I first cooked on a gas range when I was very, very young. My Mother, who I’ve previously mentioned, was a fantastic cook, used a gas range and thus taught me how to cook on that same range. In fact, I started in the days when you needed to use a match to light the burners and the oven.

All of the meals cooked were delicious and I attribute that to:

1. Mom’s recipes
2. We were cooking with gas

However, over the years, gas range technology has changed. There seems to be a difference in the quality and taste of the foods cooked with my gas range versus those Mom cooked on her simple gas stove. Could it be that gas stoves of the 20’s to 50’s were very different? Did design play a bigger part in the sales of the recent gas ranges?

So what do I see that’s different you might ask?

Today’s ranges are larger, no need to use a match, just turn a knob to ignite the gas. That’s good. Also, the grates on the cooktop are larger and heavier than those of Mom’s stove. Not so good. I find that I am cleaning the top of the stovetop more than I have when cooking with electric. Everything from oil to water splashes on the top even when using a splash guard.  The enamel is nice and shiny but a bummer to clean. I spend more time cleaning the top than I do cooking. Electric ranges cool down faster than a gas range, thus one cannot clean spills or splatters immediately on a gas range. It also takes muscle to handle the heavy grates for removal.

Many cooks have complained that they can’t regulate the temperature quickly enough when cooking on electric. I find gas less sensitive to relative heat settings, while electric provides tighter control over the range of temperature options.

Mom was the cook, but I can hear Dad saying, “What’s the fuss, a stove, is a stove, is a stove”. Well, I’ll take electric anytime!

Since I have been cooking for umpteen years, I have found some equipment that I cannot do without. Hopefully, this list will give you some ideas for those on your gift list. You can find many of these items in discount stores, or on sale, and even better on line. Searching the web gives you more opportunity to compare prices and many vendors offer free shipping.

Here are some of my favorites that I could not be without:

• KitchenAid Stand Mixer: This item comes in a variety of models, colors and price range. The mixer includes bowl, beaters, and dough hook. KitchenAid offers many additional accessories at added cost (good for those who may already have the mixer) such as pasta maker, juicing and slicing attachments and, best of all, an ice cream maker.

   

   

   

   

• Cuisinart Food Processor:  An 11-cup or 9-cup capacity food processor also comes in a variety of models, colors and price range. The stainless steel blades included with all models do an excellent job of slicing or shredding. My favorite is the dough blade, great for kneading dough for all your breads, pizzas and pasta. My Cuisinart processor is over twenty-five years old and still works like a gem. Couldn’t be without it!

   

   

   

• Cuisinart Mini Food Processor:  A 4 cup capacity that does an excellent job chopping and grinding. I use this for chopping veggies and grinding nuts. It also works well to grind hard cheeses.  The removable parts are dishwasher-safe.

   

   

   

   

   

• Knives:  All cooks need a good set of kitchen knives and after many years of trying to keep a knife sharp or not chipping or breaking , my favorite are the Wusthof high carbon stainless-steel knives. These can be pricey, but you can just add a few knives at a time to start a collection. The complete set with block will store and keep knives protected right on your counter top for quick accessibility. I love the 9” steel sharpener included in the set which really keeps the knives sharp every time you cut. Don’t put these knives in the dishwasher; always wash by hand in hot soapy water.

   

   

• Steak knives: Again, I recommend the Wusthop steak knives. They make an excellent accompaniment to the Wusthof kitchen cutting set. The steak knives stay sharp and the handles are beautifully designed for comfortable handling.

   

   

   

   

   

• Waring Blender: A classic small appliance I have had for years that blends and mixes like new every time. A sturdy, heavy duty motor and easy to clean pitcher. Smoothies are so big now and this blender can crush ice and frozen fruit to make a delicious thick and smooth drink. It’s also the perfect blender for bar drinks. A must in any kitchen!

   

   

   

   

• John Boos Chopping Block: In order to keep those special knives sharp you want to use a very good quality chopping block. I prefer John Boos maple wood board. It is strong and heavy and will endure all of your chopping, mincing, and dicing needs. Simply wash with hot soapy water and dry with a clean paper towel. It lies perfectly flat on your counter top and you can rest assure it will not move due to its solid construction.

   

   

   

   

Any one of these items will make your recipient a very happy cook. Happy shopping!

“This Is It” is an unforgettable documentary showing Michael Jackson in rehearsal for the show he was planning on taking on tour before his untimely death. Whether you are a fan of Michael’s or not, you will get to see the talent, genius, and dedication he had for his fans, his staff, and the talented young people who were chosen to appear with him on stage for a World tour of 50 shows entitled “This Is It”! Their devotion to him as well truly comes across in this film.

