Kitchen Gadgets: Pullman Loaf Pan

 

So What is a Pullman Loaf Pan? I had to get one when I started to make bread. The photo show the pan. It is basically a Covered Bread pan with hole in the bottom of the pan. The holes are to prevent soggy bread bottoms. The top id for a more store bought look, like Wonder Bread. I did use it a few times.. However I found that  I like the dome top better.. So, Now I do not use the top.

Here is the look of the bread.

I read today that I could put the top on for the first 20 minute of the bake then remove it for a better rise and browner top. Will try the next time.

Ninja Foodi Review

I received a Ninja Foodi for the Holidays.  Have been using it for about one month. It is a very impressive kitchen gadget.

Started out  cooking with the Airfryer. First thing I made was Mac and Cheese. An American Favorite food. Everyone love Mac and Cheese made the old fashion way, like Granny/Mom made in the 60's. the kind that is  basic noodles and cheese sauce done on stove top.Then breaded and baked in the oven. That crunchy top was the Bomb! So I made the noodles in the Pressure Cooker Cycle, then added the ingredients for the cheese mixture. Put the bread crumbs on top and AirFried it. Wow it did taste like the Old Days Mac and Cheese.

Next I tried the Airfryer for Frozen Beer Battered Fish. I was amazed! the fish was crispy on both sides and flaky fish inside. Even better then in the Oven. Which I never could get both sides crisp in the Traditional Oven. I started use the Airfryer as a finisher of my meals. To put the  pan sear  or oven baked touch on.

Now to the Bake/ Roast Cycle.  Used it to make a Pulled Pork Barbecue.  I use to sear the Roast on the Stove top. But this time I used the Sear/ Broil cycle to  brown the roast.  The temp was just right, it did a fabulous job searing the meat. I then switched it over to Bake/Roast and completed the dish. The meat turn our great.

Recently my famous NewYork Cheesecake was made in the Foodi. For this recipe the Bake/Roast cycle was use and then the Pressure cook cycle. Now this Cheesecake has a flour base, cookie like crust. So, before when I tried to make it in a Pressure cooker the Crust was not cooked and soggy. In the Foodi I use the bake cycle for the beginning to cook the crust. It cooked the crust great. the original recipe call for a high temp cook to start and then you turn down the heat. So, I did the bake first at 375°F and then Pressure cooked ( like a water Bath intensified ). The topping in the recipe is put on last the the temp turn up in the oven. For that process I used the bake cycle again.  Wow!! That Cheesecake turn out so delicious. Even better then the oven. I will be making that  a lot!!

In conclusion This Ninja Foodi will stay on my counter to be used alot. For Recipes to use in the Ninja visit my Kitchen Blog. There I have been posting the Recipes I have create for the Ninja Foodi.

I would give the Ninjafoodi a Five Star Rating, best ever Kitchen All Purpose Gadget!!!

A New Instant Pot in the Kitchen

 

I got a new Instant Pot the month. Very Impressed with it! I have always used Pressure, Slow  and Rice cookers,  and  Yogurt makers in my Life. They are the most time saving devices in my opinion.
Now I am ready to let go of the single devices. This Instant pot is amazing!!  Now you can replace all of them with this one.

First thing I made was Mac and cheese.  What a  success, all the family love it. It was ready in 10 minutes. Unbelievable! Then I  did Rice, that had a learning curve. However, I figured it out and it took about 10 minutes also. Chicken breast was next.  Cooked it from  completely frozen. It took about 25 minutes. The Chicken  was shredded for a meal.  Last night I cooked Pork chops from frozen. I found them a bit dry. I will have to work on that item. We did soft boil eggs. Wow I was surprised, they turn out perfect.

Yogurt is the next thing to try. In my opinion this is a great kitchen addition to have . Even thinking about get a 3 qt one for smaller batches.

New Tech House: Amazon Smart Devices

I love New Technology things. Gadgets for the Kitchen and Readers, computers, Surface to tablets. I seem to acquire several things. My Husband started me on  computers in the early 90's. He had been working with them awhile before then at work. However they started to appear more and more in the households. My parents had one. So I learned the DOS system and started on my Journey. Today there are over 100 smart items in our home. A Smart Home? Not yet! However my  Holiday gifts included some smart Switches and a couple more Echos.( one for each floor).

This review is on the Amazon Echo's. First one received one year ago it was a Alexa Echo. There was a learning curve to it. Did not appear to be a plug it, turn on and go, as sold. We had to log into the Amazon account and add it to an account. Dad didn't have an account so we had to create one. Next thing was to set up a list of things though the Alexa App. You have to have a  Amazon Kindle or IPhone/Pad product to load it. the App does not work on the Microsoft Operations or Androids Phones. The Alexa App is downloaded from the Google Play Store or Apple Store.

