jdbower

My sister used to sell Cutco so I bought a few from her, I actually like mine by my wife doesn't like the handle and the Shun's mokume blades are "pretty". Cutcos supposedly have a better than lifetime warranty where they'll sharpen or replace them even if you're not the original owner.

Those Wikipedia guys don't even know when to use "all y'all" instead of just "y'all"!

Pesky Dennis, getting the opinion of a disinterested third party and the premiere online charcoal reviewer before sending out his charcoal. Next thing you know he'll take your input and make improvements on the product if you're not happy

OK, I broke down and ordered a coffee mug and some of the stone "ice cubes" from TemperatureWare above. For some reason instead of the mug I ended up with a tiny pot about the size of a mug with a lid and two handles (perhaps a new mug style?), whatever the reason I like this better so I'm not complaining. After seasoning everything I decided to torture some of the "ice cubes". Granted they're a bit tougher than a pot would be, but I heated one over a direct flame (don't do this at home without safety goggles!) and then dunked it into ice water, moved from the freezer to boiling water, threw it to the ground, hit it with a hammer (not very hard, granted), scratched it and generally abused it to see if I could damage it. I couldn't. No cracks, but a few chips on the very sharp corners (sharper than the corners on the actual cookware). It scratches easily but rubbing a little oil on it hides it well. I scorched it pretty good in the open flame but a few strokes of ordinary sand paper and some oil repaired this instantly. Why couldn't they be brittle, now I have to weigh the benefits of getting a gorgeous set of pots, mugs, and other stuff with the issue of having no place to store it.

I don't know how suspect the KK material is to thermal shock but room temperature water (or even slightly above freezing water) should also work. You were good not to force it, though - if the damper was frozen you may have damaged the gasket by forcing it (although even this would have been a fairly easy repair).

Just remember, Sanny, "Math is hard!" My mother was a high school math teacher, my in-laws teach math at UCSD; I can't get away from math if I tried I can, however, appreciate this comic.

There isn't much in the way of options on these guys, they come fully loaded! Here is a list of some of the accessories you should have with the cooker.

It depends on the parts (and how much you care about looks). Most of the damage can probably be fixed with fireplace cement and standard grout/tiles/sealant. If you've got some damaged stainless hardware you may be able to have someone fabricate simple replacements locally but anything complex you may need to send an email to Dennis to try to replace. He can also get you matching tiles if you want, if you don't care that much you can either use some standard tiles or even just leave them off. If you've got any questions on how to get started, it may be best to post some pictures of the damage and we can post some pictures of what it's supposed to look like and some direction on how to get things fixed.

Here's the picture for you, we can have DJ check out why you weren't able to post it: I usually just paste the URL, highlight it, and click the "Img" button up top to produce text like this (removing the spaces, of course): [ img ]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/tvogds/wok/wokturkeyburner0001.jpg[ /img ]

You guys are going to drive me into bankruptcy if you keep this up! I've moved the discussion on these great soapstone cookers to a better home where others can drool over them as well. And welcome aboard Syzygies, this is where the fun is!

Worst case you should be able to just use a Weber Wok. I still like the propane solution best because I usually just want a lot of high heat when I'm "woking", but if you want to further justify your purchase...

Re: Best Cookers Ever! Always nice to see another happy camper here! I hope you beat those last two people soundly!

Quick and easy potato chip casserole for you

1 lb ground beef 10 oz can of peas 1 can condensed cream of potato soup 3 tbs milk 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1 cup crushed potato chips Preheat oven/KK to 375 Brown beef and drain excess fat Mix undiluted soup, milk, salt and pepper in bowl Place browned beef in 9" casserole, spread drained peas over beef, pour soup mix over peas, sprinkle with crushed potato chips Bake 30 minutes until it's like Sanny - hot and bubbly

Are you thinking of stir-frying or of using it for something else? For stir-frying you can probably do it, but I'll be getting a propane burner for outdoor use. I know a lot of people have done stews and other things in cast iron cookware in the KK, but the high heat stir fry technique makes the KK seem a bit like overkill to me

Re: In the market for a new cooker The better sealed the cooker is the less airflow you need and the more efficiently the charcoal burns. This means that your food will be more moist and you'll use less charcoal. In general the biggest jump is from a steel grill/smoker to the modern "ceramics" (most of which aren't really ceramic, even the KK is a more advanced refractory material that's better than fragile ceramics), but there is some difference among the ceramic varieties. How many ways can you set it up? I'll answer with the question how many things do you want to cook? There's both direct and indirect methods, with smoke and without, there's a rotisserie or on the grill - and the grills can be at multiple heights. I think you'll be hard pressed to find anything you can't cook, bake, or grill on the KK.

Re: FEATURE IDEA Is it next to the cream cheese dispenser? Does it come with a guilt-trip travel agent mother?

I don't have that one (yet!) but I have other Kershaws that have been good to me. Whenever the new house is built (how long have I been saying that) I intend on getting a larger set of them. I think I have something similar to their current 6-piece block set.

"I see bugs, people!" Who am I to judge, I actually like tuna and onion on my pizza

Looks great! But is that a cricket leg up at the top of the pie?

Very nice! I wonder if she's a Strobist fan. Once you've used off-camera lighting you'll never go back to that cheesy pop-up flash again!

Hee hee. I wonder if the fountain pump is strong enough to fill it with aloe in case of flashback

Courtesy of a Thai friend of mine: 5-10 Thai Peppers 1 Shallot 1 Large Clove of Garlic Fish Sauce Juice of one lemon Sugar Finely dice the Thai peppers into a small bowl. Finely slice the shallot and garlic clove into the bowl. Add fish sauce to cover. Add lemon juice and a pinch of sugar. Let it soak for a few hours to allow the flavors to permeate. Adjust ratios to taste, my wife uses a lot of sugar and only one pepper because she's a wimp This sauce usually comes out for crab steams, but it goes well with a lot of stuff if you're not into eating giant spiders that live in the ocean.