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I actually recently acquired some of my deceased grandmother's old serving spoons. They're absolutely perfect. Generous size, perfect curve, narrow pointy tip... they just don't seem to make them like this anymore.
 
Jovidah said:
I actually recently acquired some of my deceased grandmother's old serving spoons. They're absolutely perfect. Generous size, perfect curve, narrow pointy tip... they just don't seem to make them like this anymore.
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spoons (soup etc) in general seem to have changes shape tremendously...I somehow love the old fashioned ones and prefer them over the modern ones that seem to made to serve caviar...
 
MarcelNL said:
spoons (soup etc) in general seem to have changes shape tremendously...I somehow love the old fashioned ones and prefer them over the modern ones that seem to made to serve caviar...
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Same. I have a similar issue with plates (especially the deeper ones). They used to be bigger - and deeper. My favorite deep dinner plate is still the same 50 year old one I took from my parents house when I moved out 15 years ago. I guess when it comes to the plates the changes are partially to make them more suitable for dishwashers.
 
Guys the garlic trick on Instagram works!!!

Jam a butter knife into a clove and just bust it off laterally. If any of the skin comes too it’s cracked and easy to remove. Entry from the root side is how I’ve been doing it, might work even better going in from the pointy side.

Took me 2 bulbs to figure out and it’s changed my life.

The downside is the cloves come out with a big stab mark or cracked in half, but in most applications, who cares? Cutting the processing time by half (or more, depending on your previous technique) is definitely worth it.
 
I keep a small coticule above the sink for touch ups. It’s small enough that my wife doesn’t complain about another stone sitting around but large enough for a few strokes to maintain an edge. These small coticules are readily available on eBay relatively reasonably.
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Many people in Europe probably noticed that poultry prices have gone up significantly in recent history (mostly as a result of bird flu), and it also had a pretty large impact on the OG affordable protein of choice chicken thighs.
For reasons that escape me, the price bump hasn't really been seen in thighs of other fowl. So if you can find them, turkey thighs, and even pheasant thighs, are currently significantly cheaper than chicken thighs.
The turkey ones are less boning work too, so it's a win-win for me. :)
 
Pheasant is really a HANOS/Sligro affair. Turkey I generally get from some (but not all) German supermarkets, HANOS & Sligro, but if you find yourself in a Makro for some misguided reason they usually also have them. Dutch supermarkets only seem to sell the breast fillets... which is probably why the thighs are so cheap.

Whole legs (for chicken at least) have also become a much better deal relatively speaking than they used to be - their price didn't go up anywhere near as much as the price of thighs, but beware that in a lot of cases part of the backbone is still attached which makes them incredibly annoying to debone... As a result they're still a lot more work than turkey thighs, and not really any cheaper if you look at your cost per kg of actual meat.
 
I just hacked our countertop to get rid of the unsightly wiring for the espresso machine and grinder. 5 minutes with a 20mm diamond drill bit. Could have had the kitchen company do it but we did not know for sure where the machine was going to sit.

Now I need to install a switch in the chassis, decided against using a WIFI switch as I've seen those burn out under heavier loads.
 

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I wouldn’t. The footprint is the same, so there is no space saving. There is no flexibility, because you can’t move the machine. And your kitchen will last a lot longer than any appliance.
 
Decent is not your regular espresso machine, so I would expect it to last and have support for a long period. Still I would not have a countersunk espresso machine for the reasons already mentioned.
 
When I first got into the alarm industry way back in the early 80’s some of the alarm manufacturers offered flush mount kits for their keypads. I never wanted to do this because equipment changes all the time. Decades later when the alarm industry changed and upgrades were necessary the new keypads weren’t big enough to cover the flush mount hole. My espresso machine, which is a commercial unit has to have a water supply and drain hose. I just replaced my countertops and while I still had to drill a hole I eliminated one of the holes just in case I have to make a change some day. I definitely don’t recommend flush mounting something in your countertop.
 
Only espresso machines worth sinking into your counter are a ModBar or a Mavim. Not sure you can get either as a single group but I could be wrong.

Tip: If you want whole bean coffee to last indefinitely buy a vacuum canister (or bag) and throw it in the freezer. Highly recommend the Fellow ones if you can swing them. Might change your grind a bit though :).
 
