Pampered Chef Products

[lanie]

Anybody have any PC products? Invited to a party tonight - have not made a commitment - what would you suggest are worthwhile items to buy and that you use - any suggestions very welcome - thanks lanie http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Grace]

I don't particularly like those "home party" things - have had my fill of Tupperware and Longaberger baskets, but I LOVE Pampered Chef stuff! And the parties are always so much fun. So much more fun than those "other" parties - the hostess demonstrates making the food with the PC tools, and they do have good quality stuff. I have a lot of their items, and if I were invited to one of them again, I'd certainly go (but avoid those "other" parties like the plague!!!) I say go, you'll have a good time, and you'll like their stuff a lot.

[This message has been edited by Grace (edited 10-19-2000).]

[MitchellsMom]

I have a couple of Pampered Chef things, more that I don't use than do, but one of my favorite things is a pitcher for powdered drinks that has its own mixer inside -- great for Kool-Aid, lemonade, etc. I have a terracotta baking dish that I don't use often, but works well when I do. I also have the cookie cutter type things for making finger sandwiches -- time consuming but my toddler likes the sandwiches! One thing I don't recommend are the measuring cups. They are adjustable for different measurements ( a great idea), but I find them hard to clean and that when I measure liquids, the liquid gets all up in them and they aren't very exact...

I think I read recently that several people have the PC pizza stone and like them.

Have fun at the party!

[Grace]

I didn't mention some of the things I have:

The rectangular baking stone is great. I also like the Batter Bowls, both large and small. I use these ALL the time (ie, when a recipe calls for 6 cups of cut up apples, I cut them up into those bowls - they have the cup markings on the side so I know when I have 6 cups). I also use them for letting dough rise - easy to see when it's doubled and they come with tight fitting lids. I like the "Chillzanne" bowls - they're great for dips - you put the bowl in the freezer, then when you use it it keeps the dip (or whatever) cold for a long time. These are great for when we go on a picnic or to the beach, or just have a cookout in the backyard. I also have the Ultimate Slice and Grate (like a mandoline). I like this too. I probably have a bunch more stuff, but I can't think of it right now. Hope this helps.

[diane]

I have gone to several and always have a fun time. Lots of neat ideas and fun things to buy. Have fun and let us know what you thought about it and what you bought.

[bijoux22]

I have the cheese grater which I love and use often. The larger vegetable microwave steamer is fabulous, no water required and my vegetables always are perfectly done. I also have the mandolin type shredder/slicer and I love this too! Oops, the nylon flat loopy wisk is great for making sauces. I have a stone but never use it, but have friends who can't live without theirs.

[CrystalB]

I also have the PC cheese grater and love it!! I also love the PC garlic press- I couldn't live without it!! Have fun!

[marys]

I have become a Pampered Chef junkie lately! Things I use often are the chopper, garlic press, baking stones (my mom loves the loaf pan), apple slicer, misters (one for oil, one for water), zester.

I went to several parties and then a friend talked me into hosting one, so that's when I got a lot of their products (you can get a lot of free items when you host).

Have fun!

[Abby]

They aren't fancy, but I have really enjoyed the batter bowls with lids - both sizes. I also have the apple peeler, corer, slicer which I have used maybe twice; it may be good for apples, but it's horrible for potatoes. Maybe I just don't have the knack for operating the thing????
I use the chopper quite a bit; it's wonderful for chopping onions. I really like the pitcher with a plunger thingy to mix frozen orange juice, too. The cheese grater gets used every now and then. I have some of the stone stuff, but they are such odd sizes so they don't fit well with non-PC recipes.
I also have the knives that came with a holder that has a built-in sharpener. This is my first set of knives so I don't really have any other's to compare them to, but I doubt they are worth the money. I had a "Pampered Bride" shower which is why I have so much of the stuff.

[This message has been edited by Abby (edited 10-19-2000).]

[lorilei]

Ah, Grace, you are a woman after my own heart. I often feel very evil for my lack of compulsion to support "home parties"; it seems almost antisocial. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Of course, I own Pampered Chef products... some of which I've found you can get for less money at kitchen supply stores (their Zyliss products, for instance). I do like my stoneware, however; it's comparable to other products I've seen. And my husband is a huge fan of the "Quick Stir Pitcher" (mentioned above).

