I have/had three:
1) The best knife ever. a 10" henckels chef's knife. I bought it at Macy's in San Francisco and the salesperson insulted me when I was purchasing it by telling me just before she rang it up that "this item isn't on sale, you know." I bought it despite the fact that I was a poor student and then I chopped her up into little bits.
2) The Garlic Peeler. Amazing little rubber tube that you slip whole cloves of garlic into and then push and roll on a counter and in just a few short seconds the garlic is peeled and ready for chopping. a rare miracle. Every time I use it I think- "I have to tell the folks at Digs about this."
3) I used to have the Pope Opener. A bottle opener that had a image of the Pope on it that I bought outside the vatican when I was traveling years ago. My ex-bf liked it too much- he would carry it around and say "May I pope that open for you?" We split up, I got the cat and he got the pope. a fair trade.

I got a set of Le Cruset spatulas for Christmas this year. They are incredible! They have a temp barrier of like 800 degrees so they can't melt. And they're red, my fave color.

Kitchen tools I love:
1)The vintage 50s Waring chrome blender we snagged at a recent estate sale for $20(!). It rocks the booty ... instant pulverizing, unlike our old crappy plastic-parts blender. I still like that all stainless steel one at Williams Sonoma though.
2)My kitchen aid mixer for those rare occasions when I bake
3)The chrome mini food processor my bros. bought me last x-mas ... it's proven mighty useful for making pesto, hummus, tapenade and the like.
4)My vegetable peeler with the big rubber grip -- so much better than those crappy metal grip ones we always used in my house growing up
5)Olive wood spatula for sauteing (I love wooden spoons too amanda!)

I love our kettle. It's really plain looking, but hot damn does it boil water fast!

My other fav is my awesome rubber handled veggie peeler. Yeefan, so much better than the mom's crappy metal ones that eventually start rusting.

And I love OXO gadgets ... great handles make everything easier.

Vegetable/Rice steamer ... no more burnt rice and ruined pans. Plus, fast, healthy veggies and easy to clean up mess!

We have this huge pair of tongs with white rubbery handles that end up being used all the time too.

I love my blender--iced cappuccinos and fruit shakes galore.

I love wooden spoons too. My mom has a little collection.

We both love old silver spoons too. She picks them up at garage sales & the like & keeps them in a cute pitcher on the counter. I mean, how many times do you need a spoon? Lots more than other things! Just makes sense. I ate my breakfast today with a spoon she filched from her first (furnished) apt. cos she loved it so much.

I am firmly convinced that iced tea tastes better when stirred with an antique spoon.

I would love some of those old silver iced tea spoon/straw thingys. Those are cool.

They're starting to get really inexpensive (if under a hundred is inexpensive). My Mom (and Grandmother) had one with all of these weird attachments, so I learned to bake with one, too.

My favorite one is my zester. Dunno why. It's silly, but I love zesting things.

Stop looking at me like that.

(I am in no way suggesting that you 'zest ' the darn dog. I like animals, really I do.)

quote:

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Originally posted by amandafaith:
zester. hmmm. that's a fun word. zester. zeeester. Kinda like yowza. zester!

Sorry, I really have nothing relevant to say. It's late and I'd rather say zester over and over than write a paper.

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Zester. Zes-ter. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzester.

ZZzzzzzzzzzzzeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssstttttaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!

You're right--that's a whole hell of a lot more fun than writing my dissertation! (due in four days)

SB: Zesting is easy. Gentle strokes. Don't go too crazy or you'll end up with the bitter white stuff.

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Gentle strokes. Don't go too crazy or you'll end up with the bitter white stuff.

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yes. It's his home.

Food onomatopoeia thread fro you, my boy!

Umm... was it amandafaith whose mother had the apple slicer? That thing used to be famous in our house. It was called the ah-hai! Like a kind of karate chop sound? Hey, don't ask. we were kids and my father has the mind of an english schoolboy. (epi - please back me up on that one!) It was a big treat if dad would ah-hai an apple for us.

Jello's cousin and aunt gave us this rad apple corer (OXO) that they raved about. True to form, that thing comes out quite often--for just coring to eat and to make baked apples. etc.

quote:

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Originally posted by SmallBladder:
really, epi--you must get your mind out of the gutter.

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LOLOLOLOL

( I referring to the gentle strokes comment but this thing left that part out)

I also love the rice cooker, perfect rice that you don't have to apy attention to.

quote:

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Originally posted by giamaria:
Spoon me, baby!!

I love wooden spoons too. My mom has a little collection.

We both love old silver spoons too. She picks them up at garage sales & the like & keeps them in a cute pitcher on the counter. I mean, how many times do you need a spoon? Lots more than other things! Just makes sense. I ate my breakfast today with a spoon she filched from her first (furnished) apt. cos she loved it so much.

I am firmly convinced that iced tea tastes better when stirred with an antique spoon.

I would love some of those old silver iced tea spoon/straw thingys. Those are cool.

I have this great spatula type thing that was a random give-away from some farm implement store (the name printed on it, of course! all about class, my friends.) from my grandma's litte town. It's the best!!! my old roomie almost stole it.

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They're like maracas, except upside-down and filled with salt and pepper!

My favorite thing about them is how absolutely easy it is to adjust the coarseness of the grinding. They've got this little dial that adjusts the grind rather than having to guess whether or not you've screwed the top on tightly enough or not and then having it fall off because you wanted a nice coarse grind.

And my Carmen Miranda routine has improved by leaps and bounds

quote:

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Originally posted by SmallBladder:
this is so immature, but I could amuse myself for hours saying "Salt Ball" over and over again.

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I just got fired for staring at my computer screen, saying "Salt Ball" and giggling like a little girl for half an hour.

Emmalola, I won't have you disparaging Pepper Ball. He reigns over my table like a benevolent king--except he's inanimate, plastic, and filled with pepper.

Be that as it may, the majesty with which he dispenses pepper either finely ground or rough is awe-inspiring. His touch heals the scrofula of blandness and his presence banishes from this realm heretical vapidity.