]]> http://sharonnaylorweddingbooks.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/fab-find-mastrad-macaron-diy-baking-set-and-whipper-mousse-gift-set/ Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:25:55 +0000 sharonnaylor http://sharonnaylorweddingbooks.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/fab-find-mastrad-macaron-diy-baking-set-and-whipper-mousse-gift-set/

Here’s another double-find that really impressed me as I searched for the coolest new items to add to gift registries and use for your budget-cutting DIY party prep: Mastrad has an amazing collection of fun and modern cooking and baking kits and supplies that really stand out, and when I tried this ultra-fun Macaron Baking Set, it became a Must for the baking bride’s bridal registry!

Here are the Mastrad site’s details on it:

For the creative baker in all of us! The macaron baking set has all the proper accessories to make homemade macarons just like the pros! This apart of our silicone bakeware and cookware products.

- The set comes with a macaron cookbook, 1 silicone macaron baking sheet (small ridge), and a silicone pastry bag with accessories.

- Use the silicone pastry bag (with 6 different nozzle options!) to fill the silicone baking sheet; the flexible, non-stick baking sheet holds the baking mixture in place and guarantees perfectly sized macarons every time.

- Macaron Cookbook comes with over 30 sweet and savory recipes

And now for my other Fab Find item….

Next up is one of my favorite Add This fab finds for your bridal registry, since you’re going to use this baby all the time, for party treats and special accents to romantic desserts you’ll make for each other.

The Mastrad Whipper Mousse Gift Set  helps you whip up creamy, dreamy mousses and toppings for your favorite desserts, and also add some presentation flair to your dessert dishes, at, say an engagement party, bridal shower, the wedding, and all parties you’ll host in your happily ever after. The whipper canister lets you make hot or cold, sweet or savory mousses and creams and I found my husband volunteering to take over mousse-whipping duty for our recent cocktail party!
Mastrad’s Mousse Gift Set includes:

0.5L Gourmet Mousse Whipper
1 Whipper Stand
Mousse Recipe Book

Check out the Mastrad site to see their huge collection of fabulous items for your bridal gift registry, and keep a special eye out for their kits — which wedding and shower guests love to give. One of my fun finds is this Crepe Making Kit:

You’ll find a lot to shop from here, and your gift registry can turn into a DIY chef’s delight if you load it up with Mastrad items and fun picks, and here’s a great tip: if you make sure these are on your registry very, very soon after you get engaged, friends and relatives will surely snap those gifts up off your registry for engagement presents, sending them to you NOW, which means you get to use them in your pre-wedding party DIY preps!

Share them with your bridesmaids, so that they can plan your bridal shower and bachelorette party for less, and personalize the snacks, bites and desserts to the party theme!

www.sharonnaylor.net/books.htm

Vegetable Keep Sacks – $8.99 – $11.99 @ Mastrad
When your mind drifts to brunch you may immediately think of pancakes and bacon, but don’t forget about those savoury side dishes that make this mid-day meal what it is. I’m talking garlicky scrambled eggs, onion-loaded quiche, and seasoned homemade hash browns, to name a few. Keep your root veggies from going rotten with these clever ‘keep sacks’ which hang up to save cupboard space. Their ingenious design allows air to flow in but blocks out the light, to keep your most steadfast of ingredients from sprouting.

Snowflake Pancake Pan – $34.99 @ Sears
Just like the snowflakes outside, these ones will quickly disappear when you cook up a batch of homemade pancakes for your loved ones. This non-stick griddle pan is easy-as-pie to use. Just whip up some batter and pour it into the molds, set it on your stovetop, and bingo, a plate’s worth of pancakes is ready to serve up.

Fresh & Creamy Butter Kit – $20 @ Roaring Brook Dairy
You may never be able to go back to store-bought butter after making it yourself with this simple and charming farmstead-style butter kit. Complete with salts, seasonings, and all the tools you’ll need to make a pound of butter, all you need to do is spring for the cream and soon enough you’ll have butter to spread on your toast, pancakes, and other breakfast sundries come your holiday brunch. Bring it along and gift it to the host, or buy it for yourself and bring some homemade goods instead.

Hot Sauce of the Month Club – Packages start at $59 from @ From Mild To Wild
True story, it’s rare to find many ‘of the month’ subscriptions here in Canada. But if you’d like to spice up the life of your giftee, you may want to indulge in the ‘Hot Sauce of the Month’ club offerings from saucy supplier From Mild To Wild. Choose your hotness and the length of your subscription, and prepare to scream from the spiciness every single month. Why is this included on the brunch list? Well hot sauce and breakfast have been like two peas in a pod as of late – from sprinkling it onto your eggs to marinating your taters in it, you can liven up any sleepyheads with just a drop or two of these potent tongue-burners.

