1/07/2012

All-Clad Stainless 4-Quart Casserole Pan Review

All-Clad Stainless 4-Quart Casserole Pan
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This pot is the perfect size for a standard soup recipe. I have the Dutch oven and the 6-qt stock pot as well, but I still wanted this pot. I have not been disappointed. I like the taller shape; it jut feels more like a soup pot to me (I understand this is completely subjective.)
All-Clad Stainless is my favorite line of cookware. The clad technology means even heat conduction and it works on induction cookware. An extra bonus for me is the easy clean up -- throw it in the dishwasher. Whne necesary, polish with a Bar Keeper's Friend and it will look like new forever.
If you are choosing between this and a Dutch oven, go with the Dutch oven because the shape is more versatile. This pot is not a must-have, but a great have if you make a lot of soup and are looking for an addition to your All-Clad set.

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5304For a Limited Time, Spend $499 or More on All-Clad and Receive a FREE Lasagna Pan Gift Set - a $170 Value! With its 18/10 stainless steel cooking surface and hand-polished, mirror-finished exterior, the All-Clad Stainless collection is the ultimate reflection of style and practicality. All-Clad Stainless delivers the ideal combination of professional performance and dishwasher-safe cleaning. Magnetic stainless steel makes All-Clad Stainless the ideal cookware for induction cooktops, as well. The Stainless collection is All-Clad s best-selling cookware series, and is the cookware of preference for many of the world s professional chefs and discriminating home cooks. The Casserole can go from stovetop to tabletop and offers superior cooking performance and exceptional styling. Cook, serve, and store, all with the aesthetic appeal that is a welcome addition to the table. Stainless Technical Details: The 3-ply bonded design of All-Clad Stainless incorporates an aluminum center core clad with stainless steel to produce highly-responsive conduction and even heat distribution. The magnetic stainless steel exterior is essential to ensuring compatibility with all induction cooktops, while also being ideally-suited for use with traditional cooktop technologies. This bonded construction helps make any cooking task easier, giving you more control. Features: -3-Ply bonded construction for a lifetime of use. -Easy-to-clean 18/10 stainless-steel interior helps prevent foods from sticking and will not react with foods. -Mirror-finished magnetic stainless-steel exterior is hand-polished to a lustrous shine. -Pure aluminum core covers bottom of the pan and extends up the sides for greater heat conductivity. -Signature stay-cool handles are cast from solid stainless-steel and designed for ergonomic comfort. -Suited for all stovetops including electric, gas, ceramic, induction and halogen. -Made in the USA. -Lifetime Warranty. Specifications: -Materials: 3-Ply bonded construction

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1/06/2012

Portmeirion Botanic Garden Amazon Exclusive 20-Piece Starter Set, Service for 4 Review

Portmeirion Botanic Garden Amazon Exclusive 20-Piece Starter Set, Service for 4
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This is beautiful, tough, well-made china. It was actually made in Great Britain, and is by no means second quality stuff. The plates are rather deep with a rim of 3/4". The painting is crisp, and the patterns are centered on every dish (This seems to be a problem for other manufacturers to judge by the reviews.)
This set has the advantage of glasses (which I needed) rather than cups or mugs more commonly offered in sets (which I didn't need.) Portmeirion has apparently improved the highball glass quality since 2006; the glass thickness is now over 1/16" thick, and tempered. Earlier reviews had complained that the glasses were like eggshells.
It comes very well packaged in four nested boxes. However, one glass (out of eight) was chipped. Rather than send the whole set back to Amazon ($$), I called Portmeirion USA in CT, and they sent out a new glass within a week. Customer Service for Portmeirion was very nice. The set is common enough to get replacements and expansion pieces readily, too.
The hardest thing about this set is finding flatware to go with it, as I couldn't find any recommendations. I ended up pairing it with "Medina" by Villeroy & Boch. The table looks great now. I highly recommend this set.

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Unavailable anywhere else, this 20-piece set from Portmeirion is a perfect way to start or add on to a Botanic Garden collection and watch it grow. Created exclusively for Amazon, the set includes four tablesettings, each with a 10-inch dinner plate, 8-1/2-inch salad plate, 6-1/2 cereal bowl, 16-ounce highball glass, and 16-by-12-inch placemat. Containing assorted motifs, which are subject to change, the set stays fresh and original. Hand-painted flowers adorn all pieces, giving them a truly distinct appearance. Plates and bowls are constructed of durable earthenware and are dishwasher-, microwave-, and freezer-safe. Placemats are made from hard cork with a resin finish, making them easy to wipe clean. Portmeirion guarantees its earthenware against defects.
What's in the Box? Four each: 10-inch dinner plate, 8-1/2-inch salad plate, 6-1/2 cereal bowl, 16-ounce highball glass, and 16-by-12-inch placemat.

