Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Hey - cool! I just found this stuff recently too and used it for my Kid's birthday!

I am not sure why I'm even justifying the last two posts with a response, but I guess I'll chalk them up to ignorance. I can see how people without kids are less aware of the problem.

A. More kids are more allergic to nuts, especially peanuts, than they were twenty years ago or whenever you were in school.

B. Lots of kids are so allergic to nuts that they could go into anaphylactic (i.e. deadly, throat-closing) shock by being around someone eating peanut butter, or by using the water fountain after someone who ate peanut butter touched the handle. It doesn't matter how careful they are about not eating nuts.

I hope this makes it clear to anyone who is wondering. The schools are trying to protect kids from dying.

--Wendy Burton, RN BSN

Umm...these are all really cool solutions to a nut-butter problem, but I'm astounded that no one has expressed shock and/or outrage that a school is actually banning certain foods.

I don't have kids, but I went to school, for sure.

How long has this been going on?

And why am I the only person who is shocked and/or outraged?

I'm a huge fan of peanut butter, but I've been drifting away from it after I discovered Nuts to You, a Canadian company that makes organic nut and seed butters. In terms of a nut-free butter, I'm a huge fan of their pumpkin seed butter (although I'm not sure it would be allergen-free if it's made in the same place that makes nut butters) but if you CAN eat nuts, the company also makes "Mystery" butters, which are combinations of two or more nuts/seeds. YUM.

The only problem with sunflower seed butter is that it tastes exactly like sunflower seeds. Yuck.

Thanks for the review - I had just seen the corn stripper in the store and was curious... hadn't thought to freeze corn though!

I use the OXO mango slicer regularly. It works really well 4 out of 5 times on medium to large mangos. (I've had a few stringy or overripe mangos that were hopeless. For riper mangos, you may want to refrigerate to firm them up before using the slicer.) The directions say to use the slicer, then remove the peel, but I personally prefer to peel then slice. I was dubious that it would make a difference, but it really makes getting the fruit off the pit a lot easier.

I agree on the ground meat equating a burger consensus, as well as two slices of baked goods holding together ingredients equating a sandwhich.

I vote with you Karen, 'waff-which' is fun to say! :D

Thanks for the comments and tips, all! I'll have to try the angel-food pan trick - despite my newfound love of the Stripper.

Sabrina, as for the freezing, all that I do is put the corn into a zip-top bag, seal it most of the way, and suck as much air as I can out at the corner, seal it up, and toss it in the freezer (sucking out the air not only makes it take up less space but helps prevent ice build-up around the kernels). It won't keep forever, but it's still pretty good after a few months.

As for how I use it, it's great for adding to quesadilla/burrito fillings, salsas, pasta and rice dishes, flans - whatever. One of my go-to dishes involving fresh corn is as follows: sautee up some bacon chunks 'til crispy, drain them and set them aside; in a little of the rendered bacon fat, sautee some onions or shallots until translucent, then add some corn and cook until the corn turns bright yellow and the onions begin to caramelize; add some pasta and a little of its cooking water then a good dollop of ricotta cheese, salt and pepper to taste, maybe some fresh herbs (thyme, savory and tarragon are all particular favorites) and/or a hit of lemon zest; cook and stir briefly until the sauce clings to the pasta, toss the bacon back in, and serve. It takes about 15 minutes from start to finish, and it's so good!

Actually the best thing about waffle sandwiches is the fact that they offer one the opportunity to say "Leggo my Eggo" not only at breakfast-time but at lunch-time too.

I vote we call them waff-wiches. It sounds better than sand-waffs.

I just started using the cake pan trick, putting it down in the sink on a towel to prevent scooting, and it worked well-almost everything went in the pan, and the few splatters were easily rinsed down the drain. But I sure am intrigued by the review of this gadget, and I am an Oxo fan (the garden tools are great too).

Batali...because everything he cooks makes me salivate.

Morimoto has been my favorite since the original show- he is humble, exquisitely creative and inspiring!