Archive for the ‘kitchen equipment’ Category
Sci-Fi Toaster
How nice would it be to actually SEE when your toast is done?
Well…you’ll have to wait a wee-bit longer. The manufacturer is still working on the glass technology to enable enough heat to actually toast the bread. But hey – it’s something to look forward to!
Photo: Cnet.com
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- The er Drawer
| Categories: | kitchen equipment | 2 Comments |
| Tags: | gadgets • toaster • tools |
Perfect Scrambled Eggs
I just learned how to make scrambled eggs after 15 years of cooking. I love eggs, an over easy/soft-boiled egg may be my most favorite food over anything else.Want to know the trick? It’s all about the double-boiler. Back in May, at the International Food Bloggers’ Conference, Chef Keith Luce of the Herbfarm made the most incredible scrambled eggs as part of his elaborate lunch offering. They were from free-range, organically fed hens but there was nothing more added to the beaten eggs, except maybe a touch of butter; it was all technique.
At the IFBC, Chef Luce slowly stirred the beaten eggs with a whisk in a medium-sized mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water, otherwise known as a double boiler. I don’t remember how quickly the eggs were stirred or what angle Chef Luce was tilting the pan, all I know is those eggs convinced me that I hadn’t had really good scrambled eggs before that.
Sheri came into the office recently raving about scrambled eggs, her and Barnaby had made over the weekend using farmer market eggs and the double boiler trick. “I didn’t even use butter, and they were amazing!” she said. My mom had given me a dozen eggs from her chickens and so I decided to give it a go. So simple. I used a teaspoon of butter and let it melt in the mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water. I poured in the beaten eggs and stirred slowly.
To learn how to scramble eggs after cooking scrambled eggs one way for 15 years seems somewhat unreal, like reinventing the wheel. I focused on the beaten eggs as if I had never cooked them before in my life. After a couple minutes they were done. Not fluffy or airy, like a French style omelette, nor wet or dense, these scrambled eggs were a combination of fluffy and creamy. Fluffy isn’t even the right word- custard-like? I gave some to my husband and said, I scrambled these a bit different, what do you think?
He said, “what kind of cheese did you put in this?” I said none. Then he asked, “Okay then, how much butter is in this?” Not much! Isn’t it cool! I squealed, there is about a teaspoon of butter and just really fresh eggs- that’s it.
Looking for more scrambled egg techniques? Here are a couple more to try:
Above photo by NickWheeleron holiday
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| Categories: | Chefs • Cooking tips • Technique • Uncategorized • breakfast • eggs • kitchen equipment • quick and easy | 6 Comments |
| Tags: | Chef Keith Luce • double boiler scrambled eggs |
5 Ways to Get Out of a Food Rut
Lets face it, we all get stuck in food ruts. Seared salmon on top of mixed greens has been my fast and healthy go-to dinner for far too long. Time to shake things up! Of course like anyone, saying one thing and doing another can be challenging when you work full time, have a family or planning within a budget.
1. Make it Easy on Yourself
You don’t have to get all Martha on everyone and make every single meal from scratch, complete with hand-sewn napkins. Obviously, that would be pretty cool, but maybe you should work up to that. You can still buy a pre-made roasted chicken at the store on the way home, but instead of serving rotisserie chicken as is, cut off the meat and put it in a panini or toss it with a vegetable-packed salad.
2. But I Love Spaghetti Every Night…
Really? Okay, no one is going to blame you, but you might want to mix it up a little bit- what about adding some sauteed peppers or throw in some olive and capers for a little puttanesca inspiration? Try a different sauce or put that irresistable tomato sauce on a grilled chicken breast or roasted eggplant.
3. Plan Ahead
Doesn’t someone telling you to plan ahead sound super bossy and for some of us, unrealistic? I get that. Honestly though, doing one thing like throwing flank steak into a quick marinade the night before or prepping one thing for tomorrow’s dinner while you are throwing tonight’s dinner together doesn’t add up the hours, 15 minutes maybe. Have an office refrigerator? Cooler in your car? If you get a long lunch break, you can save a trip to the grocery store after work, by going on your lunch break.
