Huge (Really HUGE) Farberware Score!

[brib68]

yep

I'd say that's the same line. I think her's were not as shiny/polished looking as in the photo of the This n That, but yes, the colonial-revival graphics, the recessed knobs on the lids. I only remember her having the basic 4 canisters, but now you mention it, I think she did have a bread box, so it could have been part of the set, or not.

Speaking of buried memories (and bread)...anyone remember (or even HEAR of) Hillbilly brand bread? Back in the 70's, I remember my grandparents ate Hillbilly and sometimes Roman Meal bread. I was at the Walmart Supercenter in my hometown in Ohio over the holidays and saw Hillbilly bread on the shelf. I hadn't thought of it for YEARS.

 

[danemodsandy]

Brian:

I remember Hillbilly Bread as a brand, and I recall that Mom bought it sometimes, but I don't really remember how it tasted.

Now, Roman Meal - THAT I remember! It made the best toast EVER.

I also remember Hollywood Bread. Not bad. And Rite Diet, a low-cal bread (low-cal because it was sliced so thin you could read the want ads through it).

*EDIT* It seems that Roman Meal is still around, at least regionally. They're based in Tacoma. www.romanmeal.com is the Web address.

 

[brib68]

IIRC: Hillbilly was a rather chunky bread--whole wheat AND chaff. I think RM was closer to 'normal' bread. I don't remember Hollywood (probably a regional brand), but I think I remember Rite Diet (surprised they could use the name, considering RC's Diet Rite soft drinks). We had a Bunny Bread store in town, and I'm guessing it was cheaper than Sunbeam or Holsum from the grocery store, because that's what we bought. (Wonder Bread would NEVER enter our home--probably too expensive, but sometimes my folks just had odd ideas. OK, my Dad did. We couldn't buy Mardi Gras paper towels for some reason. And we couldn't eat at Dutch Pantry restaurants when we went to Pennsylvania. Yeah.)

Wow. So very off topic...sorry!

 

[lordkenmore]

I suspected Farberware was probably something like 18/10, too, but was wondering.

It's impressive that they had the modular construction. It's a sensible solution. For the collector, I can see one real advantage: it increases the chances of finding replacement parts.

 

[lordkenmore]

The "virgin meal" will probably be a pork roast

Sandy, we hope to see complete photos so we can share your dinner if only vicariously!

 

[lordkenmore]

Wow. So very off topic...sorry!

That is half the fun of discussion forums--the twists and turns the "conversation" can take!

 

[lordkenmore]

Roman Meal - THAT I remember! It made the best toast EVER.

I wonder if it would be the best toast ever today. I looked at the web site, and noticed high fructose corn syrup in Roman Whole Grain (Conventional) ingredient list. One wonders what other changes have taken place since the year of Nineteen Never-Mind.

They do indicate many bakeries across the country, so service area is more than just Tacoma, WA.

At the risk of one of those topic detours that I commented can be so interesting: I really don't like ANY brand of bread aisle bread I've tried, and I've even had some of the more expensive offerings, all organic, etc, etc, etc. In store bakery--around here, at least--is more tolerable, or at least less awful. Hmmm...maybe it's time to fire up Ye Olde Oven...

 

[danemodsandy]

John:

My current bread choices are Pepperidge Farm's Dark German Wheat and Double Fiber. I also like their seeded rye and their dark pumpernickel. The dark pump is for eating egg salad on, LOL.

You're right about Farberware parts. I will pick up odd pieces of Farberware that are in poor shape so that I can have spare handles, etc. I never pass up lids. In fact, the flat lid shown on the pan that began this thread has been hanging around the basement for something like three years. Now I have a use for it.

I will try to post photos of the pork roast when it happens. Since mentioning it, I confess that I've begun vacillating between the pork roast and a pot roast!

 

[lordkenmore]

vacillating between the pork roast and a pot roast!

Sandy, the only correct way to do a pot roast is in a cast iron skillet...oh, wait, that was Grandma's rule, not something engraved in an Everyone Must Do This or Else commandment. LOL

I'm wondering: how well does cooking a pot roast on the stove work? The only approach I've known has been an oven, but it seems like it shouldn't make much difference apart from possible convenience issues.

Perhaps due to all the talk of pot roasts, I've been contemplating the idea myself, although a lot of my enthusiasm went away last night when I looked at the current meat prices. LOL

 

[danemodsandy]

John:

Pot roasts are just a matter of a covered braise, which can be done oven or stovetop. In fact, one of my female relatives does a delicious pot roast in the pressure cooker.

