Favorite kitchen gadgets?

[Yasmine Galenorn]

Okay, I'm a gadget freak. I LOVE kitchen gadgets, love to cook, and if I had a bigger kitchen would probably have almost everything they make (except a pasta machine, can't make my own rice pasta and have it work and can't eat wheat).

Among all of my gadgets, my favorites are the huge KitchenAid mixer (the stand kind) I recently bought (it's made a huge difference in wheatfree baking and I love it to pieces), my espresso maker, and my blender (though I want a good one that can crush ice--any suggestions on good brands?). I want to get a good nut grinder too, but it needs to be electric because of my tendonitis, and a coffee grinder doesn't work very well.

I'm also going to work on a recipe for rice milk custard and then if that works, try to make my own rice milk ice cream (I detest Rice Dream).

What do you use the most in your kitchen?

Yasmine :colorful:

[evie_mun]

My three have definately got to be:

My garlic press (I LOVE garlic)

My Magic Bullet blender (it was well worth it, so easy to clean up!)

And I guess my electric wok. Woks ROCK! *Grin*

[Xentor]

The major and only widget in my kitchen is the microwave grill oven.

I like to do things by hand. I have a bunch of sharp cooking knifes, and some Tupperrware cooking utensils. No blender, no grinder, no slicer.

[Yasmine Galenorn]

The major and only widget in my kitchen is the microwave grill oven.

I like to do things by hand. I have a bunch of sharp cooking knifes, and some Tupperrware cooking utensils. No blender, no grinder, no slicer.

*runs shrieking from Xentor's kitchen* LOL, I used to do so much more prep work by hand but with my tendonitis, there's no way I can now without pain and messing up my ability to keep going on my work. Hell, I can barely open a jar lid--my strength is just fine, but my grip strength in my hands has degraded so much from all the computer work I've done over the years.

No blender? How do you make smoothies and crush ice? :ahhhh:

Yazza :colorful:

[Xentor]

No blender? How do you make smoothies and crush ice? :ahhhh:

Ice is easily crushed with a mortar. Smoothies.... never thought of making those myself :p

[Rhianna813]

Let's see!

-I have one of those quick choppers. You just push down on the handle quickly and the blade makes a quarter turn everytime it chops. It works perfectly for garlic and onions and cleans up easily.

-I also like those electric hand blenders for smoothies and pureeing soups right in the pot. Also for making homemade soap.

-And good ol ice cube trays! I use them for freezing baby food, pesto, and other sauces.

-We also enjoy using the food dehydrator for making our own dried bananas, cherry tomatoes, and orange slices.

- I also love our waffle iron, toaster (hello can't for that), and my tea pot, which makes brews 2 cups for me!

Rhianna

[BrigidMoon]

The HAND MIXER...or Emeril says it's a boat motor.

[Yasmine Galenorn]

Ice is easily crushed with a mortar. Smoothies.... never thought of making those myself :p

Stick your tongue out at me, will you????? Honestly, never thought of making smoothies...what IS the world coming to? ~grins~

I make wonderful protein drinks in mine: orange juice, rice protein powder, frozen unsweetened raspberries, powdered vitamin C, powdered calcium. Tastes wonderful! I used to use yogurt in them till I realized how much dairy was messing up my lungs.

Yazza :colorful:

[Yasmine Galenorn]

The HAND MIXER...or Emeril says it's a boat motor.

Emeril is SO cool! And I'm a really huge fan of Iron Chef (not the American versions). Let's see, also like Rachel Ray's cooking shows...hmm...Great Cooks of the World...Good Eats--the guy reminds me of Bill Nye for the cooking set.

Yasmine (who now thinks she should get a hand blender...had one but wore it out years ago).

[Xentor]

I used to use yogurt in them till I realized how much dairy was messing up my lungs.

Really? Maybe I should lay off the milk and buttermilk, then...

[Yasmine Galenorn]

Really? Maybe I should lay off the milk and buttermilk, then...

