November 17, 2005
From the desk of Jane Galt:Absolutely shameless begging: kitchen edition
As you know, now is the time of year when I engage in an absolutely shameless attempt to encourage you to earn me money from my Amazon.com associates account, under the thin pretense of suggesting things you can buy your loved ones for Christmas. I am poor, and my student loan officer is hungry, and the people at the workhouse will only give me one serving of gruel a day. . . this brazen commercialization of The Birth of Our Lord is the only way that I can afford to buy myself the books with which I enrich my mind so that I can offer you keen insight and witty commentary on a quasi-daily basis.
If you're going to do your Christmas shopping on Amazon this year, just click the handy links provided by me or another of your favourite bloggers (mine's over there at the right, if you scroll down a little!), and at absolutely not cost to yourself, you can send a little commission our way. We get the commission even if you buy something other than the product we linked, though the commission is higher for direct links.
However, even if you don't order through Amazon, all the stuff I'll suggest here is stuff that I genuinely love, so do consider purchasing for yourself or your loved ones offline. And if you do buy something I recommend, please, please, please email me to let me know how it went over.
And if you don't like anything you see here, please feel free to peruse last year's selections, though there is some overlap.
Kitchen Equipment
1. Kitchenaid Stand Mixer I suggested this last year. I'll suggest it again next year, and every year until they drag me screaming into my grave. I really cannot tell you how strongly I believe that anyone with even a moderate interest in cooking or baking should purchase one of these. Don't tell me you have no counter space; I have (I'm not exaggerating) one counter approximately 18 x 36 inches for all of my cooking needs. My Kitchenaid lives in a closet and comes out every time I need it. Which is all the time. Every time I go to someone's house, I'm reminded of how bleak a cook's life is without a Kitchenaid: no effortlessly whipped egg whites, no popping unsoftened butter into the bowl and letting the Kitchenaid beat it into a creamy froth, no bread dough expertly kneaded for you while you lounge on the sofa watching television. Other mixers take forever, break down, and force you to stand there with a rubber spatula, scraping down the damn sides so that it all gets mixed in. That's no way to live.
"But Jane!" I hear you whine. "Do you know how much that thing costs? That's ridiculous. Well, the link I gave you is to the top-of-the-line model, the six quart. That's the model I covet (mine is the same, but five quarts instead of six), but sadly will never, ever get because Kitchenaids have approximately the same lifespan as the solar system. You invest a lot of money up front in a Kitchenaid, but you never, ever have to buy another mixer again. And you'll get the use out of it, believe me. The smaller models are no less reliable, though you can't make as much cookie dough or bread in them, and they work a little more slowly--but still orders of magnitude better than any other mixer you'll see. Non-cooks, I know your eyes are goggling at the price tag, but trust me, if there's a cook in your life, they will treasure this gift forever.
2. Kitchenaid hand mixer It's not as useful as the stand mixer, because you have to hold it in your hand and move it around, which is fine for cakes, but makes your arm tired awfully fast if you're dealing with a stiff dough. Mine came with dough hooks, but I'd rather knead the bread by hand than get carpal tunnel trying to drive my hand mixer through a thick wad of bread dough.
That said, if your loved one already has a Kitchenaid stand mixer, or you can't afford something quite that generous, the Kitchenaid professional hand mixer is a very nice gift. I find it invaluable for things like angel food cakes and pancakes, so I can whip the egg whites in one mixer, while making the rest of the batter in the other. With my two Kitchenaids, I can get an Angel Food Cake into the oven in fifteen minutes or less. This model will do most cakes quite as well as a stand mixer, and will considerably ease the task of whipped cream or making cookie dough.
3. Kitchenaid ice cream making attachment This is my new find for this year. It's a bowl you stick in the freezer for twenty-four hours, then slot onto your Kitchenaid with a special dasher attachment.
Why get this instead of a real ice cream maker? Three reasons: money, quality and space. If you already have a Kitchenaid (like all Kitchenaid attachments, this works with all models). The attachments isn't quite as easy to use as a professional "pour-and-go" model, but it won't set you back $500 either. Because a Kitchenaid mixer has such a powerful motor, this produces wonderful, smooth ice cream, much better than the cheap ice-cream makers you'll see in Target. It also has a larger capacity; you can make two quarts in this bowl, where most bargain ice cream makers will only let you make 1 or 1.5 quarts. And because you already have the mixer, you don't have to use up valuable counter or cabinet space to store the machine part with the motor in it.
