Best Stainless Steel Cookware

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We found what we think is the best stainless steel cookware set on the market

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Best Non-Stick Cookware Set

For Lovers of non-stick cookware

This non-stick cookware set is excellent value for money and we rate it highly

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Best Dutch Oven Overall For Quality and Color

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There is no doubt about it, we had to rate the as our number 1 choice for Dutch Ovens.

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Triple Chocolate Ice Cream – Made with the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011 at 5:15 pm  
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We recently purchased the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker to review for our beautiful KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer, so naturally, we had to promptly set about trying out recipes from the manual that came with the ice cream maker.

Well! one that has become a firm favorite is the Triple Chocolate Ice Cream. This divinely decadent ice cream is not hard to make and the chocolate flavor just hits the taste buds with that overwhelming feeling of pure pleasure.

Ingredients:

  • 450 ml (2 cups) whipping cream – divided
  • 1 square 30g (1oz) extra dark chocolate cut into chunks
  • 1 square 30g (1oz)  dark chocolate cut into chunks
  • 450 ml (2 cups) half-and-half (milk and cream)
  • 230g (1 cup) sugar
  • 40g unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 8 egg yolks
  • 4 tsp vanilla
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1 bar  50g (1.55oz) milk chocolate chopped

Directions:

  1. In small saucepan, place 120ml whipping cream, extra dark chocolate, and dark chocolate.
    Heat over medium-low heat until chocolate melts, stirring frequently.
    Remove from heat; set aside.
  2. In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat half-and-half until very hot but not boiling, stirring often.
    Remove from heat, set aside.
  3. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cocoa powder. Set aside.
    Place egg yolks in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and wire whip to mixer. Turn to speed 2 and gradually add sugar mixture; mix about 30 seconds or until well blended and slightly thickened. Continuing on Speed 2, very gradually add chocolate mixture and half-and-half, mix until well blended.
  4. Return the combined chocolate and half-and-half mixture to medium saucepan, stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until small bubbles form around edge and mixture is steamy. Do not boil. Transfer half and half mixture into large bowl; stir in remaining 330ml (1 1/2 cups) whipping cream, vanilla and salt.
  5. Cover and chill thoroughly in the fridge for at least 8 hours.
  6. If using the KitchenAid Ice Cream Attachment – Assemble and engage freeze bowl, dasher and drive assembly as directed in attachment instructions. Turn to STIR Speed (Speed  1)
  7. Using a container with a spout, pour mixture into freeze bowl. Continue on STIR (Speed 1) for 19 to 15 minutes or until desired consistency, adding milk chocolate during last 1 to 2 minutes of freeze time.  Immediately transfer ice cream into serving dishes, or freeze in an airtight container.

Yield: 16 servings  120ml (1/2 cup) per serving.

Trust me, this is one ice cream recipe that you will make over and over.  I have yet to move onto the other ice cream recipes which I can tell from the ingredients will be just as nice, but chocolate is my weakness.

Some of the other ice cream recipes included in the manual are:

  • French Vanilla which can be served simply as vanilla ice cream or used as base for variations such as Strawberry ice cream and Cookies ‘n’ Cream ice cream
  • Caramel Pecan ice cream
  • Gingerbread ice cream

And then there are the delicious Sorbet’s etc

  • Creamy Lemon-Orange Gelato
  • Fresh Raspberry Sorbet
  • Minted Mango Sherbet.

However, there is nothing to stop you being inventive and using your own favorite recipe.




Melt the Chocolate



Heat the milk and cream



Combine the sugar and cocoa powder



Separate the eggs



Mix and reheat the mixture



Freeze mixture. Then Serve & Enjoy


Spring Soup Courtesy Jamie Oliver Recipe Yearbook 2010/2011

Saturday, January 15th, 2011 at 8:38 pm  
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Recently we have been getting back into cooking, thanks to Masterchef Australia, Nigella and of course Jamie Oliver.  I had a friend over for dinner the other night and the Chicken Breasts with Prosciutto that I shared with you recently, was a big hit.

Well today for lunch we decided to make Spring Soup which is just one of the tasty recipes from Jamie’s Recipe Yearbook 2010/11 .  This recipe is easy to prepare and absolutely yummy. I sure hope Jamie doesn’t mind me sharing this recipe with you. As there were just 2 of us for lunch we halved the ingredients, but if you make the full amount you can have the leftovers for lunch again, because this will taste just as nice the next day.

Spring  Soup (serves 4 – 6)

Ingredients:
 

  • a large knob of butter (I also added a splash of olive oil)
  • 4 shallots, sliced
  • 400g baby leeks, sliced, (I used 1 large leek as there weren’t any baby leeks at the market)
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (the baby processor did an admirable job)
  • 1/2 bunch Thyme (fresh from my herb garden)
  • 400g baby carrots, halved lenghtways (I like my carrots cut smaller so chopped them up to my liking)
  • 8 chicken thighs or drumsticks, skin removed and discarded. (Chicken thighs have more flavor by I used a chicken breast that was in the freezer)
  • 2 liters of chicken or vegetable stock
  • 200g small soup pasta (didn’t have any so just used the pasta in the cupboard)
  • juice of 1 lemon.

