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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Friday Afternoon Open Thread

Friday Afternoon Open Thread

by WaterGirl|  December 27, 20246:48 pm| 127 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Looks like we could use an open thread.

I am about to try making french fries in my new Breville toaster oven / air fryer thingie.  Wish me luck.

What are you guys up to?

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Reader Interactions

127Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    December 27, 2024 at 6:51 pm

    Reposting

    Frying or spying? These air fryers may be harvesting your data, experts say

  2. 2.

    Harrison Wesley

    December 27, 2024 at 6:54 pm

    I’m waiting for the vegetable stew I made earlier to heat up. Air fryer makes great french fries.

  3. 3.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 6:56 pm

    Just finished cleaning/polishing the chrome on my bike.

    Damn I hate cleaning that thing. I’d rather wash my F150 with a Qtip than clean the bike.

  4. 4.

    zhena gogolia

    December 27, 2024 at 6:57 pm

    Eating brisket leftovers.

  5. 5.

    Miki

    December 27, 2024 at 6:59 pm

    Tonight’s an air fryer night for me. Frozen Crinkle Fries, frozen Beef Patties from Aldi. Buns + tomato slices + onion slices + cheese slices.

    Strict Scrutiny on the podcaster.

  6. 6.

    dmsilev

    December 27, 2024 at 6:59 pm

    @Baud: Coming soon, integrated ChatGPT for programming your oven. Have a conversation, then hope it doesn’t hallucinate the temperature you want.

  7. 7.

    MattF

    December 27, 2024 at 7:00 pm

    Got one of those (on sale) a few months ago. Since then— toasting, baking, air frying. Have made baked potatoes, French fries, batches of Pillsbury biscuits, lots of toasted stuff, various baked-from-frozen goods. Et cetera.

    No AI for me tyvm.

  8. 8.

    dmsilev

    December 27, 2024 at 7:02 pm

    For a nominal vacation period, this has been busy. I’ve got a pile of work to get through (reading/rating grad school applications. A couple hundred of them), and visiting with/helping dad at rehab.  He should come home on Monday, so that’s good.

  9. 9.

    WaterGirl

    December 27, 2024 at 7:04 pm

    Okay, you air fryer peeps. I just put my fries in.  Was I supposed to pre-heat before putting the fries in?

  10. 10.

    Bunter

    December 27, 2024 at 7:05 pm

    @WaterGirl: Depends on your air fryer and the fries you’re using. I don’t do fries from scratch so the brand I use says to preheat.

  11. 11.

    HinTN

    December 27, 2024 at 7:05 pm

    Please share recipe(s) for French fries from real spuds in the air fryer.

    Also, check your calendars. Mine had the 27th of April, May, June and July numbered as the 25th. Easy fix, but damn…

  12. 12.

    Professor Bigfoot

    December 27, 2024 at 7:06 pm

    I guess since the Blogfather is in Arizona, “afternoon” is defined by his time zone, since here in the EST we’re definitely in the EVENING open thread time, right?

  13. 13.

    WaterGirl

    December 27, 2024 at 7:07 pm

    @HinTN: Cafe Press said if anyone’s calendar had the dates wrong, if you contact them they will fix it.  (I am guessing that means send you a new calendar.)

    Even though we told them it was wrong in the template, they couldn’t / wouldn’t fix it there.  They said you had to call customer service AFTER getting the paper calendar.  sigh,

  14. 14.

    frosty

    December 27, 2024 at 7:07 pm

    @Nukular Biskits: This must be why I’ve only washed my bike once or twice in 30 years. There is dust from multiple rail trails on it now.

    I don’t wash cars either. I think our Miata was repainted* more often than I washed it.

    * A couple of accidents, some rust repair. I thought they would have learned from the Brits that you need drain holes in the rocker panels. Nope.

  15. 15.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 7:07 pm

    @zhena gogolia: I’ll trade.

  16. 16.

    MattF

    December 27, 2024 at 7:07 pm

    @WaterGirl: Doesn’t really matter, IMO. But do put a rack + pan in the lower slot to catch drips.

  17. 17.

    Shalimar

    December 27, 2024 at 7:08 pm

    reheating pizza in the air fryer.

  18. 18.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    December 27, 2024 at 7:08 pm

    Going to get cold Churchs chicken from King Soopers.

    Guilty pleasure.

  19. 19.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 27, 2024 at 7:09 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    Eating brisket leftovers. 

    Mmmmmmmmmm

  20. 20.

    WaterGirl

    December 27, 2024 at 7:09 pm

    I also didn’t know if i was supposed to put the broiler pan on the bottom shelf in case it dripped.  I did, but I think maybe I wasn’t supposed to.  No idea where I put the instruction book that surely came with it.. :-(

  21. 21.

