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Thursday, August 28th, 2008
These are a few of my favorite things
Ok. Maybe just two of my favorite things in the kitchen. Years ago my mom went to a little kitchen store in downtown Mooresville and asked the clerk what would be something a baker wouldn't have. The clerk suggested a pastry cutter and a silicone spatula. Now, this was before the silicone rage hit in the kitchen--so the likelihood of me having one was small.
I still have that spatula and love it (along with a dozen more) but the real "find" in my mind was the pastry cutter. An ordinary pastry cutter, you ask? What is so special about it? This is no ordinary pastry cutter, my friends.
One of my mentors, Alton Brown, loves to say "nothing in my kitchen does one thing only except the fire extinquisher!" I've tried to live up to that pearl of wisdom. This little pastry cutter chops nuts, makes a mean egg salad, makes a great biscuit/scone cutter, blends/cuts eggs and other ingredients into the dry ingredients. I'm sure I will find something else it is good for before it is over. Unlike your standard pastry cutter, it doesn't get stuff all stuck in the areas between the blades. It does a mean job of chopping eggs ever so gently that they aren't all mashed and smashed as much as they are chopped and fluffed. I imagine it would do a nice job on chopping chicken (if I ate that) or other items or cooked veggies--maybe even some raw ones. I brought up the part about Mooresville because it amuses me that a little store in downtown Mooresville stocked something so unique. I've never seen another store carry it--no matter how Williams-Sonoma fancy.
My second love is my kitchen scale. You may notice my shared recipes always show weight as well as measurement. The scale is wonderful on so many levels. You require no measuring cups--less mess and equipment required. Your ingredients are more accurate (no having to pack brown sugar to get it right or spoon flour and level it to avoid too much flour in the finished product). It makes sticky things like corn syrup a breeze to add (no spraying the cup with cooking spray to get the corn syrup out easily) or peanut butter that requires so much work to make sure the cup is filled and then scraping it out. It also speeds up prep time. You can weigh the sugar right into the mixing bowl to cream with the butter. You can zero the scale between ingredients to lessen the number of containers required (unless the ingredients have to remain separated). Great for things like raisins, nuts, coconut, fresh fruit or veggies (like carrots) to minimize guessing on measuring (should I pack the coconut in the cup or keep it fluffy to get a cup of flaked coconut into the recipe?)
When the dog bites, when the bee (wasp) stings, when I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my (2) favorite things and then I don't feel so bad.......
One of my co-workers is helping me get some computer equipment to my car to bring home. To thank him for his assistance, I baked him some of the Strawberry Pecan Shortbread Crumble Bars that (nearly) made it to Nancy and Steve Heinzel in my aborted shipment to Kitty Hawk. He's like me--he likes fruit desserts. Hopefully this one will fit the bill and let him know I appreciate all he does for me and the rest of the office.
These are a few of my favorite things
Ok. Maybe just two of my favorite things in the kitchen. Years ago my mom went to a little kitchen store in downtown Mooresville and asked the clerk what would be something a baker wouldn't have. The clerk suggested a pastry cutter and a silicone spatula. Now, this was before the silicone rage hit in the kitchen--so the likelihood of me having one was small.
I still have that spatula and love it (along with a dozen more) but the real "find" in my mind was the pastry cutter. An ordinary pastry cutter, you ask? What is so special about it? This is no ordinary pastry cutter, my friends.
One of my mentors, Alton Brown, loves to say "nothing in my kitchen does one thing only except the fire extinquisher!" I've tried to live up to that pearl of wisdom. This little pastry cutter chops nuts, makes a mean egg salad, makes a great biscuit/scone cutter, blends/cuts eggs and other ingredients into the dry ingredients. I'm sure I will find something else it is good for before it is over. Unlike your standard pastry cutter, it doesn't get stuff all stuck in the areas between the blades. It does a mean job of chopping eggs ever so gently that they aren't all mashed and smashed as much as they are chopped and fluffed. I imagine it would do a nice job on chopping chicken (if I ate that) or other items or cooked veggies--maybe even some raw ones. I brought up the part about Mooresville because it amuses me that a little store in downtown Mooresville stocked something so unique. I've never seen another store carry it--no matter how Williams-Sonoma fancy.
My second love is my kitchen scale. You may notice my shared recipes always show weight as well as measurement. The scale is wonderful on so many levels. You require no measuring cups--less mess and equipment required. Your ingredients are more accurate (no having to pack brown sugar to get it right or spoon flour and level it to avoid too much flour in the finished product). It makes sticky things like corn syrup a breeze to add (no spraying the cup with cooking spray to get the corn syrup out easily) or peanut butter that requires so much work to make sure the cup is filled and then scraping it out. It also speeds up prep time. You can weigh the sugar right into the mixing bowl to cream with the butter. You can zero the scale between ingredients to lessen the number of containers required (unless the ingredients have to remain separated). Great for things like raisins, nuts, coconut, fresh fruit or veggies (like carrots) to minimize guessing on measuring (should I pack the coconut in the cup or keep it fluffy to get a cup of flaked coconut into the recipe?)
When the dog bites, when the bee (wasp) stings, when I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my (2) favorite things and then I don't feel so bad.......
One of my co-workers is helping me get some computer equipment to my car to bring home. To thank him for his assistance, I baked him some of the Strawberry Pecan Shortbread Crumble Bars that (nearly) made it to Nancy and Steve Heinzel in my aborted shipment to Kitty Hawk. He's like me--he likes fruit desserts. Hopefully this one will fit the bill and let him know I appreciate all he does for me and the rest of the office.
http://bakingbites.com/2008/06/strawberry-pecan-shortbr...
I actually panicked about the cutter last year or the one before. I did some research and found the company that makes it if I need another one. I really would miss this tool if it broke or gave out on me. :) I know the store is closed--that's why I panicked. :)
Happy Labor Day to you and the family--hope you have a fun one!
L.
http://www.kwik-kut.com/choppers.html