Hating on Williams-Sonoma

[PennySycamore]

@nokidsmom, the thing you want to consider with a split oven is that the lower oven means that when you roast a turkey you will basically be picking that damn bird off the floor.  Now you may not roast turkeys more than a couple of times a year, but the lower height of the main oven is still something to remember.  You also don't get a storage drawer under the oven either.

[catlady]

4 hours ago, nokidsmom said:

My stove is on it's last legs and I would love to have a smooth top for same reason: I hate cleaning the burners.  Currently have gas but had electric in our last apt.   Only problem is that I do canning and even though I downsized to a smaller canner last year, I would prefer to have the burners to support it.  One solution is getting an electric Autocanner but you are limited to what canning recipes you can use with it.  Decisions, decisions....

Definitely interested in a split oven though. 

some of us were discussing this a few months back.  another poster said she has a portable and/or outdoor burner that she uses for canning.  i thought that sounded like a pretty good idea.

[Granwych]

On ‎12‎/‎21‎/‎2016 at 6:44 PM, Cartmann99 said:

Yup. Though you know that a lot of the people who buy will get rid of it next year to follow the next hot trend.

I'd feel like I had to dress up or at least put some shoes on if I was cooking with a dutch oven that cost that much. The old-school 5 quart one that Lodge makes is more my style anyway. 

https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-L8DD3-Double-Dutch-5-Quart/dp/B000LEXR0K

I want a Cuisinart enameled Dutch oven, here in Homegoods for something like $150.   However, since I'm almost older than dirt, and wychling doesn't really cook, I'll pass on it. 

Now, at Penzey's Spices I could drop the $$$ without any trouble.

[Cartmann99]

5 hours ago, Granwych said:

I want a Cuisinart enameled Dutch oven, here in Homegoods for something like $150.   However, since I'm almost older than dirt, and wychling doesn't really cook, I'll pass on it. 

Now, at Penzey's Spices I could drop the $$$ without any trouble.

An enameled cast iron dutch oven would be a great piece to have for those acidic dishes that don't play nicely with cast iron.

Penzey's is the bomb. I haven't ordered anything from them in a while,  but I used to love receiving their catalog in the mail.

[Granwych]

1 hour ago, Cartmann99 said:

An enameled cast iron dutch oven would be a great piece to have for those acidic dishes that don't play nicely with cast iron.

Penzey's is the bomb. I haven't ordered anything from them in a while,  but I used to love receiving their catalog in the mail.

What's really an exercise in self-restraint is to go into one of their brick-and-mortar stores.  But, such fun!

[PennySycamore]

I noticed that Penzey's has a store in Charlotte.  The next time I go to IKEA, I need to swing by Penzey's.  Since I usually go to IKEA with one of my daughters, that would work great.  

The CEO of Penzey's has been attacked lately because he had the audacity to say that our country was better than all the hatred that has come out since the election and that Penzey's was open to everyone.  A day or so ago, he sent out an email that said he stood by what he'd said originally and basically the haters could "kiss my grits". They were not going to put up with hate speech on their Facebook.  i'd just ordered some spices for Christmas baking from Penzey's the day before the original statement.  It feels good to do business with a company that has good values.

Quote

Love People.  Cook Them Tasty Food.  (Penzey's motto)

 

[Cartmann99]

On 12/23/2016 at 8:43 PM, Granwych said:

What's really an exercise in self-restraint is to go into one of their brick-and-mortar stores.  But, such fun!

I can only imagine! Sadly, I have never lived near a Penzey's store. 

[catlady]

Everyone talking about Penzey is good timing for me: my sister cooks a lot, and she was saying over Christmas that she needs to replenish most of her spices. Her birthday is coming up, so my mom and I are going to do that, and I will check out Penzey. Thank you!!

[SilverBeach]

Just now, catlady said:

Everyone talking about Penzey is good timing for me: my sister cooks a lot, and she was saying over Christmas that she needs to replenish most of her spices. Her birthday is coming up, so my mom and I are going to do that, and I will check out Penzey. Thank you!!

They have wonderful gift sets.

[catlady]

I'm so excited now; there is a store exactly 7.9 miles from my house!!

[LadyCrow1313]

13 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

I can only imagine! Sadly, I have never lived near a Penzey's store. 

There used to be a Penzey's in a local shopping mall, & I did go there once (out of curiosity). To be honest, I wasn't overly excited about it (even though they did have an impressive spice collection & I did buy one or two small bottles of things). I was only there once, & I just found out that the store closed a few months ago.

[Shadoewolf]

We have Sur Le Table here and they are way better priced than W&S so we tend to go there. For spices we go to the local organic store but I might have to check out Penzeys to replenish hubby's stash for the new year.

[catlady]

i went to Sur La Table once (travelled to Atlanta; they're not in western NY that i know of); it was a nice store.  i bought cake decorations for my Christmas cut-out cookies.  that location had really nice people on staff, too.

