Indispensable Kitchen Gadgets

[Athena]

I am an egg eater myself and have the hard boil and soft boil down using the method that @JTMacc99 outlined. I have tried poaching many times and methods and they usually failed and looked ugly. It was probably that the eggs weren't fresh enough, but I'm honestly just going to have to get egg cups for poaching. I feel like a bit of a failure, but ah well.

[spiderpig]

1 hour ago, Athena said:

I am an egg eater myself and have the hard boil and soft boil down using the method that @JTMacc99 outlined. I have tried poaching many times and methods and they usually failed and looked ugly. It was probably that the eggs weren't fresh enough, but I'm honestly just going to have to get egg cups for poaching. I feel like a bit of a failure, but ah well.

That's OK Athena.  Maybe we can form a support group.

I feel like such a dolt being flummoxed by an egg.

[mansonlamps]

5 hours ago, Athena said:

I am an egg eater myself and have the hard boil and soft boil down using the method that @JTMacc99 outlined. I have tried poaching many times and methods and they usually failed and looked ugly. It was probably that the eggs weren't fresh enough, but I'm honestly just going to have to get egg cups for poaching. I feel like a bit of a failure, but ah well.

Foolproof egg poaching:  Heat a shallow pan of water to boiling.  Drop in two lids from Mason jars (you have to have enough water so lids are completely submerged).  Turn off stove and crack an egg into each Mason jar lid.  Cover and set timer for 4 minutes and 45 seconds.  Take off cover and lift out with large spatula.  Slide onto avocado toast (if you are me).  Perfection!  The whites are perfectly cooked and the yolks are hot, rich and creamy. 

[Bastet]

7 hours ago, Athena said:

I have tried poaching many times and methods and they usually failed and looked ugly. It was probably that the eggs weren't fresh enough

Possibly; that really does make a noticeable difference (to see if Julia Child was right, I once did an experiment with fresh eggs from the couple down the street who raise chickens and grocery store eggs).

Since I am pathetic enough to know Steel Magnolias verbatim, Clairee told Ouiser, "You know I love you more than my luggage."  I wish I had more affection for my luggage so I could steal that line.

Edited March 16, 2017 by Bastet

[Spunkygal]

2 hours ago, mansonlamps said:

Foolproof egg poaching:  Heat a shallow pan of water to boiling.  Drop in two lids from Mason jars (you have to have enough water so lids are completely submerged).  Turn off stove and crack an egg into each Mason jar lid.  Cover and set timer for 4 minutes and 45 seconds.  Take off cover and lift out with large spatula.  Slide onto avocado toast (if you are me).  Perfection!  The whites are perfectly cooked and the yolks are hot, rich and creamy. 

This is how I poach eggs. Sometimes I then plop the egg on salad lightly dressed with homemade mustard vinaigrette. Hmmm....sounds like tonight's dinner!

[annzeepark914]

53 minutes ago, Spunkygal said:

This is how I poach eggs. Sometimes I then plop the egg on salad lightly dressed with homemade mustard vinaigrette. Hmmm....sounds like tonight's dinner!

Gosh.  I've never done anything like that.  Sounds interesting.  Re: poaching...I read somewhere that you get the water boiling (with vinegar in it), start swirling it and then pour the eggs in, one by one.  The first time I did that, it worked. Perfect poached eggs and the whites weren't all over the place.  But every time since then, it's been a bit of a mess with those egg whites traveling all over the place.  Maybe I need the Krups egg cooker.  Does it do poached, soft boil and hard boil?  I could find room in my cabinets for one more item :>)

[General Days]

Hi, I just started lurking in this forum, but saw elsewhere that Williams Sonoma's 24 hour sale ends at midnight Pacific Time. 

[Qoass]

Okay, dumb question:  do you just use the Mason jar ring or do you need the lid part too?

[Spunkygal]

49 minutes ago, Qoass said:

Okay, dumb question:  do you just use the Mason jar ring or do you need the lid part too?

Not a dumb question! I use just the ring. Keep in mind you're doing this in a shallow pan and the ring is just to keep the egg in place. So if the pan is shallow enough, the egg can't escape the ring. But the ring must be submerged. Hope this helps. 

