MOVED TO NEW SITE

The chef has moved !

Hello ....just want to let you know that I am no longer using this site for blogging. My new site is found at:

www.szpin.net

and in the winter months, while weather is not conducive to riding, I am in the kitchen riding my pots and pans! 

Richard


Thanks for visiting !!

I've moved to a new site... szpin.net

I have moved 

I wanted to learn WORD PRESS,
so I have moved my blog to a new location.

See me at....

wwww.szpin.net  

OR JUST    

                                                       szpin.net

you can also link to my new blog by clicking on the link below

szpin.net

Thanks for visiting. I hope you will visit back at my new site.

Regards,

Richard

CHILI RECIPES wanted !!!

Chili is something I can eat like crazy, anytime, anywhere, any recipe. Over the years, like my tomato sauce, I have made chili over and over again, and never has the outcome been the same as any made before. I think the reason behind this continuously changing chili is because whenever I make it, it is created spontaneously, on a whim, as my mood suits. If I feel like adding ground chicken, boom; tabasco, boom; ketchup,ok; and so on. I get away with these constantly varied preparations because I am the only one in our home who eats the result.

I recently made vegetarian only chili. It was good, not superb, but good. I ate it all over a period of about a month. However, I prefer meat in my chili. I think my chili may be have been prepared incorrectly all the times I have made it because I do not use cumin, an ingredient which I now feel may be absolutely essential to a good chili. So now my search for a good chili recipe begins, a recipe, tested, tasted, prepared and served.


Please send your chili recipe with your commentary included. I will begin my testing next month, after I have finished my cookie making. Send recipe to     szpin@sympatico.ca   Thank you!


I will try every recipe and post my critiques, criticisms and compliments along with the recipes which I liked the most.

Visit back !
 

OK...made the choice ... Bosch wins !

I looked at the two best  selling stand up mixers, Kitchenaid and Cuisinart, and compared them with the Bosch.

Bosch won out for the following reasons in order of importance to me:

1. Ease of cleaning: Bosch disassembles easily and everything except the metal parts, is dishwasher safe. Mind you, I have used it twice already, making a cake and shortbreads, and both times I washed by hand, easily and quickly.

2. Crucial drives, gears in the Bosch are all metal while they are plastic in the competitors. This means that heavy mixing puts a real strain on the gears and transmission. Metal is better than plastic or nylon. I can doubly confirm that from motorcycling for Suzuki is a good bike that had parts problems because they used to nylon and plastic. So, I chose German metal engineering. We shall see. Kitchenaid users have told me their machines have lasted for years but daily use was not in their cards.

3. I like that the Bosch is squat with a wide, wide rim allowing for easy filling of ingredients for mixing. The competitors either have tilt back heads or crank up bowls. Bosch sits low, squat and ready to go.

4. Accessories are easily changed on the Bosch. I cannot say much hear, at least not from experience, for I only have one accessory, the blender. But the demo videos at a Bosch web site, sure made accessory attachment look easy and practical.

One complaint, which may be applicable to the other mixers too, is that accessories are costly. I want to make my own pasta. For that I must be the meat grinder attachment at about $200 and then the pasta attachments for nearly another $200. I thought motorcycling was expensive. This baking business might break me!

ITALIAN FOCCACIA CAKE
I am not to post the recipe for this cake yet as it was my first run with the mixer. Also, remember please that I am not a baker; I am a cook! I dont measure or work with lots of patience. A baker does!

So my first effort came out but I think I should have folded  in the egg whited instead of mixing them in. Also, maybe tad less flour so it remains a bit more moist. Sure helped having scotch with the cake!!!

Now I begin my Christmas cookie blitz.

Each year my "sous chef" and I make at least a half dozen different kinds of cookies. This year we have the mixer. So it should be an easier job.

Find out by revisiting soon.

Visit back again !

And the winner of the stand up mixer comparison is....BOSCH

 

The standup mixers were a difficult choice because 2 are well known brands and quite popular. 

 

KITCHENAID

 

Kitchenaid has been around longer than I have and there are many users who have inherited their appliances from parents. However, based on their incorporation of plastics into the current model's construction, I have rejected their machine. I fear their appliance may not withstand heavy use. I also dislike their warranty which is only one year. I think almost any electronic appliance will last a year. It is beyond that time that worries me. This machine was also the most expensive.