    HinTN

    December 27, 2024 at 7:10 pm

    @WaterGirl: Yeah, it ain’t worth the trouble. I just wrote 27 right over the mistake.

    Now, about those fries…

  22. 22.

    Wapiti

    December 27, 2024 at 7:10 pm

    Got some special dried beans as gifts from some foodie relatives. So soaked and cooked those today, to be put into chili in about an hour. All so that I can mention the use of these special beans in the thank-you cards that will go out next week.

    I mean, I’m sure these beans are lovely, but soaking took hours and cooking them took another 1 1/2 hours. Canned beans are inexpensive; I can pay some huge conglomerate to cook beans for me.

  23. 23.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 7:11 pm

    @HinTN:

    Also, check your calendars. Mine had the 27th of April, May, June and July numbered as the 25th. Easy fix, but damn…

    @WaterGirl:

    Cafe Press said if anyone’s calendar had the dates wrong, if you contact them they will fix it. (I am guessing that means send you a new calendar.)

    Even though we told them it was wrong in the template, they couldn’t / wouldn’t fix it there. They said you had to call customer service AFTER getting the paper calendar. sigh,

    Yup. Just checked mine after reading that. Same here. Oh, well. I can just take a Sharpie and correct the dates.

    Unless there’s a principle involved here and we need to teach Cafe Press a lesson …

  24. 24.

    Professor Bigfoot

    December 27, 2024 at 7:12 pm

    @frosty: Washing the car was always a Zen thing for me.

    Back in the day I’d spend Saturday morning listening to “Car Talk,” washing, waxing, polishing.

    Does anyone remember the “Armorall Viking?” who’d say (in a Scots accent) “Yew dun’t deserve that car!,” take the car AND the girlfriend?

    I wash the toy car just to keep the Armorall Viking away from it.

  25. 25.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 7:13 pm

    @frosty:

    I can see the appeal of crotch rockets and other similarly-styled bikes. They have body panels that cover most everything.

    A cruiser, though, has lotsa chrome and everything is exposed.  Worst of all, mine has spoke rims and the spokes are rusting.  I have seen absolutely no easy way to clean those so I may just have to let them go.  I’ve already spent 3 days disassembling, cleaning and reassembling it.  All I have left is the rear rim and to use leather cleaner on the seat.

  26. 26.

    HinTN

    December 27, 2024 at 7:14 pm

    @Nukular Biskits:

    Unless there’s a principle involved here and we need to teach Cafe Press a lesson …

    I tried that last year. They used to be great but…

  27. 27.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 7:16 pm

    @Professor Bigfoot:

    I don’t mind washing the cars (Toyota Camry and Buick Envision).  Given the acres of surface area, I prefer not to wash the 2002 F150 and haven’t in several years (the rust helps hold it together).

    The bike? I absolutely hate cleaning it.

  28. 28.

    karen marie

    December 27, 2024 at 7:17 pm

    OMG!  I just remembered I got frozen French fries the other day!  I’m going to make some mayo-sriracha-hoisin sauce to dip them in!

    I don’t remember who in the prior thread mentioned such a combo (in relation to banh mi) but I thank you!

  29. 29.

    narya

    December 27, 2024 at 7:19 pm

    Mom took us out to dinner. They had something called shoofly pie cheesecake, which I think I could re-create.

  30. 30.

    Another Scott

    December 27, 2024 at 7:20 pm

    @WaterGirl: Got my two calendars today.  I haven’t inspected them yet, but assumed that some of the days were messed up from the “previews”.  It’s fine. Thank you and Beth for your efforts!

    It reminds me of my J ordering some stuff to be delivered by Walgreens.  “If I get $2.50 more stuff I get free shipping!  Ok, I’ll add this package of Chapstick…”

    Walgreens literally ships the stuff in about 5 different boxes over several days.

    Did someone say that Walgreens stock is having issues??.

    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  31. 31.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 7:20 pm

    @karen marie:

    I’m not a mayo fan and while I don’t mind a little kick, I hate incinerating my taste buds.  Having said that, I was intrigued and I had to look up “hoisin” to see what it was.

    Do you have the proportions?

  32. 32.

    karen marie

    December 27, 2024 at 7:20 pm

    @Wapiti:    I have cooked dried beans precisely once, and I swore never again.  I don’t think I have ever experienced so much intestinal pain in my life.  Nobody told me that they have to be brought above a certain temperature (which I forget, because I will never do that again!) for a certain amount of time.    Canned beans for me, please!

  33. 33.

    different-church-lady

    December 27, 2024 at 7:21 pm

    WE’RE AT 498 DOWNSTAIRS AND YOU PULL THIS SHIT?!??

  34. 34.