 

[circlew]

Nice pan Sandy, you've got it looking good.

I'm thinking about making a pork roast soon, as Kroger has boneless pork loins on sale for $1.99/lb. I have a recipe that has a delicious sauce made with tomato soup, celery, mustard, Worchestershire sauce and hot sauce.

 

[danemodsandy]

Ahh! You Said the "K" Word!

Tom,

Kroger is one of the very few things I miss about Atlanta. Here, the big chain is Hy-Vee. Many people here in other Midwestern cities have nice things to say about that chain, and it may be better in those cities, but here in Waterloo, it's absolutely godawful. Nosebleed-high prices and a customer service attitude straight out of Soviet Russia.

I've often said that if Kroger came into this area, Hy-Vee would be in trouble within 90 days, and closing stores here within six months.

I really miss Kroger, and I really detest Hy-Vee, and it's sad, because I love everything else about Iowa.

 

[lordkenmore]

Not to rub salt in the wounds of those who miss Kroger...

But my primary major grocery store choice is the Kroger-owned Fred Meyer. For me, I find they have the lowest prices of the major chains, a good shopping experience, and product selection that is as good as anyone's.

I sometimes go someplace else for some reason, but usually don't like the experience. The Albertsons I shop is handy for an item or two, but has terrible prices and even worse service, at least as far as getting fast checkout during busier times of the day. You'd think the most expensive major chain could have fast checkout, but you'd be wrong. They are quite speedy, however, getting their money when one pays with plastic. Transactions always post early the next business day. Fred Meyer takes a day or two to fully clear.

 

[lordkenmore]

Pot roasts are just a matter of a covered braise

Thanks, Sandy. I'd figured as much, but didn't know for sure.

As commented earlier, one can fall into a rut doing things the same tried-and-true way...

 

[tomturbomatic]

The base was more probably from the 5 quart stove top dutch oven which would not have had the element cast into the base like the electric DO. They kept one of the ears and used a long handle on the other side.

I remember the 12" Brazier pan that was a beautiful piece of Farberware and which was featured in the Cooks' Catalogue in the 70s.

 

[danemodsandy]

Tom:

The 5-quart dutch oven (I own one) has a ten-inch top diameter; the piece at the top of the thread has a 12-inch top diameter. The dutch oven is taller and narrower than this piece.

 

[danemodsandy]

P.S., Tom:

Thanks for the reminder about that brazier pan - I've never actually laid eyes on one, they're that rare. I think it's the only time an American mass manufacturer ever made such a piece.

The buffet server I was referring to is pictured below. It might be that this piece was based on the brazier you mention. Farberware brazed its heating elements onto the aluminum bottoms of its electric skillets, etc. - they were basically the same construction as the stovetop pieces except for that. I've actually seen one Farberware electric skillet with the heating element pried off and the brazing ground off, so that it could be used on the stovetop. Evidently, someone's electric skillet failed and they didn't want to waste such a nice pan.

There were other Farberware buffet servers based on other pieces.

 

[tomturbomatic]

The brazier pan was deeper than the electric buffet server and had metal handles on the sides. Other than that, it was not dissimilar from your new pan. I did not realize that your pan was 12" in diameter because I saw a similar pan in a hardware store in the late 70s--early 80s that had the traditional Farberware handle on one side and the helper handle on the other and it was recognizable as the 5 qt. DO relabeled as a sauté pan and, like you, I considered the traditional Farberware handle sort of inadequate to the task of flipping the pan to make the food jump.

My original 70s Farberware 12" skillet has the Bakelite helper handle, but the non-stick 12" skillet I bought in the 90s has a metal loop helper handle.

PS. The "Griddle" setting on the SensiTemp unit on the 30" range is perfect for distributing the heat evenly across the base of the 12" Farberware skillet.

 

[gansky1]

HyVee vs Kroger - head to head

We have Kroger stores here in Omaha, a local chain (Bakers) that was bought out by Kroger some years ago.

While the Kroger seems to do OK, HyVee blows them away in sales and loyalty. We've been very lucky to have very good HyVee stores in the area and are always my first choice.

Omaha has always been a very tough market for grocery chains, Albertson's (Utah based chain) left after only about a decade of empty parking lots. Other chains have looked at the market when courted by real estate developers, but the numbers and success records just isn't there.

