Kitchen Thoughts and Annoyances

Thanks to you all, I have just ordered a pie maker!
May have to do a lot of taste testing , yay!

Thought you might, DD. I had one too. My divine Ferdie. As soon as this house is in order, I think that another might be on the menu!

dalrymple23 I would have thought if your oven was on the blink the best investment would be an air fryer. So much more versatile than a pie maker.

As for.poultry shears, they are standard equipment in German households. Here in Germany the poultry culture is very different. Chickens are generally much smaller and a half a chicken is a normal sized portion so housewives often have to cut them in half. A roast chicken on the other hand as part of a roast dinner is unknown, but you will often see rows of whole birds roasting on spits in vans at the side of the road, to be sold as a midweek meal.

I got my shears many years ago via a butcher. Ask any butcher they'll be able to obtain a pair.

You write or email a complaint to a company: "Thank you for reaching out to us..."
I didn't! I either emailed or wrote a letter and in neither did I say"I am reaching out to you..."!

dalrymple23

Thank you DD. Do I guess that you might have a Doodlebug?!

A doodlebug? No. I used to have a labradoodle though

I will Doodledog. If I don't get on with one the hospice shop will enjoy yet another offering but I'm dreaming up fillings already

Thank you DD. Do I guess that you might have a Doodlebug?!

It’s easy to forget how much of a liberation it must have been to get vacuum cleaners and washing machines - or even electricity. We just get used to things that were revolutionary for previous generations.

Try a pie maker, Rosie? They are small, cheap and effective. All they do is cook the pastry and shape the pie- the rest is down to the skill of the cook. As I said, they are good for using up leftovers and save on fuel, so are economical and environmentally sound too.

Rosie51

Doodledog Of course people can manage without any sort of gadget, but it's not morally superior to do so.

Agree 100% I don't have many gadgets because I have a tiny kitchen in a tiny house so no room for them all, but I've tried lots over the years, a few kept but many discarded

Those servants of long ago didn't use washing machines or vacuum cleaners either but who amongst us would argue to give those up? I don't actually make many pies although I love them. perhaps a pie maker that makes individual sized ones would encourage me to make more. It's good to read they work and people use them. I shall investigate.

I remember than my maternal grandmother had a new vacuum cleaner in the 1950's that she really treasured. They didn't have much money and had previously used carpet sweepers which must have been really difficult as they lived on a farm. They had hard floors with rugs, as did their neighbours - my parents had fitted carpets in the 1960's which were a luxury beyond my Nanny's comprehension.

Don’t know anything about poultry shears, my husband likes a pie so I bought him a pie maker, think he used it once ! Reaching out these days isn’t a physical thing, people use it where most of would say ‘we’re contacting you’, in a letter or email for example. I think most people mean their journey through life or their emotional journey, and another of my hates is the use of ‘narrative’ all the time!

Doodledog Of course people can manage without any sort of gadget, but it's not morally superior to do so.

Agree 100% I don't have many gadgets because I have a tiny kitchen in a tiny house so no room for them all, but I've tried lots over the years, a few kept but many discarded

Those servants of long ago didn't use washing machines or vacuum cleaners either but who amongst us would argue to give those up? I don't actually make many pies although I love them. perhaps a pie maker that makes individual sized ones would encourage me to make more. It's good to read they work and people use them. I shall investigate.

Shel1951

All those new expressions make me cringe...reaching out,
On a journey,
Find myself...
Well if you don't know where you are you shouldn't be left out alone.
And finally starting every sentence with a prolonged loud sigh and the word so...

I'm getting old

I agree with you 100%. Unfortunately, I don’t suppose it will ever go, or if it does, it will be replaced by one equally annoying.
I’m getting old too!

The Four Tops are the only ones who can reach out for me.

Gogo84

My favourite "gadget" a plastic thingy which opens ring pull cans ie sardine tins. Impossible for my old fingers

I've got one of those! Great for everything except it will not work on my occasional can of Kopparberg

TwinLolly

Reach out - no thanks. Seems like "contact" is a dying or dead word.

Could always try to contact the dead maybe?

No poultry scissors will be involved.

Sleepyhead52

Erm ... what's a pie maker? Anyone ...

Just what I was going to ask! The only pie maker in this house is me…

WithNobsOnIt

Do you get four and twenty blackbirds to bake in a pie with the Blackbird gadget and a recipe on how to make pastry and cook it?

Did not know that pie makers existed.Sound like a real palaver.
I bet the servants and cooks in Upstairs Downstairs and Downton did not have them!

As for the cringeworthy Reaching Out. It is so phoney that is should be banned.

A few years ago l even found my Solicitor using it in correspondence to me about my case.

Reach out and touch somebody's hand . Make this world a better place. Tacy song Supreme.

I also hate Heads Up, Smashed it and So. The last one is used by people who think they have something interesting to say and you are a bit thick.

Rant over.

Have a nice day. Ho Ho.

Actually, I bet that they did have a ceramic funnel. It was a normal thing in my grandma's day and my mum used hers all the time - she was a deep pie maker

4allweknow

My pet hate of is "you know" being added on to nearly every line of speech. There is a radio presenter who seems to be able to say nothing else.

or "like"

Maremia

Do people still use those little ceramic 'funnels"?

Only for deep steak & kidney - I have my grandmother's

Only The Four Tops should be allowed to ‘Reach Out!’
As for cutting up a chicken, my local butcher does it in a couple of minutes. When I tried, it was not a success.

Reach out - no thanks. Seems like "contact" is a dying or dead word.

My pet hate of is "you know" being added on to nearly every line of speech. There is a radio presenter who seems to be able to say nothing else.

Maremia* Not a funnel but a ceramic blackbird still goes into any savoury pies I make.

Of course people can manage without any sort of gadget, but it's not morally superior to do so.

Yes, they are basically like a toastie maker, except you line the moulds with pastry instead of bread. They produce evenly sized single portion pies in an uncomplicated way (far from a palaver), and save on energy as there is no need to put the oven on. I don't think mine came with a recipe for pastry. Why would it? Anyone making her own pies can probably manage that without a recipe, or there is always Google if not.

Fine, if that's not something that appeals to you, and no, servants in the days before electricity won't have used them, but there is nothing wrong with them for people with 21st century kitchens. They needn't make the kitchen untidy either - all you do is put them away after use.

Why the need to put other people down? The OP was asking if they work, and those of us who have them have said that they do.