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1/05/2012

Mikasa Italian Countryside 45-Piece Dinnerware Set, Service for 8 Review

Mikasa Italian Countryside 45-Piece Dinnerware Set, Service for 8
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I was extremely disappointed that BOTH the 45-piece sets I purchased were defective. There are black speckles, brown spots, even a green spot in the glaze. This is on nearly every single piece. I have contacted Mikasa by their 800 number and was told they were aware of the problem and would send me good sets, but so far nothing has been done. This is creamware and it should be creamy white with no dirty looking spots on it. I love the pattern, the size of the plates, everything but the quality. They really need to address this problem at the factory, and not sell seconds as top quality china!

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Italian Countryside has long been one of Mikasa's most popular patterns, and is now available in a full set at a fabulous price. The white ironstone body has a soft filligree boarder, and dresses up or down for any entertaining situation. This complete set is a service for eight, including eight dinner plates, salad plates, rim soup plates, teacups and saucers. It also contains one each 12" round platter, round vegetable bowl, covered sugar bowl, and cream pitcher.

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1/04/2012

Wine Rack Wood -72 Bottles Modular Hardwood Wine Racks (12 bottles x 6 shelves) Review

Wine Rack Wood -72 Bottles Modular Hardwood Wine Racks (12 bottles x 6 shelves)
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The Rack works well for cab or merlot bottles. Any Bottle with a tapered neck will fall through. Hard to explain but trust me you wouldn't want to store an expensive bottle of Pinot or bubbles on this one.

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Hand made solid hardwood modular wine rack. Manufactured from the same quality hardwoods used in making our furniture grade display cases. The quality of these hardwood means that they will not dent, turn yellow, or fade. Whether you are storing 1000 bottles or only a few dozen, our stackable modular wine racks are the most versatile and easily assembled racking system available. No tool is required, pieces simply fit together like Lego blocks. The unfinished wood is already sealed but will allow you the option to stain, paint, or varnish to match any decor. This configuration is for the 12 bottles wide by 6 shelves high racks, giving you a total storage of 72 bottles. (wine bottles in pictures are not included) Updated Note: The factory has resized these wine racks to allow displaying Bordeaux, Burgundy, and most Champagne style wine bottles. Dimensions: 29"H X 45.5"W X 12"D, each layer is 4.75"H

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1/03/2012

Zojirushi BB-HAC10 Home Bakery 1-Pound-Loaf Programmable Mini Breadmaker Review

Zojirushi BB-HAC10 Home Bakery 1-Pound-Loaf Programmable Mini Breadmaker
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The Zojirushi BB-HAC10 breadmaker is terrific for couples, singles, or apartment dwellers wanting a small loaf of bread (1 LB). While at first, its price may be offsetting, it is a fantastic device and made of high quality materials. Most breadmakers are too large and end up being stored in the closet, but this machine is small, sleek, and bakes perfect loaves of bread. It is the same width as my toaster and is small enough to keep out on an apartment kitchen counter. The loaves on regular cycles take between 3:40-3:00 to bake, but it has a timer and a "keep warm" feature. It is quiet and an 8-year old could easily operate its simple push button controls.
It has an even-heating element, and a good quality, heavy, non-stick baking pan, which is a snap to clean up. It has a pasta/cookie dough feature and a jam (!) feature. The tiny paddle is actually surprisingly efficient at making dough for cookies and such.
One caveat: It bakes a small, vertical loaf of bread and a 1 LB loaf is smaller than you think it is. So the "rounded" part on top takes up about 1/4 of the entire loaf. Also, your bottom slice will have a gaping hole where the paddle bakes into it. While this is not much of a problem for a large 2 LB loaf, for this small loaf, it is a bit of a waste.
We have had a Zojirushi since the early 90's and although we found it consistently made excellent bread, it wasn't getting used very often because it was large and the 2LB loaves simply weren't getting eaten. After downsizing, we found that this breadmaker is fabulous because it makes small enough loaves that you can experiment with tons of different recipes and throw away a botched recipe without feeling bad about waste.

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Wake up to the smell of freshly baked bread with this programmable breadmaker, which features a 13-hour advance timer for delayed baking. The unit produces one pound loaves--perfect for smaller households to enjoy the taste of freshly baked bread every day without waste. The machine provides automatic settings for preparing a wide variety of breads, cakes, and fresh fruit jams as well as doughs for rolls, croissants, pizza, pasta, cookies, and more. When time is limited, its quick baking cycle bakes bread in under two hours. The breadmaker also offers three bread textures to choose from--regular, firm, or soft, as well as a crust-control function that allows for selecting regular or light crust. The machine's nonstick kneading blade ensures that dough is thoroughly kneaded for consistent results, while its nonstick baking pan releases bread effortlessly. For added convenience, the appliance comes equipped with a viewing window, an easy-to-read control panel and LCD screen, and a sturdy handle for simple transport. Accessories include a simple-to-follow instruction video, manual, and recipe booklet. The compact breadmaker measures 8 by 11 by 12 inches and carries a one-year warranty.

