Favorite Kitchen Gadgets?

[Sycamore Chins]

Big or small, what do you love having in your kitchen? Have you found a brand of some tool that's better than the others?

I'm just recently getting into cooking. I have an assimilation of utensils, cutlery, gadgets, etc from at least 4-5 households. Nothing looks the same and everything is on it's last leg. Most of my pots and pans are nearly as old as I am. Copper bottom pans - what're those?

I *just* bought my first muffin pan, and finally got a nice heavy duty cooking tray since my previous roommates ruined my old one (which was probably as old as I am).

I'm dead broke right now but will be starting a new job next semester so I'll have a little extra money for myself!

On my list of things to get are:
a fish spatula (i'm a seafood-aholic)
a pair of nice tongs (mine are either like chopsticks or the big heavy duty ones for grilling)
a small grill (I have my own deck!)
a griddle of some sort
a mixer, still not sure whether I want a hand held or an upright one.

 

[mishellyshel]

I love my mini metal spatula from pampered chef. I use it for brownies, stuf from oven. Pretty much anything u have to scoop up.

 

[lauralynne]

I love Pampered Chef...their chopper is one of my favorite things...EVER. My pots and pans are from PC also and they've lasted since we got married (over 9 years ago).

And just a warning...keep CINDY away from this thread!!!!!!

 

[cindyv3737]

I'm not allowed to answer. I work for a culinary company and I'm a cookware snob (that is what I was told).

 

[Sycamore Chins]

Well **I** would appreciate your input! :neener:

I love pampered chef and william sonoma ($$)!!! Mom has a rectangle cooking slate thing that is amazing! And the orange peeler - the best thing ever.

 

[Jenn]

I love pampered chef and my garlic press is used a lot! I also use my griddle on a daily basis.

 

[Dusty Foot Prints]

I'm a major foodie and love to cook. Some of my favorite things are:
microplane for zesting lemons, limes and finely grated chocolate,
grip-n-flip, one of those "seen on tv" gadgets that I really love,
all my Le Creuset cookware, even though I nearly get a hernia when I lift them out of the oven,
Henckle's chef's knives, especially the Santuku,
Kitchen-Aid professional mixer,
silicone whisk,
Pyrex gravy seperator,
wooden lemon reemer,
color coded cutting boards- red for meat, yellow for chicken, etc
"Green Bags" to preserve veggie freshness,
Pampered Chef pizza stone and deep dish pizza pan,
Silpat silicone cookie sheet mat,
silicone muffin pans,
silicone basting brush,
just to name a few

 

[momenteller]

I just got an immersion blender that I loooove. And my big present from my mom this Christmas is a new, larger cuisinart food processor! My old one was falling apart from so much use.

I love kitchen gadgets.:hearts: As with chins, its hard to pick a favorite!

 

[alli713]

I definitely love my Silpat liners. They stop cookies from sticking to the sheet or burning!

 

[eroomlorac]

Oh, geeze, I love kitchen gadgets, crock pots, ice cream makers, juicers, etc. You name it I probably have it.

I have copper bottom stainless steel pots and pans. They are probably about 25 years old but you'd never know it by looking at them. I also have a variety of cast iron skillets, griddle, etc. Very versatile cookware. You can bake in them as well as stove top cook with them. The more they are used the better they are. I love my stone that also gets better with each use. I use it for baking pizzas, cookies, biscuits, etc. My PC can opener that leaves no sharp edges it a must have for me. Even cans that have a pop top lid gets opened with the PC can opener. I hate sharp edges. I really like going to Bed, Bath and Beyond because they always have a wide variety of little kitchen trinkets/gadgets you never knew you needed until you saw it there. Another must have is a good set of knives. If you don't have good knives it can be frustrating. I'm only a mediocre cook but I do love my kitchen stuff.

 

[Sycamore Chins]

We bought some cookbooks at William Sonoma for christmas presents last year and got a coupon back for free money. I bought a $13 serrated knife with a silicon handle which is AMAZING! It definitely made me realize that spending more money on certain things is worth it.

Where do you guys typically get those Silpat liners? Do you just wash them off between uses?

Do those green bags REALLY work?

 

[AZChins]

I love the liners...they make life easier. Just wash them off and keep them clean.

