cooking

In the moooood for a cow-shaped grill?

Vegetarians and animal lovers might want shield their eyes.

Produced by Traeger Pellet Grills, the Lil' Pig and Longhorn Steer are here to remind grill masters that what they are cooking was once in cute farm animal form. And yet, who can resist a novelty grill that boasts digital thermostat control, EZ-drain grease system, and 418 square inches of cooking space?

Yet cooks who aren't thrown by the campy eyelash-clad, smiling-animal grills, may be deterred by the price tag. Most wood pellet grills are expensive (ranging from $600 to $2,500) and the cow and the pig grills will … Read more

Why does Google think I know about the American Idol winner's private parts?

I am fascinated by Stephen Shankland's post concerning Udi Manber's speech to the Gilbane Conference.

No, of course I have no idea what the Gilbane Conference is, but Mr. Manber is apparently Google's Vice President of Engineering in charge of search.

In his view, while the 20th Century was about conquering nature, the 21st is about understanding people.

About time someone did, if you ask me.

The most interesting part of Mr. Manber's speech was when he described the difficulties in understanding even searches that seem abundantly clear, like "hairstyles for ears that stick out.&… Read more

Cooking.com stirs up $13 million

Bon appetit for Cooking.com: The kitchen appliance retailer announced Wednesday that it has pulled in $13 million in venture funding in a round led by Azure Capital Partners. ORIX Venture Finance also contributed venture debt to the round, and Azure partner Michael Kwatinetz is now on the company's board of directors.

The new cash will be used toward a variety of goals at Cooking.com: expand editorial and social-networking operations on the site (a sound decision when it seems like everyone can't stop talking about Bobby Flay and Mario Batali), opening a new distribution center in Ohio, … Read more

Forget the sixth sense, here comes the stick sense

The human nose is a very sophisticated device. It has the power to do many things, including connecting us to a special memory through the aroma of baking bread, showing us where the nearest coffee shop is located, and from an evolutionary standpoint, protecting us from eating meat that has spent a little too much time in the fridge.

The SensorfreshQ meat and poultry tester is a handheld, battery-operated wand that tells you whether or not that uncooked piece of meat or poultry is still OK for you to put into your mouth. Perfect timing, since summer is when grilling … Read more

Remove the stress from Thanksgiving, the Aga way

With technology advancing faster than one can keep up, sometimes it's good to hold on to the past. Believe me, I'm all for a refrigerator that can give me financial advice or a microwave that can regrow my hair, but sometimes you just want to keep things simple and cook a good meal.

Aga's cast iron Four Oven Cooker will do just that while at the same time keeping your kitchen aesthetically pleasing. Like the name says, it features four radiant heat ovens allowing you to speed up the cooking process and spend more time enjoying your … Read more

Best way to grill a steak without leaving your house

Now that we've reached the midst of the barbecue season, it's time to stoke the coals, find your favorite apron, and if you're like me, go inside because you can't stop sneezing on the steaks. Thanks to hay fever, I end up throwing away more steaks than I eat because nobody likes the salty flavor of mucus as they bite into their filet. Hamilton Beach understands, and the company is here to help with 500 degrees of goodness.

Hamilton Beach showed off the latest way to grill steaks in the comfort of your home at the … Read more

Top chef for tots

Although it isn't technically an appliance or a kitchen gadget, I felt that it was incumbent upon me to sound off about the MagiCook Kitchen by Little Tikes, a toy set that comes with several food look-a-likes that are embedded with RFID tags.

Radio-frequency identification is a way for an electronic receiver to identify items with radio waves. This means that the toy can sense when Junior pops something into the oven, and will respond with phrases in up to three languages that are appropriate to the meal of the moment.

Why is this kind of thing important? Well, … Read more

Take to the seas, it's BBQ time

When summer rolls around, it's time to gas up the boat, blow up the inner tubes, and head for the lake. In the old days if you wanted to combine your nautical adventures with your culinary ones, you were forced to lug your hibachi onto your boat and hope that you didn't hit a rough wake sending burning coals everywhere. Weekend warriors around the world longed for someone to step up to the plate and combine their two loves: boats and cooking raw meat.

Someone has finally come through for all of us and invented the BBQ Donut, … Read more

Where Wilson Tang is the new American Idol

Now that Wilson is the new American Idol (not to mention the perpetual Chinese Idol), he can't stop talking about his celebrity chumleys. Today, we discuss his American counterpart David Cook, everyone's beloved Dick Gaywood, Jessica Alba-Tang, Arnold Shawarazanegarradudebro, Saving Paris's Privates, Grandpa Ford, and more dregs of society. EPISODE 105 Download today's podcast