304e-5efd-9238-7a2a8c797f93&pf_rd_i=289721

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Pro-Logic-P14P3-Pizza-14-inch/dp/B0000E2V3X

Probably. I have one and it's pretty great. Can be used for other stuff too.

I've been using the Old Stone Oven round one for about seven years now. I love it! I make large pizzas on it several times a month. I get a nice crispy crust every time. https://www.amazon.com/Old-Stone-Oven-Round-Pizza/dp/B0000E19MW

Buy one of these, a loaf of bread, a bunch of butter, and literally anything else you enjoy eating.

Scrambled egg, bacon cheese campfire pie? Dear god.

What to give the man that has everything? Something rare, something he probably won't think he needs...

1. Guava Wood! some darn hard wood for smoking. Great with pork and chicken as it is a fruit wood. Ok with beef. http://www.hawaiiguava.com/
   
   
2. a TORCH.. why not? Make creme Brulee, caramelize that sauce etc.
   
   Get the TS8000 and this :
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Booker-Dax-Searzall-Blowtorch-Attachment/dp/B00L2P0KNO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419274787&sr=8-1&keywords=searzall
   
   
3. How about if he wants to cold smoke some cheese:
   
   http://www.amazon.com/A-MAZE-N-AMNPS5X8-A-maze-n-Pellet-Smoker/dp/B007ROPJ1M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419274936&sr=8-1&keywords=wood+pellet+smoke+tray