Cooking Reviews

I don't have to run around like a madwoman trying to finish everything I'm serving at the same time anymore. I can keep my dishes warm while finishing up other items on my menu. Cooking is much more relaxed now!

The warming plate looks very nice on top of my range while not in use so I don't have to take up much-needed storage in my cabinets. It's a handsome piece and a great investment!

It's VERY easy to clean!

We have two of these Maxim trays, one with a 17" warming surface and with with a 24" warming surface. We serve Buffet style, and these attractive trays, with adjustable heat control are just perfect for keeping cassaroles warm, syrups, etc. The look nice and work well. We highly recommend them. The Pillars of Plainfield Bed and Breakfast. pillars2.com

I'm a make-do cook. When I saw a well-known personality touting this stuff on her TV show, I just poh-poohed the notion. Then, at a pre-Christmas sale, I decided to try a sheet. Whoa! What a wonder! I promptly bought a second sheet, and I would never try to bake cookies again without one. The savings in time (1-2 min per sheet), headaches (cutting parchment to size every time and then running out), and clean-up (nothing - I say again NOTHING - sticks to this stuff) make it worth every penny!

After enduring several batches of cookies burned on their bottoms (sic) before she used these mats, I gave a set of these as a gift to my neice, who is learning how to bake. She had seen Martha using the Silpat brand (which I actually thought I was ordering, since that's what was listed as the item....Amazon sent Matfer instead). They worked great. And she especially likes the fact that she can wash them, roll them up, and put them in a drawer. I bought two, and she actually rolls the cookie dough out on them also. Slides right off. So, I'd recommend these mats for baking-challenged novices, and seasoned bakers alike......

When I saw this on last week's Friday Sale at a big percentage reduction, I was curious as to what an Exopat was. After reading the description and reviews (5 stars down the line) combined with the really great price, I not only ordered two for me but another eight for Christmas gifts. They arrived today just in time to use baking Christmas tray cookies. I absolutely cannot believe how wonderful they are!!! I was wondering which spatula to use to take the cookies off the mat and if my plastic spatulas would stick to the hot mat; it was a total waste of thought because the cookies really did slide right off the mat and are absolutely perfect---no spatula was necessary at all. After spending a small fortune through the years on higher quality coated cookie sheets that worked well for the first few batches of cookies but then started sticking, scratching and looked embarrassingly horrible, these are truly miraculous. I am infamous to family, friends and business customers for my delicious cookies; now I may become known as the one who kept all the Exopats intended to have been gifts!

I gave this only three stars because of the lid--all those tips that provide the self-basting are a pain to season. The pot itself has performed wonderfully for me.

This was my first cast iron cooking vessel. I just love the thing (tho' it is a little heavy for my 5 foot 1', 100 pound frame- in addition to cooking, it provides a really good daily workout). I have found this dutch oven to be so versatile that I cook almost everything in it. I am Indian and love cooking, and have cooked Indian, American, Chinese, Mexican food, and my own creations in it. It just keeps going from electric stove, to oven to dining table, and takes all of the abuse (I have used it to cook acidic foods like tomatoes, lemons, etc., alkaline foods, neutral foods, even Indian spices like turmeric do not destroy it- turmeric can spell doom for a lot of cookware). I have even used it on the stove top to cook cornbread and Indian flatbreads (my expensive non stick skillet did not survive the Indian flatbread cooking).

Yes,this is a large, very heavy pot, but that's because it is worth it's weight in gold. You will never have to replace this pan, your great-great grandchildren could still be using it. The price is an unbelievable bargain. It makes enough chili or stew for a small army and is great for braising large roasts. It also bakes cakes beautifully! You will not be sorry you bought it. If you don't cook for over 4 people ever, you probably want the 5 qt.

I purchased my Electric Pressure cooker a year and a half ago. I was elated at the features and its working. And told everyone about it. It has broken and no longer releases the steam, and the overlow leaks everywhere. I have to use a fork to release the pressure and the food no longer cooks, and when the pressure is released it spurts out all over the pressure cooker. We treated it like a baby, cleaning it every time after using. And we are heartbrokem as we paid over ... and after the warrenty expired it broke. I had a old fashioned cooker for 20 years and other than changing the gaskets it always worked, but I am afraid of them, and was very happy to get a electric one. But now in a delima as we just lost [money] and want a good one, but will have to look elsewhere. I called the repair people and the cost is more than we can pay and could use to buy another.Very sad....Eunice Mellinkoff

This is a great machine - my husband bought it for me for Christmas and I was intimidated by it's enormous stature, but I decided to try it out. It cooked the most tender, tastey roast in no time at all! My major beef with it is that the small leaflet cookbook/directions that come with it has a cherry cheesecake recipe that calls for an 8 inch pan - well I prepared the cheesecake and found that my 8 inch pan did not fit in the cooker. I went and bought 3 more pans all 8 inch and none of them fit! Needless to say - don't make any of there recipes without checking to see if your pans fit inside! Other than that - great item!