I was truly mesmerized by seeing Jackson on stage after a ten year “retirement”. He was absolutely amazing in this filming of the rehearsals leading up to his death. He looked great and based on what I saw, all that talk about him not being ready or prepared for this tour were completely untrue. The film was expertly edited and the sound and effects were very professional and of award winning quality given the circumstances of this event.

The numbers were truly creative and if you were expecting his old stuff, you will be greatly surprised.

He did some of his classic songs such as “Smooth Criminal” and “Billie Jean” and a fantastic new meant-to- be 3-D version of “Thriller”. I thought the highlight was his tribute to the environment which illustrated his message of love and humanity for this planet.

The movie is being shown for just two weeks in cities around the world. It opened last weekend which means it will only run for one more week. It is worth seeing. It has Academy Award written all over it and it will leave you feeling how much we lost in this very talented and loving individual who had problems with addictions, which he was never able to overcome, but left this world too soon for his fans, family, and children. I can’t wait for the DVD!

It gives me great pleasure to post a film review by my son John:

Films based on children’s books can be a tricky proposition. Often kids’ books don’t contain enough plot to sustain a feature-length film. What works well on the page can translate poorly to the big screen. All the digital effects in Hollywood cannot make up for a thin plot that may otherwise work in short, illustrated book-form. Did we really need a big-budget version of The Cat in the Hat? For a children’s film to stand on its own merits, there has to be a journey that the audience is willing to take.

Thankfully, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, based on the popular children’s book of the same name by Ron and Judi Barrett, organically strengthens its skeletal tall-tale roots by providing a satisfying backstory that explains the reason for food falling from the sky in the mythical town called Chewandswallow. Instead of simply relying on the novel idea at the heart of the book, screenwriters Phil Lord and Chris Miller center the story around memorable characters who ultimately triumph in this lighthearted but delicious film.

Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader) is a young inventor who dreams of creating something that will improve everyone’s life. He has been seeking that invention since grade school, but his results have always pointed more to ridicule and failure, which don’t improve Flint’s relations with his widowed father (James Caan). Flint lives on an island in the Atlantic that survives by catching and canning sardines. When the sardine market collapses and the citizens grow tired of eating their own sardines, he decides to save his island by creating a machine that can convert ordinary water into any food on Earth: hamburgers, ice cream, jellybeans, you name it. His invention ruins a town gathering and ultimately ends up in the sky. But once the town’s denizens realize that Flint is responsible for some amazing new weather, he winds up as the most popular person in town.

Flint is tempted by the town’s fame-seeking mayor (voiced by Bruce Campbell) to indulge in his newfound glory and not waste time thinking about problems like the mountain of garbage that his new machine creates or the rapidly expanding size of the food that rains down on the town. Flint’s love interest, a fledgling weather reporter named Sam Sparks (voiced by Anna Faris), wants to help, but is afraid to show her intelligence to anyone for fear of jeopardizing her career or friendships with others. Ultimately, Flint winds up having to decide whether to destroy the very thing that gave him his popularity.

There are many treats here for both child and adult, and the filmmakers have expertly weaved in 3D effects that add to the charm of the film. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a delightful way to spend an afternoon with the family. Just be sure to make time for the inevitable hunger pangs that you’ll feel afterward.

ATTENTION ALL COOKS (beginners, intermediates, and experts)! A truly enjoyable movie based on a true story was released this weekend, Julie & Julia, which is well worth seeing, A+. It’s based on the lives of two women, Julia Child a legendary world-renowned chef, author, and television personality and Julie Powell, who wrote the original story.

I have been a devotee of Julia Child from the very first time I read her cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, who from the very first day she appeared on television teaching all us cooks how to master French cuisine.  She is an icon and became a household name in the lives of millions of Americans teaching us all we needed to know about preparing a perfect meal from beginning to end. She was the FIRST to demonstrate cooking on television. Those who have followed her have Julia Child to thank for opening the door, or should I say oven, to bringing the joy and love of cooking into their homes.

This film, Julie & Julia, was a nostalgic movie for me as I have so much respect and admiration for this lively, talented, energetic woman who spent eight of her middle age years writing a remarkable cookbook and then presenting herself to the public via national television to became world famous. In fact, the kitchen she used for her shows is now a permanent exhibit in its totality at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking was first published in 1961 and is now in its 49^th printing. It became the “bible” for all cooks in the early sixties. During those years, home entertainment was centered around a fully prepared meal by the hostess and she usually fixed a recipe from Julia Child’s book. I still prepare many recipes from the book, my favorites are Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon (beef stew in red wine, with bacon, onions and mushrooms). All the cooks I know who have her book have prepared Boeuf Bourguignon, and all of us are still proud of how perfect this beef stew turns out.

Julia Child was a superb teacher who taught and demonstrated with great enthusiasm the basic techniques that all cooks need to know such as; How to Measure Flour, How to Use a Knife, Chopping, Slicing, Dicing and Mincing, even How to Beat Egg Whites and many more.