4. Select-a-spice spice carousel I got this for my sister last year, and it's been a big hit. Basically, it comes with 12 spice containers that slot into the carousel. Each has a dial on it that you can twist to measure exactly the amount of spice you want, in 1/4 tsp increments. A full turn of the dial gives you two teaspoons worth of spice. Once you've got the amount you want, you open a little door in the bottom, and exactly the right amount of spice drops into your recipe, with no spilling or mess. The top also has a door for you to stick your measuring spoons into, if you want or need to, and a separate shaker spout--no more prying that little disc with the holes in it off the cinnamon every time you need a teaspoon of the stuff. You can also stack these, or mount them underneath your cabinets so they don't take up counter space. If I had any place at all to put one, this is where I'd be keeping my spices.
5. Yogurt maker This is a specialty item; probably most people don't eat as much yogurt as I do. But if you do eat yogurt, it's actually really worth it to make your own. Not only is the yogurt much more delicious (it has a mild, creamy, slightly tangy flavour that appeals even to some people I know who don't like yogurt), but it costs about a tenth as much to make your own as it does to buy it in the store. If you're trying to eat fewer simple carbohydrates, as I am, having discovered that they tend to put me to sleep, there's no better breakfast than fresh yogurt and a simple compote made by boiling frozen berries, a quarter cup of water, and a few teaspoons of Splenda into a nice thick consistency. It's like having dessert for breakfast every morning. And making your own yogurt is unbelievably easy: you just combine a quart of milk with 1/3 cup of nonfat dry milk (it's a thickener--you can't taste it) and a container of plain yogurt, whisk it all together, and pour it into the little cups. Then all you have to do is plug it in and leave it for twelve hours, and voila! Fresh yogurt. No preservatives, and if you want flavored yogurt, just toss in some fruit or flavoring. I use mine all the time. (Though I should point out that I ate a lot of yogurt before I bought this machine).
6. Pineapple corer This seems like kind of a silly thing, but if you're like me, and you love pineapple, but you're on a budget, this little gadget is a fantastic thing to have. You can buy a pineapple and make your own fresh sliced pineapple for less than half what it costs to buy the pre-sliced pinapple in the store, without the teeth-gritting agony of trying to slice the damn thing with a knife. You just cut off the top and screw the gadget into the pineapple flesh until you hit bottom, then pull out the corer with a lovely yellow cylinder of pineapple meat wrapped around it. If someone you know--or you--likes fresh fruit, it's a cute little gift for very little money.
7. Calphalon semi-nonstick aluminum frying pan We just bought four of these at a kitchen outlet near my grandmother's, one for me, Mom, sis, and grandma. The problem with nonstick is that if you use metal on it, the nonstick coating scratches off, and the pan becomes basically worthless, because food catches in the little scratches and burns, and you'll never get it clean again. The problem with anodized aluminum is, well, that it's not nonstick, although at least you can take some brillo to it when food does stick. Now Calphalon is making these pans with the nonstick fibers infused into the aluminum, so you can use scratchy things to your heart's content without losing the nonstick properties.
Now, it's not quite as stick-free as traditional non-stick, but when you're paying this much for a pan, you don't want to worry constantly about ruining it. (We didn't pay this much; it's worth scouting around the local outlet mall to see whether you can snag this on sale). But it's a terrific pan--nice and heavy, very even heating, and it keeps heat very well. And it's much less sticky than regular anodized aluminum; we fried hamburgers in it all week with no fat, and the burned bits rubbed right off with a sponge. I'm actually throwing away one of my beloved old pans to make room for this lovely. If you're shopping for someone starting a household, they also have a very nice looking eight piece set. Again, these pans are very pricey compared to what you find at Target, but unlike what you find at Target, they should last for decades.
8. Electric kettle Brits have known about these for years--almost every home in the UK has one--but they're just making their way over to this side of the pond. These don't boil quite as fast as the British models do, because the UK uses 220 rather than 110 volt power, but it will nonetheless boil much faster than anything will on your stove, even if you have a Viking range (as my mother does).
I got one of these for my grandmother last year, because she is blind and forgetful and had burned the bottom out of two teakettles. My gift has been the talk of the town ever since. In the intervening year, I have been asked to procure more kettles for aunts, friends, and my grandmother's paid helper; I'm thinking about going into the business full time. All you have to do to boil the water is press a button on the handle, and it brings the water to a boil in a few minutes, and then automatically shuts off to keep the pressure from building to dangerous levels. It's cordless, so you can then pick it up and bring it right to the table, if you like. If there are tea-drinkers in your family, I think you'll find they really get a lot of use out of this--it's easy enough to operate that even my 91-year old technophobic grandmother can do it easily. I've recommended the one that I got Grandma, because she's liked it so much, but you can find them all over now, and I'm sure there are lots of good models at your local store. If you want something that looks like a traditional teakettle, Cuisinart makes one, though it's twice the price of the TFal model.
