My Cutlery Experience

Oooohhh, aaaahhhh, so shiny

My Ginsu Knife Set arrived yesterday and I was super excided to open it up and try them out. Luckily I took out some Cornish game hens early to defrost and was going to whip up a proper meal. (Plus they were the only thing left in the freezer. I really have to go shopping soon.) It was a little bit of a learning curve using these knives as unlike the traditional knives I use these have a kind of scalloped edge almost like a bread knife edge and I was used to flat straight edges. I thought this might make for a more jagged cut but I was completely wrong. These knives cut through everything I needed to season my dinner in no time flat.

And of course you knew I had to try this:

It didn’t affect the cutting edge at all.

But what surpassed all my expectations is when I had to cut the game hens in half (usually a great chore with my old knives). I was so surprised at how easy these knives cut through bone and cartilage without even slowing them down. Seriously it was like cutting butter. I’m so going to enjoy using this set on all my culinary adventures. Thanks again to the folks at Living Rooms Direct letting me have the opportunity to review them.

Pattypan Reusable Lunch/Snack Bag

The Pattypan Shop is Awesome

And so is Etsy for introducing me to them. Etsy.com is a place where you can find homemade items and I’ve patronized a couple of shops there and they are awesome to work with. I was on the search for a lunch box. Not your typical lunch box but a reusable, waterproof, and snazzy lunch box. I also need one kind of slim and ended up getting a lunch bag instead but check out this lunch bag.

Is it not the cutest thing ever?! It’s lined with waterproof material so if my lunch kinda leaks a little it won’t get all over everything in my TH bag which is the reason why I picked this lunch bag. Also they have these little snack packs that have Velcro enclosures (I got one of these too) that matched my bag and are just too adorable. And if my lunch leaks in my lunch bag I can just throw it in the wash. And the best part is that this is a green item I can use over and over again.

Rachael Ray Stainless Steel Cookware Set

Rachael Ray Stainless Pots and Pans
I purchased these pots and pans for my Hubs for Christmas. Before you get all, “what you bought cookware for your husband?!” I just want to point out that the Hubs has been stretching his culinary wings lately but our sad $20 for a box of cookware bought 4 years ago just wasn’t cutting it anymore. Boy, did I get a shocker shopping around for cookware. Some sets I looked at were starting at $500 a set. I know the Hubs wanted to steer clear of the Teflon (that’s what we had then) because he wanted to be able to bake in the pans also, like those cooks do on Food Network. Finding a set that was A) Teflonless B) able to be put straight in the oven C) Wasn’t too girlie/old looking*, took some research.

Yeah, you could say that Rachael Ray’s set with the orange handles is a little girly but it was the cheapest and all the reviews said it was a good set for the price.

So we had the set for a while and I decided to make soup in the stock pot and found that the handle rivets leaked. Curious, I took out all the pots and pans and filled them with water. Two pans and the stockpot leaked where the handle rivets were. Since these were covered under a warranty I tried to find the warranty info. which we so cleverly threw out with all the Christmas wrapping paper. Finding any information online was like wading through murky water. Finally the Hubs happened to find a flyer that came with the set and in small print it had the name of the distributor. So contacting them we finally got someone to help us. They said they would send replacements but when the replacements arrived they accidently sent us the Teflon coated pans instead of the stainless steel. Eventually they got it right and we got non-leaking pans and a pot.

The warranty company was very accommodating and we had no problems getting replacements (the right ones eventually) and I have to say that for the price these pots and pans do a great job. They are easy to clean and heat up nicely and evenly. A great value for the price.


*Seriously, have you seen these Paula Dean ones? They have “Grandma lives here” written all over them.

Cutting it Up Opportunity

Just in time for my new kitchen renovation I’m getting a wonderful opportunity to review this lovely product:




The Ginsu Cutlery. I’m super excited to try to cut cans then try to cut tomatoes. Will they live up to their reputation? I dunno. But look how sparkly they are. This wonderful opportunity is provided by Living Rooms Direct, an online source for living room furniture and accessories. You gotta check out their site. I spent days looking through their inventory. See, Living Rooms Direct is connected to CNS Stores which have about a billion different stores that have a trillion different products from card tables to backpacks and anything else you can think of. Talk about your one stop shop. I'm totally bookmarking thier page.

Sephora Gift Card Winner

And the winner is:

Amanda.

Please send me your address at toesfootnotes[at]gmail[dot]com so I can send your gift card.

Thanks a bunch for the response. I hope to have more in the future so stay tuned here at ToesFootNotes!