The Cook’s Kitchen

When the Margaritaville Fiji Frozen Concoction Machine arrived it was a very easy setup. The instructions were straightforward and in no time the step-by-step set up had the machine ready to produce some delicious frozen beverages. The craftsmanship and quality were apparent at the onset, and the weight of the machine gave a […]

I adore kitchen gadgets, and this can be proven by my large drawer full of them.  I am talking about those hand-held tools that are meant to make life easier when making a meal.  When I first noticed chefs using the Microplane 40020 Stainless Steel Zester Grater on TV, I kind of pushed it to […]

About a year ago I noticed a proliferation of colorful, wee little colanders on the store shelves nearly everywhere I went. While I’m not usually sucked into gadgets, these were so cute that I kept trying to devise a reason to buy one.
Cuteness. That’s the right reason to buy a kitchen tool, isn’t it?
As it […]

When growing up, BBQ was a Weber Kettle Grill and Kingsford briquettes. I’m sure propane grills existed, but I don’t recall seeing many as a kid. Now the kitchen has literally moved outdoors with sinks, gas burners, refrigeration, and more. 2007 was a record setting year in the BBQ industry. 2008 looks to be even […]

I’ve mentioned before how much I love kitchen gadgets, so a gadget that cooks bacon was right up my alley.
Skeptical only mildly describes my thoughts when I first unwrapped the WowBacon Cooker. It looked like a plastic drink pitcher with snap-on lid. There was just no way this thing was going to produce edible cooked […]

My four year old son has been seeing the many TV infomercials running on the cartoon channels for pancake puffs. “Dad we need to get some of those!” I hear it every time. Doing some quick research (thanks to Google) I learned that they are a traditional Danish snack. Having a […]

And what the heck is he doing in there? Well, that’s a steam vent, more more commonly known as a “pie bird” or a “pie funnel”. It’s basically a 19th century baking tool that was invented to stop filled fruit and meat pies from bubbling over in the oven. Many of the […]

Parchment paper is something of an unsung hero, but it’s truly a culinary wonder tool. The food section of the LA Times sings its praises this week (see the full article here). When I worked in a professional kitchen, we used it all the time, but it’s only been in the last ten years […]

One of the problems with buying fresh herbs is that before you know it, they’re wilting and can’t be used anymore. Yes, there are ways to freeze them, which is good as long as you remember to do that before they expire on you. But now there may be another solution… the Herb […]

Every couple of years, I go through my kitchen cabinets and do a massive purge of my cookie pans.  Between getting beat up, bent, dinged, darkened or even rusted, I like to replace them and start anew.  All the better for a perfectly baked cookie, in my opinion. 
If you’re on the prowl for a new […]