Recommend some kitchen equipment

[mum]

I am thinking of asking for kitchen things for Christmas. I don't have much in the way of gadgets, I'm not much of a cook, but after getting a rice cooker and having it revolutionize some meals, I wondered what else was out there that I was missing. I need things to make cooking easy, we are mostly vegetarian, some are GF and dairy free. Can anyone give me any recommendations? What do you like and why? What are your favorite things to make with the piece of equipment? It must be easy and low maintenance. I am not taking apart a food processor, and I don't have room to store it either.

 

Thanks ( from my family too!)

[gardening momma]

I'm asking for an immersion blender for Christmas this year.

[eternalknot]

I am thinking of asking for kitchen things for Christmas. I don't have much in the way of gadgets, I'm not much of a cook, but after getting a rice cooker and having it revolutionize some meals, I wondered what else was out there that I was missing. I need things to make cooking easy, we are mostly vegetarian, some are GF and dairy free. Can anyone give me any recommendations? What do you like and why? What are your favorite things to make with the piece of equipment? It must be easy and low maintenance. I am not taking apart a food processor, and I don't have room to store it either.

 

Thanks ( from my family too!)

 

I'm not a gadget gal. I own a rice cooker, and a tiny crockpot that is rarely used. My best friend borrows it for fondue every winter and that's about the only daylight it sees LOL.

 

We're veg*n. We eat lots of fresh produce, so excellent knives are important. You can get a pricey do-it-all knife, or you can ask for some high-quality, specialized knives. They come in all price ranges ...

 

I used to have a chopper, but just prefer to use my knives. I grew up in a restaurant kitchen. If you don't have one already, they're relatively small and machine washable (mine was Pampered Chef, I'm sure there are others.)

 

Stainless steel or pyrex containers are always helpful. I tend to prep my veggies once or twice a week, rather than for every meal. We stack prepped veggies in the fridge for easy throw-together meals. In that vein, those green containers "as seen on tv" that help produce stay fresh longer? Those might be good, I don't know firsthand but they look interesting. I've seen them at Target, too.

 

Maybe a coffee grinder? Smallish. Can be used to grind nuts (almond?) or beans (garbanzo?) into flours for cooking for your GF folks.

 

Maybe switch out your existing, mismatched accessories for a matching set? Stainless, wood, plastic - whatever floats your boat, you can get everything from ladles to can openers to spatulas to whisks. No extra room needed, just donate your old stuff to an area shelter. This won't revolutionize your meals, but it'd get me in the kitchen extra excited for a few weeks LOL.

 

Spice jars? I have a matching set of glass and stainless. I've seen stainless magnetic tins, too, that can hang on a wall or refrigerator. Keep those five favorites within easy reach!

 

That's all I have, other than a bump. Hopefully some more ideas come in for you!

[gardening momma]

I used to have a chopper, but just prefer to use my knives. I grew up in a restaurant kitchen. If you don't have one already, they're relatively small and machine washable (mine was Pampered Chef, I'm sure there are others.)

Oh yes! I love my Pampered Chef food chopper! :001_smile:

[HollyDay]

Immersion Blender!! I use this thing almost everyday. Yesterday I used it for pancake batter. Today for smoothies. 2 Days ago, I made tomato bisque and used it. I don't know what I did without it!

 

Food Processor - all around great gadget

[walkermamaof4]

I have stainless measuring cups in the odd and regular sizes from Williams Sonoma and love them. i have the measuring spoons like that too.

[justasque]

I used to have a gadget-free kitchen. Now I'm hooked.

 

I have a Cuisinart mini-chopper food processor thingy. It was about $25 at Big Lots. I use it almost every day. Sometimes I really like the meditation of chopping an onion and some garlic. But if I just need to get dinner on the table NOW, it really speeds things up. Most mini-choppers aren't that great - I also have one that works with my immersion blender, and it's OK but eh. But the mini-Cuis works really well. It's probably the appliance I use the most.

 

Love my immersion blender for making soups and smoothies. Love that I can make smoothies in the blender jar thingy without getting out my whole big blender.

 

Love my Kitchenaid mixer, though I did just fine without it for many years. I wouldn't consider it essential.

 

Love my bread machine.

 

Love, love, love my rice cooker w/steamer insert.

 

Not a huge crock-pot fan, but I do have a large one used mainly for making chicken stock, and a smaller one used mainly for making oatmeal w/ fruit & nuts.

 

Love my good heavy knife.