CUISINART

Cuisinart has an excellent warranty and the price is very competitive. I am tempted to make it my number one choice based on those two factors, price and warranty. But I still do not like the tilting head as explained above. Furthermore, the machine seems overly large, standing very tall. I like something smaller and less obtrusive.

 

 

BOSCH

However, after viewing the video demo of the BOSCH, I finally chose it for a number of reasons. It looked like it was easy to use, load and operate. It has metal parts and a sealed transmission. Its power was applied directly to the center spindle, rather than being redirected through a tilting head where torque is lost. It is almost totally dishwasher cleanable. And finally, I ride a BMW motorcycle which seems to be very sound mechanically. So I side with German engineering. Stay tuned to see what happens once I put the thing into operation in our kitchen.

Hopefully, Christmas cookie making will be easy as pie this year...dont you just love it!!! LOL

 

Visit back again ! 

Solution to COOKING CROSSWORD 1...

Hope all of you found this crossword easy and entertaining !

I ask for feedback and if you enjoyed the puzzle, I will create more !

Glad to hear from you readers...special hello to Kenza and Bill...nice to see you both and great hearing that you read the cooking blog.

Regards to Vancouver Island readers and appreciations for the blackberry jam...made a great baste for roast bbq chicken breast...simply delicious !

I always like sweet/heat bastes for the bbq on any crispy meat.

Looking for some feedback on another matter....

WHAT STANDUP MIXER DO YOU USE?
I am considering buying a standup mixer as I want to try my hand at making pastries and pies. Maybe even take a shot at making some breads...dont know...but I have narrowed my shopping down to three machines. Here they are in my order of preference:

BOSCH:
German engineering, all vital parts are made of metal, not plastic, ease of cleaning, ease of use with very practical splash guard, minimal buttons, quieter than others.

I like:
  looks like a small kitchen appliance but it is more
  compact and not overbearing in appearance
  looks like it belongs in a home kitchen
  great warranty
I dont like:
   not sure if it is a bit noisey...like who is sleeping?

KITCHENAID:

good reputation, good availability, sales for accessories are commonly found
 
I like:
   reputation
   availability

I don't like:
   plastic parts can overheat with heavy loads
   tilt back head means counter clearance is needed
   overall size...it is huge

CUISINART:
well known, good reputation, good availability.

I like:

   availability of timer...would be convenient
   fold button for starting of some mixes
I dont like:
   machine is very large and cumbersome
   tilting head means counter clearance is essential
   it just looks it should be in a commercial kitchen rather than in a home kitchen.



I really liked the features on the Bosch. All of its parts easily come apart for dishwasher cleaning. That's right up my alley. I also liked that in the demo, it showed making egg whites with just ONE egg...quite amazing I thought. Plus those engineers recognize that pastry, pie dough needs less air than other blends/mixes. I liked that. A bonus right now given by the Canadian distributor is that a blender accessory is included. It would mean one less piece of equipment on the counter in the kitchen.

Please let me know what you use and what you like/dislike about the machine you have. Send your responses to szpin@sympatico.ca

Thanks and a big hello to those who follow me on a regular basis.

Visit back !

MY FIRST COOKING CROSSWORD ...hope it works !

You may have to print out this page in order to write on the paper and solve the puzzle.

Across

2.     The 'royal' meat used for making a roast.

7.     This is part of the process used in the making of brandy.

8.     To a Pole, this means a stew.

10.   A favourite Italian cheese eaten throughout the Western world.

11.   An Italian liqueur based on distillation of grape must.

12.   Liquid gold to a scotsman.

14.   First name of a famous Irish libation.

15.   The young version of the the roast meat.

16.   This veggie would be well suited at a funeral.

Down

 

1.     Refers to the wheat used for making the best of Italian pasta.

3.     This garnish has a standard one and an Italian one and is used for flavour as well as decoration.

4.     A favourite way of serving potatoes for dinner.

5.     The cheese most often associated with dieting.

6.     "Mexican parsley"

7.     It is how Italians prefer to have their pasta cooked.

9.     These cookies are literally baked twice.

10.   The Irish eat them daily but Poles might compete well with the Irish.

12.   This process used to remove the fat from milk.

13.   Coupled with "au," it means prepare with cheese.

16.   Coopers would often use this material.

I have never tried this before. So for you readers who cannot solve the crossword, I say, "Get help!" or else write me for the solution. I hope I dont get innundated with solution requests.

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