Sears showcases two new takes on cooking appliances
22.09.11
Double-oven ranges and induction ranges and cooktops are some of the hottest new cooking technologies, but each has its problems. Sears unveiled some new variations on these products at a press conference in Manhattan. The retailer hopes they will win over consumers and boost sales.
Double ovens let you prepare separate dishes at different temperatures, but typically the top oven is smaller than the bottom one. That can make hoisting a turkey out of the lower oven difficult. So Kenmore is rolling out an electric smoothtop range with two convection ovens that are both the same size and are each large enough to fit a large turkey. Look for the $1,900 Kenmore Elite 97512 (shown) in stores by next week.
Most Kenmore ranges and cooktops have performed well in our tests. Kenmore takes the top spot in our Ratings of induction and electric smoothtop cooktops . Among ranges, the $1,480 Kenmore 92163 tops our Ratings of smoothtop models, and the Kenmore Elite 97203 induction range, $2,500, is near the top, having aced most tests. And Kenmore has scored well in our readers’ reliability surveys.
Source: ConsumerReports.org (blog)
Apple recipes
27.09.11
2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup room-temperature butter
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten until frothy
2 cups chopped, peeled and cored Jonathan apples
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind
¾ cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
1 tablespoon melted butter
Cook's notes: You will need a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan. You can double the recipe and use two loaf pans. You may need to adjust baking time; for multiple and smaller loaves, begin checking doneness after initial 40 minutes of baking.
Preliminaries: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease loaf pans.
Sift the dry ingredients: Sift together flour, baking powder and soda and set aside.
Mix wet ingredients: Beat butter and sugar together with electric mixer until pale and light, then beat in eggs, one at a time.
Combine mixtures:
Source: Plain Dealer (blog)