Kitchen Pickin’: Bring on the power

EAST TEXAS (KLTV/KTRE) - In this week’s edition of East Texas Kitchen Pickin’, Jeff shows off his wife’s finds. Jeff was out of town with the guys so Mrs. Awtrey had to provide all the content. She came up with some good treasures!

Libbey glass

Jeff: One week, I brought a NASCAR glass to the show. Steph asked “Is this a Libbey?” I thought she was talking about Libby, our producer. But no, it’s a brand of glass. So when Mrs. Awtrey showed me her haul from the weekend, I knew I’d need to bring this. We think this is what you call a highball glass, which is used for mostly alcohol. This one particularly is a DuraTuff, which is a “super-strengthening, heat-treating after-process that increases the durability of the glass.” These do seem like some tough glasses.

Steph: This is a nice glass, for sure; it has a nice heft to it. I was interested to learn that Libbey had begun in Massachusetts as the New England Glass Company in 1818 by William Libbey. They moved to Toledo, Ohio, nicknamed “Glass City” eventually, in 1888, and then changed the name of their business to Libbey Glass Company in 1892, after William’s son Edward inherited the company. Here’s their company timeline. I love learning the history of longtime businesses like this.

Douvier ice cream maker

Jeff: The first few weeks of Kitchen Pickin’ have been dominated by cups, mugs, dishes, etc. I was ready to bring a big pot or appliance and Mrs. Awtrey stepped up big. First is this ice cream maker that boasts “no ice, no salt, no electricity.” Company is Donvier and was founded in Japan. Donvier means “chill fast” in Japanese. The idea was created when a boy spilled milk on a hollow metal tray that was designed to keep sushi cold and the milk froze instantly. That’s the concept behind this maker.

Steph: What a great story! This is an ice cream maker I’d never seen before, and it is in excellent condition, especially considering it was made in 1990 or before. What a great find! I would love to try it out to see if it works well.

Wilton giant cupcake mold

Jeff: Apparently Wilton is a well-known company when it comes to baking. This thing is huge! Basically, it’s a way to make cupcakes the size of regular cakes. Pretty fun find. East Texas Now host Jeremy Butler found this recipe for giant cupcakes online.

Steph: I like this one a lot! Not sure how old this cake pan is, but it’s in excellent condition. I’d love to see someone’s creation after using it. Jeremy and I looked it up, and it holds six cups of cake batter. A regular cake mix makes four cups of cake batter, so you’d need one and a half cake mixes.

Farberware electric fry pan

Jeff: It’s big, beautiful and it’s stainless steel. It’s also our first appliance on Kitchen Pickin’. Seems to be in pretty good shape with four legs and all the parts, including the electric cord. Farberware is an American company with its roots traced back to 1900. They’re still going plenty strong today.

Steph: If I had a bigger kitchen at home, I’d take this off Jeff’s hands. I love the look of this frying pan! Based on the look of the handles and legs, I guessed it was probably made in the 1960s. Imagine that...over a half century old and still going strong (sounds familiar...). I found a video of a man making a delicious shrimp recipe in one of these, and he says early to mid-’60s, too. You can click here to see it and admire his retro kitchen.

Black & Decker Spacemaker can opener

Jeff: We’ve learned to be on the lookout (BOLO) for Spacemakers. This is pretty dirty, but Mrs. Awtrey thought at the price, she couldn’t go wrong. This is just an appliance you can drill under your cabinets so the appliance can hang over your counter, and not take up space on it. This came with the mounting and hardware, which makes it an even better find. That off-white isn’t helpful, though.

Steph: I think people who value the practicality of having the can opener ready at hand and not on the countertop or jammed in a drawer when they need it won’t mind the almond-colored finish. It’s also very helpful for people who have arthritis or strength issues in their hands. I can see why these are still popular among consumers, although companies aren’t making them anymore, it seems.

Fire King splash-free mixing bowl

Jeff: I thought we’d make it a week without Fire King but Steph had other ideas. But I’m not complaining. This bowl is beautiful! It’s white with art of cookware in red all around it. Now I’m hoping to find more Fire King this weekend.

Steph: I couldn’t resist sharing this with you all! It’s a Fire King Splash Proof Bowl in the Kitchen Aids pattern. It was made in the mid-1960s. It was such a great find when my mom found this at a yard sale for me. She was excited as could be to give it to me. I’ll never forget that day. That’s the main reason I’d never sell it! But it is pretty cool to know that she paid 25 cents for something that’s worth over $100. We all like a great bargain, don’t we? That’s what keeps all treasure hunters and yard sale pickers going to the next one.

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