My son gave me a banana slicer for Christmas. I didn't have the heart to tell him that it would be the most worthless space waster in my kitchen drawer.

I use the flats from cases of cat food (wellness cans) as "drawers" for spice jars - so easy. Aso I have a little spice lazy susan, but prefer the low flats (which I also use for condiments and smaller jars in the fridge so I can slide tehm in and out as well

Love these cooking topics, Leonard! Thanks

If you like cooking metric, you need a scale. I avoid translated cookbooks if I can, so how hard is it to get one of those scales with a bowl that fits the sale inside.

Also love my stick blender

Also I love those flat, plastic paddle-shaped Japanese ceramic-bladed "slicers" that can hang on a hook and it will slice nicely, like a mandoline.

Food processors are great for taters for latkes! I gave away a big food processor and would love a little FP

good lord,WNYC,you are morphing into the H&G channel,or food channel, yes,no? is the doo-wop revival,series far behind. or, is kc and the sunshine bands,greatest hits,perhaps in the cards ?

Re: Canned beans. They are usually loaded with salt. Additionally, they are often fully overcooked and if you add them to another recipe, they will overcook. They sometimes tastes like the can.

There's only one solution for spice storage, whether your kitchen is large or small. Go to an Indian grocer and buy the 'tiffin' containers they sell. These canisters are generally aluminum, about 9-12 inches in diameter and about 3-4 inches tall. In the standard spice canister there will be 6-9 individual stainless steel or aluminum canisters. These mini-canisters have no lid. Thus, after you take off the larger canister's outer lid, retrieving the little spoon that sits in the 1/2 inch high chamber between the outer and inner lid, you have access to 6-9 spices at a time. This is extremely handy when you need more than 2 spices at a time, as is typical for nearly all ethnic cuisines. I have three of these tiffin canisters, which stack neatly in my cupboard. I keep like spices with like, southwest spices in one canister, asian spices in another. Each can is labled on the outside with a piece of masking tape and a pen. This method is so efficient, there probably isn't an Indian cook alive who would trade her tiffin boxes for dozens of spice jars. And, as another benefit, spices keep fresh longer in the metal tins.

...scale, YES scale!

Alan,

Try Penzey's on line for spices. Excellent quality and price and you can buy them in bags which store smaller than jars.

...a six burner Garland with salamander broiler and a 12" char grill.

Essential.

speaking of spices, is there a good source (read cheap) in the city or web that you could recommend? Thank you.

re: spice organizing -- i love the expandable in-drawer organizer from the Container Store :) keeps most of my spices in alphabetical order, but with space around the edges for the weird sized items :)

Susan,
Standard Beef stew is GREAT! (Stew beef, cut up carots, onions, potatoes, splash of wine.

Even better:
Pulled Pork...cut in chunks a pork tenderloin (other cuts good, but tenderloin best,) lots of onion, a little garlic, mustard, and pour in your favorite BBQ sauce, plus a bottle of Heinz Chili sauce. Leave meat 1" above sauce, fish out meat when done, pull apart with 2 forks, dump back in.

When using a box grater for zesting, use a corn silk brush to remove the zest from all those little holes. Works like a charm!

I have a spaetzle macher, which I bought in Ulm (Einstein's birthplace, but also the town that spaetzle come from. You place it over a pot of boiling water, pour the batter into the container on top, and slide that back and forth across the pot.

...emersion blender changed my life.

I disagree w/Susan--my crockpot saved me from starving when I was working full time & in school, in 2 diff't. directions! I'd put the grains in the night before & cut up the veggies, then cook the grains overnight & put the veggies in the next morning, so the soup was ready when I got home from work & I'd eat hurriedly & rush off to class. I still use it to cook barley or rice & beans & add quicker-cooking ingredients later. It's great.

I am from India. In India, pressure cooking is routine in most households. Typically, we cook rice, potatoes and beans of various kinds in a pressure cooker. In addition to the speed, it also saves fuel. That might not seem too important, but with the ongoing energy crisis, if everyone turned to pressure-cooking, it would make a big difference to our dependence on fossil fuels.

Question: Where do you get all this stuff?
Sounds expensive, are there mom and pop places one can go to get all these items?

HALLELUJAH! Recipes should use grams & weight!

I am SO sick of food writers claiming "people aren't used to it." Give me a break. A good scale isn't expensive & makes for far more satisfying results in the kitchen. Here's to a "weighty" 2012!

FYI:

the word "panini" = "sandwiches".

plural.

oops. looks like we all need a bigger kitchen after all. off to buy my scale. i guess my bathroom scale can't double.

There are "many" other nonstick surfaces than Teflon? I'm only familiar with the new ceramic/silicone surfaces. These are too new, IMO, to know how effective their nonstick treatment is.

She mentioned not using canned beans, isn't this because of BPA?

You should be CAREFUL cooking beans in a pressure cooker. They can foam and clog the pressure relief valve!

How about peg boards for lack of space?

I have a collapsible salad spinner. It stores at about half the height of a regular one.

My pastry blender works fine as a whisk, takes up less space, and is much easier to clean.

I have a crock pot and have yet to find a good recipe that turns out well in it. So far it's only been useful for keeping large volumes of foodstuffs warm (such as apple cider). Any suggestions on use or good recipes?

A one-quart (4 cup) food processor will usually not come with a slicing/shredding disk, which is very useful. AFAIK, a 7-cup machine is the smallest that comes with that implement.

