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Kitchen Stuff
Oct. 14th, 2009 02:21 pmA couple of things this morning.
I know some of you are fans of the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte.
FINALLY, the rest of the coffee world has realized what an enormous following this drink has. Torani has made for a couple of years now, as many of you probably knowpumpkin spice syrup, which is okay, but still lacks the same depth of the pumpkin spice flavoring Bux uses (it is literally the only drink with the power to still draw me back to their window. No, wait - the white chocolate peppermint mocha of the holidays is the other).
But now, Torani has finally realized that in order to lure pumpkin spice latte fans, they must produce a comparable product - I give you pumpkin pie sauce! I have ordered it, received it, and tried it. It is, indeed, at long last, a comparable flavor to the vaunted Bux version, except now I can make mine with less of the super sweet syrup and better coffee. Ah, nirvana! Note: I recommend a splash of vanilla in your cup as well. It compliments the sauce beautifully.
In other kitchen news, my mother, some years ago, purchased my sister a set of All-Clad pans. The try-ply aluminum core kind. I don't remember if they were for her birthday, or Christmas, or what, but Rhien!Sis went to the same culinary school Rhien!Mom attended, so they have this sort of culinary art bond that Rhien is not always included in.
In any case, she got them on some crazy sale, told me she'd get me a set next time they went on sale like that, and lo, years passed. Then out of the blue, my Mom called me a couple of weeks ago and told me she was looking in her chef's catalog, and while they have never had All-Clad on that same sale again, they have something comparable, and would I mind terribly if it wasn't All-Clad?
Keep in mind, Rhien!Mom has never purchased herself a good set of cookware. She has some individual pans, but not her own set of All-Clad or similar. So I say to her, tell me about these pans. And she does.
They are the Cuisinart Multiclad Pro, specifically, the 17-piece set.
She tells me about them, and they sound pretty much exactly like an All-Clad set, for a lot less money. Still expensive, but not impossible. She asks do I mind, I say "Heck no, I would love them!" Last week, they showed up on my doorstep.
As it turns out, I already had one of these pieces, the 6-quart sauce pot with cover. I bought it when the finish on the supposedly indestructible ScanPan 6-quart sauce pot I'd been using mysteriously starting bubbling and flaking. I had looked at All-Clad, but was able to get the Cuisinart for half the price, and so went with that, thinking "It will at least get me by until I get some All-Clad".
I don't know about you, but in my kitchen, the 6-quart pot gets the most use. I use it for spaghetti sauce, soups, stews, boiling eggs or pasta, you name it. It's the perfect "in-between" size, for more than your 3-quart sauce pan, but less than your 8-quart stock pot. I have often found myself using it, and wishing I had another (possibly because I didn't have an 8-quart. The next largest size in my possession then was my 10-quart, which is big enough to feel way too big for a lot of things.)
( My cookware review, under the cut. )
I know some of you are fans of the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte.
FINALLY, the rest of the coffee world has realized what an enormous following this drink has. Torani has made for a couple of years now, as many of you probably knowpumpkin spice syrup, which is okay, but still lacks the same depth of the pumpkin spice flavoring Bux uses (it is literally the only drink with the power to still draw me back to their window. No, wait - the white chocolate peppermint mocha of the holidays is the other).
But now, Torani has finally realized that in order to lure pumpkin spice latte fans, they must produce a comparable product - I give you pumpkin pie sauce! I have ordered it, received it, and tried it. It is, indeed, at long last, a comparable flavor to the vaunted Bux version, except now I can make mine with less of the super sweet syrup and better coffee. Ah, nirvana! Note: I recommend a splash of vanilla in your cup as well. It compliments the sauce beautifully.
In other kitchen news, my mother, some years ago, purchased my sister a set of All-Clad pans. The try-ply aluminum core kind. I don't remember if they were for her birthday, or Christmas, or what, but Rhien!Sis went to the same culinary school Rhien!Mom attended, so they have this sort of culinary art bond that Rhien is not always included in.
In any case, she got them on some crazy sale, told me she'd get me a set next time they went on sale like that, and lo, years passed. Then out of the blue, my Mom called me a couple of weeks ago and told me she was looking in her chef's catalog, and while they have never had All-Clad on that same sale again, they have something comparable, and would I mind terribly if it wasn't All-Clad?
Keep in mind, Rhien!Mom has never purchased herself a good set of cookware. She has some individual pans, but not her own set of All-Clad or similar. So I say to her, tell me about these pans. And she does.
They are the Cuisinart Multiclad Pro, specifically, the 17-piece set.
She tells me about them, and they sound pretty much exactly like an All-Clad set, for a lot less money. Still expensive, but not impossible. She asks do I mind, I say "Heck no, I would love them!" Last week, they showed up on my doorstep.
As it turns out, I already had one of these pieces, the 6-quart sauce pot with cover. I bought it when the finish on the supposedly indestructible ScanPan 6-quart sauce pot I'd been using mysteriously starting bubbling and flaking. I had looked at All-Clad, but was able to get the Cuisinart for half the price, and so went with that, thinking "It will at least get me by until I get some All-Clad".
I don't know about you, but in my kitchen, the 6-quart pot gets the most use. I use it for spaghetti sauce, soups, stews, boiling eggs or pasta, you name it. It's the perfect "in-between" size, for more than your 3-quart sauce pan, but less than your 8-quart stock pot. I have often found myself using it, and wishing I had another (possibly because I didn't have an 8-quart. The next largest size in my possession then was my 10-quart, which is big enough to feel way too big for a lot of things.)
( My cookware review, under the cut. )