[Athena]

18 hours ago, mansonlamps said:

Foolproof egg poaching:  Heat a shallow pan of water to boiling.  Drop in two lids from Mason jars (you have to have enough water so lids are completely submerged).  Turn off stove and crack an egg into each Mason jar lid.  Cover and set timer for 4 minutes and 45 seconds.  Take off cover and lift out with large spatula.  Slide onto avocado toast (if you are me).  Perfection!  The whites are perfectly cooked and the yolks are hot, rich and creamy. 

I have tried this method once and the results weren't great. I cook eggs enough to do know their doneness, but the visuals didn't work out for me. As I said, I feel like a failure!

I will cry quietly in the corner with @spiderpig

[spiderpig]

My corner is always open to you, Athena!  We can chow down on my perfectly cooked Krups eggs. (BTW - what/who is that in your avatar?  So cute.)

[mansonlamps]

1 hour ago, Athena said:

I have tried this method once and the results weren't great. I cook eggs enough to do know their doneness, but the visuals didn't work out for me. As I said, I feel like a failure!

I will cry quietly in the corner with @spiderpig

Wow, that's too bad, mine have come out picture perfect every time.  I do spring for pasture raised eggs which have very high yolks, so maybe that's it?

[Athena]

13 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

My corner is always open to you, Athena!  We can chow down on my perfectly cooked Krups eggs. (BTW - what/who is that in your avatar?  So cute.)

Judy from Zootopia! See it!

 

2 minutes ago, mansonlamps said:

Wow, that's too bad, mine have come out picture perfect every time.  I do spring for pasture raised eggs which have very high yolks, so maybe that's it?

Yeah, as I mentioned before, it probably is that the eggs aren't as fresh or as high quality. I will definitely make a point of getting higher quality and fresh eggs. I think the mason jar ring method is the one I'd like to try again; I always have rings on hand. Do you use the smaller standard rings? I used the larger wide mouth ones so maybe that also contributed to some ugliness. I generally buy the wider jars for my preservers.

[JTMacc99]

1 hour ago, Athena said:

Judy from Zootopia! See it!

It is a GREAT movie. On Netlix now, I think.

[mansonlamps]

7 hours ago, Athena said:

Judy from Zootopia! See it!

 

Yeah, as I mentioned before, it probably is that the eggs aren't as fresh or as high quality. I will definitely make a point of getting higher quality and fresh eggs. I think the mason jar ring method is the one I'd like to try again; I always have rings on hand. Do you use the smaller standard rings? I used the larger wide mouth ones so maybe that also contributed to some ugliness. I generally buy the wider jars for my preservers.

I use the larger ones, though a friend uses the smaller ones so apparently both work.

[JTMacc99]

So, here's my new gadget(s):

Which then got these split chicken breasts:

Which got shredded and sauced (also pictured my new knife):

And fed to the boy as follows:

I bought some pork and a nice reasonably sized brisket this weekend. Just need the weather to heat up. I've never done brisket before and am excited to give it a shot.

(By the way, guess who figured out that there is an Imgur app for my phone, making the process of getting pictures to post here much, much lower effort.)

Edited March 20, 2017 by JTMacc99

[vavera4ka]

On ‎3‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 6:29 AM, spiderpig said:

Aw - we're on the west coast and the temp is in the 70s (though we're both from back east and grew up with snow up to our yingyang).

We love to torture our families over the Christmas/New Year's holidays with descriptions of our succulent barbecues.

lol I'm in Midwest now and the snow never stopped us from grilling. Well it never stopped my brother, as he is the grill master. I guess it helps that his grill is on a rather large balcony.

As for the egg discussion, I have bought the egg timer like this and it's been working marvelously. I love medium boiled eggs and after a few trials to see where exactly I need to stop to get that perfect butter consistency I now hit it every time.

I bought it for laughs for a friend. She tried it and kept raving about it so I went out and got one for myself lol

Edited March 20, 2017 by vavera4ka

[JTMacc99]

On 3/16/2017 at 9:49 AM, spiderpig said:

I've had one for years and it's more than paid for itself.  How many times have you gone searching through Zip-Lock bags in your freezer and asking yourself (in the words of the immortal George Carlin) "Is is meat or is it cake?"

My vacuum sealer came yesterday! (I'm on quite a run of gadget purchasing right now.) I had purchased a couple things, like the brisket I mentioned above, on Sunday and couldn't wait to get them sealed up and put in the freezer.  

[spiderpig]

Congratulations, and welcome to the club!  I think they're way cool, plus you don't have to manually squeeze the air out of a bag (which ultimately pops open anyway while you're rummaging around) to cram stuff in the freezer.

