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Let's morph this thread into a discussion of specialty appliances.
I've never owned or used a pressure cooker. For people with large families or very busy schedules, I can see that it would be a timesaver. Anyone who does low-acid food canning must have one. The canning I do is jams and pie filling (acidic), so I have not had a need for a pressure cooker. I did buy the Ball electric water kettle that I use for canning those. (And, I did buy that Ball jam maker--the one that does the stirring--which saves my arm and is great for small batches of four or five jars.)
I have an old 3 1/2-quart crock pot, but I don't use it that much, as I prefer to do roasts in the oven, and it is too small for most soups. I just make them on the stove when I know that I will be home for a longer period of time while they simmer. Most crock pots have hot spots, and the food does not cook evenly or sticks.
Yogurt makers are not built for the long haul, so if used frequently (every week or two), the wiring starts to fail, and some of the individual containers do not get warm enough. I wore out two yogurt makers, as the wiring tends to stop working around individual cups--something that has frustrated my sister who makes yogurt now as frequently as I once did (weekly or every two weeks) for perhaps three years or so. I do have a new individual cup one (from Tuesday Morning) that I will probably start using here (once it gets unpacked!) because I cannot get plain yogurt easily (much of it has fruit or at least vanilla in it, and that means added sugar), and the store that carries Stonyfield, my brand of choice, is in the larger town where we do shopping runs every three weeks or so. I have a yogurt maker that makes a large 1-quart batch, but I'm not sure that it works anymore, and the yogurt does not keep as well as the quart of yogurt I buy in a container.
I find that I cannot get along without my rice maker, but I've written in another thread about the frustration of the non-stick pot getting scratched--and that replacing it would cost as much, if not more, than buying another. (I've started using a "spoonula rather than the plastic paddle that comes ith it, as I think that helped scratch it when dislodging stuck rice.) The simple rice cookers also tend to have the rice stick a bit on the bottom, and I find that I need to pull the container out immediately once the cooker switches from cook to "keep warm." I'm hesitant to spend a lot for an upscale rice maker that only makes rice. I've noted that when I search on store sites for rice maker, more often than not, the Instant Pot or Multi-Cooker comes up.
My sister's idea is that the Instant Pot will allow her to consolidate most of these appliances into just the one. I'm skeptical that one pot can truly "rule them all," and anything electronic has the potential for failure, and the more complicated the machine, the more probable that a glitch will occur, especially if used frequently.
Friday afternoon, I again baked the Espresso Brownie Bites, using the recipe that came with my Nordic Ware Bundt Brownie pan. I thought that they were slightly bitter the first time that I baked them, so I cut the Espresso powder from 1 1/2 Tbs. to 1 Tbs. this time. It may be, as the recipe is meant to be served with a caramel sauce that the bitter taste was to play with the sweetness of the caramel. It may also be that KAF's espresso powder, which I used, is powerful.
I'll add a note after we have them for dinner tonight.
And why am I baking this recipe again, so soon after the first time? We still have vanilla ice cream in the freezer, and these go well with it.
Promised Note: The recipe is definitely better with less Espresso powder.
If any of you are interested in those Jam-Bellied Scones, KAF has posted the recipe on its site:
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/jam-bellied-scones-recipe
Chocomouse--I'm glad that you enjoyed the Wheat-Oat Flax buns! Who knew that healthy could taste so good? 🙂
Mike--What did you change to make the Texas Sheet Cake Gluten free?
I have a plastic, with metal discs, potato ricer that I bought years ago from Williams Sonoma. I have used it a lot for making mashed potatoes--usually when there were a lot of people around to eat that batch of mashed potatoes. At the moment, it is one of the items still packed away somewhere, while we continue to wait for the contractor to start our remodeling. I've been using a potato masher with a flat round end that has squares; I bought it at an estate sale so that I could mash potatoes in Indiana, during the time we were only here on vacations. It does a lovely job, and is a lot less messy to clean. For large batches, however, I think that my potato ricer works faster.
Navlys--Cooks Illustrated should have given you a kitchen tool/ingredient allowance!
It's been a long time since I had carrot and raisin salad. If Joan lived nearby, I'd be tempted to "drop in" for leftovers.
Riverside Len--Thanks for letting us know about the KAF Italian flour. I find that durum wheat flour also helps control snapback.
It's an overcast Tuesday, not too cold, as with a high of 60F earlier this afternoon. I baked Walnut (or Pecan) Pumpkin Squares, a recipe I adapted from one in the L.A. Times years ago, and that I've posted on this site. We will have it for dessert tonight and the next couple of days.
I also have Wheat-Oat Flax Buns (from the KAF site) on their second rise. As usual, I substituted in 3/4 cup of buttermilk for the water and soak the oats in it first, and I and used 1/4 cup of water rather than orange juice. I always use a whole egg, rather than using the yolk in the bread and brushing the buns with egg white, as I don't use a topping. I added 2 Tbs. of special dried milk, which I'm trying to use up. I reduce the yeast to 2 tsp. I decided to reduce the salt from 1 1/2 to 1 tsp. I've previously reduced it to 1 1/4 tsp. We will use these for dinner sandwiches with the leftover salmon patties, and then use them for lunches. This recipe is a favorite because it makes small, light-textured buns, and we like the wholegrain taste.
