KitchenAid KSB560MC 5-Speed Blender with Polycarbonate Jar, Metallic Chrome

Search for the holy blender...
I have been looking for a blender for a few weeks now. We have started making smoothies at home and burned up our old one. Our girls like the "Chocolate Elvis" recipe from the local smoothie place which contains peanutbutter, bananas, yogurt, ice, and milk. I guess this is really hard on blenders. I bought one at Target 2 weeks ago that had "700 watts peak power" on the box. It died in 2 days. The power spec on the bottom of the blender said 450 watts. I think that is false advertisement. I have seen this on 2 different blenders now.

I have been leery of buying any blender with the little plastic teeth couplers because of all the bad reviews here on Amazon. I also wanted to stay away from anything with only 450 watts.

I was in another store and saw this blender. It has a new design for where the blades couple with the motor. "Commercial quality couplers with 12 interlocking teeth....coated for quiet operation".

We have had it for a few days now and...

They Redesigned The Container (carafe)!!!
We bought this Kitchenaid blender over a year ago, and after several months the container started to leak. The leak was small, and we put up with it for awhile. We finally got tired of the mess, however, and called the factory. We were told that the container had been redesigned, and they would send us a new one immediately even though our warranty had expired. When we got the new one we could see that it had indeed been redesigned, and have used it for some time now, and NO LEAKS. A leak proof container plus the other great features of this blender now warrant a definite five stars.

3/24/12 update. Our blender is now five years old, is used every day, and has been problem free since they replaced the container in 2008.

Do Yourself a Favor and Buy this Fantasitc Blender
My husband and I make smoothies almost every single night (as in, 6-7 nights/week), so we're really hard on our blenders. We have been through 4 blenders in the last 3 years alone. We started with a cheap Oster blender, but quickly realized that it was pretty much useless for the thick smoothies we like to make. Next, I bought the Back to Basics Smoothie Elite, which was great for as long as it held up, but as it turned out, that was only 6 months. So, we upgraded to the Back to Basics Smoothie Professional, which was great until I dropped the glass jar into the sink and broke it, only to find that you couldn't buy a new one ANYWHERE so my $120 blender was now worthless.

After all this, I decided to stop fooling around and buy a Kitchenaid. This blender has all the power you need (way more power than any of the first 3 blenders I bought; both the smoothie blenders came with a stir stick, but such a thing isn't even necessary when you have the power of this Kitchenaid),...

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Circulon 80486 10-1/2-Inch/4-Quart Covered Tapered Sauteuse

Good piece of cookware with some problems
I bought this sauteuse as part of this amazong deal from Amazon where I got a 14-piece circulon 2 set + a circulon 2 griddle + this sauteuse + a dutch oven for just $200. So I am very happy with the price. I used this piece yesterday and though I like this just like I like all my other circulon cookware, it has some issues. I really love Circulon 2 compared to Circulon Elite though because of its steel lids and high quality plastic handles, so I dont have to worry about breaking the lids accidentally.

Here are the pros and cons of this piece.

Pros:
-It is not as heavy as I thought it would be. So easy to handle (weight wise).
-Food does not stick to the bottom. Love that
-Food cooks well and evenly.
-Easy to clean

Cons:
-The handles for the sauteuse are made out of steel instead of high quality plastic like the other Circulon 2 pieces I have. These handles get hot after a while. It is cool enough that you will not burn yourself...

Great Pan...nothing ever sticks!
I have a complete set of Circulon, but composed of the regular and Circulon 2, and Elite, with the soft silicon rubber handles. I much prefer the Circulon 2 or Elite for its non-stick sides, which makes it much easier to clean. Nothing ever sticks inside, so there isn't any scrubbing needed, just a normal dish rag or sponge, a bit of soap, and thats it!

I have had most of my pieces for well over two years, use them almost daily, and they are still looking like new. One must not ever use any non-stick on high heat. However, Medium-High is fine, and I use that setting for the grill pan 100% of the time.

Without any doubt, Circulon is the finest cookware I have ever owned!

Workhorse
I bought this pretty much as a chili pot, thinking my old 5

Chef's Choice 130 Professional Knife-Sharpening Station, Platinum

A review from a Chef
I am an Executive Chef and have worked in a kitchen for over 25 years. I purchased this sharpener about a month ago and so far I am very satisfied. If you read the manual, it is very easy to use. I was at first worried about taking too much metal off of my kinves. As long as you don't over use the first stage that should not be a problem.

It put a good edge on my knives quickly and easily. I have a 10 inch wusthof that is my main kitchen knife. I put an edge on it with stage 1 over a month ago and it has remanined very sharp since. All you have to do is run it through stage 2 ( which is just like a steel) every once and a while and it maintains it's sharpness.

So far I am very satisfied.

