Raindrops on Roses…
We’re going to take a break from my normal baby-food inspired blog and do something a little different this week. I was watching TV and saw a preview for Oprah’s program for the 45th Anniversary of The Sound of Music. I immediately started singing in my head “raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,” so today I thought I share with you a “few of my favorite things.” My favorite kitchen things, that is…
1) Microplane – my all time favorite cooking gadget. I use it several times a day. It’s what is called a rasp-style grater. Perfect for taking the zest off any citrus, but also wonderful for shaving paper-thin Parmesan cheese over spaghetti, whole nutmeg & cinnamon in oatmeal, or dark chocolate shavings over whip cream. Cost is around $15.00, and you can buy it most any kitchen store.
2) Hand-held citrus squeezer – I cook a lot with citrus. Fresh lemon juice goes in my homemade hummus and plenty of lime juice goes in my Thai curries. This gadget is easy: you cut the lemon in half, put it cut-side down facing the holes, and squeeze. Tons of juice comes out and the seeds stay in the holder. Note – most people make the mistake of putting the lemon in cut-side up to mirror the shape of the gadget, but you’ll find cut-side down yields even more juice. Cost is around $13.00, but you can sometimes find these at Ross or TJMaxx for $7.00.
3) Tramontina Tri-Ply Cookware – I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t an All-Clad girl, because I am, through and through. However, thanks to a Cook’s Illustrated recommendation, I found a fantastic alternative to All-Clad that costs ¼ of the price. Tramontina is a common value brand in stores, so look specifically for their “Tri-Ply” line. It has an identical composition to All-Clad: stainless steel on the cooking surface, aluminum core (for heat conduction), and magnetized stainless steel on the outside.
This is the cookware I use in the commercial kitchen to make the baby food and it’s fantastic. There’s one catch. It’s only (and I mean only) available at Wal-Mart. There are two sets: an 8 piece for $149 and a 10 piece for $249. Comparable All-Clad would be $800+ for the same pieces.
I could go on an on (because I have many more favorite kitchen gadgets), but these are my top three to start. What are your favorite cooking items? Feel free to leave a comment on this blog, or visit the Little City Kitchen Co. Facebook page.
I know many of you have been asking about the Fall/Winter cooking class schedule, so here it is. I have mostly Baby Food classes scheduled for the rest of this year since the Birth & Baby Fair is around the corner. Shout out to my new subscribers that found me through the B&B Fair workshops. I hope you’ll be able to join me for the hands-on cooking class at 3pm at the show.
And for all you adults, I did schedule a Holiday Appetizer class on Sunday, November 14th for those who are interested, and there more set for January as you’ll see. Happy Cooking!
