Since everyone is spending every waking moment in the kitchen, eating and cooking their way through Covid19, I thought it was high time I share my list of must-have kitchen gadgets.
I am pretty basic when it comes to my kitchen tools; they need to be practical, used regularly, and ideally, dishwasher-safe.
I think that, to be considered a good tool, it must add pleasure to the experience. Time in my kitchen is always a place I find solace. Now more than ever I am enjoying the art of cooking. My current source for recipe inspiration is the New York Times food site I get access to with my subscription. I swear to God, the recipes are so consistently easy and good, I have not felt the need to stray anywhere else these days. Sorry, Gwyneth.
Broccoli cheddar soup and chicken shawarma have been on rotation since we sheltered in place and I finally made bread from scratch, in my mom’s Le Cruset. The act of cooking is so therapeutic to me but also so rewarding. I love the way a home-cooked meal tastes almost as much as I love watching my family eat it.
Except for Mia. She likes nothing.
Anyway, this is my list of must-have kitchen gadgets. Many of these are in the dishwasher at the end of every single day and the others have their place and are deemed a necessity to me for their own nuanced functions that add ease to my cooking.
List of Must-Have Kitchen Gadgets
Unless you are new to these parts, you likely already know how much I worship my Lodge cast iron skillet. I cook almost everything with it. This tool offers versatility like no other in the kitchen and everything that is made in it tastes amazing. I love that I can start my day making a Dutch Baby for family breakfast and end with a whole roasted chicken for dinner, all in my cast iron skillet. My kitchen would not function without it.
What you have right here is another simple and effective kitchen gadget that gets used a whole lot more than one might think. For years, I used a wood citrus reamer until I decided to treat myself with a hand squeezer and also started to squeeze fresh citrus into the glass of an evening cocktail. It’s seamless and simple and one of the items in my dishwasher at the end of nearly every day. Lemons and citrus squeezers literally go hand-in-hand.
There is no other way to slice it, air fryers are fun! This tool is used to reheat things and warm up the frozen crap you would normally do in an oven. We love to air fry veggies and a whole array of fresh-cut french and sweet potato fries. The boys in our house are chicken wing-obsessed. I am going to put my neck out there and say air fryer wings are the best wings in town. Okay, a good sauce helps, but seriously, the air fryer is quick and easy and effortless to clean.
A friend gave me this handy gadget as a hostess gift many years ago and we have been best of friends ever since. There is nothing more irritating than pouring chopped veggies in a pot or pan and half of them not making it in because you don’t have a veggie scraper. That goes for herbs too. It’s safer than gathering your chopped parsley with the knife that you cut it with and it’s easy to store. If you are cooking with whole foods, this one is a must.
There is nothing worse than cooking with a dull knife. Apparently, there is nothing more dangerous too. Sharp knives are key. Back in the day, I would wrap my knives in the newspaper and bring them to the city to get sharpened but then I got this as a gift and never wrapped another knife again. A cook without a sharp knife is like an artist without a paintbrush and likely a couple of stitches. This nifty little knife sharpener fits nicely in my drawer and has eliminated any need to ever have to leave the house with my knives again.
For my entire life, I have been making bland stock from scratch and now I make instant stock that tastes like it has been slow cooking for days with my Instantpot. But that isn’t the only thing the Instantpot can do. From start to finish or sautee to pressure cook, most meals are done in minutes but taste like they have been cooking for hours. It is as easy to clean as it is to cook with and for those of us that feel like time isn’t something we have on our side, the Instantpot is nice to have on hand to make good meals fast.
If you have hard cheese in your fridge, you need this. Of course, that is not the only food item this product can zest. Lemons, nutmeg, ginger, chocolate, garlic…should I continue? I have had a plethora of cheese grating/zesters in my day. This one is the best. Its design makes it simple to use, creating the perfect zest.
We take our coffee drinks very seriously over here at TSP Headquarters as we prefer our espresso strong and our milk extra frothy. This handheld frother whips any kind of milk your heart desires (we love our oat milk honey and cinnamon lattes) to the perfect foamy consistency. You could buy a couple of coffees at Starbucks for the price of one of these and the result is what every coffee lover with extra foam desires. It really is the little things. In this case, a little handheld frother.
Three words. Absorbant. Reusable. Bio-degradable. They are paper towel replacers and totally multi-purposeful. I use them to clean everything from counters and stovetops to windows and mirrors. You can toss them in the wash with the rest of your towels and washcloths and lay them flat to air dry. I have a stack and get a fresh one out every couple of days. The Swedes are on to something with these cloths. They get the job done and when you use them you feel like you are contributing to the environment, in a good way.
This is a veggie chopping ninja and for those that tend to sob during the onion cutting portion of a recipe, you can dry your eyes. The OXO chopper is Lauren’s favorite gadget as it adds ease and joy to a process that can sometimes induce tears. To top it off, its a time saver and dishwasher safe. Check and chop.
- Manual Citrus Squeezer / 2. OXO Veggie Chopper / 3. Zulay Milk Frother / 4. Swedish Dishcloths / 5. Instant Vortex Air Fryer / 6. Cheese Grater /Zester / 7. Cutco Knife Sharpener / 8. Lodge Cast Iron Skillet / 9. Veggie Scraper / 10. / Instantpot
xo,
Michelle
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