Not always, but generally it is mom who does the cooking in the family, so why not treat her to a new set of cookware or even an individual piece to add to her cookware collection.

And if you think that cookware is impersonal for a mothers day gift, there is nothing stopping you popping a bottle of mom’s favorite perfume inside the cookware gift, or you can add a bottle of wine or some chocolates or flowers.

Mom’s always appreciate any gift their family give them, and remember if you purchase a good quality piece of cookware your gift will not only give mom pleasure on the day but will give her many years of useful service.

And why not take advantage of the free shipping offer on orders over $29.oo from MetroKitchen.com
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Important: We do our best to make sure our reviews are as accurate as possible, but we are only human after all. So when you are ready to buy a product reviewed on our site please click through to the merchant to make sure you are getting the right product with all the features advertised.

This weeks blog of the week is a site called Anya Cooks. 

What I like about Anya’s site is that the recipes are well presented with lovely photos and easy to follow instructions, plus the site is nicely set out and easy to read.

I also like the way that Anya adds her personal comments to the recipes and the posts.

So head on over and check out the latest batch of Oatmeal Cookies.

http://anyacooks.blogspot.com/

T-Fal cookware such as this T-Fal Ultimate Hard Enamel Fry Pan- Black(12.5″) has the unique Thermo-Spot indicator that lets you know when your pan is perfectly preheated and ready to seal in the flavor of your food.

How often have you ended up with stewed, stringy meat and soggy potatoes simply because the pan wasn’t hot enough to sear the meat and seal in the juices.

When the pan is cold the Thermo-spot pattern is visible in the dark red spot in the middle of the pan.

The pan is perfectly pre-heated and ready for use when the spot turns solid red at approximately 190 degrees.

The non-stick interior gives durable performance for extra heavy use and the Non-stick exterior allows for easy clean up.

For those of you who follow this blog will be aware of the fact that I am a great fan of Jamie Oliver cookware. and have recently purchased the saute pan, breakfast pan and dutch oven.

Jamie Oliver has his own series of TV shows and is the author of The Naked Chef among other great cookbooks.Jamie designed his range of cookware with Tefal to ensure that his followers received

the very best in quality and design.

I wouldn’t be without my Jamie Oliver Cookware.

This  T-Fal Giant 13.5″ Family Fry Pan has:

• the patented thermospot
• non stick interior and  exterior
• handle helper
• patented metal-safe nonstick coating.

 We can’t get enough of the Calphalon One Nonstick cookware with its special nonstick cooking surface – the only one of its kind on the market today.

Calphalon One combines Calphalon’s exclusive infused anodized technology with a revolutionary nonstick cooking surface.

There are four interlocking nonstick layers which comprise the interior surface giving flawless release of sticky foods like sushi rice, cheese or caramel as well as delicate foods such as omelettes and seafood.

It is safe to use metal utensils on these pans.

The exterior of the pan’s heavy-gauge aluminum construction is infused with a special polymer that is stain resistant and makes clean-up easy..

The classically-shaped pan has a flared rim for neater pouring, and a long, double-riveted, cool-to-the-touch stainless handle which is perfectly balanced for lifting and carrying.

The glass lid is oven-safe to 450 degrees.

This 10-pc. set includes an 8 qt. Stockpot with Lid, 4.5 qt. Sauce Pan with Lid,  3 qt. Chef’s Pan with Lid, 10 in. Omelette Pan, 12 in. Omelette Pan and an 11in. Chef’s Skillet with Lid

Calphalon 10-pc. Nonstick One Nonstick Cookware Set

Earlier this year I brought a turbo (convection) oven after one of the women at work told me how fantastic they are.

I have to agree with her and I was so impressed I brought all the kids one and they are all equally as impressed.

The oven sits on the bench top and I cook roasts and vegetables to perfection in it. There is also a wash cycle that makes the glass bowl and the stainless steel shelves easy to clean up in moments.

I have never liked my roasts cooked in the microwave, they just don’t seem to taste as they should, the meat looks pale and unappetising and pork crackling just doesn’t work in a microwave. Whereas the turbo oven cooks pork crackling just perfect and roast meat and veges to perfection.

I thoroughly recommend a turbo oven for convenience and great cooking results. I know I wouldn’t be without minet.

A turbo oven draws heat from the outside, heats it and swirls it around the food to cook it.

The oven is so easy to clean, simply add some water and detergent and turn the dial to clean and the timer 5 minutes. The turbo action swirls the water around and loosens all the grease, then when the oven cools to the stage where I can pick it up safely without burning myself, I pour out the water and simply rinse the bowl in fresh washing up water and wipe it over with a clean tea towel to dry.

I tend to leave the stainless steel racks in the oven when I am running it through the clean cycle as I find it makes them easy to clean as well.

I love mine so much that I brought one for  my daughters and my daughter in law for christmas. They love their turbo ovens as much as I love mine. In fact my DIL brought a second one as she has a large family, and she uses one for the meat and one for the veges.

This is one purchase you will never regret.

I recently brought a Jamie Oliver Professional Series, non-stick Tefal frypan and so far I am delighted with the performance.

I read a number of reviews before I settled on my final choice and considering I was spending around $200 I wanted to be sure I purchased the best my money could buy.

Apart from the obvious choice of the frypan being non-stick there were other features that I was looking for. The pan had to have nice deep sides and the whole frypan including the handle had to be both stove and ovenproof safe.

Some of the features of the Jamie Oliver frypan include:

• The frypan is made from 18/10 stainless-steel so it resists scratching and warping
• The metal does not react with foods
• The pan has a heavy-gauge aluminum core base for superior heat distribution
• And the metal-safe nonstick coating is safe to use with metal utensils, although I still use my nylon spatula and tongs
• The frypan has an easy to hold stainless-steel handle

The pan also has a ThermoSpot, whick is Tefal’s unique heat indicator that lets you know when the pan is preheated for cooking.

The frypan is dishwasher-safe and easy to clean and as an added bonus the frypan and handle are oven-safe to 260°C/500°F.

I have read how the non-stick coating can be harmful but this is only if you cook at very high temperatures for any length of time and your food will be well and truly burnt to a crisp by the time your frypan coating starts to release any harmful fumes.

Like most followers of Jamie, I feel he can be trusted and the fact that he has had a great deal of input into his range of cookware makes me feel confident in my choice. He uses his cookware on his current television series and subjects them to some amazing things including putting them in his outdoor oven. He also quite happily uses metal utensils on the non-stick coating.

Since I am so happy with the frypan I am considering buying the skillet.

We have decided to update our blog a bit with a whole new WordPress theme. So be prepared for the site looking a bit lets just say ‘crappy’ over the next couple of days. The template you see now is the one we will be using but it needs a bit of work to make it look pretty.

So this is my job for the day. Fortunately I love this sort of thing so I will be having fun! And hey, please leave a comment or two. We love comments!!

Now just how many items of cookware can boast their own International Society? Well the Dutch oven can!

That’s just how much people love their Dutch ovens.

Quick facts:

- In 1804, Lewis and Clark began on the first ever overland exploration of the United States. They travelled to the pacific coast and back again. On their return in 1806, they named the Dutch oven as one of the most important pieces of equipment that they had taken with them.

- The Dutch oven is the official cookware of the states of Texas, Utah and Arkansas.

- The camp Dutch oven is included as official equipment of the Boy Scouts of America.

Dutch ovens have so many uses. You can cook almost anything in a Dutch Oven including cakes and pies. This is one of the most versatile pieces of cooking equipment you will ever own.

The Dutch Oven is great for campfire cooking when you are out camping.

Read more about Dutch ovens