Method - Jamie’s:

  1.  Melt the butter in a large pan on a low heat and saute the shallots, leeks and garlic with the thyme sprigs until soft but not colored – about 15 mins Stir in the carrots, then the chiken, Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Season, then simmer gently for 90 minutes.
  2. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken from the soup and set aside. When cool enough to handle, shred the meat off the bone, then return to the pan with the pasta. Cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Add lemon juice to taste.

Tip: You can use leftover poached or roast chicken insted of the thighs or cooked, shredded drumsticks, just add the chicken at the end with the pasta.

Our Method:
We were pushed for time (needed to go shopping) so we took a few shortcuts.

  1. The same -Melt the butter, add oil over a low heat and saute the shallots, leeks and garlic with the thyme sprigs until soft but not colored. Stir in the finely cut carrots and chicken which we had diced.
  2. Add the stock and simmer for about 20 minutes.
  3. Add the pasta and cook for another 15 minutes.
  4. Omit the lemon juice
  5. Fry up some prosciutto and crumble into the soup before  serving.

Notes:
Okay, here’s what we found – the soup has a very intense flavor so next time I will use half stock and half water.  I used lemon Thyme so I didn’t add the lemon juice and just as well because the lemony flavor was just right.  We didn’t need the prosciutto to add flavor as the soup has plenty. We like proscuitto anyway so it didn’t matter.

The soup was served with a slice of Quinoa and Flax-seed Wholegrain bread.

There are a load of really tasty and easy to make recipes in the Jamie’s Recipe Yearbook 2010/11 , and we will be making many more in the coming weeks.



Spring Soup


Saute Onion, Leeks, Garlic and Thyme


Cut Carrots to you liking


Add Carrots and Chicken to pot


Add Stock and simmer

Parmesan Chicken Breasts with Crispy Posh Ham (Prosciutto) Courtesy of Jamie Oliver

Sunday, December 26th, 2010 at 6:06 pm  
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Earlier this year Paula and I each brought ourselves an Apple iPad and we just love them. There are so many applications available and one of the best recipe manager apps we have found  is ‘Paprika’.

This app allows you to create your own recipes, save  recipes from any along with the photo, and then you can organize your recipes to suit yourself.

Now when you ready to cook, you simply bring up your recipe and read it right from your iPad and the best part is that the Paprika app doesn’t close. This is an excellent feature when you have stuff all over your hands, it means you won’t get your iPad mucky. It’s Brilliant.

Another excellent feature about the iPad is that you can download podcasts.  And being an avid collector of recipes I downloaded both Jamie Oliver and Nigella podcasts.

One of Jamie Oliver’s podcasts if a recipe for Parmesan Chicken Breasts with Crispy Posh Ham (Prosciutto). Talk about tasty. And it is so quick and easy that it has quickly become a firm favorite. And Jamie has a wide range of cookbooks with fantastic recipes for all tastes.

So here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 30 g Parmesan cheese
  • 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 2 skinless chicken breasts
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 lemon ( I use lime simply because I prefer the flavor)
  • 6 slices of prosciutto
  • Olive Oil

Method:

  • Put the chicken breasts between some sheets of plastic wrap and beat until they are about 1cm thick.
  • Carefully score the underside of the chicken breasts in a criss cross pattern with a small knife
  • Season with a little pepper ( you won’t need any salt as the prosciutto adds enough salty flavor)
  • Lay the chicken breasts next to each other  and sprinkle over most of the thyme leaves
  • Grate a little lime or lemon zest over them and then sprinkle with the Parmesan
  • Lay 3 prosciutto slices on each chicken breast overlapping them slightly.  ( I have had to vary the number of slices depending on the size of the chicken breast), you want the prosciutto to hold in the cheese.
  • Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining Thyme leaves.

To Cook the Chicken

  • Heat a frying pan over medium heat
  • Carefully transfer the chicken, breasts, proscuitto side down, into the pan. This can be tricky so I leave the chicken on the clingfilm to make it easier.
  • Cook for 3 – 4 minutes on each side, turning halfway through, giving the ham side an extra 30 seconds to crisp up.

You can serve the chicken whole or cut into thick slices  and piled on a plate. I like to serve the Parmesan Chicken with steamed vegetables but you can serve with a nice crunchy salad or whatever you have on hand as an accompaniment.

This dish is delicious. Thank you Jamie Oliver.