    Starfish (she/her)

    December 27, 2024 at 7:21 pm

    @Another Scott: Walgreens understaffs its stores and underpays its employees. It is truly a terrible experience.

  35. 35.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 7:22 pm

    @different-church-lady:

    WE’RE AT 498 DOWNSTAIRS AND YOU PULL THIS SHIT?!??

    Is this code for something?

    ;>)

  36. 36.

    karen marie

    December 27, 2024 at 7:23 pm

    @Nukular Biskits:   No, proportions weren’t mentioned.  I’d just go on taste.  Put some amount of mayo (appropriate for what you’re going to use the sauce for) in a bowl, and then add sriracha and hoisin until it’s working for you.  That’s what I’m going to do.

    @different-church-lady:   I call it a mercy killing.

  37. 37.

    Starfish (she/her)

    December 27, 2024 at 7:23 pm

    @different-church-lady: If a normal thread AFTER election season is reaching a T. Bogg unit, it is not a good sign.

  38. 38.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 7:24 pm

    @WaterGirl:   Given this:

    @different-church-lady:

    WE’RE AT 498 DOWNSTAIRS AND YOU PULL THIS SHIT?!??

    I think I may have asked you this a couple of weeks ago but what was the max # of comments you’ve ever seen here on a post?

  39. 39.

    KatKapCC

    December 27, 2024 at 7:25 pm

    Gonna light the Hanukkah candles shortly and then in a bit make grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner.

    I should also vacuum but I’m not going to.

  40. 40.

    Scout211

    December 27, 2024 at 7:26 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    No idea where I put the instruction book that surely came with it.. :-(

    You can find instructions online for most products.  Just google your brand and model number and you can download a .pdf version.

     

    I finally got a new range after mine blew up last year in the middle of baking a pie.  I am shocked about how poorly my gas cook top and my electric oven were performing now that I have a new one.

    But I had no idea that the nice looking stainless steel under the gas burners was so hard to keep clean.  For some reason, I thought it would be super strong stainless steel like my Revere Ware.  Nope, it’s fragile stainless steel like the refrigerator and the dish washer surface and you have to clean it every time you use it in case you drip or splatter.  And you have to use the special stainless cleaning and polishing products like you have to use on your fridge.  Ugh.

    So I have a love/hate relationship with my new range.  I love how it cooks and bakes but I hate how you have to baby the stainless all the time.

    The sales guy asked me how I liked my new range and I told him my love/hate story. He acknowledged that all the current ranges have stainless under the burners now and they used to have black ceramic (which I would have loved) but the “new look” is stainless because buyers want that new shiny stainless look.

    And it does look good.

  41. 41.

    TBone

    December 27, 2024 at 7:27 pm

    Beef stock from roasted bones still simmering for beef barley soup made with prime rib leftovers tomorrow.

  42. 42.

    MattF

    December 27, 2024 at 7:28 pm

    @karen marie: If you like hot stuff, I just discovered these guys.

  43. 43.

    WaterGirl

    December 27, 2024 at 7:30 pm

    @Nukular Biskits: There is that.

    Maybe if all the people who purchased the 160 calendars called them, they would fix their stupid policy,

  44. 44.

    Baud

    December 27, 2024 at 7:32 pm

    Why is calendar numbering hard to do?

  45. 45.

    different-church-lady

    December 27, 2024 at 7:33 pm

    @Baud: Once again, maybe that asshole Ramaswamy has got a point…

  46. 46.

    Leto

    December 27, 2024 at 7:33 pm

    @Nukular Biskits: up until the accident, I’d wash the bike about once a month. Had a 2007 Suzuki Bandit 1250, last year they brought the model to the US. Good number of panels, but the 4 pipes always required extra attention and it sucked getting to them. As far as cars, drive through car wash once a week and done. Maybe 5 mins total? Ezpz

  47. 47.

    Eunicecycle

    December 27, 2024 at 7:35 pm

     

    @Scout211: maybe people that never cook like the shiny stainless?

  48. 48.

    MattF

    December 27, 2024 at 7:35 pm

    @Baud: Calendar numbering is easy (and it repeats every 400 years). Proofreading is hard and error-prone.

  49. 49.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 7:36 pm

    @Leto:

    My bike, a 1997 Suzuki Intruder VS800, had been in “storage” (long story) for 2 years and all the metal surfaces definitely needed some TLC.

    Since I finally got it back, I’ve probably spent over $1000 getting it back in shape.  Motorcycles, unlike most 4-wheeled vehicles, seem to take it personally when you don’t drive them for a long time.

  50. 50.

    Professor Bigfoot

    December 27, 2024 at 7:36 pm

    @Nukular Biskits: That was the me of yesteryear!

    When I was still making payments on my daily driver I got a monthly wash subscription; and then I just continued it. I really hate road salt.

