Opening Jars:

Well now here's a subject that becomes more pressing as arthritis creeps up on our aging population. There must be twenty gadgets out there from a piece of quilted rubber to an electric gizmo that sits on the counter (Taking up counter space most of the time)

Well here's my suggestion and we DO use it. The opener is put over the top of the cap or lid and the handle is "cranked" counter-clockwise closing the jaws. Hold the jar with one hand pressing it down to the counter and continue turning the handle. The lid is loose in a jiffy.

I don't think they are being made any more, but you can find them in antique shops, resale shops and maybe a garage sale. It's worth having in your gadget drawer.

Immersion Blender

Although this blog is directed toward Tips on food, this needs to be said.

My first mistake in Kitchen gadgets was listening to all of the accolades on the “net” about how wonderful the thing is, it is in the Top 10 most useful gadgets on many a list. Well I bought one! Wrong decision big waste of money.

Summary: The immersion blender has been around for home use about 20 years. Also called a hand blender or stick blender they have a blade on the end of a shaft allowing it to blender in any container. Its primary purpose is pureeing small amounts of soups, sauces or smoothies. They have a tendency to splatter when placed in a liquid and turned on. They are also capable of chopping garlic, nuts or any small portion of vegetable.

Unfortunately, I don’t like “smooth” soup, I don’t even make soup, and sauces are better handled with a whisk. The other major “use” is whipping cream –NOT So! Use an ICI cream whipper with a N2O cartridge – it does it professionally and dispenses beautifully.

If you want a cream soup, and purred soups, go for it. Otherwise save your hard earned cash.

Just in case the thought is I got the wrong one – It’s the top rated Cuisinart! Anyone need a slightly used blender? It's going in the Yard Sale next week.     

11/12/10   SOLD IT TODAY thank god!

Easy Grill Grid Cleaning

"Easy" Grill Grid Cleaning
After grilling, it’s a good idea to give the grill grids a cleaning. Here is a simple and relatively easy way to attend to it. First wait for the grill to cool some what, so you don’t burn yourself.
Then here’s the trick, using a course stainless steel scouring pad, a pair of long tongs and a spritzer bottle of water. Clamp the pad in the tongs, using a glove, spritz the grids with the water and scrub with the pad. Spritz – scrub, Spritz – Scrub etc. and you will quickly get back to the grid metal. It sounds much worse then it is. If the grids are really bad use a scraper or stiff brush, scrape off the heavy residue.

By the way if you don’t own a pair of tongs, you should have them anyway as they are good to move the coals around and absolutely a must to turn a steak. Piercing with a fork is no good it lets the juices run out!

Spritzer Bottle

The ones used to mist house plants. Fill it with purified water and keep it near the grill. If and when the fire flares up, spritz it a couple of times to knock the flames down. Need for frequent spritzing is a sign of excess fat on or in your meat.

In the future, trim off most of the fat, or purchase leaner ground meat.