The green bags work pretty well. You have to make sure that the produce is really dry when you put it in the bags and then seal it up well. They work well for berries and lettuce.

I love baking stuff. I bought a pastry bag for making pie crust that makes it so easy to make a perfectly round crust.

We have a soda maker, too. As strange as it sounds, it is really nice to be able to make seltzer water whenever I want. Someday I need to buy a nice set of knives and a new set of cookie sheets and baking pans. Mine are all so mismatched at this point. I'd love to have one of those nice mixers someday...

Cindy...someday I am going to get you to tell me about your cookware snob stuff.

 

[Sycamore Chins]

The green bags would work perfectly for me. I like buying a romaine lettuce and breaking it up myself for salads since the bags of salad are always crap. But then I forget I have the lettuce and it wilts by the time I remember!

My mom and I just made our VERY FIRST pie this thanksgiving! Neither of us have ever MADE a pie before and it turned out SO WELL! It wasn't perfect - but it was PIE!!! I wanna make everything in a pie now!
But I have to ask...how do you make a pie crust with a pastry bag...???

My mom got a mixer from work as a "you've worked such and such years for us, pick something from this magazine and it's yours" - We didn't use it for the longest time, but it's AWESOME!

I too want a really nice set of knives and pots and pans...I think that's going to have to wait till I have my own house and have a housewarming party so people can pitch in and get them for me. lol

 

[AZChins]

I said that wrong...duh. Pie crust bag, not pastry bag. It's been a long day for me!

http://www.amazon.com/Harold-Pie-Cr...JWBG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1292020825&sr=8-2

I have a set of really nice stainless steel pans and I LOVE them. They're heavy and cook very evenly. They are so much better than the enamel stock pots that I use sometime when I am making large quantities of things. A good set of pans makes life so much easier because the food cooks better and don't scorch like the cheapies do.

I really hate non-stick pans...

Oh...no one mentioned this. The one pan that I love beyond love is my old cast iron skillet. I can cook anything in that pan. After you've used one for awhile it becomes like a non-stick pan but only heavy and great for frying things or really cooking anything. I'm always on the look out for cast iron pans and things because I will have them forever and they do so well. You can take your old skillet and bake with it, too. It's a great thing to have in the kitchen.

 

[Sycamore Chins]

I said that wrong...duh. Pie crust bag, not pastry bag. It's been a long day for me!

Phew! I was like "Did we just make making pie crusts way harder than it needed to be? Why did no one tell us!?" :laughitup:

We definitely had a fun time getting it the right size. And getting the top crust on...well...I had the crust on a flat tray, mom had the bottom of the pie and we angled them towards each other and met in the middle in one swift movement. Worked pretty well actually...haha

 

[Millie'sMum]

Ok I am curious as to what company Cindy works for?!??!?!?! I love William Sonoma (sp?) but they are pricey. I actually just recently bought their cranberry relish, which was on sale for like $5, and it was delicious!!!

I love ice cream scoops, the one from Pampered chef is the one so far that I really fell for.

I hate crappy knives, so I am constantly looking for the best knives out there, but uneasy about price. I tend to sharpen the knives I have often because I can tell very easily that they are dull! And I am not even a chef!

 

[Sycamore Chins]

I tend to sharpen the knives I have often because I can tell very easily that they are dull! And I am not even a chef!

Dull knives drive me nuts as well. I spent an entire summer cutting up fruits and vegetables into teeny tiny little pieces for birds and we would actually fight over the sharp knives! Try cutting grapes into 1/4" squares with a dull knife...it'll drive a person to insanity!

 

[alli713]

You can get the Silpat liners at Bed Bath and Beyond. They make cheaper plain silicon liners, but I really feel like the Silpat ones work better.

I love my stand KitchenAid mixer, but those are expensive. Mine was a wedding present from my mom.

 

[momenteller]

a mixer, still not sure whether I want a hand held or an upright one.

I agree with Alli, definitely go for the stand mixer if you can afford it. I have both and I never use my hand held anymore.

Looks like I'm gonna have to get some of those Silpat baking sheets! Just in time for Christmas cookies...

 

[alli713]

Stand ones are nicer because then your arm doesn't hurt from holding the dang thing up! I only have problems with that when I make Divinity. But it's worth it!

I think there may be some mixers that convert from handheld to stand ones, but not sure how well they work.