4. Buy a New Kitchen Tool to Experiment and Force Yourself to Try Something New
Nothing makes you think outside the box more than purchasing a fun new kitchen tool. You don’t even need to splurge on a Vitamix to stir things up. Even buying something as cheap as a potato peeler that has fun ridges on the sides or even purchasing a panini press from the Goodwill will help inspire you to write up a different shopping list.
5. Use Resources Right Around You
If you are grabbing lunch at a restaurant, don’t just read the menu for what you are eating now, see what else looks appetizing and try and replicate it yourself for dinner later on in the week. Ask all your friends, your mom and your co-workers what they are making for dinner, sometimes the simplest ideas are buried underneath all your creative brainstorming. And lastly, nothing is more inspiring for getting you out of your food rut by reading food blogs. They are overflowing with ideas and they are all cooked by real people who are not trying to sell you something!
Here are a just a couple of food blogs to check out:
Steamy Kitchen
Roots and Grubs
Cooking with Amy
Above Photo by: Gudlyf
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| Categories: | Cooking tips • Salads • Technique • Uncategorized • kitchen equipment • quick and easy • tools | 6 Comments |
| Tags: | cooking inspiration • food blog • food rut • quick and easy |
Friday Fun Links
Above Photo by Summerrunner2009
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| Categories: | Cooking tips • Events • Photography • kitchen equipment | 3 Comments |
| Tags: | 100 mile diet • Ben and Jerrys • Friday Fun links • michael pollan |
The Government Wants to Help You Store More Bacon
Okay, so that’s not entirely true, but the government is helping out anyone who wants to purchase new appliances. As part of the Stimulus Package, the government is giving $50-$200 rebates for purchasing new energy efficient appliances, as if I needed another excuse to drool over sleek, gadget-y kitchen refrigerators or dishwashers. Unlike the “Cash for Clunkers” program, buyers don’t have to trade in their old appliances to get the rebate, which is great for people like me, who got a little overzealous making freezer jam and chicken stock this summer. The foodie in me says, I’m not a serious fisherman or hunter needing more freezer space or thinking about a sudden kitchen remodel, but I’ve always wanted the perfect excuse to “go in” on a whole pig, and now would be the perfect time for a new chest freezer.
Thinking that’s a good idea? Here are some great links meat CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture)
Above Photo by: Beautifulcataya
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| Categories: | Uncategorized • kitchen equipment | 1 Comment |
| Tags: | cash for refrigerators • meat CSAs |
The er Drawer
We are happy to welcome Melissa Peterman as our newest contributor to the Foodista Blog!
My mother-in-law is one of the biggest kitchen gadget fans that I know of. So much so that she became a kitchen rep for a highly respected brand of cooking gadgets.
For years she would drive all over town and demonstrate to groups of giggling women the “must have” cooking gadgets of the season. She would demonstrate how the Pineapple Wedge-er is essential when slicing a pineapple or how the Egg Slicer is actually an Egg Slicer “Plus,” and how these kitchen gadgets would greatly help out in the kitchen and make their lives easier.
Before I was married, I just expected to receive kitchen gadgets for Christmas and birthdays from my mother-in-law’s increasingly expanding kitchen tools catalog. Everyone would look at my reaction as I opened the Crinkle Cutter, or the Avocado Peeler, “Oh how perfect for you!” Someone would say or “I bet you are going to use those a lot in the restaurant.”
Ironically, I don’t ever use them. Not because they are not useful, it’s just that when you learn how to use a knife, most kitchen gadgets get demoted to the “er” drawer. The “er” drawer is something we all have in our kitchens. The place for the pizza cutt-er, the mash-er, the melon ball-er, you get the idea. My personal favorite the “Bamboo Tong Toast Grabber,” which I actually did use for grabbing a small piece of toast that was stuck in my toaster- thankfully I had my Toast Grabber to help me out! Depending on the type of cook you are will determine what your “er” drawer contains.
