How can a gadgets require a great deal of courage?
By giving one to the Accidental Locavore, or anyone else who cooks a lot.
We usually have what we like and can’t live without (and drawers full of rejects).
In the spirit of holiday-gift giving, here are my top 10 gadgets (including a new favorite cookbook).
You’d have to kill me before I’d let them out of my kitchen.
A lot of them are from GIR and although they’ve graciously sent them to me for review, I would go out and buy any one of them (or my new criteria–move them to France).
They come in a dozen colors, which will either make shopping easier or harder.
And yes, these gadgets bring me joy.
Top 10 Gadgets to Gift:
- Mini spatula from GIR. I use it at least once a day, generally more. You can find it hanging out in the dish drainer more often than in its handsome utensil holder my friend Ivan made for me.
- New ladle from GIR. This is a new item (but will be available for the holidays). It’s probably going to clear several lesser ladles from my house. That’s a good thing. It acts as a scraper while you ladling stuff so you can get every last drop out of the pot. Brilliant!
- Waiting to test the spoonula coming out with the ladle from GIR. Will it remove spatulas and spoons? I dunno, the big spoon from them is another thoughtfully designed piece and much used.
- Also new, the bottle stoppers. Designed not to add any height to the bottles, you can stick them in the fridge without major reorganization. They’re cute and totally leak-proof (I kept trying). Something you don’t think you need till you’ve got them.
- The reason I didn’t think I needed them was because we keep the undrunk wine (when there is some) in a carafe from Savino. It keeps the wine in good shape for about a week. The floaty thing stops the air from penetrating the wine.
- Silicone lids, also from GIR. Like the mini spatula, the round ones are in use almost every day. They act as a drain stopper when I want to thaw something or soak spinach. The bigger ones are lids for cooking, covering food in the fridge, or for heating something in the microwave.
- POURfect measuring spoons I initially mocked, but cannot live without! These may seem overly precious, but trust me you’ll toss all others that came before.
- Sous-vide machine, the slow cooker for the 21st One of the big advantages is that you can sous-vide when you have time and finish it off a couple of days later. My friend Zhu Zhu just made the most amazing caramelized carrots, starting them in the sous-vide machine first
- Fasta Pasta (life changing pasta cooker). Just trust me on this — it’s the best $15 you’ll spend.
- The cookbook? Made in India by Meera Sodha. My friend Rob recommended it and it’s been in heavy rotation ever since. It’s why I now make perfect basmati rice.
Happy Shopping! What looks most tempting to you?