I miss not seeing her on television and the enjoyment she brought to all of us with her wit, her antics, and hearing her say in that very recognizable voice, “Bon Appetit”. She made us feel that if she could be a wiz in the kitchen, so could we and she told us “Not to be afraid”. Thank you, Julia, for your dedication to the art of cooking and for entering our hearts and kitchens. A must see movie!

Recently, I was introduced to the Flip Video Camcorder by a friend who videoed me doing a cooking lesson. The Flip was impressive; particularly in its ease of operation and its convenient compact size. I was still a little skeptical about the ease to edit video.  After searching online for all the information about the Flip and reading the reviews, I decided to purchase the Flip Mino HD. I chose this model because it has a rechargeable lithium battery and 60 minutes recording time, which was perfect for recording my cooking videos. I’m limited to a maximum of 10 minutes for videos I upload to YouTube.com, so 60 minutes is more than enough.

After the first time videoing I fell in love with it. The FlipShare software is already loaded in the camera and once downloaded to the computer you can view your video, edit and even create a movie with music and titles. Snapshots can be generated just by a click on a video clip.  Sharing a video with others and a direct upload to MySpace and YouTube is so simple and quick.

Filming entails just aiming through the viewfinder, pressing a large red button and you’re on. You stop by pressing the same red button. You can review your project on the camera viewfinder. To download to your computer, a USB arm is built in the camera and plugs right into your computer. There are no extra cords to deal with. Everything is all inside this tiny, convenient little camera. Once convinced that the FlipShare would easily enable me to post a video of myself preparing a recipe on my Blog, I was sold!

The Flip comes in many models and colors and is inexpensive relative to other camcorders on the market.

It is so convenient to carry around in your purse or pocket as it is so compact. An added accessory piece, a tripod, came with the camera as a bonus. The picture quality and audio are excellent due to the HD feature and built in microphone.

While I prepare the recipes which I want to share with others, my husband, George, operates the camera. He was a little dubious about being my videographer at first, however, after just one try with the Flip he has perfected the technique and is doing a great job filming my cooking videos. The quick and helpful technical support I received from Flip was outstanding also!

All the videos here on my Blog and also on my YouTube channel were made with the Flip. As you can see, I’ve flipped over my Flip!

Get The Flip Mino here with Free Shipping!

With summer comes wearing less clothing such as, shorts, sleeveless dresses and yes, a bathing suit. I have been in this predicament more times than I would like to recall. Out come the diet books, out come the magazines that offer the quick fix to dieting and losing ten pounds in a week, and again a gym membership, that I hope to use this time.

I strongly believe in exercise not only for weight loss, but especially for good health benefits. If you are reading this post for weight loss, then I know you are aware of all the benefits of exercise and dieting. So I am not going to take up your time embellishing on those factors. I do want to tell you about a program I have found that has helped me: Weight Watchers
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Weight Watchers is a very sound program and the medical profession has given it high approval ratings as a safe and sound diet program whether you plan to lose a few pounds or many more.  For those who cannot attend meetings in person, Weight Watchers offers their program online and you can receive all the help and knowledge you need by just joining online.

I joined a few years ago and received all the literature and information I needed to start the program. All the benefits of receiving on-line support, recipes, menu planning, shopping lists, and calculating points, etc, are found with just a click on my computer. Even after a few years, I can always go back to my notes, their recipes, and get back on the program.

I also purchased many of their cookbooks and have found the recipes delicious, easy and great for any occasion. There are a numerous variety of Weight Watcher cookbooks at Amazon.com. My favorite is Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook. All the recipes in this cookbook will give you the necessary Point count if you are following the point plan as well as how to use the recipes with the Core or Flex plan. Even when not dieting, I have used many recipes from this book for my family and for entertaining. The Weight Watchers recipes are so easy to follow plus they use ingredients we all are familiar with and can find in all grocery stores.

When I don’t have time to prepare a meal or I am just cooking for myself, I will use frozen dinners. I never thought I would enjoy frozen meals, since I grew up during the introduction of “TV dinners”. However, we have come a long way from the “TV dinners” of the 50’s. They really are good, have built-in portion control, and work perfectly with counting points. My favorites frozen meals are Smart Ones, and Stouffer Lean Cuisine. The points are already listed on the package, so all you need to do is keep a daily total count of your allotted points.  I found the Italian meals extremely tasty and close to my recipes. The ingredients are fresh tasting, not overly salty, plus filling, especially when you add a salad tossed with a light salad or non fat dressing.

So here’s to summer! I have confidence I will lose my winter weight thanks to Weight Watchers. It’s an excellent program for anyone who needs to lose weight. Just stick with it. It works!

