"AppliancesAndKitchenGadgets" news and stories

Do you hate soggy pie? Maybe the new mesh-bottomed pie pan from Brylane Home will be able to help you out of your moist predicament.

This new pie pan promises to get rid of soggy bottoms forever. The mesh screen on the bottom of the pan allows the steam that builds up during baking to escape. Brian Krepshaw, of C-net's Appliances and Kitchen Gadgets blog compares the pie pan to those perforated pizza pans.

The mesh-bottomed pie pan may be great for keeping the pie crust from getting soggy while baking and cooling, but you'll have to be careful when storing the pie. Definitely keep the pie on some kind of serving dish and remember to wrap the whole pie for refrigeration if you plan on keeping it in the pie pan. It is also recommended that you hand wash this item to keep it in top condition.

I think the mesh-bottomed pie pan may be worth a try. What's your take?

Peanut butter has always been a staple food in my life. As a kid, a piece of whole wheat toast, smeared with a dollop of peanut butter and topped with jam was a regular breakfast. I often had a pb and honey sandwich in my lunchbox (my mom was a fan of heaping on the peanut butter, making sandwiches so thick that they made lunch time conversations impossible) and it wasn't uncommon to have an afternoon snack of sliced apple or celery sticks with a tiny dish of peanut butter for dipping.

These days, I always have a jar of peanut butter in the fridge, with a back-up in the cupboard (it is a sad day when I discover that I've forgotten to replace my secondary jar). Like my mother before me, I only buy the natural peanut butter and the one problem with this style of butter is that the oil separates out. I always pour the majority of the oil off and then stir the remaining oil back into the peanut butter. However, this tactic means that the last inch of peanut butter is often dry and nearly impossible to spread, as I never to a great job of getting the oil all the way to the bottom.

One way to handle the separation is to store the unopened jar upside down so that when you open it up, the oil is dispersed a bit better. However, since I do like to pour some of the oil off, that technique doesn't work well for me. However, thanks to CNET's Appliances and Kitchen Gadgets blog, I've learned that there's a gizmo (with the fabulous name Grandpa Witmer's Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Mixer) you can buy to help you stir your peanut butter. I know that this isn't tool for everyone, but for those of us who love our natural peanut butter, this one could be a lifesaver. You screw it on to the top of your jar, turn the knob and the stirring wand does the rest. Sign me up!

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