Good but not great
As a user of Chef's Choice model 110 and 120 for over ten years I had greatly anticipated the release of this new model.Unfortunately some poor design choices prevent me from fully recomending this product.The older M120 provided 3 stages and created a triple bevel edge.The new M130 can create at best two bevels and only one if you use the sharpening steel.The first stage creates a single edge that can then be steeled with the second stage.If the third polishing stage is used the steeled edge is ground away.That being said the number of bevels is secondary to sharpness of the blade.In comparing the sharpness of the two machines they are very similar with the new 130 seeming slightly sharper.The major issue with the machine is the need to have it out on the counter at all times.The whole point of a sharping steel is to hone your knives each time you use them in order to maintain an edge.This means you need to lug out the box every time you cook, or to have it out on the counter taking...

Now this is sharp
When I bought my Henckels (not the el cheapo Henckels International, mind you) knives I was looking for a sharpening steel but ended up with the pull-through gadget they call a "sharpener". Someone's already pointed out the difference, that the device is a "honer" that merely sets the blade straight. It returns usability but doesn't actually SHARPEN, i.e, shave off metal and recreate the edge. After reality set in that I could keep running my knives in this honer until I was blue in the face and never increase the sharpness but merely prolong it, I decided to look for a way to really sharpen a knife.

Local and mail-order services didn't appeal to me because I didn't want the knives out of my hands or tested on stuff I wouldn't cut in my kitchen. So I went looking for sharpeners I could use in the home.

- As I read opinions, the whetstone seems to be the best possible way. The electrical sharpeners are about the only alternative that actually re-create an edge, so...

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KitchenAid KMTT400OB 4-Slice Metal Toaster, Onyx Black and Stainless Steel

Very Satisfied
This is one toaster thats a bargain for the money. Very well constructed with quality stainless body, removable crumb tray, oversized controls, and thick commercial electric cord. This is no small toaster! Toasting different breads was easy, and it toasted to perfection. I have found the best setting of shade control (10 settings) at 4 for perfect results. I have looked at almost every toaster in the 20-100 dollar range with disapointing results, until I seen the Kitchen Aid. I highly reccommend it!

GREAT TOAST!
This toaster does a perfect job at it's unique requirement-to make great toast. The wide range on the light to dark dials (1-9) gets it just right for everyone. It has been nice to move up from a two-slot to four-slot with the addition of kids and not spend all of breakfast processing bread through the toaster. The bagel feature really works. It looks very handsome on the counter, but it is large - as large as some small toaster ovens, so measure first. The only thing that hasn't fit well are long slices from a round of sourdough, I just cut them in half and it was fine. It has been so nice to have toast that is perfectly done on the entire surface of both sides of the bread!!

What a machine!
This toaster is all and more than described. We make our own whole grain breads and it was always a problem to get the dense breads browned without burning. This toaster's settings allow the bread to brown perfectly! The bagel setting is a dream as well. Looking forward to many years of use.

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Lenox Holiday Nouveau Fabric Tablecloth 60x120

Lovely tablecloth
Bought this to go with my Lenox Holiday Nouveau 108 inch runner. It is so pretty I kept it on even after the holiday season was over.





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Waterford Achievements Toasting Flutes, Pair

A COMPLIMENT TO DINING ELEGANCE
These toasting flute pairs are a must have for a complete, elegant, and festive dining experience! I have purchased numerous home items from the Waterford collections, but these are the first pair of Waterford flutes I have purchased. I prefer these to the other styles and I love the way they stand out elegant on a table. The price was a steal and the delivery was ontime.

A great gift
Beautiful glasses in a nice presentation box, well packaged for delivery. A hit with the recipient of the gift, who had no other Waterford crystal.

For My Wedding Day
This is a great buy! I comes in a protective case that quickly displays the quality of the flutes. The weight of the flutes makes you keep a tight grip and they look great. I would recommend these flutes for any couples wedding day. I can't weight for my big day to uses these glasses.

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Kitchenaid Stainless Steel 4 Slice Wide Toaster

5 stars for Support, 4 stars for performance
Note: I was not able to change the rating from my first review which was based on a defective toaster. The new rating should be 5 stars. We've discovered the best bagel toaster ever!

In my first review I said I'd be back when KitchenAide sent a replacement toaster. Not only did the one I ordered from Amazon not toast, the stainless steel stained with fingerprints and smudges of all things. That was three weeks ago. The replacement came last week, and I'm quite satisfied with the new one. It does not retained smudges and fingerprints and, more important, it toasts just fine. I especially like the way it handles bagels -- crisp on the outside, toasted on the inside.

It still has a minor "problem" with English muffins which I don't understand, and buyers note that you have to use the "bagel setting: to toast English muffins. Still, they need a higher setting, perhaps because they're thinner than bagels and regularly sliced bread.

Why not 5 stars? Because...

Finally a toaster that does the job
I have tried them all, good brands, brand x, expensive, cheap. For nearly 30 years, I have been unhappy with every toaster I have tried until this one. What could one reasonable expect from a toaster? That it browns evenly on both sides of the toast without flipping mid-cycle? That bagels fit? That it stays cool? Well, this one delivers the most basic of my requirements. It is large and solid, but I would build a room for it, if necessary. You can't go wrong with this one.

Finally the perfect toaster!!
Apparently, toasting a slice of bread evenly IS rocket science. After trying too many toasters, we purchased this Kitchen Aid model and our search is over. It does exactly what it was meant to do, toast bread evenly and handles bagels easily.

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