I’m not saying all anyone ever needs is a knife to cook with- hardly! I’m just talking about some of the crazier kitchen gadgets that perhaps you will try out once and then demote to “er” drawer, or the garage sale box or pass off as a cool bath tub toy for your nieces and nephews.
In all seriousness, there are several cooking tools that I cannot live without. Ask any chef and they will admit the same. Better yet, ask to see their knife bag or tool box- you might just be amazed at what chefs carry around with them.
My list of must have small cooking tools:
- Chef knife, pairing knife, serrated knife, boning knife
- Fine grater
- Peeler
- Reamer
- Thermometer
- Kitchen shears
- Tongs, spatula
It’s not a whole lot- more like the necessities. When it comes to special luxury tools that truly make my life easier, there are more than a couple that I would spend the money on, like my cherry/olive pitter or my mandolin slicer. The beauty of kitchen gadgets is that everyone cooks differently, thank goodness, and everyone uses different tools. My mother uses her garlic press on a weekly basis, and my father uses an apple corer/slicer everyday and my husband swears by this hand chopper gizmo that we have.
To my mother-in-law’s defense, she told me the real reason she started selling kitchen gadgets was to get people interested in cooking for their families. She felt there were just too many people that didn’t sit down at the table together for meals anymore.
If she was able to get people excited about a nifty little garlic press or an avocado peeler, then she had reached out to a couple people who might be inspired to cook with it that night for their families or at the very least, add it to their “er” drawers.
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| Categories: | kitchen equipment | 9 Comments |
| Tags: | gadgets • kitchen drawer • kitchen tools |
Cazuelas
Derived from the Arabic word meaning “bowl”, Cazuelas are traditional Spanish terra cotta dishes and cookware. Like many classics, the dishes are minimalist, made of earth fired clay, but have thoroughly modern attributes as well. They can go from stove top to microwave to oven to table with equal aplomb. The glaze is lead free and the pans are suitable for a wide range of cooking and serving applications.
The dishes must be soaked prior to first use but thereafter are simple to clean and maintain. A true multipurpose item, in our kitchen we like these so much we call them “super pans”! There are some weeks, particularly in casserole season, when I barely reach for anything else. The pans also hold their heat for ages, ideal for keeping food hot during serving and at the table. Also very forgiving when the “side” dish is ready ahead of the main, not that this ever happens to us except when it does.
Cazuelas can be found online at The Spanish Table, and La Tienda and also at many gourmet retailers and restaurant supply stores. We get ours locally in Los Angeles at Surfas in Culver City, however the selection is better at the Spanish specialty sellers for sure.
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| Categories: | Middle Eastern • Spanish • kitchen equipment | 1 Comment |
| Tags: | bowl • cazuelas • cookery • Spanish • terra cotta |
Jamie Oliver’s Flavour Shaker
I don’t usually review products, and generally I’m not one to get suckered into kitchen gadgets, but this product is worth the touting.
I’ve seen Jamie use his Flavour Shaker on his show Jamie At Home and thought, “eh, just one more unnecessary thing to clutter the kitchen.” Then my friend Tracy got one for their 10-day sailing trip, and swore it was the best thing she had ever used. So we rushed out and got one to give it a try.
She’s right, it rocks.
It grinds and crushes. It mashes garlic cloves faster than you can with your chef’s knife on a cutting board. It crushes and mixes your fresh herbs perfectly in seconds with just a few shakes. Darn, I sound like an infomercial.
Basically, the Flavour Shaker is a mortar and pestle, but in a different shape. The “mortar” is the two-part container, the “pestle” is a round ceramic ball. You toss your ingredients in, throw the ball in, put the top on, and shake, shake, shake!
