Your Newest Cooking Gadget/Cookbook/etc.

[Menolly]

Beef Stew is next.
Then maybe I'll experiment with spaghetti sauce.
Unfortunately I "lost" the recipes I wanted to try with it though.

I don't like Beef Stew.
I run from Beef Stew.
This,
(and the Guiness Beef Stew)
I'll eat.
It's the best.
Especially with hickory flavored sauce added per the note at the end.

Crockpot Beef Stew

2 lbs stew beef
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp paprika
4 large carrots, peeled and chunked
3 large potatoes peeled and chunke
1 cup condensed beef broth
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 large onion, peeled and chuncked
1 can tomato sauce (8 oz.)

Layer potatoes, then carrots. Top with meat; sprinkle meat with soy sauce, salt, paprika, pepper & flour.

Spread with chopped onions. Combine beef broth & tomato sauce & pour overall. Cover & cook on low 7 - 8 hrs. or high 4 - 5 hrs.

NOTES:

Instead of sprinkling the meat with soy sauce, salt, paprika, pepper & flour as the recipes says, I mix those all together in a small bowl. This prevents the flour from becoming clumpy.

Instead of chopped onions, I use 3 or 4 small yellow onions whole (I'm not an onion fan but still like the taste they give the stew.)

I add about 1/4 cup barbecue sauce to the top, before putting the cover on. I use whatever variety of sauce that I have on hand. I don't usually buy the "regular" flavor of any brand, but instead have hickory, brown sugar or garlic and onion flavors. The BBQ sauce adds an extra "kick" to the meat and gravy.

For the beef broth, since I don't usually keep that on hand, I make up a cup of broth with beef base and hot water.

I highly recommend the longer cooking on Low.

I am not happy with spaghetti sauce in the crockpot. Even with the lip adjar, it turns out too watery for me.
Enjoy!!

[Cail]

Yeah, we might eventually go for an iron wok, but there is no sense in doing so until after we've upgraded the stove to one that can get hotter.

Not iron, high carbon steel. I've got a gas range, so I've got no issue with heat.

[Menolly]

Have you noticed a difference in flavor since switching, Cail?

[Cail]

Absolutely. I'm not sure if I seasoned it properly, as I still see some bare metal at the bottom, but it seems to be working fine.

[JazFusion]

Please don't laugh... but believe it or not, I just bought my first blender a few weeks ago.

It works very well, is quiet and stylish.

[Menolly]

Absolutely. I'm not sure if I seasoned it properly, as I still see some bare metal at the bottom, but it seems to be working fine.

*sagely nodding*

As always, the great sage and cooking junkie, Alton Brown, is proved right again.

JF, just wait until you switch from your blender to a smoothie maker or margarita machine, wheee!!!

[danlo]

Damm, can't top or add to that-I gave Tam the new 3 size strainer set from Williams Sonoma and a $50 gift certificate for Xmas and we both adore it.

[aliantha]

Please don't laugh... but believe it or not, I just bought my first blender a few weeks ago.

It works very well, is quiet and stylish.

I used to have a regular blender, which I used about once a year. "Lost" it a few moves back. Then a couple of years ago, I bought an immersion blender because Magickmaker had a smoothie recipe she wanted to try (immersion blender: $15; smoothie maker: upwards of $50). As long as I don't try to crunch ice with the immersion blender, it works great. Lately I've been on a soup-making kick and the immersion blender works fabulously for that.

[Menolly]

*vigourously nodding*

I have the Thunderstick Pro. It's gotten bad reviews, but I find as long as I am extremely careful with meshing the plastic gears together, that is it a workhorse. Especially with the various attachements that does let me do things like crush ice.

...and it makes the best home made mayonnaise and hollandaise sauce...

[Wyldewode]

I bought a imersion blender at the end-of-school yard sale at the college. I paid $1 for it, a steal for such a nice quality one! I've had it over 4 years now. I don't use it otfen, but when I do it's wonderful. I did use it from time to time when I was doing the personal chef thing. It makes soups silky.

[Menolly]

My newest kitchen baby!
See thread below for explanation.

[Wyldewode]

Oooh! It's pretty, Menolly!

[Wyldewode]

I just got my new Pampered Chef Springform pan in the other day, and I'm breaking it in by baking an Irish Cream cheesecake! I had to get this because it has a nice glass bottom (much nicer than the typical metal ones, and pretty enough to serve on!). Mine also came with a fluted insert, so I can make bundt cakes in it too.

[Menolly]

Ooo...
Nice ~Lyr!!

[Wyldewode]

Lyr's Irish Cream Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6 TB butter, melted

Filling:
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup Irish cream liqueur

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, mix together the cookie crumbs, confectioners' sugar and 1/3 cup cocoa. Add melted butter and stir until well mixed. Pat into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes; set aside. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, granulated sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa and flour. Beat at medium speed until well blended and smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in the sour cream and Irish cream liqueur; mixing on low speed. Pour filling over baked crust.
3. Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C), and continue baking for 60 minutes.
4. With a knife, loosen cake from rim of pan. Let cool, then remove the rim of pan. Chill before serving.

[Menolly]

Oh...my...g-ds...

[Chrysalis]

Lyr's Irish Cream Chocolate Cheesecake

That sounds devine! Chocolate, cheesecake AND Irish Cream together...I am going to have to try this-thanks!

[Menolly]

Just used my Pampered Chef pizza stone for the first time, to make Passover Pizza using a mix. Came out much better than when I have made it on a baking sheet per the directions. Now I can't wait to try it for other things!

[aliantha]

I've got the teeny-tiny stone from Pampered Chef. At first I didn't see the point -- I mean, you can't pop it in the dishwasher, so how often would I use it? Yeah, well, now I find myself using it pretty regularly. It's a perfect size for cooking things like a single, flash-frozen chicken breast in the microwave.

Also...I shelled out for new cookware last year and I can't put any of *that* in the dishwasher, either.** So since I'm hand-washing nearly all my pots anyhow, swishing the stone in hot water is less onerous than I thought it would be....

** I prefer nonstick cookware. Let me rephrase that: I must have nonstick cookware. But all the stuff I've had until now has had a problem with the surface delaminating eventually -- which can't be healthy. So I bought some Anolon nonstick pieces at Macy's, to replace some nonstick pieces that were rapidly becoming, um, stick. And all of them said that if I put the cookware in the dishwasher, not only would I void the warranty but they would, like, come to my house and scold me. So I'm getting the idea that it's the dishwasher that causes the most damage to the nonstick finish. Oh fine. The good news is that pans with a nonstick finish are very easy to clean. Here's a trick: if you cook oatmeal in a nonstick pot, let it sit and dry out. Really! Then you can run your finger around the inside of the pot and the residue will peel right off.

[Menolly]

What I love about the stones is they become non-stick has they season, just like cast iron.