Post Christmas fun

Christmas this year was a wonderful event, from some great gifts from all, to seeing my children light up as they opened their presents.  Myself I got 2 things that I will be sharing in more detail soon, but have had some great fun this past week with them.

One of the first things I need to get a picture up of, my mother made an Apron with "The Gadget Chef" embroidered on it.  I was so shocked, I was pretty much crying with laughter.   I will definitely be putting a picture of it on here once I get a chance to.

Another item I got, was the Kitchenaid Food Processor attachment, and while I haven't had a chance to fully go over it, I did use it to dice up some toppings for a salad last night.  My only thoughts were wow.  I absolutely love the dicing the blade.  The tomatoes didn't come out quite as well as I would have hoped, but the cucumbers, carrots, and celery looked like restaurant style toppings, absolutely beautiful.  I also decided that if you want to dice up a mirepoix (onions, celery, and carrots for the rest of us) for a soup base or whatever, you would be able to dice them up into small bites in no time flat with this little beauty, my poor knives might get jealous.

Hopefully I will be able to get a review and some other details up soon.

For now I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas, and have a safe and flavorful New Year.

Some Thanksgiving Results

Thanks everyone for taking the time to take my Thanksgiving Survey.

If you haven't taken it, just go to The Gadget Chef Thanksgiving Survey.

Or you can See the current results.
Please note, due to some compatibility with Google charts, there is a link to a popup that will let you see it, if you can't see it embedded in the page.

I will keep it going until Thanksgiving, so please participate.

So far it looks like the majority of people are looking forward to stuffing/dressing for Thanksgiving.  I certainly can't blame them, thats my favorite as well.  Looks like I'm going to have to find a good recipe to share with everyone.  If anyone has any that they suggest, I welcome the comments and recommendations.  I admit this would be my first time making it, I usually just get to enjoy my mother's dressing.

I think in the near future, I will have more polls, and let some of you decide what kind of recipe you want to see.  Maybe we will put some Pinterest results to the test, and see if they are the real deal, or real fails.

What dish can't you wait for on Thanksgiving?

Today let's take a look and see what everyone is most looking forward to on Thanksgiving.

See which dish is the most popular!

The Gadget Chef Thanksgiving Survey

See the current results

Super Mario Treats

My son's birthday party was today, and my wife who goes above and beyond in decorating and themes, did it again with my son's Super Mario birthday party.

She had seen an idea on Pinterest, where they make an eight bit Mario from cupcakes.  But since we were just having cake, that wasn't going to be an option to make.  I gave her an idea which I thought would work out even better.

Mario made out of Rice Crispy Treats.

Super Mario in Rice Crispy Treats

It turned out remarkable, she made 4 batches of crispy treats colored black, blue, red, and normal.

For his hair she covered those pieces in chocolate, a little white chocolate colored yellow for his buttons.

She did an amazing job, and made a real impression on everyone.  What can I say, my wife is pretty impressive in the kitchen, and very artistic.

Oster Pressure Cooker

Many people think pressure cooker and the first word that comes to their mind is dangerous.  I'm not going to say there isn't danger in using one, but isn't there danger in using a burner on your range, your oven, or even just your good knives?  Mostly gone are the days of hearing about a bursting pressure cooker, but the returns on cooking tender and flavorful foods a bit quicker than other methods, its always nice to have that option.

Oster Pressure Cooker

Proofing Technique

Most of us, do not have the luxury of having a all the pro tools for cooking, and like with most things out there, having the right tools makes the job that much easier.  Bakeries usually have the convenience of having a proofer to let their dough rise, most people are like me and do not.  If you are anything like me too, you really don't keep your kitchen or your house at a temperature that is conducive to the process either.  In the winter, I keep the heat too low, and in the summer, I abuse my AC and still keep the temperature pretty low.  While you can still proof bread like this, the time it takes and the results will vary dramatically.  I'm not sure if it was something I saw on TV or something while browsing the internet, but I found a way that works amazingly and while I've only done it once, I imagine it will have pretty consistent results.

General Tso's Tofu

I am not nor could I ever be a pure vegetarian, however my wife is, and because of this, I will try vegetarian dishes every now and again.  I admit some of them, with the right flavor combinations are acceptable substitutions.  This dish was one of them, the sauce has so much flavor, you barely miss the meat.

General Tso's Tofu

Pampered Chef Mix 'N Chop Review

I'm going to take this time to mention a little gadget that while small in composure can certainly make a difference in some of your meals.  The Pampered Chef Mix 'N Chop, while it started out as a splurge purchase (not much of one as it's fairly reasonably priced), but has proven to be great at what it does.

Pampered Chef Mix 'N Chop