Home and Kitchen Reviews

Loved this vacuum---at first!! The first couple weeks were great, then the belt slipped, the whole thing started smoking!! The belt burned through the inside casing and now won't stay in place. I've seen other reviews where this happened, so definitely nopt just my problem. I was very disappointed. Also the spinner brush stopes easily, as soon as you get any hair in it. Would not recommend at all.

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This vacuum actually tells you when your floor is dirty and when it is clean. It really gets the room clean. It has settings for different rugs and carpets. It is light weight and easy to clean. You do not have to deal with messy bags. I tried many others and so far I think this one is the best.

We live in a carpeted apartment, and we bought this vacuum because spills are inevitable, even if you're careful. Therefore, the idea of having a cordless wet/dry vacuum cleaner was quite appealing, as you could in principle vaccum spills at once. However, the B&D Wet/Dry DustBuster proved to be quite useless for this purpose. The dust/water container fills up quite rapidly, becoming full with about 2 fl. oz. of liquid. When the container fills up with water (or wine, or whatever nasty stuff you're vacuuming), the liquid passes through the sponge filter, hitting the fanning mechanism. The outcome: the nasty stuff you're vaccuming sprays in a thin mist all over the place.
Pros: portable, powerful, cordless.
Cons: small dust/liquid container; bad design allows for overfilled liquids to be sprayed.
Botton line: ok for small dust jobs; worse than useless for spills larger than 2 oz.

Good things:
Dry and wet pick up
Light

Bad things:
Does not have a charging station.
Average suction

[...]

I'm not using it for big jobs, I have a 2 1/2 year old... and I use it for the occaisonal spill & cleanup and for that purpose alone it's well worth the price I paid.

They look cool, definitely, but the handles are not comfortable and I get the sneaking suspicion that the cups don't measure so perfectly. That said, everybody else seems to be happy with them, so don't mind me.

Beautiful design, heavy construction, nice balance... a delight to use.... if you can bring yourself to use them. They are a work of art. Highly Recommended.

In the past, I have panned some Chinese manufactured goods as 'Chinese Cheapos' (both in price and quality). These, I am happy to report, are excellent, heavy weight measures. The only ones I have found superior to these are AllClad and, for the AllClad price, you can purchase 5 or more of these sets.

A reviewer before me mentioned getting the 7-piece set that includes the 2/3 and 3/4 cup sizes. Be aware that the additional two measures will cost $13!!!! (That's right; $24.95 for the 7-piece set.)

These are dishwasher safe and handwashing is also a breeze. It's not too soon to start your Christmas shopping. I am ordering several sets for friends and neighbors.

I gave this product 1 star only because 0 stars was not an option. The Deni Ice Crusher is a totally useless product - don't buy it under any circumstances! After one week of use, something in the motor broke. Amazon cheerfully replaced the product. After 10 days of use, a blade in the second Deni Ice Crusher broke off. BUYER BEWARE - don't waste your time or money on this one!

The Deni Ice Crusher does crush up ice cubes very well, almost too well. The ice is crushed to the consistancy of ice used for snow cones, where I would have preferred a little larger pieces for use in drinks. All in all it does what I wanted, crush up the big ice cubes for use in drinks.

Yes, it's noisy when crushing ice, but that's hardly surprising. Once you get the hang of it, you can feed a few cubes at a time. For me, the bottom line is: price is reasonable and it works. If it broke, I would immediately buy another one to replace it.

Love it, Love it, Love it, beautiful red hot color, it's like a piece of art sat on my kitchen countertop. I've tried several recipes, my cakes been the most successful rising to new heights and lightness, also my British scones came out a treat a hit with the whole family. I encourage anybody procrastinating over buying a KA mixer ...go for it! it's a worthy investment. I have also just purchased the Mixer Bible to increase my repitoire of recipes, but basically all your oldie but goodie recipes will work just as well if not better using your mixer. I'm considering buying a grinder and icecream attachment, so I can make some of the yummy recipes in the book.

This mixer was for my wife. It replaced a 15+ year old mixer with limited capacity. She baked two different items within 3 hours of delivery for our family and friends. Enough said.

The machine is top drawer. The only problem with the delivery is that it came in clear plastic so anyone could see what it was. I believe it should at least be covered in brown paper. Other than that, the item is in perfect shape and was the best price I could find by at least $25, thanks to the amazon $25 coupon... free shipping and no tax, I believe.... awesome!