Once we downloaded the app to his Kindle fire, we were able to set up his desires. From News groups to Music. We also were able to activate  Fire TV  control. Now For an aging adult ( 83) this was a good thing. He could just tell it what he wanted to see. Dad had a Stroke over a year ago and suffers from Aphasia. So it is hard for him to remember sequences to work a remote. Speaking is much better. So as you can see these items are a good thing.

Over the Summer I found out I could link the Alexa Echo Device to my account. We could change accounts on the device by a simple phrase " Change accounts" This a great cause there is a lot more one can do  with a Prime account.  This allowed me to play more with the device. I enjoyed asking for drink recipes and stay up with the News. Also listening to music. Although I really did not like the Amazon Music in the early stages.

So, I purchased anTap and Echo Dot . Love them both! This time they were Purchased through my Amazon and they both came set up to my account! I did not have to link them. Just turn on and play. A lot better than before. I also purchased Amazon Music for the Tap/Echo/Dot. Just to try it out. I have to say I liked it! I was able to make my a stations and listen to music choices of my choosing. We have Sirius XM, Pandora Plus, and Spotify. Listened to Pandora more than the others. With that said, now in the home the Amazon has become the music of choice. just might upgrade soon.

The Tap is a 360° Speaker, Blue tooth. It does not require a Name Shout Out first and works with a tap  button on the device. You can ask it anything like the Alexa Echo and Echo Dots. It responds in the same voice. I have a Bose mini speaker, which I love. However the Taps speaker is great also. You can link any Blue Tooth speaker to the Alexa or Dot. I use the Bose upstairs link to the dot there. Use the Tap on the main floor. Found that the sound is better if the Tap is use directly not through the Echo dot. Just something about the linked sound quality. Might have to experiment more with that.



The Echo Dot is a small device. Sets nicely out of the way. Not in your face. Folks do not even see it. So, I like that! Just wake it up with a Name and she is ready to go. The sound on her for music is not great. Talking is okay. So Getting the New is great on her. I like that.




I have not set up the light Switches  yet. I will post later on that service.

Overall I like the Tap, Alexa Echo and Echo Dot. I think they have done a great job in updated the devices programs. Look forward to more things added in the future.

Samsung Galaxy Camera

Purchased this camera earlier this year.  I wanted a new SLR camera, However most of them are so big and I really needed one that was small and easy to use. Decided to try the Samsung
Galaxy Camera. It is a smart camera, with WIFI and a user friendly view pad. Similar to a I pad. Found that I could easily load apps through Google Play. that makes it very easy to pair all my google play  devices. this camera allows one to upload to several social medias. Facebook, twitter, e-mails, Dropbox, OneDrive and many more. How easy this was to send photos to my blogs or friends. Sharing photo to other devices is easy also. One thing I notice after signing in and starting the camera up, all the photos I had put online media and photo storage programs all appeared on the camera gallery icon. Love this, make is a cinch to show photos to folks.

There is a HDMI connector for viewing thing through a Monitor (HD TV). Love it. Had a bridal shower  and used the video on the camera to video the groom. Was then able to use the HDMI cable to play it on the Large HD TV.  The Video was crystal clear. It really amazes me how this new technology make it really hard to tell what kind of camera one uses.

The Samsung Galaxy  Camera also has a SLR setting area on it, with a 4.1-86.1mm 1:2.8-5.9 23mm lens. I have use it and found that it works very well for  telephoto shots as well as macro views. At a wedding I was able to telephoto to get great shots from the audience. One the other hand I was able to get great shots of Bees feeding on the  Flowers.  Both were crystal clear and the images sharp. Very nice to use.

there is also a edit app that one can use right away. Love, Love that! What a great way to edit the photo and post right away.  So user friendly there was very little user curve on it. for uploading photos there is no cord needed. It is all down through the WiFi. Notice that the picture remains sharp and the picsal  did not change.

By Samsung making this Camera an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS it opens a whole new world to Cameras. One is able to make deposits in Banks, use it for grocery shopping by using a Scanning program for products and being able to scan scan bars for shopping info on line. Yes you can shop on line with the camera. There is really no limit to what one can do with the Android part of the camera.

I could go on about  this Camera due to every day I learn a new thing it offers. One thing is  this is a very good choice for me. It was a good purchase and will be a great addiction to my collection.