[NutMeg]

On 1/29/2017 at 11:47 PM, JTMacc99 said:

I forgot about this thread. Interestingly one of my goals today is to get an ice cream scooper that is between the two I own. I've gotten really used to using them to make quick work of meatballs and cookies and want to fill in the gap. 

If you golf, it's a lot like having one wedge you hit 90 yards and one you hit 125. Life would be a lot easier if you get one that goes 105-110. 

I'm the least kitchen gadget person you'll ever know (I still whisk everything by hand) but I DO have an ice scream scooper, and the idea of using it for making meatball is so brilliant and I never thought of that... Thank you, very much :) 

[Qoass]

I use an ice cream scoop to dispense muffin batter.  I also have a couple of those little scoops for drop and bake cookies.  Between those and my silicone mat, eating my feelings has become much faster and easier.

[Athena]

Does anyone have an Instant Pot? It seems to have blown up in my friend and FB friends pages lately. People on there have joked that it is akin to a cult following.

I do not have a slow cooker or a pressure cooker so I've been interested in getting more for that.

[biakbiak]

Just now, Athena said:

Does anyone have an Instant Pot? It seems to have blown up in my friend and FB friends pages lately. People on there have joked that it is akin to a cult following.

I do not have a slow cooker or a pressure cooker so I've been interested in getting more for that.

I just got one and I love it! Admittedly I got it for free because Amazon screwed up my sister's order and sent her two and the vendor didn't want to accept the return so Amazon told her to just keep both.

Its so easy to use and I have made three stews, rice and even hard boiled eggs (the process makes them easier to peel for some reason, still haven't used the slow cooker or yogurt making feature but I have only had it for a week and a half but my sister said both worked well.

I have both a slow cooker and a stove top pressure cooker but neither are programmable so that is also been a big plus in its favor and the price point is great for everything that it does.

[spiderpig]

56 minutes ago, Qoass said:

I use an ice cream scoop to dispense muffin batter.  I also have a couple of those little scoops for drop and bake cookies.  Between those and my silicone mat, eating my feelings has become much faster and easier.

Absolutely.  They come in different sizes, too, so you can use regular muffin/cupcake pans or the minis and get neat, uniform results.

I don't think I've ever used mine for ice cream - we eat it right out of the container!

[spiderpig]

1 hour ago, Qoass said:

I use an ice cream scoop to dispense muffin batter.  I also have a couple of those little scoops for drop and bake cookies.  Between those and my silicone mat, eating my feelings has become much faster and easier.

Absolutely.  They come in different sizes, too, so you can use regular muffin/cupcake pans or the minis and get neat, uniform results.

I don't think I've ever used mine for ice cream - we eat it right out of the container!

[spiderpig]

One word - Spiralizer.  I have a little manual one I haven't used yet, but if any of you have the KitchenAid attachment, do you actually use it?  Thinking of zucchini noodles.

[Wings]

12 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

One word - Spiralizer.  I have a little manual one I haven't used yet, but if any of you have the KitchenAid attachment, do you actually use it?  Thinking of zucchini noodles.

I just bought one but haven't used it yet.  I got it for zucchini noodles, too.  I love that vegetable and make pancakes with it often.  This will be a change.  

[DeLurker]

@JTMacc99 - Do you have a garlic roaster to go with your fancy new smoker?  Because I think that would be ab outstanding addition to your gadgets if you don't have one.

I was walking the Kook before dinner last night and could smell quite a few dinners being cooked on the grill.  It was quite intoxicating.  Then I remembered when we used to go visit a relative on Balboa Island and he would roast garlic - you could smell it blocks away!  It was always a lovely addition to a dish or appetizer that was so rewarding.

[JTMacc99]

1 hour ago, DeLurker said:

Do you have a garlic roaster to go with your fancy new smoker?  Because I think that would be ab outstanding addition to your gadgets if you don't have one.

I do! I also forget that I have it, especially since I gave up crusty bread as a very regular item in my diet last year, as schmearing it on a toasted piece of crusty bread was the preferred method of eating roasted garlic in my house.  I need to bring it back out and figure out some other things to do with it.  Mine looks like this one, although I think it came from Pampered Chef many years ago.

[Lovecat]

On 3/22/2017 at 0:07 PM, Athena said:

Does anyone have an Instant Pot? It seems to have blown up in my friend and FB friends pages lately. People on there have joked that it is akin to a cult following.