After I suffered serious burns from a range-top pressure cooker opened too early, my husband urged me to stop using a pressure cooker. Unwilling to do that, I looked for a new model. This one is great. It is easy to program, use, and clean, with a heavy, nonstick (really nonstick) pot. It doubles as a rice cooker with a timer. (Note, however, that the timer function works with the rice cooker, but not with the pressure cooker! Wish it worked for both!) I have a 9 month old baby and this appliance is very handy for steaming foods (like baby carrots) soft enough for a little one with few teeth to eat. The main drawback of this item is that it is really quite enormous. Takes up a ton of space on the counter top, though the pot's capacity isn't all that big.

i first became aware of this thermometer, while watching Alton Brown on Good Eats. he said it's the best thermometer for candy making. i searched far and wide and discovered amazon.com to have the best price. williams sonoma had this thermometer for $34.99. as soon as i receive my order i will be raring to go.

I own at least a dozen of the lodge cookware pieces and love them very much but this is not such a great thing. I went through the normal in the oven seasoning that always works just great but this thing warped like a potato chip! It did flatten back out as it cooled but everytime I put it on my two burners to use, it warps again making it very rocky on the stove top and my pancakes looked like Picasso made them. It always flattens back out but it's really a pain in the ah hum to use. The grill side set off all the smoke detectors and left a greasey film on everything in my whole house and I was only using a med low burner, well, at least the door stopped squeeking! It is also a bit to narrow for two rows of pancakes unless you make them very small and the center doesn't get hot enough. Just when you thought you've experienced all the unpleasantness of this pan, you then go to clean it and discover you'd be better off just throwing it out in the yard for the dogs to lick clean! I love you Lodge, I really do but I'll stick to outside grilling and my larger lodge skillet for hotcakes, the 13 inch round pan is a dream as are all the other pieces I own. As for this heavy sticky thing well, I may try it out on my fire ring next cookout and if that doesn't work out, it's yard sale time!

I cannot recommend this grill/griddle enough, since it is so versatile and easy to use and clean. It makes a whole breakfast from bacon and eggs and pancakes. Flip it over and it is an excellent grill for meats and fish. And it works well on gas and charcoal cook surfaces as well as electric. I has a gas stove and am always in awe whenever I use it since it makes cooking so much fun. And the price is excellent. I have scads of cast iron from this grill/griddle, to fry pans of all sizes, and cornbread pans and other items. Stuff never wears out and gets handed down generation to generation.

This is a great griddle/grill. It's a huge chunk of cast iron so it's going to be heavy. You should just expect that. But that's one of the things that make cast iron so great. It's sturdy, indestructible, heats evenly, and holds heat well. It's the closest thing to grilling besides actually firing up the grill. Food cooked on the grill side has a smoky, grilled flavor. The griddle side is great for bacon, sausages, hash browns, fajitas, and cheese steaks. I haven't been brave enough to try pancakes yet. Clean up of the grill side is the only drawback, as even a well-seasoned piece will occasionally have bits that stick and burn, especially at high heat. Even so, this is a very minor inconvenience for such a great piece. A good exhaust hood or a couple of open doors or windows will make use easier also. I just consider it part of the experience. We love to take ours camping. Over the fire or on a camp stove it's a large, versatile piece of cookware. Breakfast for the whole family can cook on one side. Season and wash correctly and this will give you lifetimes of use. I'm sure your kids, grandkids, and great grandkids will love it too.

I looked forward to using my brand new Maxim Wok however, I found that the food sticks to the bottom, even though I used cooking spray, water and sometimes a little oil. I have used it 3 times and each time more of the coating comes off. It is not usuable at this time. I use the proper utensils and use only a sponge to wipe the surface. I have owned only one other wok (non electric) and never had this problem but I wanted a new electric one so I bought this one. I am very disappointed and will have to contact the manufacturer. I think the unit is defective.

This wok is terrific for those who, like me, have a smooth-top stove and cannot use the standard wok. I found that the performance of this wok is almost as good as my heavy steal wok which I previously used. While nothing performs as well as a heavy steal wok over gas, this wok performs adequately for the seasoned Chinese cook. It's so much better than any electric wok I have seen! The heat distribution is the best I've seen on any electric cooking appliance.

I recently moved to a home without gas. While coping, the one thing I miss is a wok over gas. This is as close as one can get -- it is a fantastic electric wok with none of the shortcoming of other electrical appliances. Works great with my bamboo steamer as well. The folks at cooks illustrated were right when they recommended this wok.

Same problem as already reported. One Tip broke off after taking it out of the hamburger that was on the grill

We received this as a gift. After less than a year of occasional use, a tip broke off. We had to throw the fork away. Also, it could not be placed in the dishwasher. I would not purchase this item again.

I purchased this fork for my barb. baby and he was thrilled with it, so was I then I cleaned it and it stopped working. the directions said it was soap safe??? now I had to throw it away. Our Lose your gain. I still want to purchase another one I will just know this next time to only wipe the fotk ends off with a towel not clean it proper. sad in California