9. Decrimping can opener In general, I think electric can openers aren't worth the bother, but I've made an exception for this one. It's a smooth edge can opener; it decrimps the can, rather than cutting through the top. The result is that there are no sharp edges a child or elderly person can cut themselves on (this was another gift for my grandmother), and the top makes a neat little resealing lid you can pop on and put the can in the fridge, if you only use part of the contents. Beats the hell out of wrapping it up in Saran Wrap. And it actually works, unlike most electric can openers; all you have to do is hold it and push a button. If you're strong enough, or poor enough, to want a manual version, Oxo makes one for a little less money than the electric version.
10. Microplane zester Again, non cooks are goggling their eyes, dumbstruck by the thought that someone could actually buy an entire gadget just for removing lemon and orange zest. But once you've used a zester, you'll never go back to the grater. Not only does it avoid the nastiness of scraped knuckles; it removes a perfect layer of zest, with none of the bitter white underpeel to contaminate your cooking. And it's about eight times easier and faster than using a grater. I just can't communicate how you, or that special cook in your life, will rave once they've tried this.
Update A reader suggests adding the Lodge cast iron skillet and talking a bit about knives. I second the recommendation of a cast iron skillet--they're better than anything else for searing, and unlike most frying pans, they go from stovetop to oven beautifully, though they do take more maintenance than most pans.
Good knives also make an enormous difference; you don't realise how enormous until you're standing in the kitchen of a rented London flat on a Sunday afternoon, crying with frustration because the flimsy knives they've furnished the flat with take about six weeks to slice through a chicken breast. I use the high-end Henckels line, and for my money the crucial pieces are a solid chef's knife, one or two good paring knives (four inch and 2 3/4 inch), a serrated utility knife (invaluable for things like tomatoes), a good bread knife and a good six inch utility knife. But you should be sure that whoever you give these to understands that giving them knives to celebrate the coming of The Prince of Peace is meant to be a loving, rather than ironic, gesture.
Posted by Jane Galt at November 17, 2005 3:09 PM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound linksteeth-gritting agony of trying to slice the damn thing with a knife.
...?
Are you not sharpening your knives, young lady?
Because I've certainly never found slicing a pineapple with a knife all that difficult...
Okay, it's not really that bad. But it is a huge pain in the ass to make sure you've got all the crunchy bits sliced off, and it's messy. This takes about three seconds, and you can pour the resulting pineapple juice right out of the pineapple shell into a cup when you're done.
Don't know how you get $$ for recos, but you might consider adding these:
The Lodge 12" Cast Iron Skillet. Truthfully, the Little Black Dress is the Cast Iron Skillet of Clothes.
Don't forget the knives. Good knives kept sharp are the most important tools in the kitchen.
My two favorite kitchen tools:
1) A Henkels 8" chef's knife
2) A big flat-bottomed, carefully seasoned, carbon-steel wok. You can do a huge amount of fast cooking in a good-sized wok, which is nice for me as a new father. It doesn't even have to be chinese food!
you know, my RSS reader links directy to the individual post, which has no amazon links on the right...
Clicking through any of the links, and then purchasing anything your little heart desires, also garners me a commission. ;-)
Jane:
Have you tried a hollow-ground santoku knife yet? I now use mine almost exclusively. I used to be a chef's-knife gal, but the shape of the santoku blade and the ground edge make it the hand's-down winner.
FWIW, I've had my 5-qt. KitchenAid stand mixer since 1991 and it still performs perfectly. Still looks new, even. Some of my oldest attachments are starting to experience plastic fatigue from the incredible power of the motor, but that just means I get to ask for new attachments for Christmas. (I covet Alton Brown's KitchenAid in matte black with flames, but, like you, realize that my Old Faithful is never going to die, so I'll just have to get out the paintbrush myself, I guess.)
maybe i'm wrong here, but cast iron doesn't need more care than other pans.. it just needs different care. The absolute, number one rule bing not using soap on it. So you scrub it a bit with some water, get most of the crusty bits off, then swipe it with a bit of oil to keep it seasoned...
Compared to my ever present fear of wrecking my calphalon non-stick, my lodge is a piece of cake.
Further to the "but it's more expensive than tarzhay", point... a good pan is CHEAPER, in that you don't have to replace it every 3 years or so. Calphalon or All-Clad WILL. NOT. WARP. You won't damage these things if you use them properly. The same can not be said for the cheaper stuff that will go to hell if you think about cooking on them. A good rule is that if a pan doesn't feel heavy (or if it has a plastic handle) it's not worth a penny.
Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't have them--but my absolute favorite paring knives are Rada knives--they are stainless steel with a cast-on (not riveted or tanged) aluminum handle--they last forever and sharpen well, and are easy to clean.
http://www.endofthecommons.com/radaknives.html
And I second the comment on cast-iron pans--they are easy to maintain; the maintenance is different, but no more difficult. And it is impossible to make good cornbread in anything else.
