Results tagged “Kitchen” from All Good Things

This, my friends and neighbors and ships at sea, is the only way to go when you're finicky about preparing meat -- whether in the kitchen or manning the barbecue. The Chef's Laser Probe Combo from Bonjour Products is the pro way to go, giving one instant temperature readings either externally or internally. Aim this beam of quantum energy at the surface of that tri-tip roast and get one temperature -- then swivel the little probe away from the hand-held marvel and insert into cooking sacred cow: Voila! You have a fussless, mussless, real-time read of what those beef molecules are up to.

Bakers will find this invaluable as well. Given the vagaries of oven thermostats, it's nice to be able to pre-heat and then check the accuracy of your instrument panel before sending that apple pie to its date with destiny. I use mine with that groovy outdoor pizza oven made by Forno Bravo to tell when it's time to slide those delicate little pies onto the stone floor for a brief spell.

This little sonofagun offers a pistol grip, laser target aim, instant readout and backlit display. All that and a range from -76 to 932 degrees Fahrenheit, powered by a mere couple of AA batteries. Will miracles never cease? Does Satan have one to make sure sinners are getting their just desserts? I'm putting that on my Xmas list for him....

I approached the demo table at a trade show recently with a healthy dose of skepticism: the BevWizard Wine Smoother could reputedly turn a glass of humble Two-Buck Chuck into a 1966 Chateau de Plateau by simply pouring the rotgut through the twist-on device. Inside its modest plastic shell, a high intensity magnetic field would "alter the structure of the tannins" to yield a softer and silkier "mouthfeel." Er, I don't know nuttin' 'bout tannins and magnets, but a before and after tasting, with and without the Smoother, was a Cheapskate Epiphany of the highest order! Hoodoo or science, this little badboy actually worked!

Next up was a hit of Jack Daniel's, which I have been known to occasionally imbibe with a healthy dose of Coke poured over it and a passel of ice cubes. The kindly booze doctor twisted on the Spirits Smoother and poured me a straight shot. Indeed it was smooth as a newborn baby's butt with a silky warm finish, and no sting! Off went the aerator/tannin blaster and another shot was poured. One sip of that and I literally looked for a place to discharge the foul concoction, like it was some corn whiskey brewed in a Tennessee outhouse!

This device, at around $30 bucks, could introduce a New Age of Alcoholism in this fine nation of ours. People who once eschewed the devil's drink will now hold out their cocktail glasses like supplicants, begging for a wee hit of No-Name, grocery store bourbon or K-Mart cognac. The Spirits Smoother works best with brown spirits, and the Wine Smoother young, tannic reds. Whatever your poison, the road to ruin just became a far less painful experience. Bottoms up, sinners!

Manufacturers of every stripe are clamoring to get on the eco-friendly bandwagon, from flat-screens to laptops to vegan shoes. Enter Cuisinart with a guiltless entry in the pots and pans aisle: the Green Gourmet cookware line that is nonstick and Teflon-free to boot. No PTFE, no PFOA, just a ceramic-based surface that will have you cutting back on oil without generating those toxic fumes that can turn an omelette into a weapon of gas destruction. Even the handles are made from 70% recycled stainless steel -- and they stay cool to the touch.

GreenGourmet's hard anodized construction promotes high heat conductivity, meaning less energy is required to ratchet the pans up to the desired temperature -- so you save on the energy bill cooking at medium heat, and also spare the environment a few fluorocarbons. But wait (as Ron Popeil likes to say), there's more! These marvels of modern engineering don't just claim to be nonstick -- they really are. Thus, less hassle while cooking, less water consumption when it's time to clean up. And they're happy in the oven up to 500º. Very handy, that.

Next time you're frying up some sweet Kobe burgers for dinner, you needn't feel quite as guilty for the footprint left at some meat processing plant in Iowa. But GreenGourmet pans are not just a karma reduction tool -- they actually perform in the kitchen, which is the true bottom line. Buy them a pan at a time at Bed Bath & Beyond, or treat yourself to the 12-piece set for $249.00 (Footnote: even the packaging is made from 100% recycled materials, and is printed with soy ink -- that's going the extra mile). See you at the store, Al Gore!

Readers of this humble blah-blah-blog already get the idea I spend way too much time in the kitchen, love shiny things that go whirrrrrrr and am a sucker for gizmos and geegaws alike. So imagine my utter, near-erotic glee upon cooking my first meal with Le Creuset's new 12-piece stainless steel cookware, pans so silvery smooth you could style your hair in the frying pan while sauteéing the garlic. Not recommended, but within the realm of possibility.

Beyond hair care, what this set has to offer is flawless heat conductivity, ensuring even cooking from stem to stern. The three-ply steel construction features a pure aluminum
core and a magnetized exterior that works well on any kind of surface, including induction. And Food Network junkies will recall being told that stainless steel doesn't react with any types of food, including acids. Those used to cooking with aluminum or cast iron may have noticed lemon juice and tomatoes don't take well to those pans. Metallic taste, discoloration -- tsk tsk tsk...

The handles stay cool during cooking and there are convenient little lines and numerals inside the saucepans and casseroles for accurate measuring. Once the meal is consumed and the family is abed, pop these silver warriors in the dishwasher and settle in for a postprandial nip. Le Creuset is old-school in the best possible sense of that tiresome phrase -- 80 years of experience in forging enameled, cast-iron cookware. These star-spangled beauties will be the class of your kitchen, whether you're cooking burgers or beef bourguignon. Allez!!