Seriously...when I was a baby, I almost died from drinking milk. My mother couldn't breastfeed me (she had rheumatic fever and was seriously ill for the first six months of my life), so they started me on milk. I threw up every time they fed me, was losing weight, they thought I was going to die. The doctor said, 'get her off the milk and onto a non-dairy formula'...so they did and I was fine. I never knew why mom didn't give me milk when I was a kid, but she still fed me ice cream and cheese, and I spent my entire childhood/teen years totally messed up with respiratory ailments--bronchitis and pneumonia and constant congestion. Developed asthma...well, fast forward to a few years ago. I talk to my sister and find out about the milk. Then I remember that, along with wheat, the allergist told me when I was 12 not to eat dairy. I decided to quit dairy and see what happened. Within two weeks, my chronic sinus problems began to clear up, my asthma got better, I'm off of two medications now and doing fine. But the minute I eat dairy in any appreciable amount (other than a sprinkle--and I do mean sprinkle--of parmegan, or butter--I eat so little of that since I don't do bread that it doesn't seem to affect me much), I either throw up because of the mucus that instantly forms, and if I manage not to do that, I end up severely congested for a few days till it clears out of my system.

Yas

[halfwaynowhere]

i like my mixer and coffee grinder. freshly ground coffee is way better than pre-ground stuff... and the mixer helps when i need to do the egg whites and cream of tarter for my spice chiffon cake. oh yeah, and my FryDaddy... its a little fryer. i only use it on occasion, frozen french fries are better deep fried than baked... maybe not better for you, but they taste better. I would kill for a magic bullet, and then theres another thing which i can't remember its name but i see the infomercial for it all the time. oh yeah, and then there are those really cool knives that i love to death... oh well, i don't cook that much, but i think i would more often if my parents would only let me buy some of those awesome gadgets. (i spend way too much time watching infomercials.. when i go into the As Seen on TV store at the mall, i'm like a tourist in hollywood... i'm like "hey, i have seen the commercial for that one 8 times", or "that infomercial was really unique" or whatnot... such a geek...)

[Yasmine Galenorn]

i like my mixer and coffee grinder. freshly ground coffee is way better than pre-ground stuff... and the mixer helps when i need to do the egg whites and cream of tarter for my spice chiffon cake. oh yeah, and my FryDaddy... its a little fryer. i only use it on occasion, frozen french fries are better deep fried than baked... maybe not better for you, but they taste better. I would kill for a magic bullet, and then theres another thing which i can't remember its name but i see the infomercial for it all the time. oh yeah, and then there are those really cool knives that i love to death... oh well, i don't cook that much, but i think i would more often if my parents would only let me buy some of those awesome gadgets. (i spend way too much time watching infomercials.. when i go into the As Seen on TV store at the mall, i'm like a tourist in hollywood... i'm like "hey, i have seen the commercial for that one 8 times", or "that infomercial was really unique" or whatnot... such a geek...)

Oh yeah, we grind our coffee beans--wouldn't use pre-ground if you paid me to. I seldom do any deep frying, I use olive oil for sauteing and pan frying for the most part, and we don't eat frozen fried foods much. And yep, the As Seen on TV store can be a dangerous place...some things work great, others--uh--nope.

Yasmine

[Isis-Rayne]

Now this is a topic I can really get behind. :)

Let's see, my slow-cooker. I couldn't make half of the yummy meals I do without it, because I hate hanging out in my too-small kitchen while cooking.

My Kitchen-Aid stand mixer. I lusted after it for so long .. and now that I have it, I can bake so much more often. Which is bad for my figure, but I'll live!

I also love my iced-tea maker .. and before you laugh, you should know we can go through two pitchers a day easily, and making it the old fashioned way takes forever. Thus ... the Mr. Tea iced-tea maker!

Then there's my teapot, my waffle/pizzelle/sandwich maker, and my knives. Not -really- a gadget, but a good set of knives is a gods'send in the Kitchen!

[Ziana]

my coffee grinder and my rice cooker.....I agree fresh ground coffee is the best, and Jasmine rice tastes awful when it's burnt....

[Faery-Wings]

Kitchen gadgets-- I looove Kitchen Gadgets! :dancy:
I really love Pampered chef equipment. I could probably do a show in my kitchen right now. Their food chopper is wonderful and so are their slicers/mandolins.

I love my Kitchen Aid too, but I usually only use it for making my body care products (whipped shea butters LOL)
I recently got a George Foreman grill and that things is damn cool.

[Scarlettvixen]

rice cooker and wok

[AutumnWitchie]

Emeril is SO cool! And I'm a really huge fan of Iron Chef (not the American versions). Let's see, also like Rachel Ray's cooking shows...hmm...Great Cooks of the World...Good Eats--the guy reminds me of Bill Nye for the cooking set.

Yasmine (who now thinks she should get a hand blender...had one but wore it out years ago).


