Cooking with ZWILLING

Last week, Howard and I had the pleasure of attending a event highlighting ZWILLING J.A. HENCKEL's cookware. We are long-time users of the ZWILLING knives and were excited to go and learn a bit more. There, we found out that ZWILLING J.A. HENCKEL is celebrating 110 years in Canada and also consists of Staub, Miyabi, and Demeyere - we did not realize that these brands were all part of their family!

Upon entering, we were greeted by the friendly team at NKPR and offered beverage choices.

I must say, I'm a fan of any event that offers something for non-wine drinkers! I tried the pomegranate and elderflower sparkling pressé.

Beside the kitchen, there was a table set with a ZWILLING salt and pepper shaker.

The ZWILLING cutlery was showcased since we weren't using those utensils for the dishes.

NKPR had set up the event to revolve around the Kitchen Personality. There were four stations, each catering to the individual's needs.

David Hale, VP Sales & Marketing at ZWILLING J.A. HENCKELS, became our trusty guide as he took us to our first stop. Featuring the Staub Ceramics, this station was for "The Busy Bee." This collection is ideal for quick and easy meals that could be made ahead of time.

First, there was macaroni and cheese that you can garnish with sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, and bacon bits. We ate it (no photo) while David explained that the Staub products were made in France and included the cocotte pots, fry pans, grills, pans, woks, fondue pots, and presentation pieces.

They actually made two dishes here for us to try for when we circled back, there was pasta!

We couldn't help scooping up some bacon bits and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Now isn't that one way of decorating your hot tub?

As we stepped out to the backyard, we were introduced to "The Grill Master" station. Did you know you could use a cast iron coccotte on the barbecue? Another tip learnt.

During the hot summer weathers, David explained that instead of heating up your hard-earned air conditioned kitchen, you could take it outside. The barbecue acts as an oven and the cast iron coccottes self-bastes thanks to the spikes on the inside of the flat lid.

Over the weekend, Howard and I stopped by a cooking store and took a look at another brand's French oven and did notice that they didn't have the spikes on the lid. Just something to think about if you're considering getting one.

Oh the food here was delicious! They beautifully plated a sake-marinated flat iron beef with grilled asparagus.

Look! Even the lids on the presentation pieces have the tiny spikes.

The displays of knives was what Howard came to see. He was absolutely happy to see and hold these beautiful Miyabi knives. David informed us that these were authentic Japanese blades crafted from premium steel that were layered with the damask pattern. Just learnt that the hammered finish is called "Tsuchime."

From left to right: Miyabi 6000 Artisan, Miyabi 5000 Birchwood, Miyabi 5000 Kaizen, and Miyabi 600 Morimoto Edition (yes of Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto!). Howard has decided that we need the 5000 series for our collection.

Naturally, they also had the ZWILLING cutlery on display! David explained that the blades are all the same, the only thing they change is the handle so that cook's can choose the one that works best for them. Whatever feels comfortable in your hands.

The knives are designed for the pinch grip (where you place your thumb on the curved bolster and the index finger on the other side. This allows for the circular rocking/chopping motion as Howard is so kindly demonstrating.

The pièce de résistance some might say were these KRAMER Stainless Damascus Collection and Carbon Collection knives. You've heard of Bob Kramer, right? If I could do a long whistle, I would here.
David was right, these knives surprised me. They may look heavy, but if you pick them up, it's light and easy to handle.

Back in the kitchen, we got to see all of the prepped ingredients and the cookware in action! This station was labelled "Le Gourmand."

Steaming dumplings!

Salmon!

Chef Matthew Sullivan was busy cooking and plating for us.

Honey soy and ginger glazed salmon crusted in wasabi served with baby bak choy, wilted greens with garlic and lemon zest, and a steamed vegetable wonton.

Can we say delicious again?

The chefs were using the new ZWILLING Sensation Cookware. These are made in Belgium and have this amazing textured handles for grip. Oh boy do we want a set to cook with! Howard has promptly placed this on the top of our wishlist. They're not even available in Canada yet - coming this fall!