    Thank goodness the Boxster is tiny!

  51. 51.

    Baud

    December 27, 2024 at 7:37 pm

    @different-church-lady: Maybe he should be in charge of calendars.

     

     

    @MattF:

    But why should dates even need to be proofread?

  52. 52.

    MattF

    December 27, 2024 at 7:39 pm

    @Baud: Murphy has thoughts about that.

  53. 53.

    HinTN

    December 27, 2024 at 7:40 pm

    @Leto: I used to wash my Lexus hard top convertible by hand. The RAV4 sees the car wash regularly. 😎

  54. 54.

    Steve LaBonne

    December 27, 2024 at 7:44 pm

    Cleveland-made (Lou’s) Sicilian sausage and spaghetti con aglio e olio for dinner. Simple and yummy.

  55. 55.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 7:46 pm

    @Professor Bigfoot:

    For the longest time, I wanted a small 2-seater roadster.  I fell in love with the Honda S2000 when they were in production.  After finishing the deal on our 2005 Honda Accord, the salesman at the Honda dealership threw me the keys to the S2000 they had on the showroom floor and told me to take it for a spin while they were prepping/cleaning the Accord.

    That S2000 was a blast.

    The only other thing I’ve driven in that category was a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GT while on business travel in California. I have no idea why Avis was renting those things but they gave me one at my corporate rate.  It was great fun to drive through the mountains east  of San Diego.

    ETA:  Minor edits.  Also to add “Bikes are way less expensive than roadsters and easier to find a place to park in the garage.”

  56. 56.

    WTFGhost

    December 27, 2024 at 7:50 pm

    In my experience, the Breville toaster oven doesn’t air fry as well as, e..g., the original “small cube” air fryer styles, because there’s so much more space, so a higher temp, a longer time, and use of oiled french fries, or spritzing a bit of oil over them, will help.

  57. 57.

    Miss Bianca

    December 27, 2024 at 7:53 pm

    @WaterGirl: If the fries are frozen, I put them on the lowest temperature right out of the bag to thaw them out and get rid of some of the water before actually frying them. Can’t really give you a set number of minutes, just basically until they feel warm.

    Then crank up the heat to 400.

    ETA: If you’re making them from scratch, can’t help ya – that’s terra incognita for me.

  58. 58.

    Miss Bianca

    December 27, 2024 at 7:55 pm

    @HinTN: That happened to me with last year’s! They’re doing it again?!

  59. 59.

    zhena gogolia

    December 27, 2024 at 7:58 pm

    @Nukular Biskits: I never actually consult the dates in the calendar. I just have the pretty pets hanging on the wall.

  60. 60.

    WaterGirl

    December 27, 2024 at 7:58 pm

    @Nukular Biskits: : Looks like we have had about 300 posts that ht 500 comments or more. Only two were over 1,000, and one of those was when Tunch died.

    Here’s the count for the top 10 or so.Friday Afternoon Open Thread 7

  61. 61.

    Suzanne

    December 27, 2024 at 7:58 pm

    I just got back from The Container Store, which is a place of extreme fantasy for me. I don’t have pretty princess fantasies, or rich lady-of-leisure fantasies. I dream about having a clean and organized home. Tom Petty was playing on the store’s sound system, so basically I could have stayed forever. However, I only bought the one thing I went in there for: a $29 cork bulletin board.

    Dude, that place is so expensive. But everything looks so cleeeeeeeean and neutraaaaaaaal.

  62. 62.

    WaterGirl

    December 27, 2024 at 7:59 pm

    @Scout211: I didn’t have time for google when I had already put them in the oven. :-)  I just needed a quck answer.

  63. 63.

    Scout211

    December 27, 2024 at 7:59 pm

    @Eunicecycle: maybe people that never cook like the shiny stainless?

    Good point. Design over function.

    Or maybe it’s just my husband and I are messy cooks who hate to clean.

  64. 64.

    narya

    December 27, 2024 at 8:00 pm

    @Eunicecycle: that was my first thought.

  65. 65.

    Prescott Cactus

    December 27, 2024 at 8:01 pm

    @dmsilev:

    I’m sorry Dave, you wanted Fahrenheit, not Celsius.

  66. 66.

    kalakal

    December 27, 2024 at 8:02 pm

    @Professor Bigfoot: one plus for Florida, no road salt

  67. 67.

    MattF

    December 27, 2024 at 8:02 pm

    @Suzanne: Container Store fell into the ‘private equity’ trap. Enjoy it while it’s still here.

  68. 68.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 8:03 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    OMG! (Borrowing from John Oliver) You’re one badass data bitch! And that’s meant in the most respectful and admirational manner possible.

    I didn’t expect a full on analysis! LOL!

