Home and Kitchen Reviews

I really like this for wooden kitchen utensil and cutting boards. Other oils I can find are smelly with solvents, this one is just perfect.

If you love cannoli, and who doesn't, you will love these. I bought twelve of these thinking that would make the process easier. I thought wrong. I found that I only use four of these at a time because they cook so quickly that by the time the fourth one goes into the oil, the first one is ready to turn.

The secrets to good cannoli are minimal:
1.A little Marsala in the dough, in place of the water component in the recipe makes a big difference.
2.Keep your oil a reasonably constant high temperature so that they don't soak up too much grease. I find that a fat thermometer is necessary for control.
3.Tongs are the best thing for removing the cannoli from the oil.
4.A draining rack is very useful for cooling the cannoli so that they aren't too greasy.
5.Keep your dough cold when you are working with it. A chilled marble board and/or a chilled rolling pin are very useful.
6.Don't fill your cannoli until you are ready to eat them. Filled cannoli don't last more than an hour. A Ziploc bag with a little bit of the corner cut off works fine for stuffing them if you don't have a pastry bag.
7.You can bake your cannoli shells ahead of time and then re-crisp them in the oven prior to filling them. I have made cannoli two days in advance and had them suffer no lose of taste or texture using the re-crisping technique.

Don't try to remove the tube too quickly from the cooling cannoli they get screaming hot in the oil. By the time you have rolled out four more ovals of dough the tubes will be cool enough to remove from the last batch.

These tubes are very easy to clean, I don't bother to put them in the dishwasher. Handwashing these is very simple and quick.

If you are new to cannoli making it is not a difficult as it appears it just takes a little while. I love to cook, and found it to be a relaxing experience. Of course, eating the fresh homemade cannoli really was the best part. I highly recommend this product to anyone that loves cannoli.

update: May 4, 2006
Since I have already had one request for a cannoli recipe I thought I would extend the offer to anyone else that is interested. If you need a recipe send me an e-mail, or an invitation with your e-mail address and I will send you the recipe that I use. It is no trouble since it is already in a word file.

Performs exactly as advertised-no more baked-on sugar toppings or blackened muffin cups. I was concerned that the cups seemed smaller than my regular ones (the little paper liners fit in there more snugly), but the muffins turned out great. Well worth the price.

the quality is ok...however, the tray is too big...i have nowhere to fit it...and the compartiments of the tray are too small, so there aren't a lot of things i can fit in there...oh well...i might end up selling it...i don't really need it...

Design:
5 stars as there's 7 slots! One each for (1) dinner knives (2) dinner forks (3) soup spoons (4) salad forks, (5) teaspoons, (6) butter knives/sugar spoons/oyster forks & (7) a long slot for the pie server & serving forks & serving spoons.
Quality:
1 (one) star - wood sides & melanine bottom. Workmanship is VERY poor. Initial delivery had gouged & poorly repaired base as well as broken off pieces of uprights glued to base. Ordered a second in hopes of semi-quality (as I really needed 7 slots & 14" x 18" dimension) and that one was OK.
Stacks & Stacks customer service:
0 (Zero! NADA! Nein! Non!) - Emailed w/ pics day after receipt to specified email address and received NO response after 5 days..........

I like this torch. It has a very good adjustable flame and large butane capacity.
However....it likes to stick in the on (with flame ) position. It takes some giggling to shut off. Need to be careful.

This is a well made torch that feels substantial in your hands. It is easy to manuver and has a even flame and large fuel capacity. Good recipe for creme brulee too! Highly recommended.