Archive for August, 2006

The battle of the safety can openers

2006 has been quite a year of change. Most notably, I replaced my beloved safety can opener (no sharp edges!). This model had survived three or four moves and was an excellent gift to give. I started to grow suspect of it when I could see an accumulation of grime near the hard-to-reach cutting mechanism. At the same moment in time, Alton Brown preached the necessity of a cleanable can opener, and recommended the Chef’n EZ Squeeze® opener.

I had enjoyed Chef’n's CLASSIC PepperBalls® and, to a much lesser degree, their Flexicado™ (more of a conversation piece than practical or handy), so I was prepared to love their can opener. With much disapointment, I quickly realized that it worked smoothly about 25% of the time. It would fasten to the lid but then it acted like it thought it was too good to open the can. Or it was lazy and wanted to pretend it was opening the can by gliding across the surface and not actually digging in.

the bad can opener

Can opener: bad.

Oh, sure: sometimes it opened a can. But a lot of the time it made a cut one in every three spaces on the lid, and I’d have to lift the lid up with a knife or a spoon and pour the contents out. That was no way to live.

I had three options: replace the current can opener with the same model I had been using for three years, get the mighty Good Grips® Smooth Edge Can Opener or go with a brand I had never heard of, but was seduced by its smooth Swiss Design: the Kuhn Rikon Safety LidLifter Can Opener.

the good can opener

Can opener: good.

The Kuhn Rikon is a top-mounted opener, meaning the can hangs below the cutting surface, not alongside it, which I’m used to. But I opened three cans of beans yesterday to make delicious, if slightly dry, Tamale Pie. Seems like a keeper! It was also some 12$ cheaper than the Oxo. Will I live my life wondering how the other model operates? Can I not dream about “what could have been”?

clung to the shrubs

Poe-like dream

As you may know, hearing about other people’s dreams is one of my least favorite things. Yet here we are with me talking about my dream. I had that dream about the really tall building again. You know, the one that I have to crawl on my knees when I’m on the top floor, like the guy in A Descent into the Maelström. That one!

Pizza Dad, Pizza

Those who have lived with me know of my on-again/off-again obsession with making pizza (i.e. clogging the kitchen sink with my “dough” experiments.) Those same people have had me make “pizza” for them and have suffered through the 7″ high, half-baked crusts with a burnt bottom.

I am happy to report that those days are over. For two years I have been studying the classic text on pizza and I found that by actually following the dough recipes and measuring exactly and allowing the dough to rest…I could make an edible pie.

WARNING: THE FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY BELOW SEEMS TO CONTRADICT THAT THE PIZZA WAS DELICIOUS, VISUALLY STUNNING AND CRUST-TASTIC

pizza about to be cooked

Pizza prepped and ready for the oven, on floured peel.

pizza out of the oven

Sort of g.ross shot of pizza with cheese acting as lava.

Upcoming pizza excitement: A trip to Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, AZ over Christmas.

lost keys

A month or more ago I was out with Scott and Alexa. There was a brick on the street holding a piece of paper. The paper had a photocopy of a set of keys, a title indicating “Lost Keys” and a phone number. Were these the lost or the found keys? Anyhow, it was a good show of neighborhood-ness.