Cooking Brands Reviews

I purchased this cooker and was greatly pleased with the temperature controls, giving it a versatility other cookers don't have. However, after continued use (daily), the non-stick surface pits and peels (and this is not at high temperatures at all). For the casual user, this is a great product. Easy to clean and use and a good buy for the money. But for someone who plans to use it every day, I would suggest something with a cooking surface that will not come off with repeated use. Try something in stainless.

This is a great steamer and large enough to steam alot of veggies. www.sunrisescents.com

it's deliveried on time and packed very well, brand new, easy to use and everyday now i enjoy using it. I even invite my friend home eating hot pot since it can be adjusted the temperature up to 400F.

This was given to us as a gift. We returned it the next day. Although it made nice waffles, it had three major faults which are the reasons we returned it.

1) The handle is part plastic and part metal. The metal portions become extremely hot when the appliance is on.

2) The latch on the lid was very difficult to release once the waffles were cooked. However, on one occasion, during the middle of cooking, the lid blew open with explosive force and could have caused serious injury if anyone had been standing over it.

3) The batter really does go everywhere on this machine. It leaked all over the sides and the switch, making it a pain to clean.

There are better, safer, machines on the market.

I've worn out so many waffle irons and searched high and low for one that made more than 4 waffles for my big family. I loved this one despite the problems because:

It heats up fast!
Cooks the waffle fast!
Bigger than most waffle makers!
Comes with various recipes and I like how the "regular" recipe is large..made enough batter to keep in a lidded pitcher for days and the kids were able to make themselves waffle snacks any time they liked!

Those "pros" made it worth it to me, especially when comparing it to what's out there on the market..which isn't much.

Cons:

Yes, it leaks when you use more than about a cup of batter, just poor that CUP (not cup and a half) down the center line and it shouldn't be much of a problem. Just have paper towels handy because I find most waffle irons leak, some just worse than others.

I prefered cool touch makers with the plastic outside to this metal but I still like it this one!

I'd prefer the plastic on the handle covering the "entire" handle but just don't touch the metal part! It's a generously long portion for you to grab and open.

I do find the squares that make the "6" waffles smaller than other makers but it still makes a larger amount of waffles in it's entirety.

I like the "beeping" because I tend to always be multitasking so I can hear it in the next room or while eating at the table. Don't like how often it beeps while sitting there and we aren't ready to make another waffle yet. But it's not a problem.

All in all it's worth it. I love it!

This item has not had much use to date, but the early returns show that it is indeed outstanding, good tempurature control etc, and I especially like the green light. It tells you when it is readyto use, but bet of all it tells you when your waffle is done. Tades the guess work out. Non stick feature works perfectly.

Had to say that. This toaster does a good job, I especially like the bagel setting which toasts a bagel to a crispy perfection. And it is beautiful on my counter. The shinny red looks like a candy apple finish. Very classy and makes you smile in the morning.

I love this toaster! It works well, looks beautiful, and has all the features I could need and more (bagel setting, defrost, reheat, cancel). It has a pretty broad range--I've never gone higher than 4 out of 7 on the darkness scale, but I don't like really dark toast. I was a little curious/skeptical about the defrost feature, but it's been great. The crumb tray is easy to pull out and clean, too. My one complaint is that the cord is a little short and there's no cord storage, but otherwise I absolutely love it. I've not been much impressed by toasters in the past, but this one has me actually eating breakfast every morning.

I do not understand what has happened in the coffee maker industry. It seems as if every coffee appliance I buy fails. This one is no exception. I bought this one only because most of the reviews praised it. Now I am sure that the reviews are phony and must be posted by the manufacturer. There is no control over the time of percolation which for whatever reason has been designed to be too short. The coffee comes out weak especially if you try to make less than 12 cups, the water just doesn't make it through the strainer for less cups??? The manual suggests using 20 spoons for 12 cups of strong coffee. At this rate I will essentially be using double the coffee grinds to make the same amount of coffee as I did with a much older Faberware I had and the coffee is still weak. The new faberwares are just as bad as everything else manufactured these days. The reviews and the item description also touts that this coffee percolator has a glass knob. This is an outright lie, it is plastic!!!! I was initially pleased with the design although I feel it is made with a lighter guage metal than it should be. I would gladly pay double for this product if it worked. Don't buy it, it is another coffee maker dud!!!!!