So, if you get stuff for your kitchen, will you be making pound cakes?
Tragically, cast iron pans aren't compatible with the glass-ceramic cooktops that are all the rage these days. (Which is one of the reasons you want gas, but that's another thing...)
Yeah, you can't use those flat cooktops for canning, either. Not hot enough.
Knives: a nice thin, long carving knife is also good, what with Thanksgiving coming on and all. I just know I will once again be asked to carve the family's turkey using a 6" chef's knife which hasn't seen a steel since I was wearing diapers. Since I'm flying, I can't bring my own. I'm not sure about bringing the steel on board, but I can't afford to lose it if they get uptight.
Oh yeah, I also use my carver for pineapple :)
One of the other great uses of the electric kettle is that it will work with any liquid you want to keep hot-- pour your chicken/veggie stock in there when making risotto and you won't be shocking the rice with cold liquid all the time.
Also, if I recall the tradition correctly, if you give a person a knife, make sure they give you a coin, a penny will do, so that the knife does not sever the friendship.
Another nifty thing about the Kitchenaid stand mixer. The drive on the top, for juicers and ice cream makers and such can also be used to drive a centrifical caster for modelmaking or jewelry. Plans were in the Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette some time back.
As for the suitability of knives as a Christmas gift, let he among you who is without a good set sell his raiments to buy them. Luke 22:37.
8" for cutting bread? You call that a knife? Now this is a knife:
http://www.cutleryandmore.com/details.asp?SKU=3533
($30 Forschner Fibrox Victorinox 14" bread knife)
Once again I must point out that FOR THE SAME PRICE as just the attachment to the Kitchenaid for making ice-cream, Cuisinart sells a COMPLETE 2-quart ice-cream maker that works beautifully (5 stars on amazon)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0006ONQOC/104-6599318-5819934
A bit specialized, but if you eat Chinese/Japanese/Korean-style steamed rice a lot, a specialized rice cooker is worthwhile.
Chef'n makes some fun and useful gadgets. I love their dual-ended spatulas--they have a steel core for a stiff basic shape, wrapped with high temperature silicone so you can stir and scrape in nearly any pot or pan. The pepperball is ok--more tiring to use than a more usual peppermill, but you can operate it one handed, which is useful from time to time.
Those silicone trivet/pot holders are great.
Sam:
Which shape/style of silicon potholders do you hew to? I bought an early-ish set of oven-mitt shaped ones, but they were so stiff I could never get a feel of positive grip on my cookware. I lived in constant fear of dropping something on my foot or my child. Now they get used for picking up and moving the grids on the grill (which gives me a superhero-like feeling of invincibility and causes me to have to remind myself inbetween-times that I can't just pick stuff up like that barehanded). So then I bought more flexible circular pads with ridges in concentric circles for (I thought) better grip - and they're an improvement, but when kids are in the kitchen I still reach for my old thick terry potholders.
I haven't yet tried the ones that look sort of like castanets that fit over just thumb and fingers, or the really flexible square pads with raised dots for gription - are they any better? The concept, I agree, is fabulous - but the realization of it isn't what I'd hoped so far.
Silicon potholders? Too stiff? I'm not surprised, silicon makes good semiconductor chips...but not so good for pot holders. I'd go with silicone for pot holders...
Is anyone else's KitchenAid stand mixer remarkably loud? I've never owned one before and I don't know if this is normal operating volume, but every time I use it, I'm startled by the noise. Otherwise it's dynamite - a great investment.
Instead of the Kitchenmaid Hand Mixer, consider this Braun M880 Multimix 4-in-1 Handmixer:
[url]http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005IX9V/[/url]
Consumer Reports says they're both equivalent for beating egg whites, and I love the mini-chopper on the Braun.
Not only that, but it's a lot cheaper, too.
I tell ya' once I bought a massive chinese meat cleaver (Henckels), I couldn't believe I went so many years without one. Everything from dismantling turkeys to finely chopping vegetables and herbs (goodbye, mezzaluna) is more easily accomplished with the Abrams tank of the cutting board. For those not aspiring to forearms of Popeye dimensions, they do come in smaller sizes, and will still take apart Thanksgiving's central attraction faster than anything else.
Is anyone else's KitchenAid stand mixer remarkably loud? I've never owned one before and I don't know if this is normal operating volume, but every time I use it, I'm startled by the noise. Otherwise it's dynamite - a great investment.
Depends on the model and what you are mxing. For Pizza Dough, my KA mizer sometimes walks a bit across the counter, and shakes and rattles a quite bit (but Pizza Dough and a double batch of royal icing are pretty much torture test for mixers...)
