What’s cooking? Are you crazy? Who has time to cook when we have shopping to do?!
Who is more deserving than the person who, every night during the COVID lockdown, still figured out what to have for dinner? When life was one long Zoom call in your sweatpants, who made the effort to put something new and different in front of you to eat? That person deserves a little nod, and maybe a little something under the tree. Besides, it’s that time of year when it’s way more satisfying to give than to receive.
With all this in mind, the Kitchen Goddess has had her eye out for little bits of specialness all year long. Some of these are just fun, and some are outright helpful.
Kitchen Goddess note: The KG, being a paragon of commercial virtue, has not received so much as a coupon for $1 off in exchange for these recommendations.
Stocking Stuffers
In a random moment of wandering around my office, I recently discovered a copy of Gear for Your Kitchen, by Alton Brown. I already have all I need, I said to myself, so I was about to put it in the donation pile when I realized I’d never actually read it. Leafing through a few pages, I found all sorts of fun information, much of it overly geeky – like why certain materials are better for certain types of dishes and pots and pans – but then that’s also who I am, so I liked that. But Mr. Brown also coughed up several items not normally found in the kitchen, but that actually make great kitchen tools. So surprise the foodie in your life with one of these.
Tailor’s Sewing Gauge – This little gizmo, used by tailors for measuring hems, is ideal for measuring the thickness of roll-out dough, or for revealing when the sauce in a pan has been reduced by one-third. You can get this package of two for $7.49 from amazon.com. Or the Dritz sewing gauge (like the one on the right) – the one I remember from 8th grade Homemaking class – is $5.78 for just the one.
Box Cutter/Utility Knife (this one $6.79 at Staples) – Yes, it’s excellent at opening packages, but because it can be set at a specific depth, it’s also great for scoring a ham, cutting puff pastry dough, and scoring bread dough before baking or – according to the author – scoring calamari so it won’t curl while cooking. The KG has never cooked calamari, but now that I have my utility knife, who knows?
Mortar Trowel ($7.98 at Lowe’s) – When you’ve finished spackling the bathroom, this is just the tool you need for serving pie. The offset hilt makes it much easier to dig down into that pie tin, and the blade itself is thin and flexible enough to slide right under a slice. Yet it’s strong enough to lift the pie out of the tin. The word according to Alton Brown...
Rubber No-skid Shelf Liner (rolls range from $9.99 to $18.00 at Bed Bath & Beyond or your local hardware or kitchen store) – Does it drive you crazy when your cutting boards slide around on your kitchen counter? It’s also dangerous when you have a knife in your hand. A piece of this shelf liner can stabilize those boards and be put into the dishwasher when you’re done. And you can cut it to be just the right size for your boards. I have both the mesh style, shown here, and the clear solid style. Both work for this task.
Zyliss Pizza Cutter ($14.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond) – This one was an eye-opener for the Kitchen Goddess. Safer than your run-of-the-mill pizza wheel, and easier to control – no more of those off-shape slices, unless you want them that way. And it comes apart for the dishwasher.
Not Cheap, but Less Than $30
You may have forgotten the Kitchen Goddess’s paean to her Honing Steel last year. After all, the COVID-19 virus was raising its ugly head, so who could think about keeping your knives in shape? But judicious use of a honing steel will actually prolong the lives of your knives, and reduce the need to get them sharpened. Look for a steel that’s at least 1 inch longer than your longest knife. (Not good for serrated knives, but I can’t solve all your problems.) The one shown here is a 9-inch Honing Steel by Wüsthof, who also makes excellent knives. It’s $20 at Faraday’s Kitchen Store or amazon.com or Crate and Barrel.
The Kitchen Goddess thinks salt shakers are so 20th century. Instead, she keeps a small white dish of salt near the stove top, where she can grab a pinch or a teaspoon of salt to toss into whatever soup or other dish she’s making. She recently spotted a darling glass-and-steel salt server that may actually go on her wish list to Santa. It’s the RSVP Endurance Salt Server, and it’s $25.18 at amazon.com, $23.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond. (KG uses the pinch method, so she’ll probably ditch the tiny spoon.)
If you’re sufficiently intrigued by the suggestions I gleaned from Alton Jones’s book, you might just make a gift of the book itself. Alton Brown’s Gear for Your Kitchen is actually a fun read, as it gives Mr. Brown’s quirky, slightly snarky sense of humor free rein. Lots of good, practical information about which tools work and which don’t, small bites of culinary history and manufacturing history, and the occasional recipe. ($19.67 in hardcover from amazon.com, $16.11 in paperback)
Real Food
Who spends crazy money on special salt and pepper? I do. And I recognize that not many people will buy these sorts of ingredients for themselves. But if you got them as a gift,... Well, let’s just say that there’s something exciting about sprinkling an exotic ingredient into your food. Here are three of the Kitchen Goddess’s favorites:
■ Wynad Peppercorns –
Wynad peppercorns are grown using organic methods in the Wynad district of Kerala, India, an area known for the some of the best peppercorns in the world. If you can manage a side-by-side comparison, you’ll notice that these peppercorns are significantly larger than your standard grocery peppercorns. That’s because they are left on the vine to fully ripen and turn red, before being hand-harvested and sun-dried. Most peppercorns are harvested when green, so Wynad berries are larger and spicier because of this extended ripening time. The fragrance is rich and floral with a mounting full heat. The package is vacuum-sealed to preserve flavor and aroma. (75 grams are $16.99 from amazon.com)
If you have ever watched the Salt segment from the Netflix series based on Samin Nosrat’s best seller, Salt Fat Acid Heat, you will likely find yourself mesmerized by the author’s journey to Japan, where she explores the ancient and laborious hands-on method of harvesting this sea salt, from seaweed. According to the company’s website (oishisojapan.com), “Amabito no Moshio is made using the best local ingredients and a thoughtful process combining old and new methods. The seawater comes from Kenmin no Hama Beach next to the salt house. Facing out to a broad open expanse of the Seto Inland Sea, the beach is one of the purest sources of the sea's famously rich brine.”
If Samin Nosrat and the reviewers on amazon are to be believed, the seaweed imparts a big umami hit, and lots of minerals. The grain is fairly small, and because there’s a moistness to it, it’s better used from a salt server like the one listed earlier in this post.
The Kitchen Goddess will confess that she has not yet opened hers, having fallen in love with the darling linen bag it comes in, that just radiates “special.” And she spends a lot of time saying, “Amabito No Moshio,” in case she ever gets to Japan. Whatever. Amazon reviewers claim that it’s fabulous on all sorts of foods, but especially cooked fish and sushi. Having watched the Netflix segment, I believe them.
■ Truffle & Salt by Casina Rossa (3.5 ounces for $20.95 on amazon.com, although I got mine at Murray’s Cheeses in NYC) --
Yes, it’s expensive for such a small jar, but you don’t put it on everything and you don’t need a lot. The heady, aromatic blend of Italian black truffle and sea salt is amazing on many pasta dishes, and anything with mushrooms or anything to which you might add mushrooms. I have kept mine well closed and in the dark, and the flavor has lasted two years. Amazon reviewers say it’s the most concentrated of the truffle salts they’ve tasted, using words like “transformative,” “divine,” and “addictive.” Would the KG lie to you?
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While you are shopping, you might also consider the enormous number of people who are suffering – from a lack of food, housing, warm clothing... I’m especially fond of Feed America, the Central Texas Food Bank, and José Andrés’s World Central Kitchen. But there are so many others doing good work, and all could use your help.
And a happy and healthy holiday season to you all!
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