Outset QV40 Verde Stainless-Steel Grill Brush with Bamboo Handle

I had high hopes for this grill brush as it had the scraper to get burnt remains out between the grates and it appeared to be well made with a real metal hanging ring and Bamboo handle. It wasn't long before I realized that this brush wasn't going to cut it. It's handle is way too short to use on a hot grill but I'd thought I'd keep it anyway as I would try not to get burned because it just wasn't worth returning. Well then I tried it on the grill and realized the bristles are too short to clean the full length of the grates! When I compared the bristles to my $3.00 version I saw why it didn't reach the bottom of the grate. It's bristles were about 1/8-1/4 of an inch shorter than my old HD special. That was the straw that got me to send it back as it is worthless in my opinion except to hang it by the grill to just look good.

Arrived on time and in excellent condition..Just what I expected and wanted. Good quality with sturdy construction that will be durable and serve well for many years.

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Cuisinart GreenGourmet Hard-Anodized Nonstick Skillets

I am an avid home chef and a fervent hater of nonstick cookware. I went through so many sets of nonstick in my early married years, everything from the $30 "whole kitchen in a box" set I got as wedding gift to a "top of the line" set that my mother-in-law gave me years later. I babied the stuff, but it still wound up scratched and peeling and in the trash. And, I never liked the cooking performance of any of it. So, many years ago I threw it all out and bought an 18/10 stainless setwhich I love and praise to anyone who will listen, and have never had to replace a single piece of. BUT, even I will admit that it's tough to get a decent fried egg from a stainless pan, so I kept an 8" nonstick skillet around just for that purpose. It was needing to be replaced so I decided to go with hard anodized. Hesitantly, I was going to get another brand with the teflon type finish. Then I saw this, and liked the idea of the the ceramic type finish. I can't tell you how much I love this pan. It fries beautifully. Sears salmon and steaks. Cleans with a wipe and a rinse. I have had this for a couple of months, used it MANY times, and am getting ready to buy the 12" for bigger jobs. Even my 8 year old can make beautiful(no tears)fried eggs with it. Oh, and did you know that you can thaw meats faster in it. Hard anodized is an amazing conducter of heat, so it pulls the cold out of the food. Just set it on the counter (covered) and wait about 20 minute (depends on thickness of the meat) turn it over once and voila you have thawed meat.

Please note that when you read all the positive reviews that they are from brand new pans. This review is after using the pan for just less than 2 months. I was so excited to buy this pan! After reading so much about non stick pans and how unhealthful they are I was really psyched to come across this one and purchased the 12" after frustrating results with the upkeep and care necessary to keep an iron skillet relatively stick free. This pan was great and I almost bought a whole bunch of them after about a week. Eggs, pancakes, sandwiches, sauces, etc. Nothing stuck. Then it slowly started to stick. I was careful with the cleaning, we use olive oil and butter to fry, but now, merely two months after purchasing it, it sticks like crazy. NOTHING doesn't stick to this pan. It's even hard to clean. I am sure that technology will come up with a 'new improved' non toxic non stick surface, but this, sadly isn't it. It's like buying a brand new model car when you should have waited for them to get the kinks out. They have to be getting mail from people like me all the time. This pan stinks.

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The Good...

It's a solidly built, eco-friendly cooking pan made by a reliable company.

The Bad...

I typically use it to make pancakes or fry veggies and beans in oil. Within my first couple uses and cleanings, I noticed that the sides weren't smooth like the base. At that time I thought that maybe the pan was manufactured that way, or that it might be a defect in the surface. I did my best to clean it with a sponge and soap, but it didn't seem to make a difference. I continued to use it occasionally. It really bothered me though, since it wasn't like any other non-stick pan I've used. Inspecting it closely, I noticed what appeared to be a residue of oil. It wasn't greasy but very viscous and hardened on. I'd never burned anything onto the pan, and it had performed pretty well. I guess I'd give it a B for it's non-stick surface.

The Other Good...

Anyway today, I finally went against tradition and used a scouring pad on the surface. It took me over an hour of sanding off the residue with the dry scour pad, and blotting off the dust with a moist paper towel. It was a mild acrylic pad, but had enough scratchiness to take off the residue, which came off as an orangy powder. It resembled dried oil, and for the life of me, that's all I can determine that it was. However, I finally returned it to a virtually untouched state.

I was nervous about scraping into the pan as I did with the scouring pad, having been careful to only use wooden utensils in the past. However, even after putting some serious elbow grease into it, the scouring didn't seem to scratch the non-stick surface. I probably won't try it, but it does seem that it would be resistant to scratching from metal utensils. It at least takes a good scouring and comes out looking fresh and clean.