Parmesan Chicken Breasts USA Version (Imperial)
Parmesan Chicken Breasts UK Version (metric)

Here are the steps by photo:


Ingredients for Parmesan Chicken Breasts


Flatten the Chicken Breasts

 

Flattened Chicken Breast

Score the Underside of the Chicken Breast
Grate the parmesan cheese

Grate the parmesan cheese


Remove the Thyme Leaves from the Stalk

Sprinkle the Thyme Leaves on the Chicken

Cover with Parmesan Cheese

Cover with Prosciutto

Chicken Breast Covered with Prosciutto

Rub with Oil and add more Thyme Leaves

Add to pan Prosciutto side down – medium heat

Turn and finish cooking

The Amazing Range of Colors of the KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010 at 3:31 am  
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I have just taken delivery of a beautiful shiny Empire Red KitchenAid Artisan Stand mixer. And I have to say that it looks absolutely stunning on my kitchen benchtop. I was tossing up between the Empire red and the new limited edition Candy Apple Red but finally decided on the Empire Red and I love it.

The KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer offers plenty of power and room for mixing everything from pizza dough or ice cream to citrus juices and bread dough. It has a huge 5-quart capacity and a powerful 325-watt motor, 10 mixing speeds and an impressive selection of add-on accessories.

 As if all the power, convenience and versatility weren’t enough, today there’s even more to love about KitchenAid stand mixers– the rainbow of colors you have to choose from when you purchase a KitchenAid Artisan.

 It used to be choosing accessories was the only way to personalize your KitchenAid mixer, but now you can choose among 26 different colors. The amazing range of color choices available makes buying, owning and using a KitchenAid more fun than ever.

 All KitchenAid Artisan stand mixers feature a gorgeous, polished stainless steel mixing bowl and attractive retro style. Yet it’s up to you to decide which color best suits the Artisan’s style and design, to match your personal taste and your kitchen décor.

 If you think a blue KitchenAid Artisan would be ideal, you have plenty of options. There’s pretty, bright Cornflower Blue, rich Blue Willow, or deep, majestic Cobalt Blue. For a cheerful blue-sky type of hue that ideally compliments the Artisan’s retro design, you’ll love the brilliant turquoise color Ice.

 Those who would rather own a green KitchenAid mixer won’t have an easy time of choosing among the three beautiful Artisan green-hued options. There’s the bright look of green apple, the rich deep foresty green look of Bayleaf and the light, almost creamy color Pistachio. 

You even have KitchenAid Artisan color choices if black would best suit your style. You can choose the almost frosted black look of Imperial Black, rich and glossy Black Onyx or the somewhat in-between, elegant Caviar. 

 KitchenAid Artisan stand mixers are available in a wide variety of bright as well as soft and subtle colors. There are three different varieties of orange colors, three different yellows, three greys, two almond and even two white options to consider. 

If you’d like a bright red stand mixer, Empire Red is your choice, while Cinnamon Red offers a slightly more burgundy flavored red hue. There’s even a beautiful purple Boysenberry KitchenAid Artisan.

 The variety of Artisan colors makes mixers more fun, but it also makes it easy to justify keeping your KitchenAid out on display. This appliance isn’t small, and its solid craftsmanship makes it rather weighty. You’ll enjoy added convenience and the chance to show off your beautiful Artisan displayed on a countertop instead of hiding it away.

KitchenAid Artisan -  a great stand mixer that gives great results and looks stunning.  What  more can I say  apart from – I love it.



Swiss Diamond Frypan Review

Monday, November 8th, 2010 at 4:45 pm  
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We love cookware as you can probably tell (since we own this website) and we love to review products to see how they measure up to the manufacturers claims. Recently we were asked to review  the Swiss Diamond 11” (28cm) fry pan.

Swiss Diamond makes an extensive range of cookware but they are perhaps best known for their unique diamond reinforced non-stick coating. Yes, you heard correctly – their cookware actually contains diamonds!

But what does that mean to you and me. Well for one thing, the diamond crystals give you a virtually indestructible surface which is more durable than most non-stick surfaces available on the market today. Diamonds are after all one of the hardest materials on earth.

The pan arrived in excellent condition as it was well packaged.  We scrutinized the frypan to ensure that there were no faults visible and checked that the handle was firmly secured before heading off to the kitchen to put the pan through its paces.

I have to say that I do like the balance of the pan, it is easy to hold and the stay-cool ergonomic handle has a comfortable grip.

The frypan is made from thick pressure cast aluminum and it has a nice flat bottom which allows for even heat distribution.   

The first thing is to give the pan a wash in hot soapy water,  dry, and season by wiping it over with some oil on a paper towel. This is something we do with all new products as it removes any manufacturing coatings if there are any. And it’s always nice to start with a clean surface.