Buy Local Calendar – $24 @ Claudia Pearson
New York-based artist Claudia Pearson is known for her whimsical watercolours, which are used to great effect in this ‘Buy Local’ calendar. The idea? While keeping track of dates, you can also keep tabs on what local produce should be available from your farmer’s market or well-stocked supermarkets. Want to move away from paper? There’s also a reusable tea towel incarnation that can pull double duty as either wall art or kitchen cleaner.

Mr. & Mrs. Holiday Cocktail Glasses – $24 for the set @ Furbish 
I love these glasses because they could be applied to multiple scenarios. Not that big into gift-giving, or are you just dating someone but still want to give your significant other’s parents a present? Consider this an affordable, festive choice. Want to bring a hostess gift for the parents apart from their big under-the-tree surprise? Also great. Did you splurge on a luxe bottle of liquor and want to include an accoutrement? Bingo. As for why these are on the brunch list? Well if you’re going to indulge in a mimosa or sangria with brunch, what better time of year to do it than Christmas? Note that Furbish doesn’t have an official Canadian shipping policy, but does say they do international shipping – just contact their customer service before going for these golden glasses.

FreshPaper – $4.99 for 8 sheets
Look below those ripe-as-heck strawberries and feast your eyes on the simplest yet smartest invention (and cheapie gift idea) ever. What is it? Essentially, it’s an organic piece of paper filled with all-natural spices. When you toss it into your fruit bowl or produce drawer – or anywhere you store fruits or veggies – it will actually preserve your fresh food for up to 4x longer. When it’s out of its potent powers (which can be detected by a distinct maple scent), simple compost the sheet and swap it out for a new one. Seeing as how no brunch is complete without a bowl of fresh fruit (and the requisite leftovers), this is an ingenious hostess gift that’s oh-so-affordable.

Canvas Text Bread Basket – $14.50 @ Indigo
Serve up freshly baked muffins or rolls in this charming literary bread basket, made from breathable, natural canvas and imprinted with a famous quote from Alice In Wonderland. Not only is this a cute addition to your tabletop, it also happens to have a genius practicality about it as well – instead of adding yet another piece of serveware to your already crowded cupboards, this foldable bag can easily tuck in next to your oven mitts, or whatever nook or cranny you’ve got left in the kitchen.

Kate Spade ‘Say The Word’ Mugs – $20 each @ Horchow
Start morning every morning off with a heartwarming beverage and an uplifting message from design star Kate Spade. Each of these crisp, colourful porcelain mugs feature a cheerful affirmation you’ll drink in as you sip your favourite coffee, cocoa, or tea. They may be a little on the pricy side for the full set, but consider grabbing one in your hostesses’ favourite colour for her desk so she can recreate the brunch experience every single day.

BeaverTails Pancake Mix Gift Set – $15 @ Winners & Homesense 
Consider this your new go-to hostess gift this holiday season. For less than $20, you’ll get a substantial, prepackaged gift featuring organic pancake mix, all-natural strawberry spread, and a bottle of what I consider the world’s most precious liquid, Canadian maple syrup. It’s everything you need to actually get brunch started, and it’s oh-so-yummy to boot!

If you’re salivating at this post (or at least adding a few more items to your own wish list) you may be in luck: I’m giving away a $75 gift set of goodies from Beavertails, including the pancake mix, four chocolate bars, a tee, a baby onesie, and a tote bag to carry all your loot to and from your festive fete. Here’s how to (potentially) score:

1) Leave a comment by December 31st with your top brunch-themed pick from this list!

2) Entries are limited to one per person / per email address / per household (or more if you score bonus entries). A random draw will be conducted on or around January 1st to select the winner, who will have 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen in their place.

3) Entries are limited to Canadians that have reached the age of majority in their province. Quebec is not eligible to participate in this promotion.

4) Bonus Entry: Follow me on Twitter (@cdngiftguide) and send out a Tweet about this contest tagging me in it for a bonus entry!

So I carefully placed the slices on the chip maker and microwaved for the prescribed amount of time.  They need to sit for a bit after cooking to let them further dry out to become chips, but I am not known for being patient, so I had more of a dehydrated type apple – it was yummy.  I still had more apple slices, so I repeated the process and this time let the apples sit a bit.  Chips!  They were yummy too! (Crap, they would have been even better with cinnamon sprinkled on them!)