    Now THAT’S what I call true customer service!

  69. 69.

    WaterGirl

    December 27, 2024 at 8:03 pm

    For anyone who cares, I was using fresh potatoes.  I tried to cut them all the fries same size, but apparently that needs a bit more work on my part. :-)  I oiled them VERY LIGHTLY and they were yummy.  Not really crispy because some of the skinnier ones were getting dark, so I took the all out.

    But they were yummy.  Steam was coming out at the top and the bottom of the door, so I will try my next batch without the pan at the bottom – to see if that helps with the steam issue.

    There was no dripping or even splattering in the pan I put at the bottom, so it looks like I oiled them without using so much oil that there was splatter.

  70. 70.

    WTFGhost

    December 27, 2024 at 8:04 pm

    @Baud: With movable type, it becomes trivial. If calendars are hand written, they can include common, easy to miss, mistakes, and that means that proofers are going to miss them sometimes.

    In an early job, we had to have every adding machine tape double checked by a colleague, and the office culture was “of course you’re going to mess up a few strips, you’re going transpose two digits, or miss a number, or whatever, so you get it checked.” That may well be a cultural economic improvement, if, in the past, they didn’t assume errors  as well, and didn’t demand error correction.

  71. 71.

    MagdaInBlack

    December 27, 2024 at 8:04 pm

    @Suzanne: You would think they might be cutting deals. They filed bankruptcy today

    @MattF: Ah, so that’s what happened.

  72. 72.

    Ohio Mom

    December 27, 2024 at 8:05 pm

    @Miss Bianca: I have accidentally evolved the same approach. I put the French fries in the air fryer basket, then turn it on at 400 degrees. The warm-up period functions as a defrosting period.

    But I wasn’t trying to defrost them, just trying to streamline the number of steps in making Ohio Son’s meal. He’s the French fry lover, not me.

  73. 73.

    Suzanne

    December 27, 2024 at 8:05 pm

    @MattF: Yeah, I heard.

    I have to not go in there very often. It’s so stupidly expensive. And I am generally a believer in not buying more storage. Instead, have less stuff!

  74. 74.

    frosty

    December 27, 2024 at 8:06 pm

    @Nukular Biskits: ​Heh. I forgot you had a motorcycle. Way too much chrome. Nope, this is a Schwinn Criss-Cross. Bought it in a pawn shop for $140 in 1994.
    Back when I was young and broke I had a Triumph Tiger Cub 200cc single. Like everything British, it was fun when it worked. I ended up giving it to the Fire Department on a scrap drive.​

  75. 75.

    WTFGhost

    December 27, 2024 at 8:08 pm

    @WaterGirl: If you’re using fresh potatoes, do you know to blanch them? I didn’t for a good many years, hence, the question :-).

    If you bake a potato until it’s starting to feel a bit soft, but you know they’re not done, and take them out (or, you can boil them, or, I’ve heard-tell of microwaving), but the goal is, you don’t want them cooked. You just want the chemical reactions that bring out the starches that will crisp up so deliciously.

    Then, if you want to make home fries or hash browns or, obviously, french fries, they have that extra crispiness you can’t get without some form of blanching or prep.

  76. 76.

    Mr. Bemused Senior

    December 27, 2024 at 8:11 pm

    @Scout211: I finally got a new range after mine blew up last year in the middle of baking a pie.

    Mooseberry pie?

  77. 77.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 8:12 pm

    @frosty:

    Yeah. I should have been a little more specific when I said “bike”.

    I’ve had I don’t know how many motorcycles over the course of my 60 years, but I’ve had this one since 2006.  After Hurricane Katrina, a number of us were “horsetrading” at work and I bought the Intruder with only 5K miles for $2700.  I now have over 55K on it.

    It’s been a good bike.

  78. 78.

    lowtechcyclist

    December 27, 2024 at 8:12 pm

    We visited my FIL in the hospital, and now we’re trying out this ‘Culver’s’ place in Plant City.

  79. 79.

    Prescott Cactus

    December 27, 2024 at 8:13 pm

  80. 80.

    frosty

    December 27, 2024 at 8:14 pm

    @Nukular Biskits: In my youth I had a Bugeye Sprite, Alfa Romeo Duetto, and a TR-3. Went for a long spell with no sports car and then in 1989 I saw an article about a car show with a new 2-seat ragtop, front engine, rear wheel drive, from Japan.

    We bought the Miata from the dealer’s third shipment, it was one of the first 5,000. Totaled after 23 years and ~225,000 miles. Great car, fun to drive, without the unreliability of the Brits. And Italians, OMG.

  81. 81.

    Ohio Mom

    December 27, 2024 at 8:14 pm

    @Suzanne: I once fell hard for a Container Store white plastic space-agey waste paper basket. I don’t remember how much it cost but I still feel slightly guilty every time I empty it.

