Thread: Always Reach for the Hamilton Beach (RIP Eddie)

Originally Posted by STF

I've always wanted a pressure cooker like my mum had but my wife doesn't want to know. She thinks they are dangerous so I doubt I would be able to use it if I got one.

Pressure cookers are only dangerous if you fill them with explosives.

When is the last time you have ever heard of one blowing up on the stove?

Some folks have these irrational fears you just can't get around.

I had my stovetop pressure cooker and my canner on the stove this morning.

I am living on the edge

Where to even start? For a hand mixer I actually like our old vintage hand crank one. It has a very high gear ratio and if you turn it pretty fast it will whip egg whites to peaks in no time at all. We have two electrics but I actually almost never use them. Our Kitchen-Aid stand mixer gets used a lot, especially when I make bread. It is a beast, never bogs down, never gives up.

Microwave is essential in our kitchen. I take a bag of birdseye frozen vegs and stick it in there for 2-1/2 minutes to use in a recipe, 3-1/2 or 4 minutes to just pour out onto plates. No stirring, no fuss, just really great vegs. Pat of butter and a shake of Slap Ya Mama and bam, vegs even a stone cold carnivore would eat.

We have two DeLonghi superautomatic espresso machines, and the wife spoils me with a quad shot cappuccino every morning. All she has to do is fill the water and the bean hopper, and dump the puck bin once in a while and keep the steam wand clean. Push a button, turn a lever to steam the milk, push another button for two shots and again for the other two, perfect cappuccino, way better than you get at TarMuck's, and she doesn't even have to know how to actually make coffee. The machine does everything and does it pretty darn good. We did keep one for real espresso and one for decaf but we went like two years without ever having a shot of decaf, so one is now at the new house and one here at the old.

KitchenAid side cutting can opener. I like side cutters because you can use half the can of something and just plop the lid right back on and stick it in the fridge, use the rest the next day, no fussing with saran wrap or numinum foil. Top cutting can openers are SOOOOOOOO 2021!

Sous vide. Since buying a sous vide tank and wand, I have really upped my game. Poultry breast has got to be one of the trickiest dishes to get exactly right. Too dry, or undercooked, your choice. It can be hard to really nail it because it can be perfect by an internal thermometer but self cook on the platter some more. With sous vide, you know it is safe to eat, so just re-cook to taste for a nice finish. Teriffic for tough or naturally dry cuts of beef or pork, too. A pork loin (not talking about tenderloin) can be pretty lean with basically zero marble, and so same problem as a turkey breast, half the time it is over or under cooked, at least to the discerning palate. Sous vide is the answer. Nice and juicy every time. Give it a rub of Slap Ya Mama and a few minutes in a broiler or over a hot fire in the grill for a nice tasty crust, and oh mammy come get ya baby boy, that's some fine eating, and incredibly cheap. I like to sous vide a beef rump roast and run it through the slicer for sammitch meat. Sometimes I make a nice dark roux and cook the sliced beef in it some more, for roast beast poboys.

Meat slicer. I have a cheapie off brand but very heavy duty 10" slicer and I love it. It is a lot of work to clean but for a big job it really does great.

Mandolin, with food pusher. I love it for slicing an onion in a hurry, and with the food pusher I never cut my fingertips or even get close calls. The one we have now will also do french fries or those riffly cut slices but I just use it for slices.

The barbecue. We have about 4 cords of pecan stacked in front of the house, and one of those Home Depot barbecue grills with the firebox on one end and the smokestack on the other end, like a proper barbecue. We do a lot of stuff on it with the meat all the way at the cold end, keeping the temp down around 220 or 230 degrees all day, then move it to the little grill in the firebox for the crust. When the meat has had a few hours in the fridge, it is ready to slice for salads, sammitches, and other stuff, with that gorgeous smoke ring and exquisite flavor and aroma. Okay, yeah getting off topic. That thing is like 7 feet long so not a handheld appliance at all.

Originally Posted by CrescentCityRazors

Where to even start?

How about with Wow! (and leave it at that)

<RE: SOUS VIDE> I almost forgot the vacuum bagger. Makes sous vide really convenient and practical to use vacuum bags instead of zip locks. I use it for other stuff, too, anywhere that I want to seal something up and keep air completely off of it. We call it our "Daisy Seal-a-Meal" after the late night infomercial product of a couple decades ago.

Clear ice ball mold. Always breggin on this. We love our crystal clear ice ball in our old fashioned. A real touch of class, slow melting, gentle diluting, and beautiful to behold in a heavy old fashion glass.
https://www.amazon.com/Das-TooKii-Cl...%2C122&sr=8-23
We have three of them. Ordinary ice ball molds don't make clear ice. This type does. As the ice freezes from the top, pure water ice drives dissolved air ahead into the unfrozen water, which conveniently is down within the insulated reservoir. You end up with cloudy ice down there, clear ice in the upper chamber. Always start with hot water for best results.

I actually use the seal-a-meal to package the ice balls. Four per pack. That way they don't absorb flavors or get air-dissolved or chipped in the ice bin.

Remember the green Hamilton beach milkshake makers 10 in a row at the local ice cream parlour?



Grand memories, a burger and a drink for 50 cent.. a half a days work, worth every dime.

Originally Posted by Grazor

Remember the green Hamilton beach milkshake makers 10 in a row at the local ice cream parlour?



Grand memories, a burger and a drink for 50 cent.. a half a days work, worth every dime.

In this neck of the woods Waring was the brand of choice for these things.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Pressure cookers are only dangerous if you fill them with explosives.

When is the last time you have ever heard of one blowing up on the stove?

Some folks have these irrational fears you just can't get around.

I had the experience that proves the little black pressure relief thingy in the lid of a pressure cooker really works. Many years ago I overfilled my cooker when making chicken broth. Stepped away from the stove to answer the phone and heard a “whoosh”. Ran back to find several quarts of chicken broth dripping from the ceiling over the stove.

The interior of the cooker was almost completely empty. A whole chicken carcass, carrots, onions, celery and water had passed through that little hole. Needless to say, my wife was not impressed and I had to spend several hours cleaning broth and chicken fat off the ceiling walls, stove, floor and vent hood. Smelled great though.

I’ve had a Kitchen Aid stand mixer for over 40 years. It’s one of the models for which you raise the stainless steel bowl up to the beater.

It weighs a lot and has been used for countless loaves of bread and cakes and making whipped cream, butter cream and meringues. I even had the pasta maker and meat grinder attachments, but passed them on to a daughter who is more likely to make regular use of them.

It’s a tank and I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to pass it on to a grandchild when I no longer want to try to heft it from its storage place to the counter top. It really has been a lifetime investment and I’d recommend spending the $$$ to anyone serious about baking.

Danish dough hook is something I use whenever I make dough for no-knead bread. It’s not an appliance, but it gets a lot of use.