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1/02/2012

SteamFast SP-660 Table Top Steam Press Review

SteamFast SP-660 Table Top Steam Press
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I learned how to iron in the Army, putting creases on my uniforms each Sunday night before I go to work. And I was pretty good at it. But I always thought there had to be a better way. This is a great product and I imagine as an appliance, one is probably comparable to the other, the difference being price and features.
The trick, and perhaps the reason for some negative reviews is that folks seem to expect it to be similar to hand ironing. It is not. You need to develop a new process, tackle your clothes differently. I suggest three things:
1. Think in big chunks. Remember the hand iron is small and most of us who can iron think in small areas. This appliance will tackle much bigger areas. And it will iron both sides at once - don't stress yourself about flipping things over - spend time instead on smoothing out the wrinkles and then simply drop the handle, hit a bolt or two of steam. Be patient, the skills will come.
2. Let it warm up - I plug it in, turn it on and putter a bit, gathering laundry and prepping my clothes. I set it up on my old ironing board and then simply lower it down so I can sit at the couch and iron while watching the evening news.
3. Practice, practice, practice. If you have a garment that absolutely must be ironed perfectly for a meeting in an hour - and you have never used this press before - then you will be disappointed. I suggest practice placing items on it while it is unplugged and cold - you will quickly get the hang of it. When first trying it out, iron a few old shirts, pants or dresses to get the hang of it. Then jump in. In a few short attempts at ironing you will quickly master the new skill and find that indeed ironing is no longer a task that lasts hours and hours.
I can get a week's work of ironing in just a little over an hour and now I can put a nice starched shirt on and grab a pair of creased pants for my corporate executive job - and I don't pay the dry cleaner to do it anymore.

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For crisp linens, pleats, and smooth silks, Steam Fast offers this home steam press. The 1300-watt tabletop steam press offers various steam bursts and patterns at the push of a button on the handle. Seven times the size of a regular iron, the steam press greatly reduces time spent ironing.
The press features a die-cast aluminum base for durability and even pressure. A washable pressing pad cushions fabrics, protecting button, zippers, and other protruding articles. Prior to use, the user fills the 8-ounce capacity water tank and then selects the appropriate temperature setting for the wrinkled garments. Once turned on, the press operates at 110 to 120 volts AC. The press automatically shuts off when the pressing plate has been left unattended for a prolonged period of time and an audio alarm alerts the user. A spray bottle, optional work stand, shoulder pad, and funnel accompany the press. As with all electrical appliances, read the enclosed warnings and user guidelines prior to use. A limited one-year warranty covers this item. The press measures 24 by 22 by 9 inches and weighs 19.8 pounds.

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1/01/2012

Eureka 6500A Airextreme 12-Amp Bagged Canister Vacuum Cleaner with Hepa Filtration Review

Eureka 6500A Airextreme 12-Amp Bagged Canister Vacuum Cleaner with Hepa Filtration
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I bought the Eureka because I wanted an 'upstairs' vac. You know, the machine that we just keep for the bedrooms. Well, I now use this machine all over the house. Here's what I really like about this vacuum:
fairly quiet operation
variable speed motor
excellent filtration
power nozzle seems self propelled
very large bare floor brush attachment
Now, things I don't like about it:
small bag capacity
flimsy, tiny little dusting brush - worthless (and it keeps falling off the holder)
made in China
The bags, while very small, are easy to change. And they are fairly inexpensive, so I can't kick about that too much. The power nozzle goes under very low things (like beds and coffee tables) and cleans very well. The carpet almost looks new again. The suction is very good, not outstanding, but certainly enough to clean well.
I wish the speed control for the motor was in the hose handle, and not on the cleaner, as I don't remember to bend down to turn the knob when cleaning throw rugs (which is what a speed control is made for), and wind up dragging the throw rugs across the kitchen floor.
All in all, it's a decent cleaner at a decent price, and I feel it will do the job I require of it for many years. For the average person's needs, and in a home less than 2000 square feet, with wall to wall rugs and bare floor surfaces, it's a fine vacuum. I did go to a vacuum cleaner service shop and bought a REAL dusting brush (round, with horse hair bristles) that works like a dream compared to the one included. Cost: $4.

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Improved performance, better handling bagged canister.The air basket is designed to optimize the airflow. Maximize the airflow and you maximize the performance!

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