Amazing Appliances!
The holidays are almost over, but the Winter looms long ahead. Amazing appliances make drinks and food at home just well…easier, more fun and better! These don’t require yet another app on your phone, but they will make drinks and dinner almost automatic and totally effortless. Supervised, even the kids can help make food “just right!”
Fab, Fresh, Fast Pasta Maker, No Mess:
I love the taste of fresh pasta, don’t you? However, dried pasta in the box is brittle and dry and looks like it could be left on the shelf literally, for years. Fresh pasta is softer, more fragrant, and definitely tastier.
When I had my first apartment I had a hand crank manual pasta maker. It was difficult to use, messy, and once I left the pasta to dry on the fan blades in my apartment. Someone came in and turned on the fan. Well, it was pasta-armageddon. I found bits and pieces of it for weeks all over my apartment!
Fully Automatic:
The Hamilton Beach Pasta Maker is one of those amazing appliances that is completely electronic and once you learn the right recipes, it’s amazingly easy! The remove-able parts can be washed by hand or placed on the top rack of the dishwasher, It’s full service, from an internal scale that creates your perfect pasta by weighing ingredients and calculating the ideal ratio of flour to liquid. The LED display tells you exactly how much liquid to use. Then, choose either the select function for quick pasta and standard pasta modes.
7 Different Disks:
The pasta maker comes with 7 pasta disks. Even better, there is a pull-out shelf on the bottom to store the disks so they don’t’ get lost. The disks are for Angel Hair, Lasagna, Thick Spaghetti, Penne, Spaghetti, Fettuccini, and Wide noodle. It also has a cleaning tool, and two measuring cups (one for flour, one for liquid). You can make pasta in 15 minutes! That’s faster than going to the store or ordering delivery. Once the pasta is cooked, you can use it immediately or store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in a freezer-safe container for up to three months.
my first attempt at pasta had too much liquid. But once you get the proportions right, it’s great
You get three pasta recipe suggestions in the instruction booklet but really, you can add almost anything from basil and garlic to chocolate! In all honesty, I didn’t use the recipes suggested and added more water because I thought the pasta would be too dry to extrude. I should have followed what the machine told me to do and I didn’t. As a result, my test pasta was too wet. But there is a bit of a learning curve with a pasta machine. Undaunted, I’ll definitely pay attention to the proportions the machine suggests, next time.
Who will love this? Savvy people who want a fabulously sophisticated time, energy, and patience-saving device that will make dinnertime a whole lot more fun for everyone in the family. MODEL: 86650 SRP. is $150 learn more on the Hamilton Beach Website.
Awesome Orange (and Citrus) Juicer:
the Vinci juicer is not just automatic, it takes ALL the juice leaving nothing but the rind and bitter pith to toss away
Fresh-squeezed orange juice is a real treat, and it’s healthier too. But squeezing oranges, lemons, limes, or grapefruits by hand is messy and time-consuming. Also, you’re likely to leave half the juice behind in the rind. Using a hand reamer is slightly better, but again, time-consuming and hard on the hands if you’re juicing more than one orange lemon, lime, or grapefruit.
Awesome and fully automatic:
The solution is an automatic juicer. But not all juicers are created equal. The Vinci Hands-Free Citrus Juicer (SRP. $99) gets every last bit of juice out of your citrus fruits and you never have to touch a thing other than to close the lid and turn on the juicer! I couldn’t believe how easy it was to use this Vinci Juicer. All I had to do is slice my orange in half, put half an orange on the reamer, close the lid and press the juice button. In 10 seconds, yes seconds, the high torque motorized base extracts all the juice that can be extracted without any bitterness from the rind.
What’s Your Pulp Preference?
There are also two sizes of pulp filters for fine filtering or a little pulp. That’s thanks to Vinci’s smart pressure-sensitive juicing technology that automatically senses the thickness of the ring. The juicer can handle a tiny key lime, to a large 4-5″ grapefruit. The large juice bowl can hold up to 12 oz. of juice. You’ll want to transfer that into a pitcher if you want to make more. Imagine the possibilities!
I’ll admit that my first thought when I received this Vinci Juicer to review, was that it would help me make great margaritas. But you need fresh juice for marinades, desserts, and all sorts of other recipes. You can use the rind to make candied citrus or marmalade, And, of course, a glass of fresh orange or grapefruit juice is a total treat. Visit the Vinci Housewares Website