Finally, the last station was "The Sweet Tooth" - that's me! Here they showcased Demeyere cookware series that are also manufactured in Belgium. They boast efficient boiling and an even frying.

I don't know what is making my heart flutter more - the butterscotch or the lovely cookware.

A perfect way to end the evening, crêpes with flambé pineapples drizzled with butterscotch.

Thank you to Leah from NKPR for inviting us and to Natasha Koifman for hosting us at her lovely home. Many thanks to David from ZWILLING J.A. HENCKEL for showing us around and for the informative evening. Lastly, thank you to the chefs from Daniel et Daniel for the delicious food.

Disclaimer: We were invited by NKPR to attend this event to learn about ZWILLING J.A. HENCKEL products and cookware. No monetary exchange took place. All opinions are our own.

Installing a new faucet

A publicity representative for Delta Faucet contacted us about testing and reviewing their kitchen faucets with Touch2O technology. By simply touching the faucet, water will begin to flow! The thinking behind this is meant to be out of convenience when your hands are messy from prepping and cooking.

We thought this was pretty neat and agreed to give it a try (our previous faucet was getting old and leaky anyways). Looking through the choices - Delta Trinsic, Delta Pilar, and Delta Addison) - we decided on the Trinsic model in an Arctic Stainless finish. Because of where our kitchen sink is located, we have cabinets above. This posed a problem as the faucet reached fifteen inches high, meaning it would barely fit without hitting our cabinets, we didn't have enough clearance! Kindly, Delta agreed to send us the Trinsic Bar/Prep model for review since it was only thirteen inches tall.

I never knew there were so many factors in picking out a faucet! There are 1 to 4 hole installations and you have to take into consideration if your sink is top mount or under mount. Then of course there are the many features of the faucet itself, like flow rate and if you want a pull-down hose. You can probably tell by reading this that this was our first faucet upgrade experience!

The Trinsic faucet came neatly packaged, all the pieces we needed were supplied. The only things we did need (and luckily had) were a flashlight, adjustable wrenches, and a Phillips screwdriver. Oh, there was one other crucial thing I needed - my dad!

My dad and I both read the instructions, he was probably more excited than I was and had started to piece some of the equipments together. When we were pretty confident that we knew what we had to do, we tackled our first step.

Uninstalling the old faucet.

This was probably the most challenging part. We cleared the storage area under the sink, gave it a good wipe down, and turned off the water in the house. We waited a few minutes for all the water to drain out and my dad crawled under the sink to take a look. With a few twists and pulls, we managed to disengage the old faucet.

We have an under mount sink, but don't worry, the instruction booklet was very clear and gave instructions for both types of sink.

Ta-dah! We touched the faucet to turn on the water and tested for leaks - none! The installation was a success and technically took us under an hour. Well it would have been, it actually took two, but only because the phone rang and hour-long phone conversations ensued. (Live tweets: 1, 2, 3, and 4.) My dad said that it was really easy and told me to make sure I include that in my post. So here it is, the installation was really easy!

Check out the two water streams! There's a little black switch on the pull-down hose that allows you to switch to an aerated mode. I'm calling it the shower mode.

So now we've had over a week of getting used to the Touch20 technology. We have to pull the handle on the right to unlock the water. Leaving the handle in that position allows us to touch the spout or the handle to activate the water flow. It is also indicated by the blue light at the base. At night or in between meals, we lock it at "off" so that nothing (like a fly) will come by and turn on our water!

My mom did have to troubleshoot when she wore rubber gloves - it's not as sensitive, but she claims that it works if you tap the faucet a little harder.

Overall, I have found that it is helpful when you've got your hands full. A quick touch with the wrist or arm and I've got water! The only thing to note, and it could be that we have older pipes, is that I can now hear a jolt when water is activated.

Disclaimer: A publicity representative for Delta Faucet contacted us about their kitchen faucets with Touch2O technology. No incentives were used to produce a positive review. No monetary exchange took place. All opinions are our own.