What'll They Think of Next?
Looking through my favorite cooking catalogue can sometimes make me think I don't have the necessary tools for what I hadn't realized--until I saw them on those pages--are my most basic cooking needs.For instance, I really, really need a vacuum marinator. Okay, I didn't know there was such a thing two minutes ago, but hey, why should I wait hours to marinate my favorites when, with a few quick strokes of the built in pump, I could allow seasonings to deeply penetrate my food in a matter of minutes?
And here's a tall, thin colander for those challenging items like fennel and leeks. I don't have a recipe calling for fennel and leeks, but that colander looks like something that would improve my food preparation skills. Not to mention that potato ricer--to think we've been mashing our potatoes without one all these years!
I have to admit, I've got a couple of drawers and cupboards filled with kitchen gadgets that haven't seen a lot of use. The electric carving knife we received as a wedding present twenty-nine years ago comes to mind. I've only plugged it in half a dozen times, to slice through cream puff rings instead of the roasts it was probably intended for.
How about you? What culinary tool treasures are hiding in your kitchen corners? What magical gadget makes you feel like a world class chef? I need to know what I might be missing.
posted by Terry McLaughlin @ 9:36 AM
5 Comments:
You want my potato ricer? I'll sell it to you. I bought it for one recipe (Indian 'sev'), made it once, and never used it again.
Cooking tools are evil.
My favority culinary tool is the Carry Out phone number to our nearby Chinese Restaurant!
Diane
Forget the culinary tools, Terry. Tell us more about those cream puff rings!
Hey, this is working out great! I'll take Esri's potato ricer and Diane's carry out phone number.
Karen--you can make a cream puff ring by sketching a circle on a greased and floured cookie sheet (I use an 8 inch cake pan, pressing it into the flour and giving it a twist to leave a circular mark). Spoon globs of cream puff dough along the circle and bake the ring as if it were a batch of single cream puffs. Cutting it in half, lengthwise, is tricky, so that's where the electric carving knife comes in handy.
A cream puff ring is a terrific dessert to take to a party. I like to stuff mine with filling made by adding heavy cream and a fourth of a cup of a favorite liquer to instant pudding mix.
I'm with Diane - CARRY OUT!!!
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