The current Cook's Illustrated noted that most of the stand mixers were louder than the very quiet Hobart...but then the Hobart costs $1500...heh
I second the recommendation of the Magic Pineapple Corer -- I just used it today, and my fruit salad got many compliments -- and throw in the recommendation of the Magic Oxo Onion Chopper, which also works as a stress reliever.
Depends on the model and what you are mxing. For Pizza Dough, my KA mizer sometimes walks a bit across the counter, and shakes and rattles a quite bit (but Pizza Dough and a double batch of royal icing are pretty much torture test for mixers...)
It's the 5 qt Accolade 400. Just your straight-up cake batter, nothing too stiff. Thanks, though, now I'm not feeling like I bought a lemon. If you and Cooks Ill. say they're a bit loud, that's good enough for me.
Instead of the Kitchenmaid Hand Mixer, consider this Braun M880 Multimix 4-in-1 Handmixer
I second this rec! Terrific product, great value.
I've got the moderately flexible square trivets with raised dots. It's a bit on the stiff as a jar opener, works fine for holding pots. I've tried those castanet-thingies and I didn't like them much.
Everyone should have a KitchenAid, just so they can experience that degree of high-powered engineering perfection. The feeling of something that indestructable with that much power perfectly engineered to task makes you feel good to be human. Like driving a high-end sports car, or shooting something apropriately beefy and full-auto.
But I digress...
I had been pondering the Calphalon infused. Good to hear the recommendation. Hadn't seen the ice-cream maker attachment, but I love the idea (and need a new ice-cream maker), so on the wish-list it goes.
The flat silicone pot-holders are an amazing invention. Not too stiff, great as trivets, and clean up in the dish-washer.
Given the tiny impact the "free" pass thru the corer has on the price of the pineapples at Pick n' Save, the ROI on a corer of my own would be unattractive.
[Eye roll] Sheesh... Yes, silicone, of course. Sorry! I hate when I do that.
At least I didn't slip up still further and call it "silica," which, in addition to its near-steel hardess, breaks with a conchoidal fracture and has no (or maybe one very weak) cleavage and so on.
I'm so wishing I'd known about the KA ice cream maker attachment; I just bought an ice cream maker, with the freezer-stored bowl but its own motor base, and either the motor is insufficient, the dasher doesn't fit snugly against the container wall, or my freezer isn't cold enough, because the ice cream never quite sets up the way it did in my former old cheap "add ice, salt, and water" unit. (Of course, if my freezer's the problem the KitchenAid probably wouldn't have helped, but at least I have Jane's opinion that the ice cream itself is good. Crap! How long before my new one could reasonably be expected to break??)
May I add a discordant note?
KitchenAid stand mixers are very fine pieces of equipment, no question.
KitchenAid hand mixers are no better than a dozen other brands, which is to say - not very good.
I fix at least a dozen hand-mixers a year - once word gets out that these things can sometimes be resurrected, the damn things never stop coming. Most hand-mixers less than 10 years old a) are laughable delicate and b)cannot be economically repaired (the broken bit is usually plastic and essentially unobtainable) - and KitchenAids are no better than any other brand.
If you want a hand mixer, go trawl yard sales or thrift stores, and buy a 50's or 60's model. They look laughable, to be sure, but they all have steel gears, motors built to last, and are durable, repairable and serviceable.
I love it when I find a 30-year-old Sunbeam hand mixer in a grocery bag on the step, with a plaintive note - 'It quit, can you fix it?'. The chances are very good that I can. But if it's some modern, Italian-designed swoopy plastic thing, the chances get slim indeed.
llater,
llamas
Clearly we have some very industrious chefs in the crowd. (I wonder how many of them are in NYC apartments? None?) I used to bake bread a lot and really like the IDEA of a Cuisinart Stand Mixer, but I just know it will be in the way. I'll wait until I have a house with a REAL kitchen. (And for those of you designing your own kitchens, you know you can have a cabinet dedicated to housing it but with a spring-loaded platform that raises it to countertop level. It's way cool and convenient too.)
Although I find some of the other suggestions interesting (e.g., making my own yogurt or ice cream sounds like fun, and I really should get some real knives) and while I have a larger kitchen since leaving the City, I'm not eager to fill it with gadgets I won't use often. Nor am I excited about cluttering friends' and family members' kitchens. So, I guess what I'm saying, Megan, is get started on your year-end book review round-up so I can start buying gifts and generating commissions for you. I'm certain that I spend as much in books at the Holidays as you could expect me to spend on kitchen stuff. Hopefully, the commissions will be comparable.