I absolutely adore Alton Brown(Good Eats). Rachel Ray reminds me so much of my best friend, Jenn. I do watch Iron Chef America. Love the Chairman! They recently had a woman Iron Chef.....Kat from "Kitchen Accomplished". She's so cool!

I have the chopper thing, hand mixer, zyliss. Have to replace my waffle iron. It got lost moving last year. Oh, and I've got the ultimate kitchen gadget.....my hubby! He likes to cook too.

[AutumnWitchie]

I forgot the crock pot and deep fryer/ steamer.

[WitchJezebel]

Good Gods, this is right up my alley! Kitchen things I can't live without:

1) My KitchenAid stand mixer
2) My hand blender
3) My coffee grinder and my spice grinder (2 different grinders)
4) My 8 and 10 inch chef knives
5) My lemon reamer
6) My potato/carrot peeler from OXO
7) My half sheet pans
8) My stainless steel mixing bowls
9) My Polder timer/thermometer
10) My salt cellar
11) My heat resistant silicone stirring spoons

I'm going to stop here, it sounds like I'm taking inventory. :lol:

[Karma Chameleon]

My toaster. (It looks like the one from the cartoon movie "The Brave Little Toaster" too! :smile: )

[Jenne]

Let's see...I have a KitchenAid stand mixer, but since I don't make chockie chip cookies anymore (I end up eating them all, lol), it really doesn't get used very much.

I have a new hand mixer and I love it. Great for mashed taters. Our Calphalon pans--the non-stick ones especially. Our can opener that opens UNDER the rim so there are no sharp edges. Our COFFEE GRINDER! I agree that there's only one way to make coffee--from beans!

Our Mickey Mouse waffle iron...and my very cheap but very sharp cheese grater. Oh and my cheese slicer--oh oh and this new wine opener that I sell through my company (Screwpull pocket model) and the wine pourers that drip the wine back into the bottle when you pour it--don't waste the wine!

My hubby loves his new Cuisneart...uses that thing every weekend to make hummus...lol.

[Kari]

Ah Kitchen Gadgets...

My kitchen is so very small(ever heard of a 3 in 1 unit?) that i rely on my kitchen gadgets for so much!

Sandwich maker...mmmm real grilled chesse and salsa samiches!
George Forman Grill
Toaster Oven(it's my oven and it's just big enought to cook a chicken in)
My Braun hand blender
Coffee Grinder
Blender
Ricer( mainly used for making mashed potatoes, without lumps)
Large Slow Cooker(finally I can make Roasts!!!!!)
Electric Mixer(the cheap kind, i'd love for a Kitchen Mate one, but no counter space)

Miracle Bullet(same product as Magic Bullet, Canadian Name)Highly reccomended!!!
This baby does everything!
I am getting rid of my Blender and coffee grinder because they are obsolete now that I have this little powerful machine...It has a blender attachment and a juicer attachment, plus is really easy to keep clean.

:)

[WitchJezebel]

My favorite item was my Vita-Mix, but that died a few months ago.

I always wondered about those but never knew anyone who ever owned one and I refused to buy one unless I could see it in person - I only ever saw them advertised in magazines.

[~*Ginger*~]

I don't know it's official name.

My favorite gadget, is a piece of plastic that's screwed to the bottom of the kitchen cabinet, and it's used to unscrew bottle tops and jar lids.

Best thing ever since baked bread!

[Enozgirl]

My favoritest things in my kitchen:

* My George Foreman Grill. I :wub: my GF Grill! It's the best for hot dogs, grilled sandwiches, chicken, hamburgers, steaks! I don't really like the smokey flavor of the outdoor grill, so this works well. And I can have my medium-well done steak in less than 8 minutes!

* My Magic Bullet. This thing is the BEST. It makes absolutely PERFECT egg salad!! Though, I don't have the blender and juicer options -- do they rock? :)

* My Williams & Sonoma spatchulas, which I can leave in the pan and they don't melt.

* My wok, cause it's excellent for fried rice and chicken dishes.

* My 10+ year old 2 quart pot, which is the ONLY pot in which I make rice, and it makes it perfect each time.

* My hand mixer, cause I detest getting meat under my finger nails when I'm making meatballs or meatloaf! My mixer came with some odd "kneeding" type attachment which blends the eggs and breadcrumbs in with the meat for me :D

* My crock pot.

* My Alton Brown and Rachel Ray books! :)

[Etoile]

My Wusthof Santoku knife. I will never buy cheap knives again.