I would advise against their little brushlike gadget that "sops up grease". My mother-in-law collects things like this, and it's relatively useless. I'm not particularly fond of my food chopper either - though I know I am in the minority on this.

[venus]

Where can I get one of the "Quick Stir" pitchers, besides a PC party? I have been looking everywhere for one and can't find them. Please help...

[ML]

Well, I just can't seem to get interested in PC products or the parties. I am not sure why, other than I just have an aversion to it.

I did read about the batter bowl- I got the exact same thing at Restoration Hardware (it was 8$, I do not know how much the PC one is). I know it is the same because I have been to a PC party before- I think I was the only one there that did not buy anything! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/cool.gif

[lanie]

Thank you, thank you, etc. ALL! Now I am totally confused and want everything! What I think I will order - for sure the stir pitcher thingamee, the hold'n'slice - which I hear is really handy, and the chopper - these I will order for sure - and then I'll see what else I want - trouble is - when I go to those 'parties' I want everything and end up with all this you know what! thanks again for all the input - lanie http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[acorreia]

This is too weird. I'm also going to a PC party tonight. I've been to one before, a couple of months ago. I WAS the only one who did NOT buy anything. I go by the "less is more rule." Most of the demonstrations could have been accomplished with a knife and a bowl....you know what I mean. But, tonight I feel a little more obligated to buy b/c I do not know the host that well. At the last PC party, I saw this grill accessory that had about 15 different gadgets on it and it was only $15. So, I may buy that tonight....but that's all! They are fun, though!

[Kristilyn1]

I'm a big fan of PC. I actually thoroughly enjoy the parties--the food is usually yummy and quick and easy. I don't think anyone could accuse them of being gourmet--but let's face it--we all have nights where we whip something up--and these DEFINITELY fit the bill. On the other hand--I abhor ALL OTHER home parties. Candles, interiors, country gunk, Longaberger and I've been to them all. I have loads of PC stuff and have a few items I really like:

the batter bowl--I have the big one
The round baking stone
Cut n' Seal-- a gadget that hardly anyone buys but is fabulous for making ravioli or some of my favorite "filled" appetizers. It cuts dough into a round circle, you plop the "stuff" (pizza filling, mushrooms and feta, whatever) and fold the round in half. You use the sealer to seal the edges so you end up with a half-moon shaped pastry. Couldn't live without it.
The Food Slicer--love it, no more uncut vegetable nubs
Food Chopper--I like it, but find it only practical for onions--which I hate to chop.

Kristi

[RUSTYSMOM]

I admit it - I am another PC junkie - I love thier prodcuts. I however do disdain all other home parties. The PC stuff is great - I always find something to buy.

My favorites are: Garlic press and cheese grater. I also love the shaker (I bought one for powder sugar - one fo flour), the mini mufine pans, the soap pump, mister, zester, pastry thing(use to make crusts and crumb toppings - name is escaping me??), chopper, measure all (great for peanut butter, mayo, etc... Ok - that is enough sharing of my indulgences...

[mightyh]

I love their stuff, too... Like the chopper, the food mandoline, the powdered sugar sprinkler, the cookie cooling racks, and the apple peeler corer slicer. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[andi]

Gotta admit, I love PC and usually attend a party or order something 6-7 times a year. You don't have to break the bank with purchases. They often have things that I can't find anywhere else. I just attended a party last week and ordered the pitcher thingy-My kids are always wasting spoons stirring things. Also bought the ice cream scoop-again, I like my spoons and they are really getting bent by those lovely children helping themselves to icecream. I have a couple pieces of stonewear and love them, also the little measuring spoons and the dry/liquid measurer. To me, these parties are a great Mom's night out and I pace myself to spend under $15!

[lanie]

Is the mandolin that good? and cut and seal thing - going to order that too - can you if you are there let me know about the mandolin soon pleasseeeeeeeeeee Kristi http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[cjm]

I went to my first PC party a few months ago. I bought the food chopper - how did I live my entire life without one. I chop EVERYTHING with it (veggies, meat...). I am pleased that it easy to clean too. I bought the rectangle baking stone and rack but...haven't used it yet.