For a tasty and easy rub, try shaking a couple of cloves of garlic, a pinch of kosher or sea salt, and some fresh thyme.
I love when food is fun.
Update: The Flavour Shaker is now available in a limited edition gold exclusively at Oil & Vinegar.
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| Categories: | Herbs • Seasoning & Spices • kitchen equipment | 3 Comments |
| Tags: | flavour shaker • Food • foodista • gold Flavour Shaker • jamie oliver • kitchen equipment • limited edition • spices |
Kappabashi Market
I was reminiscing today about one of my favorite destinations in Tokyo. Mecca for the culinary connoisseur. Nirvana for the “kitsch-en” collector. A place where the Yen in my purse would start to shake and quiver the minute I was within spitting distance. Kappabashi market.
Marked by a giant statue of a chef’s head, Kappabashi is the fabulous restaurant supply district of Tokyo. If you love to cook and entertain, or just love to collect cool kitchen gadgets, this is the place to go.
Before I moved back to the States I took a trip downtown to stock up on authentic Japanese kitchenware. Hashi (chopsticks), beautiful lacquerware, small sushi plates, big serving dishes, rice bowls, ramen bowls, cedar bowls, ceramic tea and sake cups, decorative soy sauce bottles…oh the list goes on! I think about half of my shipping container was filled with treasures from Kappabashi. Honto ni! (Really!)
If you ever have a chance to hop on over to Japan -which is most definitely worth the trip, even with the outrageous prices – make a point to stop by Kappabashi. If you don’t need kitchen stuff you can a least have a splendid time perusing the endless aisles of plastic sushi.
Thank you Bento.com for your great photo!
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| Categories: | Travel • kitchen equipment | 2 Comments |
| Tags: | Food • foodista • Japan • japanese kitchenware • kappabashi • kitchen equipment • kitcheware |
A Good, Sharp Knife
There is nothing worse than trying to prepare a meal in a kitchen other than your own and finding all their knives duller than dull. I’m talking suitable-for-preschooler-to-take-out-in-the-yard-and-play-with dull. You try and slice a tomato and it smashes to pulp. Cutting that nice pork loin into beautiful 1/4 inch medallions? Forget it. Slicing your perfect sushi roll in bite-size pieces? Dream on!
Sharpen those knives, people! Especially if you’ve spent money on good quality knives. And if you’ve shelled out some serious green for high-end knives, or got them as a gift, pleeeeeease, do them justice and keep the blade!
OK, I’ve said my say. Now I want to share with you, my now-sharp-knife-owner friends, my favorite knife: Shun. Sure, there probably are better knives out there, but these are darn good. Excellent, in fact. And here’s why:
- They are made from a 700-year tradition of Japanese Samurai sword making, which is then blended with modern technology,
- They have an ergonomic handle of PakkaWood which is strong, durable and resistant to moisture,
- The blades are made of 16 layers of high-carbon stainless steel on both sides, giving them a beautiful rust-free Damascus-style finish that resists food from sticking,
- The steel (VG-10) holds its edge longer so they’re easier to maintain (less sharpening required, folks!)
We recently acquired a new Shun bird’s beak knife (also known as a tournée knife for the cut it makes, tourné): good for slicing, paring and peeling. The thing was so darn sharp (and I am exceptionally careful) that it nearly sliced off my index finger when cleaning. Actually, it didn’t slice as much as stab. Right between my knuckles, and it kinda stayed there until I pulled it out. Yowza! You’d think I’d hate the thing, but I was impressed! In pain, yes, but highly impressed. It barely touch me and yet it stuck! I wear the scar proudly.
Just like a good shoe can pull together an outfit, a good knife will make your food look impeccable too.
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| Categories: | kitchen equipment | Leave a Comment |
| Tags: | cutlery • Food • foodista • kitchen tools • knives • shun knives |