Summary:

Overall, I think it didn't perform quite as well as low-end T-Fal pans that I used 15 years ago, but food didn't stick to the pan too terribly either. The oil apparently stuck to the sides of the cooking surface in a bad way, however. I cleaned my pan promptly and never burned anything on it, a residue of dry hardened oil built up in just a few uses. On the other hand, I was able to scrape it off with a mild scouring pad. It was much like taking rust off a surface with a fine grit sandpaper. Trust me, you don't want to expend the time and elbow grease to do this though. Since it's a more eco-friendly, safer non-stick pan, I'm willing to deal with it. I'm going to be more aware of how hot I heat the pan, as I suspect that high temperatures and oil quickly caused the build-up of oil residue.

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At first glance, these appear to be fantastic products. The angle of the sides is great to keep things contained, the handle is comfortable and always stays cool to the touch, and they look really great. We bought silicon tools to use with these skillets and made sure to never use them above MED on the stovetop. They were always left to cool before wiping down with soap, and stored safely where they wouldn't get scratched. Basically, these were supposed to be our first grown-up cooking utensils.

Unfortunately, in the two weeks that we had our 10" skillet, it developed patches of bare surface, which grew with every use. I called up Cuisinart and asked if there was anything I could do to refinish the surface or help keep it from spreading, and was told to just mail it in for a repair. I mailed it in, at my own expense, and got a letter a week later stating that it was "not a manufactured defect", and that I could buy a new one from them for more than it cost new from here. Of course I have no recourse but to let people know that these are apparently very sensitive skillets, so take that into consideration when buying.

We have an 8" and a square pan model bought at the same time which do not have this problem, so we do not believe it to be our fault. It's just disheartening to be so careful with a piece of cookware, only to have it fail on you, and then spend ten bucks shipping to basically throw it out.

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4 months ago I bought the 12 inch skillet for $70 and followed all the manufacturer's instructions such as hand washing etc. It worked very well initially and I was thrilled but now it has begun to stick very badly after only 4 months of use. I have not tried calling Cuisinart yet but I certainly did not expect problems so early. Hopefully Cuisinart will make the next gen better and longer lasting. Will update this review after talking to Cuisinart.

Oct 2009 update: I did return my old skillet to Cuisinart (spent an additional $18) and got a new replacement skillet a few months ago and was pleasantly surprised at that. The coating on the new one seems much thicker/better than the previous one I had. I wont say it is perfect, it sticks sometimes but I have peace of mind when I cook in it. In a few months, I'm sure it will lose its non-stick characteristic. In the meanwhile, I also tried the Green Pan (from Target for $30) and Cuisinart's non stick seems much better. After this experience, I feel this is new technology that needs to mature some more and we need to give it the chance to survive. But I will never go back to the traditional PTFE based non-stick skillets. I would like to revise my rating to 3 stars since my Jan 2009 review.

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HAIER 1.3CF 1100-Watt Microwave, Stainless Steel

This microwave was the worst thing I have ever had which completely surprised me because we had a Haier fridge at my work that was a beast & lasted forever (& is still working).

I received this as a wedding present & we started having problems from the first week.

First, the stainless steel on the outside started to rust, I was able to clean it off & chalked it up to the fact that we live in Louisiana so the humidity probably got to it.

Second, whenever we would cook food it would steam up so bad in there that it would leave puddles of condensation in the bottom of the microwave.

Third, the paint started to peel off the inside under the turntable wheels.

Then the microwave became self aware & figured out that it's warranty was up & it decided to act like it was possessed by a poltergeist. Whenever you close the door it would automatically turn on, the light would come one, the turntable would start turning & the microwave would make the whirring noise associated with it cooking, but it wouldn't cook. You would have to close the door a certain way to get it to not do that. After awhile closing the door a "certain way" no longer worked, you would have to push the door in while it was on to make it cook something. We just said "EFF YOU" & got rid of it.

Even without all the problems it was still a huge pain to clean the grilling element inside & when you did try to grill something it would take 10-15 minutes to grill some bread with garlic butter on it. We ended up just using our oven for all of our grilling needs because it just wasn't worth the hassle of using the grill. Plus to even get the grill to work you have to press thirty thousand buttons to get it to the right one (while trying to decipher what the stupid icons meant in the manual), then it would stop every 5 minutes for you to flip the item (even if you didn't want to or need tothere was no way to turn that off) & it would take FOR-EV-ER.