This is a beautiful microwave, but what's even better is that it is a great microwave oven. Thisis to replace another Sharp Carousel Convection microwave I've had and loved for 20 years (!!!!). I loved the sensor cook feature on my old one and that's available in this model as well. This feature is very convenient and is amazing for potatoes and vegetables. The 2 off and on/minute plus buttons in the front (the others are hidden inside the door) are great improvements and was the only thing I wish I had my on old one. COuldn't have asked for more. Simply perfect. With no shipping charges, this is the best deal around. Oh, my arrived in perfect condition, with the Sharp Box insides another Amazon box.

When I bought this, I thought I'd wait to write a review after exploring all the features. Now that I've used it for a while, I just realized that Sharp has done just the right thing in designing this microwave. And then there are a couple of things that rob one star from the five I'd otherwise give it. So here are the points.

- Looks nice. I don't like to put this as my first plus point, but it is. My kitchen has a lot of steel and black. So does this, and it fits right in. The face is also very simple.

- Good size. My last mwave was tall and about as wide/deep. I don't think I ever needed that much height. This fits under a cabinet on the counter, and I can still put several cups or a casserole-sized dish, and never miss the excess height. What is here is enough for anything.

- Why haven't I used the control panel? Because, most of the time, I am heating something to some comfort level. Hitting Start adds a minute, even if it's on and counting down. Stop stops the microwave, Stop again will clear the older timer setting. Just that simple. That's pretty much 99% of my usage.

- The control panel is hidden, as it should be. For basic usage, it's overkill to have all those buttons. If Start and Stop work for your other appliances, why not the microwave?

- At the $120 price (with the appropriate housewares discount-of-the-month) this oven is a steal even if you're only going to start and stop microwaving.

- The great sensor everyone is raving about, that's an extra benefit. I would use it to bake potatoes or heat a large thing like a casserole, and from what I read it would do a good job.

- The star-stealer stuff: The plastic packaging is so deep into the microwave's open grooves it never really all comes off. There's plastic film sticking out of some parts and I'll never get it off.

- And, the door sounds really clunky for something that looks this fancy. A softer open would be nice. But this has a fairly loud, hollow "GLINKK" when you open the door. A quality latch that opens softly or sounds less hollow and sharp would transform the feel of this oven.

- If your space is limited, you will notice the front door is really long, since it covers the control panel. Fortunately for me it shares the open space that my fridge doors need in order to open, so I have no issue with that.

The actual product dimensions for this unit are 21.5"wide x 12.25"tall x 18.5"deep. Upon receiving this unit I discovered that I had expected the wider dimensions stated in the product specs of this unit. The product feature dimensions are more accurate, however, one has to understand that the dimensions are stated width x height x depth.
If this had been clearer, I would not have to return this beautifully designed microwave.

Very pretty.

I made plenty of pizzas on several types of thin metal baking pans, and the results were consistenly mediocre.

Now however, with this pizza stone, I no long find myself ordering pizza for delivery.

1 cup water or beer
2 1/2 cups flour (maybe a 1/4-cup of whole-wheat flour mixed in)
1 package of dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon butter

Knead and let rise twice (I used to do it by hand, but now I have a bread maker which works perfectly for this purpose on the 'dough' setting). This makes two pizzas around 14 inches in diameter. Either roll them out with a rolling pin, or press them into shape by hand. The dough seems to be too elastic to "throw" it into shape - I think it's a skill that takes a long while to master.

I make pizza sauce with a can of tomato paste, some red wine and/or water, chopped parsley, chopped basil, dried oregano, chopped garlic and chopped onion. I've also used pasta sauce (prego or ragu) with acceptable results.

I almost always top with mozarella and thinly-sliced mushrooms.

I use parchment baking paper under the pizza. I slide it on and off the stone this way, without resorting to corn meal. This works perfectly for me every time.

Heat the oven up _HOT_ (500 degrees). It will only take 5 minutes to bake at this temperature. When the cheese is beginning to brown around the edges, it is done. The crust is golden-brown on the bottom, with just a bit of crunch. If I let the crust rise a bit after preparing the pizza, it will be softer and thicker.

Store-bought frozen pizzas are also better when cooked on this stone.

I'm giving only 4 stars because of the price. There must be a cheaper alternative to this stone, but I'm not complaining too much, because I've thoroughly enjoyed the pizzas it's produced.

I had never used a pizza stone but, thought they might be fun so, I put one on my registry. I made pizza on the stone using store bought dough and got rave reviews from friends. Would definately reccomend this to a friend! Just remember to let the stone heat thoroughly before using.

The best way to bake a pizza is with a stone. They are great at distributing heat and make a nice evenly crispy crust. This stone is also easy to clean.

Bought this as a gift for a friend. Am buying a different one as a gift for the same friend. There is a basic design flaw as most materials shrink when exposed to cold temperatures. The lid fits INTO the base of the shaker. Fill it with ice and cold gin and the base shrinks. Thus the lid is STUCK. You have to wait for the ice to melt and the base to warm up in order to pull off the top. That seriously cuts into the number of martinis one can consume in an evening. Not worth the under twenty bucks price.