Now here is where things went wrong (you knew they would, didn’t you?).  I had little pieces of apple that I decided I would zap ‘to see what would happen.’  Well, I’ll tell you what happens – they catch on fire!  F-I-R-E!  Apparently you can’t cook dime sized pieces of apple for as long as the full sized pieces…..surprise!  (they were also yummy, by the way).  I give the chip maker an A, my ad lib abilities (a nicer way of saying ‘didn’t follow directions’)….well, less than an A.  Next time I go to the store, I’m going to pick up different stuff to chip up….and a fire extinguisher, just in case!

Here at Mastrad HQ we are very excited to be launching our very own blog. Be sure to check back often as we intend to feature plenty of delicious recipes, videos, product suggestions, kitchen inspiration and most importantly competitions (who doesn’t love a good competition!)

Above and beyond anything else though, the most exciting thing about this new forum of communication is that it allows us to be able to get to know you – the people who make our brand such a success.

We’d love for you to share your experiences with our products, critique our blog (after all it’s your blog too), provide feedback and ask as many questions as necessary to enable you to have the best Mastrad experience possible – after all – that’s what we’re here for!

Orka Mastrad A22200 Ceramic Paring Knife, Black, 4-Inch

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Orka Mastrad A22112 Ceramic Paring Knife, White, 3-Inch

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Mastrad A64501 Top Chips Maker, Set of 2

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]]> http://alexistarrazi.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/take-steaming-to-a-whole-new-level/ Mon, 16 Jul 2012 21:07:33 +0000 Alexis Tarrazi http://alexistarrazi.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/take-steaming-to-a-whole-new-level/ Part of my duties at The Record include searching for and testing out unique products. This week we featured a Multi-level steam cooker to make a cook’s life easier.

This steamer cooker allows you to rinse, steam, serve, store and reheat — all in one set. Good for fresh or frozen food and can be used either in the microwave or on the stove top. The non-stick, stain-resistant cooker is easy to clean and dishwasher safe.

Find out more about the product and where to get it in my ShopCorner article in today’s Record Newspaper.

I was recently  working on making a lower fat version of   a gyro sandwich and wanted something to go with but not chips (not a big potato chip girl) and glanced at the counter at my pita breads……..oh, yea!  The light bulb went on.  I found my Mastrad and started cutting my pitas into wedges.  Placed them on the 2 Mastrad trays and placed them in the microwave.  The end result was heaven!  Love, love, love this kitchen tool!  So easy and the best part the taste.  I missed bagel and pita chips and now I can them!  I didn’t put any flavors on the pitas but you could easily just before you place them in the micro or even after.  Be sure to order one or find one at your local kitchen store, it will be the best 20.00 you ever spent on a kitchen tool.

Ok, send cool thing I have run across is Hungry Girl Flatbreads.  They are low in fat, fun to make sandwiches or paninis.  My little granddaughters think they are fun and love to make sandwiches out of them.  You can also grill them for garlic bread, the ideas are endless.  I will be showing you some yummy grilled cheese later in the month and I used Hungry Girl Flatbread.

The last think I wanted to share with you was by a company called TWI foods and the item is called Tandoori Naan.  Some of these can be very high in fat but this company has a plain stone baked that is wonderful.  There are 2 grams in 1 large tandoori naan.  I have made chips out of these with my Mastrad and I love to make sandwiches out of them.  Check them out at your local grocery.

Enjoy!  For comments/questions email ramona@lowfatdivablog.com

Beet and potato chips

It all began with a review I read in Cook’s Illustrated for a way to make potato chips. It doesn’t require any oil, because they are microwaved. I’ve tried roasting chips and even fried them once but I hate deep frying – too many calories and too much mess. The trick is in the slicing. The Mastrad set includes a mandolin, which cuts the slices 1/32 of an inch. Once sliced, they are placed on a perforated silicone tray and zapped in the microwave for 3 minutes. It works. Especially for potato chips. I also tried beet, celeriac and plan to try carrots. Add salt, or cumin or coriander and you’re ready for a beer.

Nice grain

So now I had chips and I needed beer to go with them. I finally broke out the brew kit I brought home from Australia. It’s different from the ones in the states because the beer isn’t decanted into a second container but we’ll see how it goes. The most involved process in homebrew is sterilizing all the equipment and then all the bottles. The cooking process isn’t too complicated.

It’s clean up time

I bought a Munton Nut Brown Ale brew kit from my favorite store on Long Island, Karps. I bought all the ingredients and bottles last year and somehow never got around to making a batch of beer.

The ingredients

This beer is made with barley, chocolate and 3 types of malt and hops. I added a little extra malt extract to potentially boost the alcohol content a tad.

