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Recipe File
Equipment & Gear
Recently, I received a wireless thermometer from Thermoworks to try out. Their newest product is called Smoke and is specifically designed to help people barbecue and smoke food at home. Smoke has two parts - a base unit (which takes two of Thermoworks standardized Pro-Series probes) and a wireless receiver unit - which lets the user track the air temperature and the food temperature without going outside to the smoker.
Thermoworks is selling the Smoke at $99 and this would definitely welcome tool for anyone who likes to slow cook food outside.
These days when I reach for a spatula to turn food in a pan, I've been finding myself grabbing the GastroMax Slotted Turner more often than not. Tina bought this spatula for me after months (or maybe years) of listening to me complain about our various spatulas. After buying the GastroMax Turner, my complaining has stopped.
Kitchen Notes
Chocolates are one of the most popular treats in the United States (some sources claim that over 50% of the candy sold in America is some form of chocolate). Some chocolate creations are simple in shape (like a standard chocolate bar) and some are extravagant sculptures (like the ones shown at ChocolateWork.com). At home, it's not always easy to get chocolate to melt and set properly. Sometimes the chocolate burns, sometimes it seizes, and sometimes it just doesn't seem to harden as expected. In order for melted chocolate to harden (and shaped) properly, it needs to be tempered. In this article, I'll hit on the basics of melting and tempering chocolate.
Tina and I have different preferences when it comes to knives. I have chef's knives that are well-suited to my hands and my cutting style, while she has her favorites. The problem is, my knife block has only two slots that will fit a 2-in. wide blade (and I want both of those slots). Tina uses a couple Japanese vegetable knives (also with 2-in. wide blades) so our options are limited - buy another knife block (only to use the two larger slots), get a cabinet mounted vertical knife rack (which is too large so sit on the counter and we can't wall mount it in our current place), get a custom knife block (expensive), or try the Kapoosh Knife Block which lets you put in knives however you want in whatever size and shape you've got.
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