coraa: (tasty science)
coraa ([personal profile] coraa) wrote2008-11-23 07:25 pm

(no subject)

Despite the holiday-and-birthday timing, this is emphatically not a please-buy-me-things wish list. It's a mental note of the kitchen implements that I have discovered that I needed more than twice, and that I therefore ought to buy when I've saved up enough for them. (However, if you have one of these clattering around that you actually do not use and that could use a good home, I won't say no to helping you rehome it.)

* A Thermapen instant read thermometer. (I have a lovely probe thermometer of the type that goes into the oven with your item of food and lets you know when it reaches a particular temperature, but a faster, insertion-check thermometer would also be really helpful.)
* A cast-iron dutch oven, with or without ceramic coating but oven-safe to 500F and stove-safe also. (Mostly for bread bakery, actually.)
* A new garlic press. (I broke the last one. Whoops. It did give almost four years loyal service, though.)
* An immersion blender/stick blender. (I used to have one, but I don't know where it went. I've been making my standard blender serve the purpose, but immersion blenders are handier for soups.)
* Baking pans: cake pan, pie pan, 9x12-inch baking pan. (I know that I used to have these, but the Housemates of Doom believed that all of the baking pans were theirs, and I really did not care to fight over what's effectively a $10 purchase.)
* A round casserole dish.
* A mandoline. (The slicing implement, not the instrument.)
* A curved-sided saucier. (Not a straight- or angle-sided frying-pan deal, I have several of those, but a pan with deeper, rounded sides.)
* Another pitcher, so that we can have iced tea and juice in the fridge at the same time.
* A gravy separator. (Little cup thingy that has the spout at the bottom, not the top, so you can pour a sauce or broth into it, let it settle, and then pour off the broth/sauce/whatever and leave the fat, floating on top, behind.)
* A new beaker measuring cup. (Pav got me one of these, and it, too, endured several years of hard service before breaking. Basically, it's a measuring cup with a conical shape, like a beaker, that makes it easier to measure small quantities accurately while still being able to measure large quantities.)
* An Alton Brown-esque flip-top salt dispenser. (I like having kosher salt available on the counter in an open container, because it's easy to pick up and sprinkle. But my best solution -- a small bowl left out, since salt doesn't exactly go bad -- has fallen prey to a fault: the kitties think it's fun to spill everywhere.)

Someday, I will also buy myself a stand mixer and a proper food processor (I have a cute little food processor, mostly for grinding nuts or liquefying certain kinds of sauces), but right now I can do everything I need from those by hand. Including make mayonnaise, which, for the record, is actually not all that hard with a whisk and some patience. (And oh my god it tastes better than the jarred stuff.) But if I ever get into serious cake making, or meringues, or whatever, I will want one....

I'm sorry, my journal is nothing but food and cooking lately.

[identity profile] rowr.livejournal.com 2008-11-24 09:21 am (UTC)(link)
I just made my first loaf of the 'almost-no-knead bread' from Cook's Illustrated in my new Lodge Logic Dutch Oven, and I'm pretty pleased - for ~$50 the price was right too.

[identity profile] coraa.livejournal.com 2008-11-24 07:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, that's exactly the recipe I want to try in it. :D It looks like it makes a pretty nice crust. And they're not that expensive, either, so....

[identity profile] porfinn.livejournal.com 2008-11-24 04:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Since your posts are only about "food and cooking lately", I think you really should take a "page" (specifically pg. 71)from Mrs. Child's My Life in France, Chapter 2 Le Cordon Bleu. Section II of this chapter is titled: Never Apologize. I do not completely agree. There are circumstances such as stepping on someone's toe, or hurting someone one's feelings. And I a huge advocate of taking personal responsibility, but I really think you should practice not apologizing for creative things, and never apologize for food! Mrs. Child says so! And who am I to argue with Julia Child? (and you shouldn't either :)

I know: I'm a pain the ass. Why people love and adore me.

[identity profile] coraa.livejournal.com 2008-11-24 07:49 pm (UTC)(link)
:D

It's a good reminder!

[identity profile] madduckdes.livejournal.com 2008-11-24 08:42 pm (UTC)(link)
We almost never use pitchers anymore. The next time you're over, remind me to see if I can find one hanging around.