Again I will be showing my age when I mention that I am from a generation of handwriting devotees who wrote and sent their own notes, letters, and thank you cards for every occasion. These notes and cards were written with a great deal of thought and sentiment and meant so much joy to those who received them. In fact, we were taught letter writing in school and how to compose and express our thanks, sentiment, and sympathy.

Mothers would teach their children at an early age about sending a card to a relative or friend for special occasions or for a thank you. I remember when my children were young and hadn’t learned to write yet, I would send cards from them and they would sign their “signature”. At an early age it was usually a scribble, and then they would advance to a picture, and eventually to printing their first name. This was the start of sending cards to others and as they grew older they would continue the exchange of sentiments.

Today this method of card sending has become quicker and more convenient for us. Now we have the Internet and can e-mail cards all around the world. It is so exciting to be able to have access to sending and receiving notes, letters, and cards from all of our friends, family and acquaintances for any occasion at any time of the day.

A few years ago I received an animated e-card for my birthday and was so impressed with the artistry, music, and visual effects of this card that I immediately connected to the originator of the card and read her website and signed up for a membership. Jacquie Lawson is an English artist living in Southern England and started her e-card business in 2002. She is an extremely talented artist who has hired a team of artists to create beautiful animated cards with special music composed for each card or occasion. There are no advertisements or pop-ups when you view one of Jacquie’s cards. The colors are vivid and the music is captivating.

The annual membership fee is very modest; in fact, there is a discount for joining for two years. This membership allows you to send as many cards as you desire. You will even have a permanent record of the cards you send and when they were viewed by just a link on the jacquielawson home page. Also, you can request the date you want the card to be sent and you will receive an email when the card was sent and another notice when it was viewed.

Receiving a card and sending a card means so much to the receiver and giver that I highly recommend you check out Jacquie’s site. You will definitely put a smile on someone’s face and impress whoever receives one of her cards.

I had seen the original Broadway show ten years ago and fell in love with it. It’s a lively production with great choreography and show stopping tunes. The story is about a high school senior, Ren, from Chicago who goes to live in a small town in the Bible Belt with his Mother. To his surprise, this is a town with strict and unusual local laws and a ban on dancing.

Ren goes footloose, turns the town upside down and soon has everyone dancing, including the town preacher and the city council that set these rigorous laws into practice. Some of the classic numbers from the show are “Let’s Hear it for the Boy“, “Footloose“, “Almost Paradise” and “I Need a Hero“.

The dance numbers are very athletic and the score is “get out of your seat and move” music. Even though the show was written ten years ago, the story and score hold up so well in today’s culture. It portrays how young people can show older folks that some of the rigors put upon them are ridiculous and can be changed to make teenagers more willing to cope with the demands of society, if we would just open our minds to “their needs”.

The young stars in this recent production I attended, at the Naples Philharmonic Theater, were convincing as high school seniors out to change the laws in their town without violence or resentment. They did it by calmly making their case to the elders explaining the stupidity of the dancing ban. Ren, the spokesperson for the seniors, describes how it is even written in the Bible of the need to sing and dance. The whole ensemble was enthusiastic, extremely talented, and the adult roles were performed by real pros.

I lived in Texas for 22 years and the dancing ban is not too far fetched.

In fact, a major University in Texas did not allow dancing on campus until 1996. The students would go off campus to dance and they willingly accepted the ban for 151 years!

Footloose was such a successful musical that it was made into a movie, starring Kevin Bacon. He was superb in the role of Ren and surprised audiences with his dancing and singing skills.

It is a great and uplifting show but if you can’t catch the road show, try renting or purchasing the DVD. A treat for the whole family – your teen-age children will love it!

I’m a serious fan of Broadway musicals and was looking forward to seeing this show. “Legally Blonde” originated from a popular movie, of the same name, rather than vice versa which is the usual route. In this case, the movie was much better than the stage show. The show may have lasted a respectable 1 ½ years on Broadway and was nominated for 7 Tony Awards, but won none. It was a hit on MTV and was broadcast in its entirety six times. This indicates the show probably appeals to a much younger audience.

Where are the new artists, composers, playwrights? Most of the hits on Broadway these days are revivals. New musicals are few and far between and don’t last long on Broadway. These are sad times for the state of musical comedy. Perhaps it is a dying art form, I hope not. I felt bad leaving during intermission, as the hard-working and dedicated young artists who danced and sang their hearts out, deserved better material.

Maybe my disappointment in the show can be looked upon as a “generation gap”.  So be it, but I really would like this younger generation to have the opportunity to see and hear great musicals that they will remember into their senior years. I strongly feel the memories of shows like “Legally Blonde” are here today and gone to tomorrow.

If you want to compare today’s musical with those major hits of the past, rent the DVD’s of the Sound of Music, King and I, Sunset Boulevard, Annie, and Phantom of the Opera. They are all part of a tradition that I hope will eventually be reignited on Broadway again.