    When I go there nowadays, I try to convince myself that I’m in a design museum and therefore purchasing is not a possibility.

    I am not surprised they are in bankruptcy, we oldsters and the generation after us already fully furnished our homes and younger generations don’t seem as obsessed with having things as we were.

  82. 82.

    WTFGhost

    December 27, 2024 at 8:15 pm

    @Scout211: I’ve heard the same can be said of the Cybertruck, which reminds me of an early engineering course, where they discussed the “stainless steel jungle gym” – far too heavy and expensive to be worth building.

    I have to say, though, that’s such a *basic* problem. “Food and sauce will spatter, and be exposed to high, maybe even *extreme* heat. So maybe heat resistant *and* stays pretty?” People like their kitchens to look neat.

  83. 83.

    TBone

    December 27, 2024 at 8:15 pm

    @narya: that sounds really good!

    We are working on finishing a store-bought apple cranberry pie tonight.

    Please let us know if Shoofly cheesecake can be recreated.

  84. 84.

    WaterGirl

    December 27, 2024 at 8:16 pm

    @Nukular Biskits: I think of myself as a data girl, but I’ll accept one badass data bitch.

  85. 85.

    coin operated

    December 27, 2024 at 8:18 pm

    @Nukular Biskits:

    A cruiser, though, has lotsa chrome and everything is exposed.  Worst of all, mine has spoke rims and the spokes are rusting.  I have seen absolutely no easy way to clean those so I may just have to let them go.  I’ve already spent 3 days disassembling, cleaning and reassembling it.  All I have left is the rear rim and to use leather cleaner on the seat.

    I’ve owned exactly one motorcycle with spoked rims…never again.

    Currently on a touring bike….2013 Victory Cross Country with 102K miles on the clock. A pre-ride cleaning is the paint/chrome gets a rubdown with Plexis…the once-a-year full cleaning takes the better part of a week.

  86. 86.

    WaterGirl

    December 27, 2024 at 8:20 pm

    @WTFGhost: Interesting.

    These were yellow potatoes (though they were pretty white) and not russets – russets have a lot more starch.

    What I liked about how these turned out is that they were cooked all the way through and soft inside – i absolutely HATE fries and any kind of potatoes, really, where they are still and of hard.

  87. 87.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 8:20 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    @Nukular Biskits: I think of myself as a data girl, but I’ll accept one badass data bitch.

    I hesitated to type that but I figured you knew me well enough by now to know that was a true compliment.  And it helps if you know who and what John Oliver is!

    And, since I can’t post GIFs here, I’ll do this instead (I hope this works):

    media4.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExdzc1ZGxnaTAwejgxb3AzdGp2OTk2Mndjc2JxZDhtdm9pZ3ptZG40aCZlcD…

  88. 88.

    lgerard

    December 27, 2024 at 8:20 pm

    @Scout211:

    But I had no idea that the nice looking stainless steel under the gas burners was so hard to keep clean

    Need to watch more late night TV

  89. 89.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 8:21 pm

    @frosty:
    It’s probably a good thing I couldn’t afford a sporty car in my younger days as I probably would have either lost my license or my life. LOL!

    I still would love something sporty to drive on really nice days but there are so many other priorities right now.

  90. 90.

    WaterGirl

    December 27, 2024 at 8:21 pm

    @Nukular Biskits: Absolutely no offense taken!

  91. 91.

    Phylllis

    December 27, 2024 at 8:21 pm

    @KatKapCC: I should also vacuum but I’m not going to.

    A life philosophy I can get behind.

  92. 92.

    jame

    December 27, 2024 at 8:26 pm

    Collard greens and jambalaya for supper tonight, leftover from Christmas dinner — delicious!

  93. 93.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 8:26 pm

    @coin operated:

    My next bike, should I get another one, is going to have mag rims.

    I love the look of spoke rims but they’re too much of a maintenance headache.

    BTW, ever hear of spraying WD-40 on a bike after washing it to keep the metal parts looking new?  The guy from whom I bought my previous-previous (and maybe one more previous?) bike swore by it but I thought it was a bit far-fetched and never tried it.

  94. 94.

    WaterGirl

    December 27, 2024 at 8:30 pm

    @Scout211:

    And it does look good.

    It probably looks good on the sales floor, and for about 45 minutes after it gets home.

    I always hated cleaning burners, so I got the cooktop that doesn’t have burners.  LOVE IT.

  95. 95.

    Eric S.

    December 27, 2024 at 8:34 pm

    @KatKapCC: grilled cheese

    Just added bread to my shopping list. Thanks.

  96. 96.

    Scout211

    December 27, 2024 at 8:34 pm

    @lgerard: Whoa! That looks just like magic.