[kentgirl]

The absolutely best item you could ever order from PC is their scrapers---especially the Mix & Scraper. This is a combination spatula and serving spoon. I love it because you can use it to stir while you're cooking, the edges will never melt (it's heat safe up to 650 degrees) and will never get discolored. I've had my scraper for years, and it still looks brand new. They have two other smaller sizes, but if you buy anything, buy the largest size which is the Mix & Scaper.

My sister has the knife set, she thinks it's wonderful. I also have the Quick Stir Pitcher which is very convenient to mix ingredients. I have been to many PC parties, and have bought other items, but these are the ones that have really impressed me.

[bijoux22]

Lanie, yes the mandolin gadget is very cool. It is great for thinly slicing lots of onions, cabbage even tomatos and potatoes for au gratin. Lots of other great stuff too! Hope this reaches you in time. Have fun!

[This message has been edited by bijoux22 (edited 10-19-2000).]

[Lizz13.1]

I really like the chopper and use it for everything. The ice cream scoop is great and I got the knives when I was a host. Advice, what every you buy keep the reciepts. One of my stones broke recently. I could have received a new one to replace it free. I have the "lasagna" sized stone too. The best thing about the stones is that they are really easy to clean the gross stuff off. Just soak and scrape. The little paring knives are really cheap and are VERY sharp. I have various "battle" marks from them.

[jmkenad]

I absolutely love my stoneware from Pampered Chef and use it all the time. I particularly love the combination of the Stoneware baking bowl and the deep dish baker. I make alot of really cool things in these one of which is a great beef stew (you cook in bowl and put deep dish baker over top for lid). Another family favorite is the pork roast with apple stuffing. (here you cook in deep dish baker with bowl for lid) - this combination also makes a great roaster chicken too - I just stick a 3-4 # chicken in there with some veggies, etc - very moist!

[karen w]

I am fairly new to PC. Until recently I knew nothing about it, and had never been to a party. I was "suckered" into hosting a party by someone at my boys daycare. Well all I can say is I started out quite skeptical, but now I'm a convert too!! My party blew me away. Almost everyone showed up and lots of purchases. I ended up getting over $400.00 of free products. It was my consultants largest party! The things I have I love are the ice cream scoop, garlic press, the apple/peeler/corer/slicer, the mix and scraper spatula thingees, and the stoneware. I love my food chopper and mandoline for certain things, but these I do not use everyday. Oh I also like the suds pump. I hope you have a fun night!

[mlou]

I have to agree with acorreia on this one. More stuff to find a place for a forget where you put it on the off chance you have a reason to use it! Also, as someone said most of the stuff you can find cheaper elsewhere. The few things I bought were poorly made and absolutely do NOT buy the oil mister! So my vote, pass.

[food girl]

I want to encourage anything that makes people want to cook and enjoy themselves, but PC drives me a little nutso.

The first party that I went to the salesperson kept talking about how she never cooks. Hmmm. Didn't buy anything from her. I do own the zyliss garlic press, which I love, and the knife sharpener.

I cringe when they whip out the chopper. The noise it makes!

[andreajackson]

I have the springform pans and they are wonderful! I use them all the time for baking.
I have also heard that the slice and grate is a great item to have along with the cheese grater.
I think that PC just came out with a new cookie press and I can't wait to get that!

[gabbyh]

Has anyone mentioned the "boil control" or their Season's Best cookbooks?

Both are great...

[MrsReber]

Okay, here's my list:

The apple peeler/slicer/corer (but don't buy the stand- it's too expensive and my husband made me one)
slice and serve (cutter for pies)
cheese grater
hold n' slice
the bag clips
an 8" knife
the roller with the two different size ends-
(I love that becuase I can roll my pizza dough out very easily or roll out a pie crust in the pie plate!)
zester
9x13 stoneware baking dish
the new cookie press- which I just had to have, but haven't tried yet! The PC rep sent me pages and pages of cookie recipes to try with the press,too!

I also bought the lemon squeezer/storage thing, but I really don't like it much. I only tried to use it a couple of times.

[Melman]

I have LOTS of favorites...and a couple of items that don't impress me. Hosting a party is definitely the way to go though...I haven't paid full price for the majority of these items and a good many have been FREE.

I LOVE the stones!! I have most of them...use some of them sporadially...use the rectangular store more than the rest. It stays in my oven and gets used for any cookie baking, bread, frenchfries, pizza or anything else that won't roll.

