Turkey Day is almost upon us (hurray!) And with so much activity in the kitchen, now is a great time to review some safety tips to make sure you have an injury- and crisis-free holiday. After all, you have more pressing things to worry about, such as cooking the perfect turkey!
When it comes to kitchen safety while preparing a large meal, keep these tips in mind:
*Don't let clutter pile up on the stove or range. It's hard to do, because you probably have several dishes going at once, along with their accompanying mixing bowls and utensils. Yet make sure you only have pots and pans on your stove. You'll lessen the risk of knocking something over or accidentally pouring grease on the surface, which could easily catch fire.
*In the event of a grease fire, do not pour water on it. If the fire is in a pan or pot, put on an oven mitt and put a lid over the pot to smother the fire. If the fire is in a more open area, smother it with baking soda. You may also want to keep a fire extinguisher handy, too, which is an ideal tool with which to put out any fire.
And speaking of fires, I have a quick tip to share with you (sadly enough, from personal experience.) Take a few minutes in the days leading up to Thanksgiving to give your stove burners and oven a good scrub. If you have an electric range, take off your burners, remove the burner pans and thoroughly wash them with soap, water and steel wool. While boiling water at a high heat, one of our range pans caught fire. It was completely unexpected -- and took a few minutes (and the calm thinking of my rational husband) to extinguish. Since you'll likely have your stove on for a prolonged period of time, it's best to start with as clean an appliance as possible.
During colder months, and especially throughout the holidays, your kitchen will likely see much more traffic and activity as you prepare meals and host guests.
If your kitchen is in need of a little pre-holiday update, don't worry -- you have plenty of time to make changes. We've compiled a list of common updates to help you plan your to-do list and timeline.
1. Replace appliances. If your appliances are outdated, now's the time to replace them. According to a chart published by This Old House, here is the life expectancy of most major kitchen appliances:
Gas ranges (15 yrs)
Range hoods (14 yrs)
Refrigerators and electric ranges (13 yrs)
Garbage disposals (12 yrs)
Freezers (11 yrs)
Dishwashers (9 yrs)
Microwave ovens (9 yrs)
Compactors (6 yrs)
2. Clean. Cleaning isn't high on our list of favorite things to do, but a thorough deep cleaning will help keep your appliances in proper working order. Plus, who doesn't love spending time in a sparkling room? Wipe down your oven, stove and microwave. Unplug your fridge and clean the condenser coils. And while you're working with the fridge, remove old food and leftovers from the fridge and freezer so that you have plenty of space to store new leftovers, groceries and edible gifts.
Here at Charles & Hudson, we're always looking out for the best ways to maximize the space you have in creative and inventive ways. So imagine our delight when we stumbled upon this little marvel -- it's a dishwasher that fits in your sink!
Courtesy of Dornob, we saw this little KitchenAid wunderkind and stopped dead in our tracks.
What could be better than whipping up a first-class meal on a state-of-the-art gas range? How about if the proceeds from the appliance's auction benefit breast cancer research?
Chef Marcus Samuelsson (the winner of Top Chef Masters season 2 - love that show!) has teamed up with BlueStar to auction off a pink gas range. The striking piece has a retail value of $4,700, Plus, BlueStar is including an 8-piece cookware set, too, so you'll be ready to prepare a culinary masterpiece.
The professional-quality range includes:
*Extra-large oven capacity
*ULTRANOVA power burn that delivers a scorching 22,000 BTU of heat
*Ability to accommodate a full-size commercial baking sheet
*24" depth that's compatible with standard kitchen cabinetry
