Tag: Pans

Baking Tools from the Commune

I have told you before about the commune. Kelly, my fellow foodie, had a mother, Caroline, who was also a fellow foodie. She was an amazing cook and baker, and it seems to me that she knew everything there was to know, and in my imagination, she created these incredible culinary masterpieces that I only wish I could have tasted.

Unfortunately, I’ll never meet Caroline, as she passed away a few years ago. But I feel like she and I are kindred spirits, especially as I now own many of what used to be her kitchen accessories. Last year, when Kelly and I worked together, he brought in boxes of her old cookbooks to let me go through them and pick out which ones I wanted. Most recently, the commune was going through her old baking tools and, even though I wasn’t there, they made me a box! It was the sweetest gesture that nearly brought me to tears.

While I know what some of the utensils are (a madeleine pan, some mini tart pans, some regular sized tart pans, some spring-form pans) there are others that I have no clue what to do with. Help? I’m posting pictures here, with numbers in the captions, and if you know what some of the items are, please comment below!

Mystery Baking Tools // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Number 1 on the left, 2 on the right.

I’m assuming the long skinny tray on the left is for lady fingers. The tray on the right is very shallow, and I’m not sure what it’s for!

Mystery Baking Tools // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
The molds on the left are number 3, the little pans/trays are number 4.

The molds on the left are number 3, and one guess for those was a paté mold or something like that? The little molds on the right are number 4, and a guess for those was that they might be for petit-fours.

Mystery Baking Tools // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Number 5 on the left, and the donut things are number 6.

Lastly, the scalloped edged pans are number 5, and the little circular pans (maybe for donuts?) are number 6.

New Pots & Pans (Cuisinart, from Costco)!

When I moved into my first house in college, and had my own kitchen for the first time, my mom took me to Target and bought me a set of pots/pans and a set of kitchen utensils (think knives, spatulas, bagel cutter…). And it lasted just fine. Not great quality, but it worked.

Over the years, the amount of pots/pans dwindled. I lost a mini fry pan, the right lids for the right pots, all that. And a few months ago, our one fry pan that we owned started losing its non-stick lining. And then it started to stick… so, not non-stick anymore. It started getting out of hand, and so I started bringing up getting a new fry pan. So we did some research and it was about 50 bucks for a new nice fry pan. And we were getting ready to buy one (or a set of two) when my little sister sent me a picture of a 12-piece set of Cuisinart stainless steel pots and pans for $150 at Costco. I love Costco.

So Jonah and I talked, saved up money for a little bit, and went to Costco. Now, at our local branch, the same set was $199. But it was still pretty dang worth it. So we went for it. And it has taken a bit of getting used to, cooking with stainless steel “stick” pans after years of non-stick, but wow is it nice. You don’t need to turn up the heat too high, and they heat perfectly evenly. I’m really looking forward to making scallops in these pans to get a really nice sear on them. And the little pan is perfect for eggs. The moral of the story is that these pans are pretty, shiny, and wonderful to cook in. And a good deal.