I have never owned a piece of Farberware, it's always been All-Clad and now vintage Seal-O-Matic waterless cookware from Regal/West Bend. I grew up with another Regal/WB set sold under the WonderWare brand (direct sales) so for me it's familiar and easy to work with. I had a coupe of electric Farberware pieces, a domed-lid skillet and a domed-lid saucepot but rarely use them. We tried the large saucepot for chili once, but didn't get great results, chili is better in a real crockery slo-cooker.

 

[danemodsandy]

Greg:

I have long felt that my travails with Hy-Vee were locally based. On those occasions when I've needed to take something up with corporate, a courteous, professional resolution follows like the night unto the day. So, I am not surprised to hear from you and from others that Hy-Vee is different in other cities.

It's sad. The Cedar Valley is home to a lot of very nice people, and they deserve better than they're getting.

 

[brib68]

Kroger

Count me among those who miss living in a Kroger town. Having spent a sizable portion of my adult life in the Cincinnati area, I was pretty used to never being far from a Kroger store. Since moving east, I used to love Shaw's when they were British-owned, but under SuperValu and Albertson's ownership, they went way downhill, and eventually closed all their CT stores. We at least have a pretty decent Stop & Shop around the corner and a Whole Foods in the center of town.

Here's a thing, and maybe it's actually related to my age and not the chains themselves... I could walk into any Kroger and do a shop with no problem, but if I go into any Stop & Shop other than my own, I just feel like everything is out of place and I have no idea what I'm doing. (Go ahead and say it: I'm getting old and cranky. Crankier.)

 

[alr2903]

The Kroger near us just moved everything around again, except the refrigeration/ frozen stuff.  I think they do that to get you to wander around and buy more on impulse.  It is very inconvenient and wastes the customer's time.  I did not even comment.  I liked the Ace hardware commercial last spring, " we should not need a GPS to find the fertilizer".

 

[danemodsandy]

alr:

I posted a rant about that very thing back in '13.

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?46656

BTW, what do we call you? Your profile does not give a name, and while I certainly respect your desire for Internet privacy, having something to call you - even if it's not your real name - would be nice. Think about it, anyway.

 

[brib68]

Store re-sets

Alr...while there may be some truth to the idea of shaking things up to force/encourage shoppers to get out of their ruts and perhaps see some categories that they may previously have skipped the entire aisle, it's usually part of a greater purpose. Supermarkets are really enormous jigsaw puzzles, and things have to fit together just so. Within individual categories, things get shuffled around comparatively often within a set space as new items are introduced and discontinued or slow-selling items are dropped. But when there are major re-configurations of the store, it's usually more a reflection of bigger changes in the industry (or the neighborhood). (Remember when video rentals took up a major amount of floor space in a lot of stores?) A total store reset is a sizable commitment in labor and other expenses and generally not undertaken on a whim.

BTW, my husband was a category manager in Kroger's corporate office before we came out east.

 

[magic_clean]

Detouring

back to Hillbilly Bread. Same wrapper as in the past!
Very nice pan Sandy!

L.P.

 

[appnut]

Sandy, his name is Arthur. 

 

[a440]

Kroger in the Greater Atlanta Area

I am thankful for Kroger but get really aggravated with them also. I shop at most Kroger stores at almost every point depending what area I am in at the time. What frustrates me is that depending on what Kroger you are shopping at the prices are tailored for that area. Kroger in Buckhead will have higher prices than the Kroger in West End Atlanta. Another practice they have is a week before the Food Stamp Program kicks in, (around the 15th of every month) they raise the prices on their meats. Shockingly so. I have complained and of course they deny it. I am a shopper like most here and I know where to buy certain items at certain stores for the best price and where not to buy. Kroger is included in the loop. The best meats and prices to me in the Atlanta area are at Sam's Club and BJ's Club.

I grew up with Kroger as a child in Louisiana. They were actually like the Super Walmarts we have today. Kroger actually sold large home Appliances such as Washer / Dryers, Refrigerators, Air-Conditioners, etc. It was an awesome store. I don't know why they pulled out during the early 1990's. I think Woolco was their big competition at the time. (for Louisiana) Then Walmart moved in and killed Woolco.

 

[alr2903]

Sandy I reported post #52... Arthur

 

I appreciate you understand my desire for internet privacy.  I want you to respect it.

[this post was last edited: 1/15/2015-22:52]

 

[a440]

Relax...

Is this a Joke Arthur?

 

[danemodsandy]

Huh?

I'm not sure what you felt was something to report, Arthur. Perhaps you could explain?