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My Very First Mandolin

July 11, 2011 in Uncategorized | No comments

The other day while at the Farmers Market I had a hankering for some fries. I had decided right then and there that I would pop over to the diner to satisfy that craving (and toss in a burger for good measure) after picking up all my produce and meat.

However, when visiting the butcher I spied some fresh bacon displayed. Suddenly, images of BLTs began floating in my head and the idea of a burger quickly became a faint memory.

Mmmm bacon.

Then my frugality set in and I realized that instead of spending $15 bucks at a restaurant I could pick up some of that bacon, a couple of potatoes and whip that shit up myself. After having the butcher wrap up half a pound of the thickly sliced smoked bacon, I headed over to the fruit and veg stand to grab some taters and other yummies. As I was picking out the potatoes, I was deciding how to slice them up. My mother was always partial to making her motherland’s British-style ‘chips’ – fat, soggy and drenched in vinegar, which have their merits, for sure. However, I knew that what I wanted were some nice shoestrings – or as close as I could get. Images of having to slice up potatoes into those fine strings began to haunt my grumbling belly. No way could I wait a second longer to enjoy my meal and with that I decided to pop into the local Sur La Table and pick up one a handy appliance to assist me in my time of need.

Sur La Table has some good, knowledgeable staff working for them, and if you are lucky, you can find someone to whom you can profess your cheapness to as well. I found luck on this run and was promptly taken to the mandolin/slicer area of the shop. After checking out several different options, including a one-use-only fry slicer, I finally decided on the cheapest Mandolin in the joint – an OXO Mandolin sliver – which set me back about $30.

 

Mandoline Slicer

I got that baby home and proceeded to get my lunch going. With the bacon in the skillet, I tackled the fries. Once they were peeled and ready to go, I loaded them up on the slicer, which was sitting at an angle, ready to go. Initially, I used the food handler which was provided. This doohickey allows you to stab the food with some tines attached to a handle to keep your fingers as far away from the blade as possible. However, I found that a potato does not work well with this add-on and quickly abandoned it (in fact, I have let to find anything that works well with this piece). After a few adjustments in the blade position, I was finally able to find the perfect setting to get the fries in my mind’s eye.

However, I did find that cutting the fries was much more time consuming that I anticipated. I found myself fantasizing about that one-use french fry cutter – the kind that looks like a giant garlic crusher, where a potato is loaded and pushed through all at once, leaving you with evenly cut fries within seconds. Maybe someday I will justify that one-use tool, but for the time being, I have to make my slicer work.

The fries came out great, fried up in the other skillet in a couple of inches of oil, served crispy with a delicious BLT.

Now, if only I had a deep fryer…..

 

Status: In Monthly rotation, as needed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh Happy Day?

June 30, 2007 in appliance, Black and Decker, Food Processor, Uncategorized | No comments

There are a few things in my life that I have always wanted but never found a reason to actually go out and purchase. One of those things happens to be a food processor. While I have found myself lusting after one here and there, I never really could justify the cost. When I come across recipes that require a food processor, I simply passed it over. It seemed to be one of those appliances that really required a dedicated cook, and that I was not.

Well, yesterday I finally found a justification – the dog. I have been reading up on a raw food diet for the dog and one of the items that falls into the recipe is vegatable pulp. I have been feeding the dog veggies for the last month or so, but really it has become a time consuming task, since dogs do not have the capacity to break down the cellulose walls of the veggies. This means that I need to do it for her. Since I have been lacking the processor to pulp up the veggies, I hve been doing it by hand with a knife. This can take quite some time as you can imagine. Yesterday, my husband suggested that we get a food processor so we can start feeding her a proper raw food diet. That was all I needed. The next day, I ran us over to Target to pick one up. I was prepared for prices starting at $100, but when I found was surprising. There were processors ranging from $29 – $89. Shit man, turns out I could have justified this cost a long ass time ago.

After comparing each model, we eventually settled on the Black & Decker Textured Series 500 watt Food Processor for $49 over the KitchenAid 7-Cup Food Processor for $89. I did not really see too much of a difference between the two and in the end, it was the price difference that sold me.

Black and Decker Food Processor

It was not until we were paying for it (and the other 18 things that ended up in our cart as trips to Target goes) that I noticed the box had been opened and taped shut. I pushed aside my initial reaction to trade it for an unopened box in order to get over that part of consumerism. My husband and I shrugged and continued with our purchase. Obviously, someone changed their mind and brought it back. No problem there, I figured.

When we got home, it happened to be dinner time for the pooch, so I went about setting up the new appliance to create her very first homemade meal. The first thing I noticed was a wee crack in the lid. I, again, pushed aside my initial reaction to return it and figured I would just call Black and Decker and ask them to send me out a replacement.

When I finally set up it, I decided that a test spin was in order before beginning to shove spinach and zuccinni in the thing. I pushed the pulse button and …. nothing. I pushed the on button…..nothing. I checked to make sure the base was locked in place. It was. I checked to make sure the blade was in place properly it was. The power light was on so I know it was not the outlet. I checked the manual to see if I was missing something….nada.

Repacked processor

The fucking thing is broken and was clearly returned for that reason. Target, put it back on the shelf. Damn them.

I stuffed everything back into the box without packing it properly in an attempt to keep it from going back onto the shelf.

Guess what I am doing tomorrow?

Sigh.