Love my Microplane extra-coarse grater and my OXO box grater.

Love my stainless measuring cups and spoons.

Love my Cuisinart food processor.

 

Hate, hate, hate my Cuisinart blender. Blends well, but the handle melts in the dishwasher and the pour spout is useless.

[Denisemomof4]

I am thinking of asking for kitchen things for Christmas. I don't have much in the way of gadgets, I'm not much of a cook, but after getting a rice cooker and having it revolutionize some meals, I wondered what else was out there that I was missing. I need things to make cooking easy, we are mostly vegetarian, some are GF and dairy free. Can anyone give me any recommendations? What do you like and why? What are your favorite things to make with the piece of equipment? It must be easy and low maintenance. I am not taking apart a food processor, and I don't have room to store it either.

 

Thanks ( from my family too!)

 

HOW so??? I'm really starting to want a rice cooker where previously I thought they were ridiculous!

 

PLEASE explain to me!

 

I agree, the chopper by Pampered Chef is awesome. I also love to cook/bake on stones.

 

I use one coffee grinder for coffee, another to grind nuts and seeds, including flax seed.

[Jen500]

I love my Zojirushi rice cooker! I frequently use the timer feature...say, I put the rice and liquid in at noon and tell it to have the rice done at 6pm and press start, and then I have time to make the rest of the meal later and not worry about the rice. It also has settings for brown rice and sweet rice, and it has a porridge setting so I can use the timer feature to have oatmeal ready for breakfast. I can't use my model as a steamer, but I think you can use the basic on/off rice cookers as steamers also.

(My rice before I got the cooker was terrible :tongue_smilie:...so if you already easily make a nice pot of rice maybe a rice cooker wouldn't make a big difference for you. )

[Denisemomof4]

I love my Zojirushi rice cooker! I frequently use the timer feature...say, I put the rice and liquid in at noon and tell it to have the rice done at 6pm and press start, and then I have time to make the rest of the meal later and not worry about the rice. It also has settings for brown rice and sweet rice, and it has a porridge setting so I can use the timer feature to have oatmeal ready for breakfast. I can't use my model as a steamer, but I think you can use the basic on/off rice cookers as steamers also.

(My rice before I got the cooker was terrible :tongue_smilie:...so if you already easily make a nice pot of rice maybe a rice cooker wouldn't make a big difference for you. )

 

I *LOVE* that it can have oatmeal ready in the morning!

 

I used to make crockpot oatmeal but from what I've learned here (and I've never read the heated crockpot threads!), I just don't want to use my crockpot.:tongue_smilie: I cringe when I see the word mentioned.

[kalanamak]

An order from Penzey's .

[justasque]

HOW so??? I'm really starting to want a rice cooker where previously I thought they were ridiculous!

PLEASE explain to me!

 

 

I also thought rice cookers were ridiculous, until I read some reviews on Amazon. Now, it's my favorite kitchen appliance.

 

I think of a rice cooker as having some of the capability of a crock-pot, but without the long wait, and without having to have everything mushed together. I really like fish done in the steamer basket. I line the basket with spinach leaves (which get steamed nicely and keep the fish from sticking), then I sometimes top the fish with diced tomatoes, or put some brocolli around the edges, or maybe some sliced zukes, or I can top the fish with a thin slice of lemon. I've also done shrimp - I just dump frozen shrimp in the steamer. The shrimp/fish usually takes about 20 minutes, which is as long as white rice. If I'm doing brown rice, I'll add the fish about 20 minutes into the cooking.

 

For the rice part, sometimes I saute onions, garlic, tomatoes, or whatever in the pan before adding the rice. Sometimes I use a boxed mix, like Zatarans. My family loves Cuban yellow rice - the one with the flamenco dancer on the packet, Vigo brand, is by far the best.

 

I've experimented with all kinds of "souper rice", where I add canned soup or broth or a bottled sauce to the soup as part of the liquid. For example, white clam sauce makes great rice, which goes nicely with the steamed fish. Or mushroom soup is nice with sauteed red onions and red peppers and extra mushrooms. I add some feta when serving, or grate some Asiago cheese, and it's a one-pot dish.

 

It has changed our diet - we eat a lot more brown rice and a lot less pasta, a lot less meat and a lot more fish.