[ADoyle90815]

On 12/26/2016 at 4:21 PM, SilverBeach said:

They have wonderful gift sets.

I got my mom one of those gift sets for Christmas this year, as I have a couple of stores within driving distance from me. I got it specifically because she hates Trump and loves to support business owners who hate him as much as she does. I'm sure the next time she visits, a Penzey's trip is on the agenda.

[catlady]

I just went to Penzey's; got this for my sister's birthday next month. what a cool store!. @ADoyle90815,  so glad to hear that I (we!) agree with their politics. now i feel even better about spending $135.  

[PennySycamore]

The CEO of Penzey's donated free pins to people going to the Women's March who requested them.  I told the leader/organizer of our group, she emailed the CEO and she got pins for 5 busloads of women, men and a few kids from Greenville SC.  

[princessmahina]

Williams Sonoma is one of my favorite stores. I love meandering through. Sometimes I even buy stuff from the sale table. Like a bee cake pan (it was obviously a necessity )

 

Also, I would totally buy chocolate mice. They'd remind me of the Harry Potter Ice Mice.

[apple1]

On ‎12‎/‎18‎/‎2016 at 4:32 PM, PennySycamore said:

@cindyluvs24,  there is or was a W-S outlet in Germantown, Tennessee.  Their warehouse is in northern Mississippi.  I remember going to the outlet store with my daughter.  We bought three kids' aprons.  The one I bought for my yet-to-be born grandson had trains on it.  Turned out to be perfect for a Thomas crazed little boy!

Some of their items are ridiculous, but others aren't like @nokidsmom said: their bakeware and such.  I personally am addicted to their pop-up sponges, aprons, and dishtowels.  If I were Jewish, I'd love to have that Star of David Bundt pan and if I were made of money I'd love to have some Mauviel copper pots and pans and, what the hell, that tartan cast iron pot (I like tartan!).  The Breville Smart Oven might come in handy if we have to be kitchen-less for a while while our kitchen reno is going on.

 

They do have some awesome stuff, and on occasion can have fantastic sales. Believe it or not, my KitchenAid came from WS, when their sale was such a significant percentage off and KA was doing a free shipping thing also - it was my best choice at the time.

And yes, I love the Mauviel copper, just cannot afford it.

They are not all bad.

On ‎12‎/‎21‎/‎2016 at 6:59 PM, mango_fandango said:

Over here in Britain, pigs in blankets are little cocktail sausages (or sometimes bigger sausages) wrapped in bacon. Pig in more pig. I love that shit. 

Ordering that kind of food from a catalogue sounds bizarre. 

I'm in Ohio. That's what I thought pigs in blankets were. Sometimes (this is a RARE treat) with a strip of cheese inside the bacon, too.

Wow. I'm old. My Mom used to sometimes fix those for us for lunch. Brings back good memories.

[Jucifer]

On 12/22/2016 at 8:00 AM, nokidsmom said:

My stove is on it's last legs and I would love to have a smooth top for same reason: I hate cleaning the burners.  Currently have gas but had electric in our last apt.   Only problem is that I do canning and even though I downsized to a smaller canner last year, I would prefer to have the burners to support it.  One solution is getting an electric Autocanner but you are limited to what canning recipes you can use with it.  Decisions, decisions....

Definitely interested in a split oven though. 

When we bought our house it came with an electric oven with a smooth top. I thought it would be great. I had a gas oven in our last house and I hated cleaning under the burners. 

It turned out that the smooth top oven has its own irritating quirks. If a pot of pasta boils over it's a bitch to clean the burned ring off. It seems to soak into the surface. You can only use certain (wimpy) cleaning products on it.  

 Cast iron pans can scratch it.  Large pots, like I use for making beer, are problematic.  It's also hard to get a consistent simmer temperature.  

If I had to do it over again I'd pick a gas stove with a normal top.

ETA: the family i babysat for in college had an old oven that was in bad shape. It only worked on extremely high temperatures. I hated using that thing. 

They ignored it for a few years and eventually it caught their house on fire. Be careful out there! 

[onekidanddone]

On 12/17/2016 at 4:56 AM, RosyDaisy said:

So, pigs in a blanket is white trash food? I must be white trash then, beause I love them. Mine are always homemade. Only stuck up rich folks would pay $50 for 2 dozen stale ones from a damn catalog.

Oh I love those things.  I'll buy 'em frozen from the supermarket and plow though the entire box. Yes, I'm a shameful glutton. White trash food? Really? Who cares if the snobs don't want to eat them there is more for me.

[PennySycamore]

All the American recipes for pigs in blankets are for hot dog halves or cocktail weenies wrapped in canned crescent rolls.

ETA: My daughter posted a photo on her FB yesterday of her little boy wearing the apron we bought at the W-S outlet 4 years ago just before he was born.  Little did we know then that he would be completely gaga over Thomas the Tank Engine.