I bought this to replace my ancient aluminum stovetop percolator, which did make great tasting coffee - but the aluminum/alzeimer concerns worried me, plus the thing was stained and almost burnt through from heavy use. Anyway, I did a fair amount of research and this Cuisinart seemed like the best electric percolator available. I thought an electric would be easier to clean (they aren't). The main point I didn't consider is that you can't control the percolating time on these things. That's pretty much the whole point of percolating coffee; If you want stronger coffee you want to be able to percolate it for a longer time. An electric percolator shuts off automatically after it's short pre-timed brewing cycle. I tried a variety of beans and ground settings (and added more coffee to the basket to compensate), but it was still weak. The end result here is watery coffee, just slightly better then what you get from a drip machine. What's the point? I will admit that this percolator is well designed, pours nicely, has a heavy gauge basket and keeps the coffee very hot. That classic percolated taste just isn't there. If you love the rich taste of percolated coffee like I do (it's the best!), you really need a stove top model. I'm getting a Bialetti!

I bought this percolator because the coffee ,no matter how expensive the maker was did not taste that good. I buy my coffee from Hawaii and it lacked something. I decided to buy a percolator and I love the cuisinart brand and it was a perfect fit, the style is classic , sleek, and easy to clean. It tastes 100% better than the auto coffee maker, I will not go back. Thanks Cuisinart

keep in mind that 'non-stick' bakeware generally has a darker finish. This pan is no exception and is darker than the highly rated Cuisinart non-stick pizza pan. You will need to experiment a bit with baking temps and times so as not to scorch your deep-dish pie.

One other disadvantage is the small rolled lip. This makes it difficult to 'flute' your crust. Still, this is one of the better ones and is certainly offered at an affordable price. I bought 2 with no regrets.

I used my Cuisinart pie pan to make a pecan pie for Christmas. This particular pie always gave me sticking problems with my old Pyrex pie dish. The pecan pie was beautiful in the new pan, and each piece came out neat and clean. Cleanup was very easy. I made a quiche for New Years with equally great results. Neither the pie nor the quiche was "deep-dish", but the crust was easy to roll into an attractive edge about an inch below the top of the pan. I couildn't be happier.

I just received my pie pan and I love it. It is heavy duty and very well constructed and very deep -- don't have to worry about spill overs. Have never been able to really find a "deep pie pan" and this is exactly what I wanted. Now that I see what a great pan it is I wish I had ordered at least 3 or 4 at the fantastic price of $5.99. This was definitely the best bargain I've gotten.

I find that the arepas made w/the arepa maker come out w/"rubbery" centers, and they take a long time to be done. They toast nicely outside, but somehow the insides don't cook well. I'm wondering if I can find another use for this appliance, maybe for making pancakes? I think I will continue making arepas the traditional way, on a non-stick griddle on the stove.

I have found that the Arepa Maker can be used for many things besides Arepas. It can be used to make Eggs,Hamburgers,Pancakes, Crab Cakes, Tuna Melt, Salmon Croquettes, Shortcake, Potato Cakes/Hash Browns,Circle Sandwiches - Kids will love to eat! Anything you can image.....
And also one trick, when you make the arepas, you can open them and scoop the inside and fill them with anything you can image....from ground meat, shredded meat to cheese, eggs...etc...That is how the real Venezuelans eat them.....!!!

I've enjoyed using my 14 cup Cuisinart for at least 3 years now. I still use it on a regular basis even though we are a 2 member household. You may wonder why I chose the large capacity with such a small family... I like the ability to slice large quantities of veggies at once for fajitas. I can slice all the onion, and 3 kinds of peppers I need without having to open and empty the bowl between vegetables.

Also this model comes with the extra wide feed tube. Depending on the size of my onions or peppers, often they'll fit whole inside the wide tube. At most, I may have to cut them in half to get them to fit. What's the point of a mechanized food chopper if I have to cut and re-cut to get it to go down a skinny feed tube? With this model, that's no problem.

Other features I like:
Chopping Blade - to chop onion or tomato

Dough blade - nice for pizza dough (although for bread I use my bread machine, if you don't have a bread machine already, you may really like the dough blade and dough setting on the machine)

The included discs: slicing disc (for making beautiful lime slices - or tomato and onion slices for sandwiches)
shredding disc (shred your own cheese or cabbage for cole slaw)

The two-piece pusher: You can remove the inner piece to add ingredients while the blades are turning - drop garlic down the chute while the chopping blades are alreading moving and watch it mince before adding the rest of your salsa ingredients!

Dishwasher Safe - i've always thrown my bowl, lid, and blades in the washer and they still look great after 3 years. In fact they encourage you to dish wash the blade to avoid cutting yourself on the blades.

Ability to purchase additional discs: all of the earlier 14 cup discs fit this model too - I found some great deals on ebay and could order new discs from other small appliance parts dealers. I got a thinner slicing disc so I could have thinner potato slices. I also got a french fry disc, but I don't seem to use it as much (although if you like to make your own french fries, you might like this disc).