Also, Progressive makes a collapsible part-silicone salad spinner.

Mushroom brushes ? ? ?

Just rinse the little fungi and get on with it!

I just got a pizza stone and a pizza peel, and I'm loving it.

A one-quart (4 cup) food processor will usually not come with a slicing/shredding disk, which is very useful. AFAIK, a 7-cup machine is the smallest that comes with that implement.

I am a solo cook and have a little baby Cuisinart minichopper. I'd like to make smoothies. Do I need a blender? There's no room for another appliance in this kitchen.

Have you mentioned the mandoline? I have wanted to get one ever since my brief stint in professional kitchens. Any suggestions on an economical model?

Instand read thermometers are a must....

I have a mini food processor/mixer/blender by Russell Hobbs (?). It is a great size for a small apt.

I know it sounds silly:

Infrared thermometer = perfect, consistent, tall pancakes.

You definately need a kitchen aid stand mixer if you bake a lot.

Mom is 85 and somehow manages to use a single, 6" serrated dinner knife for EVERYTHING. She's a good cook, too. Years ago I bought her a chef's knife and she never used it. Amazing.

OK, sometimes she cheats and uses a potato peeler but, really, she uses a dinner knife for everything. It just shows that an artist is not limited by their tools!

I'd like to get a new stove/oven. What brands do you recommend? We do a lot of stir frying and love to cook pies. Are any electric units good?

Is it possible to ask your guest what she thinks of Mushroom brushes?? Thank you!

I couldn't agree more about the covered sauté pan. My roommate and I often make braises in the oven using one. The braise usually starts up top with a browning of chicken parts (thighs or quarters), then whatever veg is on hand (onions, mushrooms, carrots, celery). A quick deglaze with some wine usually provides enough liquid for the cooking. Then it's add back the chicken, cover and and into the oven for 45-60 minutes. The result is good warm food and a good warm kitchen. The resulting braise is usually so well flavored, it requires no seasoning. Herbage is option.

sorry if i missed it, but how many saute and/or skillets and pots are recommended?

I'm confused. I use my grater to get the zest off the peel. Am i missing something? Is a zester a more specialized device?

Follow-up on cleaning cast iron skillets w/o soap:

Use a couple of tablespoons of salt (kosher is best) and a tiny bit of water.
Scour with almost any pad or sponge.
Rinse, then set on a hot burner and wipe dry.

I've worked in the food biz and have a good kitchen knife at home, at it's my understanding that a steel will touch up the knife edge but will NOT sharpen it. To sharpen you need to use a stone. Everybody must get stone!!

Can you talk about how to season a wok?

Cooks Illustrated tested the method for seasoning cast iron described here: http://goo.gl/STfPg They said this method is superior to the other methods they tried.

could your guest please say something about pressure cookers? maybe even recommend one?

I second Meg over in CT (BTW, Little Feat playing ther next Tues, Meg.)
I bought two ceramic knives, a paring and a chef's. They are great, after a years work, sharl & work like new.

The other NECESSARY knoife is a clam knife. How can you live without a clam knife?

I swear by my Le Creuset Oval Dutch oven.
I use it for everything from roasting a chicken, making chili, baking a meatloaf, baking beef bourguignon.

I have a tiny kitchen (yes, they exist out of NYC) and multiple knives stored on a magnetic strip on the wall behind the kitchen door. I did this initially because it was out of a child's reach, but it's handy and I can't think of anything else that could be stored in this "space".

The new Cuisinart is a bigger challenge, takes up much more space than the old model.

Every cooking expert gives this advice about knives -- you only need a paring knife and a chef's knives. But no experts actually work with only two knives. Ms. Clark has 15 knives. If you look at Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian, she has a wallful. The only way you can have two knives is if you have culinary-school-level knife skills (including the ability to sharpen your own knives).

Can you comment on possible toxic surfaces such as certain non-stick surfaces, or aluminum and other metal pots and pans to be avoided.

Could you comment on ceramic knives? Have one and love the sharp blade.

I'm an ultra-minamalist when it comes to the kitchen. My Italian mother taught me to cook with a single plastic handled knife, a simple wooden cutting board, and a few good pots and pans. We over think cooking here in America and should spend our money and time in finding great ingredient and not multiple kitchen tools or fancy 8 burner stoves and marble countertops.

Hi! I really want a mandoline for slicing potatoes and other vegetables, but I'm bewildered by the range of brands and prices, etc. Is a cheap one ok or is it worth shelling out? Also, what about safety? Thanks!

Could you talk about ceramic knives? I have one and LOVE it for the sharp edge but I'm on my second one because they are delicate and I've broken two tips.

What does your guest think about the newer ceramic knives?

Use these every day, or often:
Chemex coffee carafe
cast-iron skillet (everything)
small digital scale (baking)
jelly-roll pans (roasting vegetables; baking)
parchment paper in half-sheet size (King Arthur) for roasting, baking, topping braised food (per Molly Stevens)
Eklund tongs (simple, effective)
Microplane graters
Stick blender
pyrex containers in all shapes and sizes for both cooking and storage

Big but worth the space: my beloved 23-year-old white KitchenAid mixer

Big and stored in the basement: panini maker, food processor, blender, mandoline, ice-cream maker

In kitchen but I forget to use them: small butane torch, pressure cooker