Seriously, take this review into consideration when thinking of purchasing this. It's a cumbersome, faulty, confusing, space hog that routinely gets possessed by poltergeists & has a worse grilling/toasting capabilities than something you could make out of tin foil & wishes.

Their commercial appliances seem to be awesome, but their home appliances (most specifically this microwave) are garbage!

I purchased the "Beast," a year and a half ago, shortly before moving into my space efficient, uber cool pad. I had no idea (guess all that stainless prevented me from visually observing the size of this monster, how huge it is. Also I didn't even entertain the thought of returning it because even though I could have sent it back, The Beast weighed in at 37 pounds plus 20 pounds of shipping materials. A total of 57 pounds that I'd have to pay in shipping costs out of pocket to return Zelda. I must say, Haier got me every which way. From the outstanding photos to the great copy, they had me hook line and sinker. And whoever thought to offer returns as an incentive is a genius. They got this dumb blonde consumer who will have this Beast until the cows come home. If you really want to buy one, I'll give you mine--free. Come get this whale out of my kitchen!

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A nice product from Haier. Works well. Does its job efficiently! Delivered on time from Amazon. No problems, so far! Its not so big, if you are going for a small-to-medium sized microwave...

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This is a big pile of junk. I have owned it for a year or less, the handle broke off, the inside is rusting and the paint is chipping off. I have NEVER seen such poor quality in my life. I will be throwing it in the dumpster and replacing it as soon as I can find one that I want.

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The interior of this unit started cracking 3 months after purchase. I went through 4 months of hassles to get a replacement. When it finally arrived the replacement was defective. I'm waiting again for a replacement for the replacement!

It's now 3 defective replacements and 8 months later. After the 3rd replacement arrived damaged and I had to insist for a refund I was charged a "10% usage fee". I was charged 10% for using their piece of garbage for 3 months before it broke.

Only buy from this company if you have money you can flush down the toilet and enjoy hassles.

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24x30x5 (23.75x29.75x4.38) MERV 10 Honeywell Grill Filter (2 Pack)

Don;t really know if these filters work because I don't know how to tell that. However, the price was great (beat our local prices by 50%) and the service fast. Would highly recommend this purchase. The filters do grab tons of dog hair (and you can actually scoop out the dog hairwe have four dogs and a cat). They last much longer than the smaller filters and came with a great review from our local HVAC company that charged us twice this price for them.

I would recommend them and would highly recommend this source for purchases.

Panini Grill (Refurbished)

Received this as a gift and thought it was great but, probably like many kitchen appliances, would not be used often. I don't use it everyday, but I use it a lot and not just for sandwiches. I have cooked shrimp, fish, garlic bread, and chicken and have been very pleased with the results. It is an absolutely great way to reheat leftover pizza since it crisps the bottom as well as heating it through. We have had the press for a year and my husband and I both use it once or twice a week. I believe the label 'panini press' implies it is more limited than it is. It has variable height and heat, with a sear setting, so it is really quite versatile. I plan to give 2 as Christmas presents this year. Also, it is very easy to clean with a damp cloth, but it might be nice to have removable plates and it should have a power button rather than turning on/off using the plug.

I have used both the Cuisinart and now the Breville so glad I have the Breville!

I used the Cuisinart Gourmet grill at my daughters' house and decided I had to have one. While researching I found this Breville and chose it because it seemed sturdier and more substantial; it stored upright out of the way; and it was about $25 cheaper. I made a great decision. I have had it about a month and have used it for toast, quesadillas, chicken breast, paninis, grilled cheese and I even cooked bacon strips in it! (Multiple settings make this possible.) I have a small kitchen and very few one-use appliances. This little guy stores upright out of the way but easy to get to...love it.

The grills aren't removable but they are still very easy to clean. I am thinking about getting one of these for my mom. Definitely would recommend it.

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After a good deal of research, I purchased two of these for Christmas gifts. I was a little worried about the idea of giving refurbished grills for gifts, but both of our kids said they are wonderful. Because of their reviews, I will be replacing my panini maker with this one!

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We first saw this model in action from a family member who had paid full price. We have been very happy with our grilled sandwiches. Thanks to Amazon reviews, we also found out that it is great for reheating pizza when you let the top plate hover over the toppings instead of touching like you do with a sandwich. The best part is that the top is hinged so that you can adjust the height. There were no signs that this was a refurbished item. We've had it for a couple of months and use it at least once a week.

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This item was returned because the handle was broken in many pieces. I had read reviews of the product and similar complaints were posted. I could have taken that as my clue.