Every year, there's a new crop of kitchen gadgets and appliances struggling to find their way into your shopping cart for the aspiring chefs on your gift list.
I have one messy drawer in the kitchen and at least two boxes in the basement filled with utensils. Some I've never used. However, others have become indispensable parts of my cooking routine.
Electric grills in many sizes and shapes continue to dominate the small appliance category. I've tried them, and they work pretty well for burgers and chicken cutlets.
I especially like them for making the Italian grilled sandwiches called panini . Just pile some cold cuts on two slices of bread or even a roll, brush the outside with oil and smash the sandwich between the hot grilling plates for a minute. The outsides turn crusty and brown, and the flavors of the meats and cheeses inside are intensified.
There has been an outbreak of smoothie machines — which really are just blenders with a stirring stick and a spigot. Do people really drink that many pureed fruit drinks, or is this a subtle way to rationalize more frozen daiquiris and margaritas in our lives⢠In any case, you probably can get by with your old blender and a stirring spatula. Just remember to turn off the motor while you stir!
Espresso machines have made the price leap that gas grills underwent a few years ago. Catalogs advertise, without embarrassment, coffee makers that cost more than $1,000. For that kind of investment, you could travel to Rome and have latte served to you in a restaurant overlooking the Piazza Navone. Or, you can make espresso at home in your regular coffee maker. It's the dark roast of beans that gives the coffee its flavor — not the machine that's used.
Electric rice makers are becoming more popular. I saw one advertised for $100 that boasted a fuzzy logic system, that it would cook perfect rice every time. My mother taught me how to make perfect rice every time in a covered saucepan. Just melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Stir in 1 cup of rice. Add 2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 18 minutes. Take the pan off the heat. This has never failed, and the rice never comes out fuzzy.
My two favorite kitchen gadgets are both on the low-tech end of the scale. The first is a food mill. This is an essential tool in my kitchen for removing the skins and seeds of canned tomatoes and cooked apples. Your tomato sauces will be smoother and less bitter than ever before. The food mill even makes some of the smoothest mashed potatoes without the gumminess sometimes caused by whipping too long with a hand mixer.
Then there is the pasta roller. It enables you to roll pasta dough into thin sheets that you can use for lasagna, ravioli and other filled pastas or just to cut into strips for fettuccine or spaghetti. There is nothing like homemade pasta, and it is so easy.
The simplest of the machines costs between $35 and $50. If you have children in the house between the ages of 3 and 15, you won't need to buy the optional motor drive. Just tell them to keep turning the handle while you feed the dough through successively thinner settings.
Those are my nominations for the cooks in your life who have been good all year. Next week, we'll talk about some little items for stocking stuffers.
Fresh Pasta
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups flour
- 1 to 2 tablespoons water
Put the eggs, flour and 1 tablespoon water into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the dough forms moist clumps. Process until the dough comes together in a ball, adding a little more water if necessary.
Remove the dough, cover in plastic wrap and let rest for at least an hour before rolling into sheets and shapes.
Note: Fresh pasta cooks more quickly than dried pasta, so stay near the pot while it is boiling so you can test it.
