DCS Liberty Grills Provide Entertaining Freedom

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The classic grill configuration doesn’t make for easy entertaining. Think about it: you flip the top to land about even with your mouth, which maybe doesn’t matter, as you typically locate your gas grill against something (a wall, a deck, a fence) anyway.

How are you supposed to conversate? Who wants to gather round that?

Now imagine a setup where the grill is more like a cooktop… just open, with no top to baffle your babble or keeps guests away.

DCS outdoor cooking 2012

OK, stop imagining; I found my picture of it.

DCS Liberty Grill

Those who have lots of friends and parties (and are into that kind of stuff) will probably wonder why no one thought of this before. This being the DCS Liberty, which “even allows you to effortlessly host an omelet bar in your outdoor kitchen.” Well thank goodness!

It’s called the Liberty because all the individual applications free up your outdoor living design, unhinging it from all those icky conventions and letting you enjoy your outdoor cooking experience along with – instead of apart from – all your friends.

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You can pretty much mix and match all the individual pieces in the DCS Liberty Collection to do whatever you want. This curved shape lets everyone gather round (pun intended).

Take Your Kids to Work Day at Warners’ Stellian

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Warners’ Stellian is not only a family-owned business, but we employ Warner fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, cousins, nieces and nephews…you name it! (In fact, we’re proud recipients of the 2012 St. Thomas University Entrepreneur Awards Family Business of the Year).

But we’re really proud of the fact that some of our longtime employees also bring their children and family members on to get jobs here.

You can see we truly value the importance of family, which is why we were so excited when our staff participated in Take Your Kids to Work Day.

taketoworkday2012

Our five guests – Leeah, Jordan, Preston, Addy, and Jessica – toured our office and appliance warehouse, participated in a mock interview, visited our Woodbury appliance store, watched our Styrofoam compacter in action, learned how we design our advertisements and rode in a delivery truck and a forklift, which was the crowd favorite.

We look forward to having them every year and who knows? Maybe we’ll be working with them in the future.

How To Clean a Grill and Prepare it for Spring

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Along with shorts and mosquitoes, grilling season is coming in hot! Follow these tuneup tips to make sure your gas grill or charcoal grill is barbecue-ready.

Clean the Grill

Clean the interior using a putty knife to scrape off burnt-on food particles inside your grill. This isn’t just aesthetic. Build-up prevents your grill from heating correctly.

To clean your grates, Weber Grill suggests putting them in a dark-colored plastic bag with a cup of ammonia into the bag. After a day in the sun, residue should easily hose off.

If you have a grease drain, make sure it’s unclogged by running a coat hanger down it. Just keep your hands away from the grease bucket, because the grease will drain out fast and could burn you.

Season the Grill

Use nonstick cooking spray to oil the grates, drip pans and inside of the grill. This helps keep food from sticking to the surfaces and speeds cleaning. Light the grill and let it burn empty with the lid closed for 30 minutes to burn off the preservatives.

Level the Grill

Level the grill. If one side of your grill burns burgers while the other leaves them raw, it’s probably not level. Check both side-to-side and front-to-back to ensure even heating.

Check Grill for Leaks

Check for leaks by inspecting connections for tightness and hoses for cracks. Another good way to scope out leaks is by brushing non-ammonia soapy water around the fitting with an old toothbrush. Turn the gas on and watch for bubbles.

And if you need a new grill for spring, visit Warners’ Stellian.

Kitchen Energy Saving Tips

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Stoves, cooktops and ovens aren’t Energy Star rated, because most models use about the same amount of energy. But there are certainly ways to use less gas or electricity when cooking. Follow these tips to save energy (and as a result, money) while cooking.

Keep It Clean

Maintaining a tidy cook surface isn’t just about impressing company (or your cat).
Dirty surfaces don’t reflect heat as well as polished surfaces, thus wasting energy and potentially your time.

Size Matters

Unless you’re using an induction cooktop or range, you’re heating a lot of air while you try to heat your food. Induction cooking is 20% more efficient than electric and 70% more efficient than gas.

To mitigate energy loss, choose the appropriate sized pot or pan for the size of burner you’re cooking on (i.e. don’t put a 1-qt saucepan on a ginormous “power burner”).

Put a Lid On It

When you think about it, it makes no sense to boil water in an uncovered pot. Using a cover helps water boil faster while creating pressure and preventing evaporation.

Skip the Preheat

Unless you’re baking and require precise temperatures, you don’t need to wait till your oven reaches 350 degrees to throw your food in. Better yet, shut off your oven a few minutes early and let residual heat finish off your dish. Even better yet, make two pans to freeze leftovers and reheat in the microwave later.

Do you have any tip for saving energy in the kitchen? Share them in the comments section below!

Microwave Odor? How to Get Smell Out of Microwave

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Microwave-CleaningYou know how sometimes you microwave food and it ends up smelling like something you made last week?

No one wants broccoli vaguely reminiscent of burnt popcorn or that super greasy pizza.

But as much as you clean it, you just can’t get rid of that darn stinky odor in the microwave.

Until now.

Removing Microwave Odors

Frigidaire passed along this odor-removing solution that requires little more than pushing buttons.

You’ll need:

  • 1 cup water
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • grated lemon peel
  • several whole cloves

Combine all ingredients together in a glass measuring cup and boil for several minutes in the microwave on full power. Allow the hot mixture to sit in the microwave until cool (this is when the magic happens).

Wipe interior with a soft cloth.

Voila!