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mockit said:
Only espresso machines worth sinking into your counter are a ModBar or a Mavim. Not sure you can get either as a single group but I could be wrong.

Tip: If you want whole bean coffee to last indefinitely buy a vacuum canister (or bag) and throw it in the freezer. Highly recommend the Fellow ones if you can swing them. Might change your grind a bit though :).
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Mavim was designed and is built by my nephew. In fact he has my machine in his shop right now for repair. I got my La San Marco from my brother in law, his dad many years ago. He is also making a countertop version of his machine but I don’t think it’s on the market yet. It sure is nice looking, very sleek.
 
I don't know the proper English term... we call them 'soup chicken' here, but they're older egg laying hens who are killed after a few years when their production drops. As a result they're older, a lot more flavorful, but they also tend to be on the dry and skinny side since they've been bred for egg production.
They're normally used in soups here, but I did a confit with them and I have to say they came out quite well. The wings and legs were awesome. Breast was a tad on the dry side, but still better than any other way I've ever prepared them (even in soups / stews it tends to come out dry).
Wished I could just buy their legs in bulk. It's an interesting change from duck legs.
 
"Suppenhuhn" is called a "hen" in English. They are chicken that are near the end of or past their laying age. Great for stews, braises, soup, and so on.
 
I think at some point I've also seen them referred to as spent hen.
And now that I think about it... maybe the solution to the breast problem is to turn it into rillettes? Never made rillettes before but I guess it's worth a shot.
 
Jovidah said:
And now that I think about it... maybe the solution to the breast problem is to turn it into rillettes? Never made rillettes before but I guess it's worth a shot.
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I've made rillettes only with pork and duck. But I don't see why chicken wouldn't work.

BTW, sous vide is ideally suited to making rillettes. Just throw all the ingredients into a bag and cook at 65 ºC for 24 hours.
 
One other thought for @MarcelNL or anyone else doing their house –

Michi said:
I bought one of those energy consumption meters that allows you to piggy-back an appliance
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I bought, but have not yet installed, a 16x Emporia device to track per-circuit consumption at the distribution board.

https://a.co/d/d0eyPOs
Might be fun for you.
 
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mengwong said:
One other thought for @MarcelNL or anyone else doing their house –


I bought, but have not yet installed, a 16x Emporia device to track per-circuit consumption at the distribution board.

https://a.co/d/d0eyPOs
Might be fun for you.
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thanks! We're still in the process of finding a company interested enough to sell us solar panels and the frimfram around it....they earn their money too easy methinks...

Something like that gadget is on the list, a smart energy monitor and manager, so you can control where the PV power goes.

For now I think I have a pretty good view of the highest use items....the brine geothermal heatpump is #1, hot water use is #2 the espresso machine a good third and then comes my audio gear
 
An item that has impacted my cooking for the better is a simple rectangular piece of 1/4" steel. I throw it over my cook top and I instantly have a decent plancha to cook breakfast for a group, a great surface to sear steaks, cook bacon, and make tortillas and pancakes. I recently discovered its ability to help regulate the temperature in the oven when making things like bread, or getting it ripping hot and using at as a "pizza stone" and making some incredible pizza with a crispy bottom crust. Now, it is quite heavy. My wife asks that I wash it since moving it and setting it down can be cumbersome and has pinched some fingers. But if for some reason this bomb proof piece of metal was ever ruined or lost I would immediately find a metal fabricator and have them cut me a new piece.
 
NoHamonoNoLife said:
Also, an immersion blender. I thought I would never use it. Turns out breaking out the blender and blending in batches was a large barrier for me. Now a green chile chicken soup is in the normal rotation and the immersion blender comes out on the regular. + points for being way easier to clean than a blender too.
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Seriously been eyeballing them lately for sauces, dressings, purees, etc. Do you think you could use one in a deli container or would it F up the plastic?
 
mockit said:
Seriously been eyeballing them lately for sauces, dressings, purees, etc. Do you think you could use one in a deli container or would it F up the plastic?
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100%. I do it on a regular basis! the 32oz ones work great. Used this exact technique last week to make homemade mayo. Some sauces may not come out as smooth depending on the ingredients you are blending but its nothing that a quick run through a strainer wont fix. I do that when I make salsas and I want to strain out the tomatillo seeds and the salsa comes out velvety smooth.
 
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