I do not have a slow cooker or a pressure cooker so I've been interested in getting more for that.

I do not, but I'm kind of dying for one.  I'm getting married in September and that bugger's going on the registry.  But.  September!  Seems so far away...

[DeLurker]

On 3/22/2017 at 11:07 AM, Athena said:

Does anyone have an Instant Pot? It seems to have blown up in my friend and FB friends pages lately. People on there have joked that it is akin to a cult following.

I do not have a slow cooker or a pressure cooker so I've been interested in getting more for that.

There were a few posts about the Instant Pot a page back.  I had never heard of it so that sent me off to do some research.  Generally pretty positive reviews, although it sounds like experience with a pressure cooker would help in understanding the adjustments you would need to make to recipes based on stove cooking.

I was torn - my kitchen is tiny so I have to be careful about adding another appliance to it.  Since I only own a slow-cooker, it isn't like it would replace 2 or 3 other appliances for me (I make rice in a pan, don't own a pressure cooker, don't make yogurt).

[theredhead77]

On 3/22/2017 at 9:07 AM, Athena said:

Does anyone have an Instant Pot? It seems to have blown up in my friend and FB friends pages lately. People on there have joked that it is akin to a cult following.

I do not have a slow cooker or a pressure cooker so I've been interested in getting more for that.

 

On 3/22/2017 at 9:18 AM, biakbiak said:

I just got one and I love it! Admittedly I got it for free because Amazon screwed up my sister's order and sent her two and the vendor didn't want to accept the return so Amazon told her to just keep both.

Its so easy to use and I have made three stews, rice and even hard boiled eggs (the process makes them easier to peel for some reason, still haven't used the slow cooker or yogurt making feature but I have only had it for a week and a half but my sister said both worked well.

I have both a slow cooker and a stove top pressure cooker but neither are programmable so that is also been a big plus in its favor and the price point is great for everything that it does.

I love my Instant Pot; it's a procrastinators dream!  Amazon has them on sale pretty frequently.

[mansonlamps]

On 3/23/2017 at 2:00 PM, JTMacc99 said:

I do! I also forget that I have it, especially since I gave up crusty bread as a very regular item in my diet last year, as schmearing it on a toasted piece of crusty bread was the preferred method of eating roasted garlic in my house.  I need to bring it back out and figure out some other things to do with it.  Mine looks like this one, although I think it came from Pampered Chef many years ago.

Although I adore gadgets and the garlic roaster works well, so does drizzling with a bit of oil and wrapping in foil.  I mean $30 is a tiny bit pricey for that single function.

[MargeGunderson]

Instapot owners: do you use your Instapot for hard boiling eggs? How well does it work? I've been contemplating  an egg cooker (I want a nice, hands-off, perfect-every-time egg experience) but also thinking about an Instapot for all kinds of cooking. Thoughts?

[biakbiak]

10 minutes ago, MargeGunderson said:

Instapot owners: do you use your Instapot for hard boiling eggs? How well does it work? I've been contemplating  an egg cooker (I want a nice, hands-off, perfect-every-time egg experience) but also thinking about an Instapot for all kinds of cooking. Thoughts?

I just made hardboiled eggs in the IP using this "recipe" so easy and they were perfect. Also, I don't understand why but it literally makes them peel so much easier than normal, my sister had the same experience, like the shell comes off almost completely intact. I can't wait to make deviled eggs at easter, 

[theredhead77]

I've used my IP for hard boiled eggs too and I'll "third" @biakbiak and their sisters experience with how easy it is to peel them. Added bonus, cooking themin the IP doesn't result in a egg smelling kitchen!

[DeLurker]

At some point my Mom bought a grater kitchen spoon (for cooking, not eating).  I use it all the time - the handiness of the grater has substantially increased the frequency of adding a bit of zest to a dish.

[chessiegal]

I came down with a stomach virus Tuesday afternoon, and after being up all night and 4 doses of Pepto Bismal,  was able to start eating yesterday. Last night, I pulled out my little pan that has cups for 4 eggs that you simmer over water. I used it to make 2 poached eggs with dry toast last night. Looks like tonight will be the same. About 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 minutes gives me perfect poached eggs every time.

[mansonlamps]

I know this is a tiny nitpick but those pans, to me, seem more like steamed eggs then poached eggs.  For some reason there is a difference. Poached eggs have in my opinion a much creamier yoke and a softer white.