MB
P.S. I really like my Cuisinart TOB-175BC Convection Toaster Oven/Broiler, Brushed Chrome and Cuisinart DCC-1200 12-Cup Brew Central Coffeemaker, Black and Stainless Steel. The Toaster Oven does a great job on chicken breasts. You can even bake small loaves of bread in it. It's so big that it's rare for me to use my regular oven anymore.
On the knife and the penny:
As I heard it from my mother, you give a knife with a penny, and the receiver returns the penny to "buy" the knife. Somehow a gift knife is bad (severs the friendship?) but a purchased knife is not.
That knife-and-penny thing explains soooo much about the last twelve years with my husband; I gave him a whole set of knives for our first Christmas as married people.
Middle Browser: Jane has addressed the tiny-kitchen problem on a few occasions I can think of. It actually amazes me that she has a KitchenAid - but she said it lives in a closet, so there you go. Now, knives versus food processor - that's a no-brainer for me, especially with the KitchenAid a fait accompli in my kitchen: I can mince pretty dang fast and wash a knife a WHOLE lot more conveniently than all the pieces of a food processor, and the KitchenAid makes great pie crust (which is the only other reason I can see for a food processor) if I can't be bothered to cut in flour with my pastry blender.
We have a better ktichen than before, but it is still woefully short of cabinet and counter space, not to mention dishwasher. So for some space saving tips:
1) Get a digital scale and use paper plates to weigh/prep dryish items. Then toss the plate. Works great.
2) Follow Alton Brown's ('Good Eats' host on FoodTV) Mantro: Only uni-tasker in kitchen is a fire extinguisher. If it only does one thing, find another tool. That is why I suggested the cast iron skillet and the knives. They are fundementally useful items. Also things like a dutch oven, good cutting board and a few basic pans.
(Okay, the Coffe pot is a unitakser, so sue me. I use it at LEAST once a day, perhaps only the stove is acutally used more consistently...)
Actually, Kristian, my fire extinguisher does a damn fine job of mashing my scallopine flat.
Jamie, have you tried one of those Oxo food choppers? I loooooooove mine; in fact, I think I'm going to add it to the list. Faster and more precise than a knife, no risk to your fingers, and much more convenient than a food processer.
Had the spice carousel. Disliked it. It got sticky with dust quickly, so emptying, cleaning, and reloading with spices became annoying. And the little dial system became just too clever to be convenient. I ended up just breaking out the ole measuring spoons or using my abuelas big pinch/little pinch method. Now I'm back to the glass bottles with a stopper.
Since I got my cast iron grill pan I never use anything else for meat. The fat drips down into the bottom, George Foreman like, and the cast iron gives a great sear to everything. They're so cheap that you'll keep the price tag to taunt your friends. (If I had to do it over I might buy the roomier square version.)
The best way to season cast iron is with shortening, I've found. Seasoning with oil makes the whole house smell like, well, burning oil, but shortening smells like baking cookies. Mmmmm. Start at 500 degrees to get it nice and black, then lower it to 300-ish.
The other cast iron thing is a Dutch Oven for stewing and roasting and braising and suchlike. For a plain old skillet I prefer teflon to iron, but the grill pan and Dutch oven are indispensible.
Also, I've used cast iron on my glass-topped stove (which I detest) for years without problems.
Jane, and all, While I use a gray iron cleaver brought by a friend from the Beijing Ironworks and have both Henkel and Chicago Cutlery knives, my favorites for many, many uses are simple Old Hickory gray steel (i.e. high carbon) knives (Ontario Knifeworks or something like that -- google Old Hickory). Brass riveted hickory handles and you can sharpen them to razor sharpness with a good steel in seconds. Of course, this means they wear out fairly quickly (although I've been using most of mine for more than 10 years now).
The various paring knives are excellent. Boners, etc, the same. The star is a genuine Butcher's knife (in various sizes -- I have 3 different ones). You could carve a rhino with this baby, and if necessary, you can hit it on the back of the blade with a hammer (to break a joint in the rhino, for instance).
Best of all, they're cheap, cheap, cheap. Don't get me wrong. I'm a lover of knives, and I especially love good ones, but when you're talking about day-to-day hard use and good use, these can't be beat. You'll still want a good chef's knife (but you'll find it's become a speciality knife instead of a general use knife) and maybe a cleaver or other piece, but a good 5 knife assortment of Old Hickory will set you back about $30-40 and last 10 years and so.
PLUS-- since the steel is soft, they truly are incredibly easy to sharpen. I've won bets by betting that I can sharpen one in less than two minutes that will shave the hair off your arm razor close. It can be done. Of course, sharp means sharp and you can cut yourself pretty good without noticing it. Use them carefully.
And I own no stock in the company. ;->=
Oh. the Old Hickory *does* stain. A lot. Live with it. Dishwasher safe, though. And they rust, so dry them thoroughly, but you can remove the rust with steel wool real easy.
