I have been using this machine in our sales office to make my morning start-up cup of coffee, caramel macchiato, or iced coffee drink for several weeks and wanted to share my opinion. I really like its ease of use. Even though it isn't digital, using the two dials to set the amount of ounces and strength is straight-forward. And that makes it extremely easy to change from the other people in the office using it. Especially the guy that maxes out the strength setting every time.

Now that the weather here in Indiana is turning cold, I've used the milk wand for both hot water dispensing to make hot chocolate and to froth milk for a caramel macchiato. A lot of our customers look for a machine that can make milk foam well. I used a 16 oz. milk pitcher and the amount of milk foam was exceptional. This was produced without any effort. So much I even poured some off to get to the steamed milk.

Overall, I think this coffee maker is pretty cool because it is easy to use and makes great coffee or espresso and milk froth. Hopefully it can stick around our office a little bit longer.

What do you buy a man who has everything?  Birthdays, Xmas, and Father’s Day are the gift buying days that I have to add in a “dad” factor. My dad has done well for himself with his restaurantand has all kinds of man toys. So one Xmas I had to get creative. My husband and I attended a Purdue University Football meet and greet. I brought a plain white t-shirt with me and a magic marker. I had all the members of the team sign the shirt. I mounted the item into a light box. He loved it. So how do I top that? Well I don’t think I can. So I’m just going to buy him something for the restaurant. But what is all the new food rage? PANINIS! So I found a reasonably priced panini maker from JLHUFFORD. This model is a Deloghi Panini Maker for $59!! If he gets really into making PANINIs he can then sell them as a new item at his restaurant. I’m a genius.

When I was a kid and was visiting my grandparents in Iowa, my grandpa would always make homemade cheeseburgers and French fries at least one night that I was there. He would make the French fries in a DeLonghi deep fryer. His wasn’t as nice looking as the ones that we carry, but it did the job. We would cut up the potatoes into different shapes and sizes and then let them soak in water with a little bit of salt until we were ready for them. Once we were ready to cook them, we would drain out all of the water and then dry off handfuls of them with a paper towel. We would then group them into batches and throw our first grouping into the basket and set the basket into the deep fryer. He set the temperature to 350 degrees. We would cook them, jiggling the basket a few times, until they were golden brown. He would call the smaller pieces tidbits and call all of the grandchildren into the kitchen so we could taste test the tidbits and see what we thought. They were so good! Now that I am much older, he occasionally will make French fries, but more often than not, we accompany the cheeseburgers with some of his home grown sweet corn!

I purchased the Delonghi PUMP espresso machine for my dad for FATHER’s DAY. He will go to a well known coffee establishment every morning and get a LATTE. I thought he could use this machine to make his morning LATTE. Now, he had been talking about doing this for a while, but I wasn’t sure he was serious. This item is a bargain a $199. I also got some really good coffee for him. The one thing I wasn’t sure about was what grinder would work for that model. This is a really cute machine and he thinks that if he gets this process down, he would like to get a “better” model and put this one and take it to the fishing cottage.

My little cousin works for a lady from Cambodia who owns a doughnut shop. They make thousands of doughnuts everyday. However, the Cambodian lady Vivienne and her husband Allen are always making food for their extended family and friends and the shop. Regularly Vivienne will concoct a batch of eggrolls that are so perfectly blended with ingredients and fried so crispy that she has to make a TON of them for everyone to get their fair share. I asked her if she used the big doughnut fryers they have in bad, and she explained “No, I use a Delonghi Fryer I bought off the Internet.” She told me this model was the “TOP-BEST “ money can buy. I noticed she tends to buy higher-end products. Apparently this fryer stays cool to the touch, is fairly portable, easy to clean, and fries her eggrolls perfectly every time.  I have eaten many of her foods, especially the eggrolls and I have to admit, they are quite perfect. I would describe her cooking as “TOP-BEST”.