My favorite uses:
Besides slicing veggies and fruits and shredding cheese in quantities to cook with for the entire coming week... I like to use this machine to shred/chop chicken for enchiladas, shred/chop left over roast beef for tamales and burritos, make salsa, make pizza dough, chop nuts with the pulse button for toppings (and I guess you could even add butter and make your own nutty butter spreads), herbed cheese spreads, home-made bean dips (hummus and black bean).

What I wasn't so crazy about:
The price - quite expensive, but I had previously burnt the motor out on a cheaper Sunbeam chopper that was smaller capacity.
The plastic coating on the touchpad buttons - my pulse button has partly worn through after 3 years of use - although it is still usable and barely noticable, it bugs me that an appliance this expensive has this problem.

So, for the performance and motor durability I rate this appliance 4 stars. I count off for the wear on the button in light of the price of the machine. That fact keeps me from whole-heartedly recommending the appliance. However, at the time I purchased my machine I was unaware of any other processor with this capacity, with the wide mouth feed tube, and such an array of slicing/processing discs. Given that it still works like new (except for the minor flaw with the button), I feel it is worthy of 4 stars.

This food processor lives up to all it's claims. I have researched food processors for about a month before I decided which one to buy. I decided on the dfp 14 cup classic. When I went to a local store, the sales lady talked me into the dlc 2011, 11 cup. I am not happy with the latter model. My main point of owning a food processor is to make dough. With the 11 cup machine, I followed the dough recipe to a tee, the maching jumped all over the counter and started to smell, and the motor stayed hot for about 35 minutes. I called Cuisinart customer service (very satisfied) and they told me I had 30 days to return the machine to the store. So I did. In the meantime I ordered the dlc-2014. I love the machine. I made a batch of dough the day after receiving it (I used free delivery and it arrived in just a few days) and it worked perfectly and lived up to all my expectations. No jumping, straining or smell that the motor is being overworked. I love the dough button feature. I think it saves strain on the motor. I plan on making my family homemade bread with this machine for years.
I will also use it for chopping, shredding and slicing and a whole lot of other things. GREAT MACHINE. WORTH THE MONEY.

Imagine kneading bread dough to perfection, in as little as 40 seconds! Its how I make FRENCH BREAD. I also make all my dinner rolls and sweet rolls in the Cuisinart� (yum)!

Easily mix cakes, quick breads, and piecrusts. Effortlessly chop, slice and shred food; you can even grind meat.

Touch Pad: I love it's smooth, easy to clean and computerized touch pad.

Buttons: (OFF, ON, Pulse and Dough) The dough button kneads bread to perfection in 30-40 seconds. Plus it features a powerful induction motor for HEAVY DOUGH. Note: Still ALWAYS only make 3 lbs. wheat dough (1 large loaf) even in this model. Wheat flour is twice as dense as white!

Blades (4 total): This model uses two metal blades; with one for chopping, mixing, kneading dough (also for lighter dough recipes of 3 c or less white flour, particularly small wet sweet doughs). The other metal "dough" blade is for kneading the heavy dough recipes (anything over 4-6 cups of white flour or 3 cups wheat flour). There's also one 4mm slicing blade and a medium shredding blade (it's detachable stem fits either).

Locking System: Here's where the PPP shines! :-) The improved lid and feed tube assembly (with it's safety locking system) is much easier to use (at least to figure out).

Lid: Each Cuisinart includes a lid and 2 pushers (with a large feed and a smaller inner feed tube).

If you want a "top of the line" food processor, for your smallest to larger needs, you won't be disappointed with this model! --Sharon Anne

P.S. If you like these tips, you'll love my cooking info website: http://www.sharonanne.com

I have had this for a while, and use it fairly often. I think it does a great job with pancakes and eggs too. I have also used it to make french toast and grilled cheese sandwiches. Which the kids love. It is easy to clean and best of all, you do not have to heat the entire kitchen up in the warm weather, just to make breakfast or lunch.

I've found the Pancake Factory to be very versatile and well-suited for a one or two person household. Using it to prepare a meal for more than two people can take a little too much time for it to be enjoyable. It does a wonderful job with pancakes, no more problems flipping them and making a mess. It's great for making fried eggs with either soft or hard center. Just wipe a little oil on the cooking surface and you're ready to cook eggs perfectly every time. No more broken centers, jusr close the top, cook for a minute or so, flip and there you have perfect eggs. You can sprinkle corned beef on the cooking surface, add an egg, close the top and presto, super easy corned beef and eggs. It also works well making potato pancakes from leftover mashed potatoes. Just use your imagination and you'll surely come up with ideas suited to your taste buds. Clean up is fast and easy making the Pancake Factory more than just another appliance you use once in a blue moon.

I liked this alot, easy to use and easy to clean, plus is quick, which always helps