LOVE the chopper. I have the old version and use it on all kinds of things. In the spring/summer, I like to make various jams....I don't know how I ever made jams without the chopper. It's SOOO fast!

Speaking of making jams, you can't beat that grooved cutting board. It catches all the juices so nothing is wasted.

Also love using the slice & grate (the mandoline copycat), the pizza cutter, cheese grater, mini and large spatulas, ice cream scooper, dough roller (I have a normal-sized roller pin but for small items, this is great), the spritzers (have one for regular oil and one for olive oil), AND the small scoop!! At Christmas, that scoop really gets a workout.

Things I don't particular like...the wooden spoons (my little cheapies that I've had for years don't seem to toss everything I'm stirring out on the stove or countertop) and the flour/sugar shaker (I bought it thinking about sprinkling cinnamon-sugar on toast...HA..you CANNOT sprinkle a square-shaped piece of bread from a curved top!!). I've never bought the adjustable measuring spoons or cups because I've always heard they're a pain to clean.

I love using their products overall though. I think PC is one of the main reasons I enjoy playing in my kitchen so much. I wouldn't ALWAYS say they're the absolutely best-made products...but they do great the majority of the time. (Ok...I haven't bought the cookware because I'm holding out for All-Clad!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif) Overall, the cost is affordable and the products have held up for me just fine.

[BarbaraL]

I don't have alot of PC products, but I like most of what I have. I love the Zyliss garlic press (I think they have a new model now). I have the apple peeler/corer/slices -- don't use it alot, but love it when I do. I have the rectangular baking stone -- again, I don't bake much, but it's very nice. I believe you can get some of their stuff cheaper elsewhere, but I have alot of fun at the parties (and get to eat, too). I consider the extra cost the price of the evening's entertainment. I buy the things I'm super-interested in, and note other tools of interest to look for in the stores. Have fun!

[carolyn.1]

I have not been to a party. Been there done that. Totally over the tupperware/home parties. I ordered the food scale from someone having a party. I love it and I use it daily. I measure cheese (ounces) to lbs of meat.
I can't remember how much I paid, but I would do it again!! I believe I'm getting a pizza stone from my sister-in-law for Xmas...yeah!!!

[bijoux22]

Lanie, I am curious about your Pampered Chef party, did you end up making any purchases?

[lanie]

Well - I purchased 3 of those (my keyboard isbroken so forgive this nonsense andI can't control it - gettingnew one tomorrow) ok - 3 of hold'n'slice, 1 chopper, 1 ofthose cut'n'seal - and the mandolin is not in Canada yet - you guys get all the goodstuff - but was at a home show here today and saw what must be similar - it was $49.95 - is that what they are at PC - there was a lady standingnext to me and said she had one and only used it to grate cabbage - still thinkingabout that - so you all like the stoneware - the fact that you cannot use soap has me a bit perplexed but will probably end up ordering one and I think I would get the rectangular with the sides not the flat one - I'mso glad all this info was here as I wouldn't have known what to buy - arethe recipe books any good?

[This message has been edited by lanie (edited 10-20-2000).]

[Kristilyn1]

The soap-stone thing. You just don't want the stone to absorb the soap. If you made something stinky and are worried about it carrying over to another food (though I have NEVER had that happen) just rub with a lemon. I have the smooth-glass stovetop and I use my razor to scrape out my stoneware--works great--though the nylon scrapers work just fine too. The cut n seal--glad to see you bought one--but you have to be an appetizer kind of cook to use it--it's not the kind of thing you're going to whip out every night for dinner. I have to agree with someone else who didn't like the oil mister. I really thought that was one product that stunk. I got my slicer thing for free--so I can't remember what price range it was in--sorry!. I really like the cheapy little cookbooks that PC puts out--they are either $1 or $2 and they have a lot of whip up dinners and desserts. I have several favorites that people freak out about and it's embarrassing that they are so low-brow.....

Kristi

[HARRYET]

I have a lot of PC stuff, I went to my 1st showing almost 12 years ago! I have the square baking stone and could not live without it, ( my SO even thinks this is the next best thing since sliced bread, when it broke he found a demonstrator and ordered a new one!)
I also have the chopper, zester, rubber spatulars (sp?), batter bowls, cooling rack, bbq tools, pastry brush, mini muffin pan, and my favorite (especially for living in AZ) the chilzanne platter!