There are times when buying a gift can be difficult. However, I recently found a most perfect wedding gift for a co-worker. JLHUFFORD has lovely gifts for all number of events and occasions. The Chef's Choice WafflePro Taste/Texture Select "Five of Hearts" looked like a quality item, and the hearts motif was  quite a clever fit. Tiffany uses this maker for her church breakfasts and for Saturday morning treats for her sisters when she hosts a brunch at her home. Perhaps she uses a perfect waffle mix, but I really think her HEARTS come out PERECT. She makes the toppings from scratch from fruits she grows in her garden.  She is an amazing woman, with an amazing WAFFLE IRON!

Growing up I had thought the idea of deep fried ice cream was impossible.  This mixture had me pondering its creation until I finally tasted it.  Now as I no longer really care what is in it as am sure it is not healthy. I was looking for the recipe that the Mexican restaurant down the street from my place uses and finally came across one that is very similar.  This recipe in collaboration with the DeLonghi Dual Zone Deep Fryer I purchased from JL Hufford has met my deep fried desires.  Here is what I have been using:

1.     1 pt. vanilla ice cream

2.     1/2 c. crushed corn flakes or cookie crumbs

3.     1 tsp. cinnamon

4.     2 tsp. sugar

5.     1 egg

6.     Oil for deep frying

7.     Honey

8.     Whipped cream

Scoop out 4 or 5 balls of ice cream.and place back in the freezer. Mix the crumbs, cinnamon and sugar and Roll frozen ice cream balls in half the crumb mixture and freeze again.

Beat egg and dip coated balls in egg, then roll again in remaining crumbs and freeze until ready to use

When ready to serve, heat oil to 350 degrees. Place a frozen ice cream ball in fryer basket or on a perforated spoon and lower into hot oil 1 minute. Immediately remove and place on dessert compote. Drizzle with honey and top with a dab of whipped cream. Continue to fry balls one at a time. Balls will be crunchy on the outside and just beginning to melt on the inside.

I love grilled food but to be honest I am not very good at it.  There is so much variation in a charcoal grill and with the cooler days approaching we will have less and less opportunities to grill outside. These two reasons are why I found the Delonghi Indoor Electric Grill to be a meet my needs fantastically. The electric grill surface evenly grills chicken, steak, fish, or veggies.  It size and design make cleaning it a very simple task and allow it to be a very mobile cooking device.  This easily fits in in the trunk of my car with out having to break anything down.  The cooking surface is large enough to support 6-8 ½ burgers or any collaboration of grilling delights.  If you purchase this machine before September 30^th you can save an additional 10$ on this purchase making its final price 49.95! great price for a great grill!

My family and I are huge fans of ice cream and gelato. When I saw the Delonghi Gelato Maker, I knew we would all love it. Making gelato is actually better than going into our freezer for ice cream because gelato has less butterfat. You can also make low fat ice cream. This machine makes it so easy for us to make gelato or low fat ice cream since there is no need to pre-freeze ingredients. The gelato maker mixes the ingredients at below freezing temperatures. Clean up is great because the paddle, bowl, and lid are dishwasher safe as long as you don’t use the high heat cycle. Also, no need to fuss about figuring out how to make gelato because this machine comes with a recipe booklet with fifty recipes! So far my family and I have tried about ten of the recipes and have enjoyed them all.

Over the last few years, whenever we went to use our food processor it was difficult. I am not even sure how old that thing was, but when I convinced my mom to buy a new one we bought the Delonghi Food Processor. This food processor is amazing. The built in digital scale is very helpful allowing us to measure the ingredients while adding them into the bowl. The power of the motor is great and works so much better than our old one. The safety interlock system is also convenient if my younger sisters are around because it stops the motor if the lid or base is not properly in place. We always have consistency in the food we blend and never have to worry about random chunks ruining our mixture. Lastly, the cleaning is easy with all the dishwasher safe parts so even clean up is easy with this machine.

Any coffee drink that you want to make can be made with the Delonghi Lattissma Plus Nespresso Machine. Cappuccinos, espresso, lattes, or coffee can be made with just one machine. There are many features with this machine including cord wrap under machine, water hardness settings, drip tray, energy save mode, illuminated buttons, and thermoblock heating system. The coffee capsule system is great and easy to use.  All you need to do is load the capsule, pull a lever, and push a button. This also has an Instant Frothing Dispenser System. The milk container can also conveniently slide out of its position for storage in the fridge. This little machine can do more than most by creating your choice of beverage without any challenges.