There's an on-line KitchenAid outlet store, selling refurbs and discontinuted models.
http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/category.asp?CAT=OUTLET
I haven't seen a cayanne 620 yet, but when I do ....
I was just thinking. (Yep, thinking.) The single tool which has made the biggest difference in my kitchen life is a plain old pair of tongs. I got into the tong habit when I worked in a restaurant, where the chefs use them for everything. How I lived without them I really don't know.
Kitchen Aid mixers are nice but if you have the space and do much mixing you might want to consider shopping used restaurant supply places for a used Hobart 10 Qt. mixer. These things are heavy, POWERFULL, and bullet-proof. Plus they take the same accessories as Kitchen Aids. Most restaurants don't want 10 Qt. mixers so you should be able to find one for $600 to $700 dollars. This isn't as bad as it sounds because it will at least hold its value and likely apreciate while you own it. I've got a 12 Qt, from the 1940's that's worth 8 or 9 hundred and probably cost $150 new.
Also, you should check out new restaurant supply companies for pot's and pans and misc. Mid level restaurant quality cookware is far better made (though usualy not as pretty) than home coking gear. If you can find top shelf quality used pans the price/quality ratio is incredible.
After a thanksgiving disaster of not a single sharp knife in the house, the next year I arranged for a new Henckels knife and steel to be delivered the day before Thanksgiving.
No more problems.
Yes, Thanksgiving does merit a good sharp knife. After too many years at my mom's house mutilating dead birds with dull knives, this year I'm closing the restaurant and having the party there. I have many sharp knives to choose from there. My mom is one of those people given a truly sharp knife will proceed to "sharpen" it into blunt submission.
On knives, there is one that I have to stand up for. The new Kyocera zircon ceramic knives are more than worth the ridiculous prices they sell them for. Considerably sharper than a razor, they cut through roasts like they were butter and cut raw potatoes so cleanly that the cut surfaces actually glisten. They only make them in one
factory, a retired submarine turbine plant with
the necessary sintering and forming capacity, so
they'll run you a bit. Don't drop 'em, though, or they might shatter. Not much lateral strength.
If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.
I second the tongs motion. I now have two. One stainless set for the grill and one nylon tipped stainless OXO version for the nonstick pans. They are the most useful instruments I own (and I own a lot) , and cost just a few bucks- about three for the steel set...
I've been googling a bit following Mike Earl's statement that cast iron isn't compatible with a glasstop range. Some chats suggest canning pots or double-burner reversible skillet/grills are incompatible with glasstop, too. But I have a glasstop kitchenaid range and have no problem using it for anything, nor did the salesmen or literature have caveats that I remember. My only complaint is not enough BTUs in the largest double burner. Can anyone give link compatibility information?
Jane, have you found any recipes that didnt fit the 5qt mixer? This is on my christmas list (fingers crossed) I make a lot of cinnamon rolls etc. Have you or anyone else ever found the bowl too small? I like the tilt head design which is steering me away from the 6qt.
I'd be compeletly lost without my immersion blender. It works magic with soups.
I will second the endorsement of the KitchenAid stand mixer. I have the 5 quart and prefer it over the 6 quart as the bowl was easier for me to remove and install. This is a just a matter of personal preferences.
I will also suggest getting the pasta roller attachment set, not the meat grinder / extruder. We never did get the knack of making the dough just right to do extruded spaghetti or noodles though it does a great job as a meat grinder so it was not a total loss.
The pasta rollers are an absolute joy to work with and we can have home made pasta on the plate in about a half hour with all the fun of having played with our food before dinner.
Cast Iron - the indestructible non-stick! Absolutely no effort, even heat on any range. Use all the soap you want!
The trick is thorough drying. If I have cooked something wet or that required a good deal of soap to clean, I put a drop or two of oil in the pan. With or without a drop of oil, I set the clean cast iron pan in the "still warm" oven or on the "still warm" stove eye to totally dry. The oil spreads out and reseasons any parts that need it. You do not need to add any oil except as a flavoring for most cooking with a good cast iron pan. I don't recall the last time I cooked a meal without using at least one. You have to get the hand of it, but the requirements are as easy as sharpening a knife or loading a dishwasher.
One other thing that seems to have been missed here is a good pot like a 7.5 Quart La Creuset enameled cast iron. Ideal for braising. Its the best at making chicken with 40 cloves of garlic and chili.
I'll second the Le Creuset pots, they really are hard to beat for braising. Plus, I just love the flame orange colour.
My wife swears by her Global knives but I find them too light. Some of my favourites are these single edge ground Japanese knives (from a UK restaurant supplier). They pull away to the right as you slice which is handy if you've had a few glasses of wine.
