Madison&Mayberry

Welcome Home

Thank you, Ann, and, Leland, for not just directly me to the  Broadway Panhandler -- but directing me there during a Le Creuset sale. 60 percent off! Welcome home, my dear red pot. And prepare for lots of use.

Le Creuset vs All-Clad vs Mario Batali

So a few months ago, I wrote about the Cook's Illustrated issue that raved about an inexpensive option for a Dutch oven in the Chefmate Round Enamel Cast Iron Casserole (priced at $39.99 versus hundreds of dollars for All-Clad or Le Creuset).

The hitch? It's only available at Target. Or so they say. Months later, after scouring numerous Targets, in addition to many Internet sites, I'm convinced that Cook's Illustrated made this product up. While I have found Chefmate products, the cast iron pot remains illusive. Heck, the people in the Target didn't even know what I was talking about.

So I give up. I'm throwing in the towel on the Chefmate. Has anyone else had this experience or am I the only one insane enough to hunt for this thing so long? Now I have two options remaining -- 1) Save up for the Le Creuset or 2) get the Mario Batali brand available on Amazon for $99.. sure, it didn't get great marks from Cook's Illustrated but amazon buyers seem to like it. Advice?

My New Favorite Kitchen Accessory: A Kapoosh

What happens when you have a plethora of knives but nowhere to put them? You need a knife block, right? Except none of them would fit my variety of knives. Welcome to the Kapoosh, a slotless knife holder, that I found at Bed, Bath & Beyond for $30. Basically, the Kapoosh is constructed of thousands of thin plastic rods compressed together and holding the knives in place through friction.

I'm an impulse buyer. But Ryan was skeptical on the Kapoosh and told me to find reviews of it first. Reviews were grand, even suggesting not to limit use of it with knives but to use it for screwdrivers and such. I didn't need more encouragement than that.

The only drawback to it (besides its name) is that although it's washable (the  freedom rods slide out as one unit) but it's clunky and hard to fit in the dishwasher. It's a minor point though when compared to the complete ingeniousness of the entire thing.

Dear Santa

Whether you are shopping for the foodie in your life or just need ideas for your own Christmas list, here are suggestions courtesy of mine:

Cuisipro's Splatter Guard from Target, $16.99 -- $19.99. I wasn't even sure what  a splatter guard was until I saw it in action on Pink of Perfection's video entry of The Wednesday Chef. I love turning up the heat when I cook on the stove, only to have oil flying everywhere. And cleanup is always a mess. The splatterguard is placed over then offending pan and oil, curbing such incidents. So I am free to turn up the heat as high as it can go.

Cuisinart White Quick Prep Hand Blender, $29.95, www.cooking.com. What's more comforting than a bowl of soup when you come in from the cold? But it never fails that I have to pour the soup into my Cuisinart food processor, where it drips everywhere and creates a mess. Seriously, it's enough to make me rethink my soup-making. But the beauty of the immersion blender is that I can put in straight into the pot of soup, reducing mess and cleanup. I'll be making soup everyday.

Assorted Pastry Tips by Ateco, $21.95, www.cooking.com. The website advertises these "for the baker in your home." I am not a baker at all but there are those times when I want to pipe my twice-baked potatoes or deviled eggs for a fancy touch.  But I can never keep track of my pastry tips. I am hoping these pastry tips come in a case, making me less likely to lose any.

L. Tremain's Butter Bell, $19.95, www.amazon.com. I had never even heard of such a thing until Gezellig Girl gloated about hers. You know how annoying it is to try and spread cold hard butter onto a piece of bread? The butter bell eliminates such traumas by safely keeping butter fresh and spreadable without refrigeration for a month. I'm not quite sure the how it does it. All I know is I can have spreadable butter and that makes me happy.

I am always looking for an excuse to add to my cookbook collection. I've found it in "The Lee Brothers  Southern Cookbooks: Stories and Recipes for Southerners and Would-be Southerners," by Matt Lee and Ted Lee, $23.10, www.amazon.com. The Charleston brothers pay tribute to the South with a recipes like pickled peaches, blackened potato salad and shrimp burgers. The customer reviews on amazon rave about the book and I can't wait to try out some of the recipes.