    I need to watch more late night TV for all those “not sold in stores” products that can improve my life.  Now that the Pillow Guy isn’t selling his pillows while creepily fondling them, of course. Those TV ads were, ewwww.

    But seriously, something like that could help me not hate my stove top stainless so much.  I’ll have to do some research.

  97. 97.

    WaterGirl

    December 27, 2024 at 8:35 pm

    @Professor Bigfoot:  I am on central time, but I usually try to speak in blog time, which is always Eastern.

    But Cole likes to do his “Day-of-the-week Evening Thread” so I went with afternoon also we wouldn’t have two Friday Evening Threads.

    I also momentarily pondered “Late Afternoon” but I decided against it. :-)

  98. 98.

    Eric S.

    December 27, 2024 at 8:38 pm

    @Nukular Biskits: Machines are finicky and “the best” do take it personally. I’m budgeting similar amount to bring my 4-wheel baby out of storage this Spring.

  99. 99.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 8:44 pm

    Interesting mix of conversations here:

    One on cooking. One on machines. One on cooking machines (or, to be more specific, machines that cook … damn … that could be take a couple of different ways as well).

  100. 100.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 8:44 pm

    @Eric S.:

    And “baby” is …?

  101. 101.

    laura

    December 27, 2024 at 8:46 pm

    @Wapiti: if you were gifted Rancho Gordo Beans- they will ruin you. I mean absolutely ruin you for other dried beans. Rancho Gordon’s Beans are worth the hype. My local farmer’s market (under the freeway by the river sacramento represente) has a vendor- Barbagelata farms, that sells fresh dried cranberry beans that are seriously tender and creamy, but otherwise, Rancho Gordo is a seriously high quality dry bean seller.

    This is the most bougie post, I’ll ever post.

  102. 102.

    Suzanne

    December 27, 2024 at 8:48 pm

    @Ohio Mom: I am not really collect-y about anything, with the exception of books, and I have a very small little print collection that I love. Mr. Suzanne will counter that I have a lot of blankets…. which I suppose is true. I like to be warm and cozy!

    If it was up to me, my house would get significantly emptier. It is always amazing to me how, even if you’re careful and not really a shopper….. stuff adds up, especially when there’s a bunch of people living in one house. Requires constant vigilance!

  103. 103.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 27, 2024 at 8:49 pm

    I love my air fryer. I use it almost everyday. I have the Instant Pot brand.

  104. 104.

    Eric S.

    December 27, 2024 at 8:49 pm

    @Nukular Biskits: 1992 Porsche 911 C4 cabriolet.

  105. 105.

    Eric S.

    December 27, 2024 at 8:51 pm

    @Suzanne: This is so true. I was at my last place 14 years. When I moved I over filled 3 dumpsters and I still feel like my new, bigger place is too crowded.

  106. 106.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 8:58 pm

    @Eric S.:

    @Nukular Biskits: 1992 Porsche 911 C4 cabriolet.

    Nice. And I hate both you and Professor Bigfoot. LOL!

  107. 107.

    kalakal

    December 27, 2024 at 9:02 pm

    @laura: I join you in your bougieness. I cannot praise Rancho Gordo enough.

  108. 108.

    Eric S.

    December 27, 2024 at 9:08 pm

    @Nukular Biskits: I would be hard pressed to afford one now. But I was a 1099 contractor, on a big project with lots of OT, and living cheap(ish).

  109. 109.

    karen marie

    December 27, 2024 at 9:16 pm

    @MattF: I’m not much of a connoisseur of hot sauces.  I like spicy food but I usually bake the spice in as opposed to adding it later.  But thank you for the recommendation.  It may come in handy at some point – one never knows!

  110. 110.

    coin operated

    December 27, 2024 at 9:18 pm

    @Nukular Biskits: WD-40? That’s a new one on me. I was told to use either a furniture wax like Pledge or a plexiglass cleaner called Plexis.

  111. 111.

    karen marie

    December 27, 2024 at 9:19 pm

    @Prescott Cactus: “I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

  112. 112.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 9:20 pm

    @coin operated:

    I haven’t heard of Plexis. On metal surfaces?

  113. 113.

    Lyrebird

    December 27, 2024 at 9:20 pm

    @Scout211: “disposable gas burner liners” are probably not what they show in the showroom, but they mean that incinerated white sauce or whatever can just be tossed.

    I don’t normally push people to use more disposable stuff, but there’s a reason these are available in packs of 100 for cheap almost everywhere.

    I wish they made disposable foil liners for the bottom of the oven, bc I surely hate to clean that, and not everyone in the fam puts a drip pan down.

