(no subject)

[coraa]

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.

Comments

[madduckdes.livejournal.com]

We almost never use pitchers anymore. The next time you're over, remind me to see if I can find one hanging around.