No need to spend a lot on a shaker; this one is stylish and beautifully functional.

Good points:

Large enough for 2 double martinis
Has a strainer
Great looking lines

Bad Points:

As in all metal-on-metal shakers where the temperature changes rapidly, the lid WILL tend to stick. This is physics; the metal contracts when you chill the drinks. Still, it could have a better grippy surface to grab onto so you can remove it.

My recipe for a Cosmopolitan

2 oz Swedish citron vodka
1 oz Triple Sec or Cointreau
1/2 juiced lime
1 oz best quality cranberry juice
1 lemon zest for garnish

Pour ingredients into iced shaker, strain, garnish with the lemon zest.

I purchased this shaker a couple of years ago and have given it a lot of use. First let me say that this is a very good shaker and performs very well. I read some of the other reviews and I have not encountered any problems with the lid sticking or the shaker leaking. It performs as advertised and is a good value for the money. The only drawback might be if you want to make cocktails for more than two people at a time. It's a bit small for that IMO but if you are mixing for one or two folks at a time, it's the perfect size. Another plus is that after many washings (by hand only), the finish has held up like it was brand new. Along with performance and functionality, it is a durable product as well.

This thermometer is much larger than I expected. It is difficult when preparing small quantities, such as boiling sugar for buttercream, to gauge the temperature accurately without doing a little balancing act to tip the pan and hold the thermometer in it. It also features a number of unnecessary nooks and crannies that make it difficult to clean, especially once sugar has gotten up to hard ball stage or so.

With those limitations, this is an excellent thermometer. It is accurate, and has sturdy construction. The glass components seem fairly well protected. It is definately more reliable than most little candy thermometers that need endless recalibration, and that tends to make up for the inconveniences for me.

I purchased this thermometer to replace the one my mother (who has always loved to make candy) has used for the last 40 years. It was the same thermometer. She broke it, or it would still be going another 40. Most companies don't even last that long, much less their products.

I had a thermometer like this several years ago and it broke. I have been looking for one all over my small town and also several stores in Indianapolis and couldn't find one. I have had to use several cheap tube like thermometers. (They break so easily.) I was so thrilled to find one and I ordered it. It came so quickly and was packed so well. I was extrememly satisfied.

Do not buy this popcorn popper or anything like them. I have a Panasonic microwave (NN-T654SF) that I bought less than 2 years ago and loved (never had a problem with it). I purchased this popcorn popper today and used it once this evening. I read through all the instructions and followed them exactly as they said to. My microwave had been working fine earlier today. Less than an hour after using the popcorn popper (which takes a lot longer than the directions told me it would to pop popcorn), I tried to use the microwave again. It would not work. Once it did turn on, the lights in the microwave started flashing and it started making screeching noises. Even then the microwave would only stay on for a few seconds (a max of 7) before it would shut itself off. This popcorn popper destroyed my microwave. If I were you, I wouldn't buy it; I'd invest in a counter top one. If I could I'd give this a negative rating. I wish I had never bought it. Consider yourselves warned.

I tried the little 2 qt Toastmaster air popper even though reviews warned it blew popcorn all over the kitchen and only 1/2 popped. I thought it might be fun, it wasn't. They were right and I took it back.
I tried the 3 qt Toastmaster air popper. The top was redesigned and I thought maybe they fixed the problem. Result: less popcorn on the floor, maybe because I used a tall rectangle Tupperware cereal keeper to catch it, but still barely 1/2 of the corn popped. The corn that popped tasted really good and I was tempted to keep it because it just fit in my cabinet and it did make good corn. I thought I'd try one more popper before settling. I bought the Presto Microwave popper. I stocked up on those little concentrators since some people said they were hard to find. (I found them at two stores actually, $1.49 for 8pk) I followed directions (except I put it off-center on my carosel so the middle wouldn't burn) and low and behold, 2 1/2 minutes later I got yummy popcorn, all but 3 kernels popped and there was no mess at all! I just wiped the popper out after using since I didn't use salt or oil. WOW!! That was easy! Only drawback, which may not happen every time, is the first batch had a very slight cardboard flavor (from the concentrator?) My husband didn't notice it, however. It's easy to store and use. I may buy some more of the little concentrators since there are mixed reviews on how long they last, and just in case they disappear from store shelves. Happy popping!

This is a great product, and you can get it, along with any other products on Amazon up to $500 Free! Participate in this special promotion and get a free $500 Amazon Gift Card at this web site: stuffnocost.com/amazon