[chessiegal]

18 minutes ago, mansonlamps said:

I know this is a tiny nitpick but those pans, to me, seem more like steamed eggs then poached eggs.  For some reason there is a difference. Poached eggs have in my opinion a much creamier yoke and a softer white.

You have to watch them and make sure it's simmering water, not boiling. It makes a difference,

[ariel]

I have an Instant Pot question.  What model do you like best?

Edited April 2, 2017 by ariel

[biakbiak]

24 minutes ago, ariel said:

I have an Instant Pot question.  What model do you like best?

Here is a breakdown of the IP models.

I have the Instant Duo, don't really think the Smart is worth the bump in price. Mine was free but I was looking into them before I got this and based on reviews thought the duo would be the best fit. 

Serious Eats rated other multicookers besides the IP.

[theredhead77]

19 hours ago, ariel said:

I have an Instant Pot question.  What model do you like best?

I also have a DUO; I didn't even research them. Amazon had them on a super-sale and it's the one all my friends said to purchase. It suits my needs just fine.

[ariel]

I'm impatiently wanting for the next Amazon super sale on the Instant Pot.

[Mellowyellow]

Airfryer! I've got a toddler who likes to eat at 4pm and I feel bad giving him leftovers so the airfryer is amazing for roasting a small portion of meat for him quickly!

It also dries fruit and bakes crumbles, cobblers and pies really quickly for a hot dessert without having to crank up the oven. Also great at Christmas or parties because you get extra oven space! LOOOOVE the airfryer! I have 2! 

[Sandman87]

A few simple gadgets that make life easier for me (links to examples):

Can strainer/colander - Perfect for draining liquid out of a normal sized can. Stick it in the top and hold it in place while you upend the can over the sink. Easy! And for short cans (tuna packed in oil or water for example), you can squeeze down on it to force more liquid out of the food. Quicker to clean than a regular strainer or colander, less accident prone than trying to use the lid from the can.

Microwave egg cooker - Eggs go in, cooked eggs come out in about a minute, lid keeps eggs from spattering. Scrambles, poaches, or makes mini omelets. Bonus points for the eggs being exactly the right size to put on an English muffin.

"Twist" garlic mincer - Drop in some cloves, give it a few twists. Instant fresh garlic, easy to clean, fits in the palm of your hand. The one I use is made of glass, but I'm sure it's available in plastic, steel, and anything else you'd want.

Food umbrellas - A gizmo that keeps bugs away from plates or platters of food, and folds up for storage. I have several of them in different sizes, since flies often get in through the swamp cooler in summertime.

[JTMacc99]

On 4/2/2017 at 4:39 PM, ariel said:

I'm impatiently wanting for the next Amazon super sale on the Instant Pot.

Let us know when it happens please. 

And I'm going to tack on the can strainer @Sandman87  That looks like a neat little tool I would definitely use. 

[ariel]

11 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

Let us know when it happens please. 

 

Yes, if anyone knows of an Instant Pot sale, please let us know.  The folks at Chowhound rave about it.  It has gone on sale at Amazon on black Friday in November.  I don't want to wait that long.

[Athena]

On 2017-05-03 at 6:50 AM, JTMacc99 said:

Let us know when it happens please. 

And I'm going to tack on the can strainer @Sandman87  That looks like a neat little tool I would definitely use. 

 

18 hours ago, ariel said:

Yes, if anyone knows of an Instant Pot sale, please let us know.  The folks at Chowhound rave about it.  It has gone on sale at Amazon on black Friday in November.  I don't want to wait that long.

 

On 2017-04-02 at 4:39 PM, ariel said:

I'm impatiently wanting for the next Amazon super sale on the Instant Pot.

 

You can use CamelCamelCamel to get price alerts and track prices on Amazon items. You can put items in your wishlist and it'll automatically check and send you emails about when the prices drop. You can select how much it drops, third party sellers or not, etc.

[Anela]

I've had an instant pot for a year now. I like it, it's definitely helpful. Sometimes I just like simmering things on the stove, though, or cooking something in the oven. I make a lot of soup in there, have made ribs, potatoes, and so on. I don't use it for boiled eggs, unless I'm following a potato salad recipe, that includes the eggs in the cooking of the potatoes. 

I love my cheap wide-mouth juicer, and my refurbished expensive blender. I don't use them often enough, but I do love them. My sister was here and said, "You have all this cool stuff, and you don't use it!!" I do, just not enough. No more chunky blended soups, or smoothies that aren't broken down enough.