I have two spaghetti strainers. One looks like this, but it's plastic: The handle part clips on to the back of the pot, and there are clips on the front that grab onto the rim. I also have one that's sort of like this, but again, it is plastic:
I just dump spaghetti into a collander to drain and then back into the pot; hit it with a little olive oil to keep it from getting sticky. I have a giant "pasta pot" with the interior basket but it's too much trouble for the 2 of us.
The slushie mug things (yeah, I bought 2 of 'em) arrive today! WOOHOO. They have been washed and put into the freezer so they'll be ready to take for a spin tomorrow. I'm going to try chocolate milk in there first so see if I can get a milk shake. On another note, I have never seen such an attractively-wrapped package as from Sur La Table. The cardboard box has kitchen designs on it, and the contents were wrapped in brown paper with special stickers. I also bought some hot pads and an oven glove (had to bump that total up to get free shipping. ) Those items were wrapped in the same paper with stickers. Fun to open; kind of like Christmas except I knew what was inside.
I love getting packages! I have an account on UPS where I can track packages, and I signed up for the USPS Delivery Daily Digest that tells me what's arriving that day, as well as "Arriving Soon" packages. I've never ordered from Sur La Table. Are the pretty packages an indication of their prices?
Yeah, I have UPS "My Choice", Fedex and USPS, too. Plus I get cell phone alerts that let me know when the package will arrive. I like to keep tabs on things. Sur La Table is an upscale kitchen store; there are 6 of them scattered around the Houston metro area. They are comparable to Williams-Sonoma if you have ever shopped there. I find their prices about like anywhere else and they have good sales. Those slushie things are sold out everywhere, so I was glad to find them at SLT. They were the same price as Amazon (which was sold out), but I had a 10% coupon so worked out to be a better deal. I hate paying for shipping so I always try to buy enough to get that free shipping threshold. I also bought a Staub casserole dish but it's coming from the manufacturer and hasn't shipped yet.
I'm the same way. What a great idea to get the Average Order Size up! I have items on my Amazon Wish List specifically to add to things I want to buy immediately but don't want to pay fright for. I don't get the cell phone alerts. The only reason I track anything closely is when a signature is required (like on that expensive Breville)...I don't want to miss the delivery guy. Having been in purchasing/inventory/shipping/receiving since the 70s, the shipping technology we have as consumers astounds me. I recall the days of having to add lead times to my replenishment orders in the winter to allow for snowfall on the Rockies and the attendant days the trucks were gonna be delayed. If I had guys in the field in need of repair parts the next day, I was either taking them to the airport to be put on a plane or driving to the bus station to be put on a Greyhound for the techs to meet on the other end.
Well, the slushie maker is a success; it works exactly as promised. Poured in the chocolate milk, waited a couple of minutes, stirred, and voila'... milkshake! The biggest negative with them is that they only hold 8 oz of liquid, so really not a lot. (I suppose my waistline is grateful, however.) I'm going to pour orange juice in one later.
Cool! I was thinking the same thing regarding the extra calories. I never eat that stuff "instead of." It's always "in addition to." On the other hand, I never drink milk. This might help get some in my system. I'd ask how long it takes to get ready in the freeze, but I'm sure it depends... And that small size is probably required to keep the volume low enough to properly set up (you probably already thought of that.)
I just ordered one of these: I saw a recipe for air-fried Loaded Potato Bites and it called for riced potatoes. I've never used a ricer before. This one was the second-highest rated ricer on a gadget website. The top rated one was $45. I'm not paying that to rice spuds. And they said that this square one was easier to fit a whole potatoe into versus the high $$ round one.
I was thinking this would be a way to have a cold treat without eating ice cream. (And also to make frozen margaritas. ) I did the orange juice and it worked well. When you get close to the bottom of the slush, it is freezing/solidifying at a faster rate so the last couple of bites are quite solid. I think the recommendation is for 7 hours in the freezer, but I plan to just keep them in there all the time. When we used them today I just washed them and put them right back in the freezer; they were still very cold even after being washed. My grandkids will get a kick out of 'em.
I have an old metal potato ricer that I might have used once back in the 90's. I also have a food mill that was a "must possess" after seeing Ina Garten use hers.
Do you use your food mill often? I have one I purchased at a yard sale or maybe a second hand store many decades ago. I know I used it once for something.
That would be a "no." I'm not into cooking nearly as much as I was 10-15 years ago. Now I'm in get in, get out mode.
I posted a separate, lengthy thread about this recent purchase: Already made my first batch of ravioli and shared with friends. Just got a rave review email...it is good! My next pasta purchase is gonna be one of these: You make gnocchi on them as well as a semolina-based pasta called Cavatelli. Less than $10.
Since I'm in this thread... I've had a large pizza stone for years. I not only bake pizza on it, I also use it for baking Italian bread. I returned one I bought for that Breville oven because it imparted a bad flavor and purchased this one for it: I highly recommend these if you bake pizzas, calzones or breads, or even for frozen pizza.