[Peela]

Thermomix. Sorry, probably way more expensive than you had in mind but it blends, processes, whips, steams, has a timer, weighs, grinds grain to flour, and it cooks too. You can make whole meals in it, and leave them to cook while you do other things. It makes a cake in literally a few minutes, and you can weigh everything in it. Bread too. It is virtually a whole kitchen in one unit. Worth its cost...if you can actually afford it (It is around $2000 Australian). Also, it is not officially available in the U.S....but you can get it from overseas.

thermomix.com.au

[mum]

Thanks all! To the one who asked how the rice cooker changed my life-I ALWAYS burned the rice. I just couldn't get back to it in time. So we didn't eat rice much at all. And if I did get back to it, it just wasn't a tasty consistency. Now I put the rice and water in rice cooker and either press start, or set the timer, and walk away. It turns off by itself, it will keep the rice warm if I want it to, the rice is always perfect consistency. We now eat rice (without stress) several times a week. And it's not fiddly to clean. I couldn't believe the people who told me I'd love it, and someone actually gave me one in the end.

[hsbaby]

I am the kitchen gadget queen. I attribute it to my obsession with the "As Seen On TV" infomercials. I get sucked in every time:001_smile: Here are some gadgets I use frequently:

 

--Vidalia Chop Wizard (probably the thing I use the most...it will chop anything!)

--Zyliss hand chopper

--quesadilla maker

--steamer

--my beloved crockpot

 

I have others that I love, but don't use as frequently:

--our Fry Daddy

--sandwich maker

--toaster oven

--food processor

--ice cream maker

 

I could go on and on....it's out of control. Seriously.

[6packofun]

I have wanted a mandolin slicer for a long time. I like the ceramic one that Alton Brown uses on his show...

[LarlaB]

I love kitchen gadgets, but prefer those that are multi-purpose or frequently used because well, space is limited. :)

 

1. Immersion Blender: soups, salad dressing, shakes,

2. Hand held mixer (I have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer for big deals, but wow- the hand held is sooo much easier)

3. Microplane (fine grater/zester)- nutmeg, citrus zester, parm cheese etc

4. Pampered Chef Chopper (nuts, garlic/onions/peppers, cranberries etc)

 

I am getting a panini press for Christmas that will double as indoor grill. SO excited!

[Brilliant]

I'm asking for an immersion blender for Christmas this year.

 

I bought one of these a few years ago. I can count on one hand the number of times I've used it. :001_huh:

 

Other bad buys for me were: citrus juicer (have NEVER used it; luckily it was used); dutch oven (only used 3 times in 2 years); waffle iron (haven't used it in at least 4 years); and food saver (I "saved" everything I owned the minute I got it, and have never used it since). I have room in the cabinets for these right now, but next time we move they are gone.

 

My absolute favorite gadget ever is a microplane grater. It's used almost every day in our house. Who knew that parmesan or romano cheese goes on EVERYTHING? Seriously, though, it is a great gadget and takes up so little room in the drawer. I used to have one of those roto-grater things that they use in restaurants like macaroni grill. But it was a pain to use and store.

[Brilliant]

Immersion Blender!! I use this thing almost everyday. Yesterday I used it for pancake batter. Today for smoothies. 2 Days ago, I made tomato bisque and used it. I don't know what I did without it!

 

 

Wow, I'm amazed to hear this. I just have not found mine to be that useful. I've only used it for the occasional soup. I use a blender for smoothies, and just beat pancake batter with a spoon.

[gardening momma]

I'm asking for an immersion blender for Christmas this year.

 

I bought one of these a few years ago. I can count on one hand the number of times I've used it. :001_huh:

 

I know for sure that I would use an immersion blender for salsa and spaghetti sauce, at the very least. Then I would probably also use it for various sauces, thick soups/stews, etc...

[Mergath]

I'm not a gadget person at all, because most of them are so unnecessary, but I would trade a kidney for a high-quality stand mixer that could knead my bread for me. My dd stands on a chair and snatches bits of dough every time I'm kneading, so that would certainly make my life easier. I hear they do other things, too, but I just want one for my bread. :tongue_smilie:

[gingersmom]

I think I am the kitchen gadget queen.

 

Some of my favorites-

 

griddle pan

wok

mini-cuisinart (easy to store on counter, easy to use and clean)

Kitchen Aid mixer (love love love!!!)

Immersion Blender (I don't know how I ever lived without one!)

Zojirushi rice cooker (on my wish list, don't get a cheapy rice maker like me, they break so easily and I hate mine)

Bread machine (mine is 20 years old but I still love it)

Ice cream maker (who doesn't love making their own combinations of ice cream, ours gets used frequently)

Crockpot