Wort bubbling away

After everything is mixed and yeast is added, it’s tucked away for about a week to ferment and convert the sugars to alcohol. I think that process ended, you confirm by measuring a stable specific gravity for a couple of days, and yesterday set myself to bottling. Always a bit of a mess and it was nice enough to do it outdoors. To my horror, when I went to open the bottles, I thought I had the wrong tops. I used the flip top grolsch style caps and at first only found long neck bottles. I called the store to explain my dilemma and the beer master remembered me and while we spoke I realized I bought two styles of bottles, the right ones for the caps and long necks. Phew. But I didn’t have enough. The long necks have a capper and I think I had planned to borrow my son’s but never got around to it. Luckily friends had given me some grolsch bottles when they heard I was into brewing. In the end I had 4 long necks I was unable to cap. I tried a hammer, clamps and vise grip but couldn’t get the right seal. I saved two and dumped two. We’ll see how they go. I think the last stage (the next 3 weeks) is mostly for carbonation and maybe aging. For now it’s chips.

Bottling

I want to start with a few that I use because Steve Greenberg, the Innovation Insider, recommended them.  He recently had them on a TV tour. They all sell for under $30. 

Power2U

I wanted this for a long time. It is about time someone made a wall socket with a built-in USB port for charging. Cars have it; now we have one for the home. This is the only home-safe, UL Listed, in-wall product.  It incorporates two traditional three-prong AC wall sockets along with two USB ports for charging and/or powering up four devices at once.  From Newer Technology, this easy to install AC/USB outlet is available in White, Black, Ivory, and Light Almond.  The cost is $27.99 or $22.99 each when buying two or more—available at Other World Computing at www.macsales.com/power2u 

Drop Stop

If I had Drop Stop, I wouldn’t have lost my Tiffany earrings. This is a flexible wedge made out of neoprene (wet suit material) that blocks that annoying gap between your car or truck seat and  the center console.  You will never lose your change or cell phones again while you are driving.  One size fits all. The fabric is stain resistant, so if you spill anything you can simply wipe it off or use a damp cloth. A set of two Drop Stops, one for the driver side and one for the passenger side, is only $19.99 including a LED credit card light and a slide-free pad. www.BuyDropStop.com 

Mastrad

This is a terrific item for anyone who wants to lose weight. When Steve first showed this to me I wasn’t interested, but when I saw him demonstrate it on TV, I went bananas. The Mastrad TopChips Chips Maker allows you to make fat-free chips in a matter of minutes.  Just slice the desired fruit or vegetable you like with the handy mandolin, place chips on the non-stick silicone tray and put them in the microwave. No grease, no mess.  The result is crispy, flavorful, guilt-free chips. Price is $19.99 www.shopmastrad.com 

TripIt  App

You probably heard of this one already because it is very popular for anyone who travels. It organizes all your trip plans in one place. Just email all of your airline and hotel confirmations to plans@tripit.com . TripIt puts together an itinerary and can add the information into your calendar. TripIt will also organize other activities like restaurant reservations and concert tickets. This app is free.at www.tripit.com 

Roamz App

Here is another app that gets you out of the house and social again. Roamz tells you what is happening right around you in real-time. The application intelligently curates social activity from multiple networks. It is like your own personal social guide. Roamz users get a list of what is happening nearby. It also learns your personal interests and preferences. The more you use Roamz, the smarter it gets.  The app is free. www.roamz.com or via iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/roamz/id459343660?mt=8 

More gadgets and apps in future columns.

All the presents have been opened and played with so I filled the space at the foot of the tree with a rusty candlestick holder and an old hat box.

I’ve been saving that last Ferrero Rocher for the New Year…
I’ve definitely earned it

A wonderful fortnight of parties, feasts and beverages shared with loved ones has left me somewhat exhausted, so I know how the tree feels!

So I’m not sure what came to me this morning when I decided to christen my new macaroon-making equipment with a long and elaborate baking session.

Maybe I was being a bit too ambitious to tackle such a technically challenging experiment on 1st January, especially after 5 hours’ sleep, one single cup of coffee and a fried egg (on) next to toast.

how NOT to make macaroons: work the meringue too hard and you’ll get cracks

I covered the kitchen surfaces in icing sugar and the cupboards in chocolate in the process. The result looks nothing like the £3 each Ladurée macaroons, but they taste absolutely delicious of course.

the best 3 prototypes were used to achieve this highly professional photo-shoot

so you can see how good they are, a close-up of the same 3 prototypes

The other more ‘unique’ ones will have to be eaten really quickly to get rid of the evidence of failure.

A very happy new year and special thanks to you all for reading.

Here’s to many more inconsequential blog posts and baking disasters in 2012.

Featured image at the top via Parisien Salon.

Pfannen Online Shop – Mastrad F63186 Crepespfanne Aluminiumguss. Ø25cm. induktionsgeeignet

Unverb. Preisempf. : EUR 24,98 ★★★★★
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