A Few of My Favorite Things

With no crisis underway or imminent disaster, I thought I would wax poetic about my favorite cooking tools. These are the can'tlivewithout items that I use almost every day:

• my Big Red Pot. This is an 8-quart, cast iron Mario Batali pot, white enamel inside and deep red outside. My gramma sent it to me shortly after Christmas, and I use it daily, and use it for everything. In the past two weeks alone it has perfectly cooked: oatmeal, roast beef, mashed potatoes, multiple soups, gravy, pasta, chili, and cheese sauce. I love it 'cause it can brown my meat, then simmer the soup or roast the cut. Tonight it's going to roast the ham, and then I can make the smoky ham and bean soup in it without wasting any of the crunchy baked-on hammy goodness. Added bonus - it weighs about 8 tons so I get a great upper body workout when I have to drain the potato water.
• my Lee Valley rasp. This one started out its life as a wood rasp, but some clever wife realised its true potential as one of the best kitchen accessories ever. Since it's so sharp, it perfectly grates parmesan cheese, chocolate, nuts, garlic, nutmeg, lemon zest... and it's stainless steel so a quick rinse gets rid of any smells, all ready to turn the next item into fine shavings. Doubles as a fingernail trimmer. Ouch.
• my German mandoline. Not the musical kind - although I have heard about a type of fresh pasta which is rolled thin, then laid on a stringed gadget like a guitar, then rolled over so the pasta all gets cut by the strings... no - my favorite mandoline is a lovely one from Germany with marvellously sharp, angled blades that make short work of julienned carrots or sliced veggies. Safe enough for my ten-year-old to slice the potatoes paper-thin for scalloped potatoes. This tool came from gramma, too!
• my Paderno pepper mill. Oooo I love to gawk at the Paderno line, but I almost never buy... my dear brother-in-law and his wife gave me this one for Christmas a few years back - or was it my birthday? Anyway, it now occupies a place-of-pride right beside my stove. Not the best place to store pepper, but I use it up pretty fast. I love this mill 'cause it's really really tall - like 13 inches - and a beautiful deep brown stained wood with a graceful elegance. It's not one of those globular Taj Mahal types. It grinds lots of pepper in a hurry - fine or coarse or anything in between. Gorgeous.

Yeah, I've got lots of other stuff that I like too - my weird canelloni shaped garlic peeler; my slow cooker; my Henckels knives... but nothing compares to those essentials listed above.

What I really really NEED is a really really GOOD peeler! I know this is a highly controversial subject - I know peelers and peeling methods are hotly debated... but I could use some advice and opinions. I've tried quite a few different ones - even an expensive Henckels, and none fit the bill. Too dull, weird angle, nasty handle, no pivot, odd sticking-out-bits - there are a lot of problems with all the peelers I've tried thus far. I know Jamie Oliver uses a U-shaped peeler, so I'll try that next...

I'm also working on a particular kitchen tool design, but I'm not telling. Can't have someone swipe my idea on me. But when it comes out, oh boy, everyone will want one. Everyone who makes candy or icing or fudge or melted chocolate, that is. No more hints! Don't even ask.

Well, the coffee is nearly ready. Man there's a lot of coffee around here these days! Now, my coffee perk is also a dear friend - can't even compare perked coffee to dull drip. But that's another story...