Gizmos, Gadgets, and Doohickeys

Kitchen utensils; lordy, there are thousands of thingamajigs that slice, dice, core, shave, grind, mash, crimp, shred, froth, mix, fluff, etc. etc.  I watched Martha Stewart make pies the other day; she had a utensil for nearly every step of her recipe. I don’t know if I was jealous or annoyed, probably a little of both.  We have a slew of kitchen toys too; some we use daily, some rarely, and many we could not live without. Other than a professional set of pans (Calphalon) and knives (Global), some our top picks for making life easier in the kitchen are:

Tongs: We have half a dozen or more and use them constantly. If you turn food in a pan or move it around using a fork or other instrument that pierces you’ll lose flavorful juices and possibly tear the food. Thomas Keller (French Laundry), one of the most acclaimed chefs in America; doesn’t like tongs. He prefers a variety of perforated flat spoons, skimmers, and spatulas to turn food. He believes tongs can crush or tear the food.  He feels the food is better handled by being lifted from the bottom and turned rather than grabbed by tongs and turned.  That may be true, but we love ‘em and won’t give ‘em up.

Strainer: We’ll use these numerous times throughout the preparation of a meal. Rinse veggies, strain blanched food items, and drain cooked grains and pastas.  Think of it as a hand held mini colander; it’s convenient and versatile.

Fish spatula: For fish and other delicate food items this is the right tool. On this we agree with Mr. Keller. if you’re working with fish, foie gras or anything that is less sturdy than a hamburger patty, the fish spatula is better than tongs and infinitely better than a regular spatula. It is thinner and designed to work with more delicate foods.

Bench Scraper: This is commonly known as a pastry chef’s tool because they’re great for scraping dough off the work surface. But it is fantastic tool for gathering up chopped foods and bringing them to your pan. It’s also great for cutting brownies and lasagna.  Love this gizmo.

Knife sharpeners: Important item, you don’t want a good one, you want a great one. I’ve owned the Chef’s Choice Diamond Honed electric sharpener for longer than I’ve been married, (18 yrs). Without question the best kitchen purchase I ever made.  When I bought mine they only had one model, now there are several. I can only speak for mine which sharpens knives in three stages, it’s wonderful. I think I paid about $79.00 back then; the three stage sharpener now sells for around $140. Buy one, don’t think, just buy, it’s worth every penny. I’ve owned mine at least 20 years and it works as perfectly now as the day I bought it.  When Jack and I moved in together and merged all of our kitchen equipment, I thought he might laugh at my electric sharpener. Don’t all professional chefs use a wet stone and steel to hone a perfectly sharpened blade? No, not always, many chefs utilize the services of a knife company who deliver clean sharpened knives once or twice a week. He tried my sharpener and was an instant convert and hasn’t used a steel or wet stone since.

I’ve heard that an excellent hand held daily sharpener is the Wusthof 2-Stage, it’s only $20. I’m going to buy one for hubbys’ stocking, I’ll let you know if it’s a winner or not.

Potato Ricer: My Achilles heel is potatoes; cooked in every conceivable adaptation I LOVE them all. But I have to say, there are few things more satisfying than a steaming mound of silky smooth mashed potatoes sinfully rich with cream and butter. The only way to achieve truly elegant mashers is with a ricer. I like old style hand mashed spuds too, but if I want to spoil myself or my guests, I’ll use a ricer every time.

Cooking Tip: Boil potatoes whole with skin on to preserve flavor and limit the amount of liquid absorbed while cooking. It takes a little longer but the flavor is worth the wait. They’re done when easily pierced through. Drain, and peel while still hot, using a clean kitchen towel to hold potato. Rice the spuds, add warm cream or milk, butter, and salt and pepper to taste.  Delicious!

Thanks so much for reading our blog, Jack and I are having a wonderful time writing it. We love your feedback and comments, please keep them coming. And feel free to share this blog with all your friends who enjoy food and drink, the more the merrier! Most of all, thank you for keeping me in mind for you, your friends and family in regards to your real estate needs. We'll get this economy going again one transaction at a time.

Becky - 720-979-3181

Becky@innmatchmakers.com

Sous Vide: Sous vide is French for "under vacuum" and describes a method of cooking in vacuum sealed plastic pouches at low temperatures for long times. This new method of cooking has fans and detractors alike. Fans: Chefs and anyone who has had the opportunity to taste the delicious foods prepared Sous Vide. Detractors: The city and county health department inspectors who adhere to strict cooking temperature mandates to insure public safety. The most amazingly tender and juicy chicken I have ever eaten was prepared sous vide, from the imaginative kitchen of Colt & Gray in Denver. If you would like to learn more or try the cooking method at home, Douglas Baldwin has written an excellent guide: Sous Vide for the Home Cook.  The link below has a couple of excellent videos explaining the process.

http://amath.colorado.edu/~baldwind/sous-vide.html

Here are a couple of new gizmos that look fun and useful. We’ll try them out and let you know how they work, or if you try them let us know what you think.

Fusion Brands Food Pod: I’m dying to have this, it looks fun and functional. We blanch and steam a ton of food and this makes sense to me, check out their video:     

http://www.fusionbrands.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=197

Babycakes Cupcake Maker: We bought this for our 7 year old granddaughter Macy, for Christmas this year. Its pink, makes mini cupcakes in eight minutes, comes with decorating and icing tools and costs $30.00. We picked up a couple boxes of cake mixes that have sparkles and confetti in the mix and a can of blue icing. She will  be in cupcake heaven.

Reusable produce bags: Yep, I’m buying some of these too. We’ve trained ourselves to bring our own grocery bags and it didn’t hurt, so let’s take it a step further and stop putting billions of plastic produce bags in our landfills. This is small step towards making a big difference. And it’s only $7.50! Check it out:

http://3bbags.com/index.php

In a few days we'll write about preparing the ultimate Christmas dinner, a succulent Prime Rib Roast with Yorkshire Pudding

Happy Holidays to all!