Favorite pan, tool or gadget

[james]

Hello,
This is a sticky posting to keep track of everyone's favorite tools. Post the pan, tool, or gadget you like the most here.

[Yahoo-Archive]

Hello all,

After a lot of looking, I have found a good source of pizza tools,
peels, oven tools, etc. It's a family owned business just west of
Florence, where the father is the designer, one brother does sales
and marketing, the other brother does production and engineering and
the mom is the bookkeeper. Nice folks. They make both residential and
commercial tools, and are very well known here. They also sponsor the
Italian Pizzaiolo Acrobat Team (really).

The tools are in stock in the states, and I re-did the FB.com web site:

http://fornobravo.com/pizza_peels/index.html#pizza_peel

Let me know off-line if you have any questions.

James

[james]

Best knife for slashing bread

I have started using the French Opinel knife for slashing bread. It's a very thin, very sharp fold-over knife that works well for me. I have the standard steel blade, and it gets a little rusty, but I really like it.

What do other folks use?

James

[CanuckJim]

Lame

Well, I've tried just about everything, including two French lames that I found on a bargain table for $1.98 for both. I've used surgical prep blades, razor blades, knives of various sorts, and nothing works very well for me thus far. In my case, I think it's technique, not the blade. I hope it will come with practice. Anyway, there is a French company, Scaritech International (scaritech.com), that makes nothing but bread slashing blades of various sorts, but they don't appear to sell retail. Now, how French is that, I ask you, an entire company devoted to one small area of bread baking?

Jim

[Justinalbany]

the gadget I keep getting new ideas for

I love our new gas oven, our pizza stone, and the Super Pizza Peel. Now that we have all these in place our Friday Night Pizza partys are all about new creative gourmet pizzas. (and local) microbrews.

This is where we got the pizza peel:

http://www.superpeel.com/index.html

Next I am planning on learning how to make pies for the first time and hope the peel is the right thing for lattice crusts. Wish me luck.

[vitoduke]

Forno Bravo Tools

Hi James---We used the oven over the week-end and used the log holder and ash rake. The log holder definately get the fire going faster, allowing the oven to heat up faster {less wood}. The ash rake also works great, moving all the ashes over to the side. We made the same pizza that we had at your house- marinated Portobello mushrooms{ olive oil and dijon mustard} topping the pie with a small amount of crumbled Rocquefort cheese. It was fantastic. We also grilled some of the marinated mushrooms on the grill to go with salmon and they were very good. ---Mel

[jjerrier]

What does everyone use to keep their pizza tools handy near the oven?? I use an old butter churn i found on ebay...but the texas heat gives it a beating. The top of my oven is flat so I can lay the tools up there as I'm cooking - but i need a good rack or something to hang them on the wall when not in use....

thoughts???

[james]

Nice timing

Hi Jay,

Good timing. Personally, I lean my tools again the oven, and knock them over all the time. So we decided to try out two tool holders. One is a stand and the other is a wall mounted hold with three places.

Take a look at the two photos and let me know what you think. We will got one, or both, in the Forno Bravo Store shortly.

Which one looks better to you?
James

[RevJToad]

I am as lazy as a man can be without starving to death (I do the cooking in the house), and so my favorite thing may not be eligible, but it has to be my Kitchenaid mixer. Bread and bread-based stuff has never been worth the effort, until now.

That said, my stone and peel run a close second, if only for the "wow, you're good at that!" that I get from my friends when they see my peel stylee... :>

[jjerrier]

tool holders

james...i could actually use both...the stand for next to the oven while cooking and the rack for storing under our covered patio. if i had to pick one i'd take the rack. its so windy here i know the rack would blow over all the time.

[james]

Jay,
Drop me an email and we can work out a plan. I have the wall rack here in California and we will be getting more of the stand shortly. I have one stand that I am testing, and the base of the stand is seriously heavy -- more than enough to hold your tools in place.

You can be the second to try them out.
James

[james]

Cast Iron Grill Pan

My favorite new toy is a Loge Cast Iron Grill Pan. It's heavy, and has a raised grill for searing vegetables, steak, fish, etc.

I've been using it to sear eggplant and peppers. It gets really hot, makes great sear marks and cooks fast.

Here are couple of photos of a cold eggplant salad. Fuzzy photo, but a great dish.
James

[Burntroof ofmouth]

I em looking for a deep style pan to make sicilian pizza. Anyone have any ideas or sites i can check.From what i been loooking at are like square, and aluminum ,and i want more heavy duty, cast iron, or just more commmercial type pan ,cant seem to find a nice square one only round cast iron.

[Xabia Jim]

Ovenware

We love the heavy terracota earthenware for baking, stews, roasting...whatever. they come in all sizes from a small tomato/basil/goat cheese dish to roasting a whole leg of lamb.....

James, there are a lot of different sizes you could carry if you were so inclined at FB.

Jim

[Xabia Jim]

.......

Oh, and after playing with the infrared laser themometer gun, I don't know how you'd go without one!!!