Kitchenaid also makes a fantastic coffee grinder, if you care. Only one on the market that works.
Anybody out there have any experience with Green Star juicers? How good are they?
Megan
Did you see this: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/20/magazine/20food_.html
Are you thinking of saving up for it? If there is not a representative in your area perhaps you can become one. The commissions have to be pretty good given the price tag.
I credit my fuzzy-logic rice steamer appliance for my recent weight loss. Eating freshly-cooked brown and red rice with shredded vegetables instead of unhealthy snacks has helped considerably.
I've always wondered why you need five electric motors in your kitchen. One for the food processor, another for the blender, still another for the stand mixer, yet another for the citrus juicer and, finally, yet another for the juice extractor.
Obviously, somebody at Bosch thought the same because they have a series of small aplliances that a a beuty to use and do all of that. One 500 HP motor (that's preety darn good) and attachments that can do all of that.
List price at $300 but I got it at $130. In the morning I squezze fresh oranges, juice some carrots, put it all in the blender with some vanilla yogurt and bananas. It's great! The attachments ara cinch to wash and i'm ready to to mix some cranberry bread or cookie dough in the evning.
http://www.teptronics.com/bomfoprmcm52.html
Bosch now has beefier unit without the citrus juicer or extractor.
http://67.151.195.18/bosch_home_appliances/product_116.html?product_id=116
Opps, I meant a 500 watt motor not a 500 HP motor (that'd be something!).
I have the pasta extruder attachment (among many others) for my KA mixer and, while I can produce a dough of the right consistency to avoid a handful of gloop instead of spaghetti, it's not consistent. I keep hoping (you reading this, Steve?) someone will get me the pasta roller attachment for Christmas.
My sister got me the OXO food chopper some time ago, so that my oldest could help me cook. I keep forgetting about it because I'm so used to knife-chopping. Time to pull it out of the cabinet!
I will second (or third) the nomination of a pasta maker of some sort. We received a specialized machine for that purpose as a gift several years ago; we have the space. If one grows one's own tomatoes, or can buy real garden tomatoes, and thus has the ability to make real sauces, as opposed to the salty ketchup which is available in stores, it really puts an exclamation point on dinner to also make pasta from scratch. Once somebody gets in to this habit, eating pasta at the overwhelming majority of Italian restaurants becomes unthinkable. Draw your own conclusions as to whether this is a bug or a feature.
what about something for the true coffee fan???
i can't find it on amazon, but it must be there somewhere, a folding coffee press for your waterbottle like this one.....
www.press-bot.com
As an alternative to the Kitchen Aid stand, which is excellent, consider the Hamilton Beach CPM700, 800W, reasonably quiet for a large stand mixer and very solid (in that drill-press red- button-means-off kind of way). Lots of power take-offs for extra gadgets, too.
It is hard to beat the Lodge cast iron skillet. Mine is a permanent stovetop fixture.
I also recommend the Global line of knives, particularly their 6.5 in cleaver, which can half a chicken like nothing else.
And Le Creuset's French Ovens are a timeless pleasure to use.
Henckels knives are wonderful; I recommend the four-star because I like the shape and construction of the grip. (Don't be mislead into thinking that these aren't full-tang--they are), and their metallurgy technology, if you are into that kind of thing, is unique. They make a wonderful Santoku.
As an alternative to the Kitchen Aid stand, which is excellent, consider the Hamilton Beach CPM700, 800W, reasonably quiet for a large stand mixer and very solid (in that drill-press red- button-means-off kind of way). Lots of power take-offs for extra gadgets, too.
It is hard to beat the Lodge cast iron skillet. Mine is a permanent stovetop fixture.
I also recommend the Global line of knives, particularly their 6.5 in cleaver, which can half a chicken like nothing else.
And Le Creuset's French Ovens are a timeless pleasure to use.
Henckels knives are wonderful; I recommend the four-star because I like the shape and construction of the grip. (Don't be mislead into thinking that these aren't full-tang--they are), and their metallurgy technology, if you are into that kind of thing, is unique. They make a wonderful Santoku.
What a great thread. Let me add this: A Chinese Chef's knife. Shaped like a cleaver, but very thin and not used for bashing. The single best knife I've ever used for slicing and chopping vegetables. I got mine at a restaurant supply store. Green River brand.
The best professional knife, on a bang-for-your-buck basis is the Suisin Gyoto (http://www.korin.com/product.php?pid=444&cat=54&subcat=19&subsubcat=20&df=knife&catname=Western%20Style&subcatname=Suisin&subsubcatname=Suisin%20Inox%20Western-Style&mnum=HSU-IG2021)
This is the most affordable of the Japanese made western style knives and is relatively easy to sharpen. Once you use one of these, you will (hopefully) shelve the Henkels for good.
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