Okay we are ready to start. I turn the gas to medium and place the pan onto the flame to heat up.  You only ever need to use low or medium heat because of the high thermal conductivity of  Swiss Diamond Cookware . Another excellent feature is that this cookware is designed for use on all ceramic, gas and electric cook tops. 

Souffle Omlette in Swiss Diamond Pan

So after pre-heating the pan for a couple of minutes 2-3 is about right, I sprinkle a few drops of water into the pan to see if it’s ready. This is a quick and easy way to test if the pan is ready, if the water sizzles or beads then the surface is hot enough to cook on.  If the water evaporates immediately then the pan is way too hot so remove it immediately from the heat and turn the heat down.  After a l you don’t want to damage the beautiful cooking surface which can happen if the cookware is overheated.

I find that scrambled eggs or omelettes are a good way to test just how non-stick a frypan really is. No worries here, the scrambled eggs release easily from the pan allowing me to turn the egg mixture without any problem at all.

After the eggs are cooked they slide easily from the pan to the plate and nothing sticks to the surface. 

The next test is the omelette. I have decided to make a soufflé omelette that will need to be placed into the oven to finish it off. So I heat the pan again on medium heat and add the egg mixture. The soufflé rises beautifully thanks to the even heat distribution.  Then it’s time to place the pan into the oven to brown the top of the soufflé.

Swiss Diamond frypans are oven safe up to 260°C (500°F) which makes it so handy for those dishes that you need to start cooking on the stove top but want to finish off in the oven.  NOTE: Always use an oven mitt when you are taking the frypan from the oven.

The diamond hard surface of the Swiss Diamond frypan means you can use metal utensils; however, I don’t possess any as I like the feel and performance of silicone utensils.  So I can’t comment on that aspect.

As always there are a few sensible things that you need to practice so DO NOT:

  • Cut or chop food in the frypan. (This is not as silly as it may sound; I have a rather expensive Jamie Oliver frypan that my husband cut up his steak in, thereby ruining the non-stick surface.)
  • Do not use an electric beater to mix things in the frypan.

So now to the clean up part of the process, Swiss Diamond frypans are dishwasher safe, but I found that the pan cleaned up quickly and easily in hot soapy water. No fuss, no bother, I don’t see the point in subjecting the surface to those harsh dishwasher chemicals which may end up diminishing the performance of the non-stick surface over time, when it is so easy to wash up by hand.

As you can see from the photo there is very little residue left behind on the pan once the omlette has been turn out, and this washed off very easily, no scrubbing or elbow grease required, a simple wipe over and it was spotlessly clean.

Swiss Diamond frypans are not an inexpensive item but if you want a quality product that will last you for many years then this will be money well spent.

So what is my verdict – I love it.

So to summarize:

Everything you need to know about Swiss Diamond Cookware:

This cookware is produced with a keen eye for technology. The company is always working hard to create the newest, most effective features and manufacturing methods to enhance and improve their cookware offerings. This has lead to a number of advancements in the Swiss Diamond line, including the addition of Nano-composite coating, which utilizes diamond crystals and non-stick Nano-components.

What Makes Swiss Diamond Cookware Unique?

Swiss Diamond is not just another cookware manufacturer. The company is innovative in its approach to household items. Their cookware stands out because of its patented diamond reinforced non-stick coating. This allows consumers to prepare their favorite recipes on a durable heating surface. The non-stick element also makes cleaning Swiss Diamond cookware much easier. The unique material used in Swiss Diamond cookware’s non-stick coating strengthens the piece as a whole. The surface will not peel or crack.

To compliment their functional non-stick surface, the company has also designed its cookware to be thicker using pressure cast aluminum.  The added thickness allows the pot or pan to heat up evenly, which translates into a better distribution of heat and thorough cooking.

Why Choose Swiss Diamond Cookware?

One of the biggest problems consumers have with non-stick cookware is its restrictive nature. No metal utensils can be used or the surface may be damaged.  Abrasive cleaners and scouring pads cannot be used either for the same reason. Swiss Diamond cookware doesn’t have these restrictions, this cookware can stand up to metal utensils without damaging the non-stick coating. It is  also dishwasher safe for fast and easy to clean.

Safety is very important in the kitchen. Swiss Diamond cookware’s durable non-stick construction can protect you from ingesting harmful substances that can sometimes find their way into food due to a damaged heating surface.  Swiss Diamond’s products also include stay cool handles that will remain unheated up to 260 degrees Celsius for easy, comfortable handling.

Swiss Diamond Cookware  comes in many sizes and designs. Consumers can choose from grill pans, roasters, frying pans, stew pots, casserole dishes, sauté pans, sauce pans, woks, and stock pots. Specialized items are also available, such as double burner griddles, breakfast pans and oval frying pans. Each produce is designed with Swiss Diamond’s unique technology. The reinforced construction helps make each pot and pan very durable meaning  you will get many years of use out of your Swiss Diamond cookware.

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