  114. 114.

    coin operated

    December 27, 2024 at 9:30 pm

    @Nukular Biskits: Yup. All chrome and painted surfaces get wiped down with Plexus (correct spelling here) including the exhaust covers. Doesn’t smoke or stain…makes bug removal much easier.

  115. 115.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 9:36 pm

    @coin operated:

    Interesting. I’ve never heard of that.

    Where do you get it?

  116. 116.

    coin operated

    December 27, 2024 at 9:46 pm

    @Nukular Biskits: Most motorcycle stores carry it. It is expensive but it’s the best product on the market.

  117. 117.

    Gvg

    December 27, 2024 at 9:52 pm

    @Scout211: the black ceramic is terrible to clean also. I am trying out aluminum foil disposable drip pan thingys. I don’t like the shiny look as it contrasts awkwardly with the black heavy iron burners but it’s all I could find and I am sick of cleaning up the drips.

    I want to switch to induction when I can afford it. I don’t want to have gas in my old age. I have seen what forgetfulness is like, and it doesn’t belong around a gas stove for a lady who lives alone. My mother has already burned a few things on an electric stove like towels….plus my gas stove comes on too easily, by being bumped slightly.

  118. 118.

    Nukular Biskits

    December 27, 2024 at 9:58 pm

    @coin operated:

    Next time I’m in the shop near my house (locally-owned/-operated), I’ll ask.

    They’re good people. The owner is 70 and still working on and selling bikes.  I stopped in there today.

  119. 119.

    coin operated

    December 27, 2024 at 10:08 pm

    @Nukular Biskits: The owners of a small indy parts shop in Eugene, OR turned me onto the stuff maybe 2 decades ago and I’ve been using it ever since. Sadly, they were killed in a car accident a few years ago and the shop went out of business. Shame…they knew how to get parts for damn near any bike on the road.

  120. 120.

    Suzanne

    December 27, 2024 at 10:12 pm

    @Gvg:

    plus my gas stove comes on too easily, by being bumped slightly. 

    Funny you mention that. We bought an induction range about six months ago — Mr. Suzanne has asthma, and we didn’t want the fumes — and we have had this exact problem with it. I think SuzMom, who is not super-steady since her hip surgeries last year, is bumping into the knobs. We just ordered those childproof covers for the stove knobs, which I do not love.

  121. 121.

    Suzanne

    December 27, 2024 at 10:15 pm

    @Eric S.: I try to discipline myself with the one-in/one-out rule, but it’s hard!

  122. 122.

    narya

    December 27, 2024 at 10:38 pm

    @Suzanne: I am a Rancho Gordo bean club member…

    @TBone: as far as I can tell, they used the crumb mixture both as the base and part of the topping, and poured molasses on it as well, so not that complicated. I may try some mini version…

  123. 123.

    Chris T.

    December 28, 2024 at 3:23 am

    @Suzanne: A stove-top’s knobs should be on the stove-top, and arranged in a way that mirrors the burner arrangement. It becomes almost impossible to use the wrong knob. See (some of the) diagrams in ergo.human.cornell.edu/DEA3510HWs/HoffmanandChan2011.pdf for examples.

    Unfortunately very few available stove-tops have this design!

  124. 124.

    sab

    December 28, 2024 at 7:43 am

    @Chris T.: Our stove doesn’t. Six months after we got the thing I still have to guess. And the little icons on the stove are not correct.

  125. 125.

    Ruckus

    December 28, 2024 at 7:26 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    I hadn’t noticed it because I buy the calendar for the pictures and use my phone for the date. But I was looking through the 2024 version yesterday and saw that the last 5 months had two 25 days in it. So from the comments this is not all that unusual. And it’s therefore likely every 2024 calendar is likely to be affected because the actual calendar page is one side of the picture page.

    Oh well, the pictures are worth it! Plus two Christmas days!

  126. 126.

    Ruckus

    December 28, 2024 at 7:39 pm

    @HinTN:

    My 2024 calendar had the last 5 months with (2) 25, but no 27.

    I’d bet they print the calendar day side and then the picture side  when the numbers to print come in, plus a few extras. There are either multiple locations for CafePress or someone else prints them, because on their website they are located in CA but the calendars come from I believe it said, NJ.

    Oh well if it was easy anyone could do it…… And if it was easier I still couldn’t do it.

    I have been to one of the US currency printing locations that they give, or used to give tours of. Very interesting. And no you don’t get close to the actual money.

  127. 127.

    Ruckus

    December 29, 2024 at 12:16 am

    @Nukular Biskits:

    I have a LOT of miles on motorcycles, some of them on race tracks. I’ve never added up the miles but for much of my life I’ve ridden rather than driven. First bike at 16, rode till 72. Still own the last one, working on selling it currently. Worked part time in motorcycle racing for 30 yrs and full time for 10.

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