CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
61
Nothing, Tim.
You can pry my almost never used fondue pot from my cold, cold, dead hands, even though I haven’t used it in 20 years.
Do Ya Hear Me!?
LoL - this is actually a very good question. I’m not sure what 3 things I would add here, except that this electric fondue pot would be one of them. Maybe the electric skillet (chicken fryer - although useful, damned near never used).
Not sure what number 3 would be.
Thanks Tim!
I tried to do so, because I had lots of stuff folks might want. But my local group (and I’m assuming this was only about my local group) were complete control freaks about letting people join the group, so in the end I gave up on them and instead just took my stuff to the dump (if I thought it was not good enough for Salvation Army) or to SA if okay quality.
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CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
62
Two of my daughters (and me, as well) can recite every single line from that movie. It became a favorite on VHS and they wanted to watch it over and over.
Not just your local one.
They are a control freak’s paradise.
Our little burg somehow has 2 , divided by a road. You’re not allowed to interact with the other group, just your own.
We only have 20,000 folks so this is anal taken to new levels.
Around here (central NJ) there are a lot of Freecycle groups, and no limitation (that I know of) on how many groups you can be in. (I’m in four.) The conflicting rules are a pain, though–one group wants miscellaneous small stuff collected in one posting; another wants non-similar items in separate postings.
Maybe Miss_belle is referring to one of those Dash mini waffle makers. In my experience they don’t get hot enough to make a waffle with a crispy exterior. Rather it ends up getting a bit steamed.
I’ve had a bunch of waffle makers and my favorite was an old 1970’s? sunbeam square waffle maker which I let go of recently and a waring pro double Belgian waffle maker that’s excellent.
The (very large) coop I live in has a Facebook page - it’s literally the only reason I signed up for Facebook - that functions as an informal marketplace. And apparently my neighbors will take anything you want to give away.
I have one of those double sided griddles, and I have never used it. My conundrum is that if I season one side and later want to use the other, what happens to the seasoning on side 1 that is exposed to the gas flame? Maybe nothing, but when I think about using it, I invariably reach for something else.
I’ve used my lodge cast iron loaf pan about 3 times to make basic white bread. From what I remember I’ve never done anything special to season it and largely just made sure it was properly greased up for baking. The bread just seems to slide out with little to no cleanup. Point being maybe your unused griddle is your future cookie baking tray.
The beauty of it for me is that seasoning is not needed for my uses. English muffins and tortillas just need a heated, bare flat surface, and I brush my panini lightly with oil, butter, or mayonnaise before putting them on the ridged side under a bacon press. Same for Cubanos if making too many for a frying pan, only on the flat side.
I had one for my old gas range and I used it constantly, but only with the flat side up. The ridged side cooked unevenly and was a pain to clean. The gas flame definitely did the seasoning on the ridged side no favors, but it didn’t ruin the pan - I could easily reseason and use if desired. My current range came with a custom griddle pan that spans the two dedicated center burners and I LOVE it.
Also true for me in many cases - anything I would cook on that pan is unlikely to need a non-stick surface.
The old waffle irons with steel plates made the best waffles, but they also stuck the most until well seasoned. I have a Waring Belgian that flips. It is my only nonstick item. The waffles could be more crisp, but they do hold a ton of butter and maple syrup. So it stays. I heard you get better crispness by replacing some of the flour with cornstarch. I do not notice a real difference. Now I am day dreaming about waffles with crumbled pecans in them.
I love the variety of experience here. I certainly do not have disdain for LC. It is gorgeous and well made. For use in an oven or in situations like deep frying where a significant heat sink effect is useful, LC is terrific. @drrayeye has also extolled its virtues with induction. My only issue with it is actually more of an issue with the way it is touted as being extremely conductive and even. That just isn’t cast iron’s thing. Even so, an attentive cook can cook excellent food, even stovetop, using LC.
As for the Chinois, if you regularly make stock, it is indispensable. If you don’t, it is close to useless. I make some sort of stock at least weekly, and my Chinois looks it. I love it. The other use of a Chinois, making things texturally smooth, has been largely obviated by Vitamix, FPs, IBs, etc. Unless you just enjoy doing things the old school way, the Chinois and the tamis are just curiosities.
This is the basis of my disdain. Thermally speaking, it’s poor (an argument can be made for ‘mediocre’) cookware. You omit mentioning that LC has been misleadingly (lying, really) marketed to create the impression that it is “even heating”. As a result, I and countless others misspent thousands on this stuff. It held my cooking back for years, and that decreased my enjoyment and interest in cooking. I think I come by my disdain honestly.
You said you love the variety of experience here, not inexperience. Bad as cast iron is, it’s verifiably worse on induction. Ray extols it only because that’s what he owns.
