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Appliances/Electrics
Choose heavy-duty appliances with powerful motors. They work hard, don’t
stall out, and last a long time. For instance, I prefer blenders to food
processors for many jobs such as
pesto and pureeing soups, because
they give a smoother texture. Hand/wand blenders are great. You don’t
have to fuss moving a soup to a blender or food processor. On the other hand,
I find it hard to get a really smooth result. (But did you know they will
even whip skim milk to a froth?) As an old-fashioned guy, I still prefer
to shape loaves by hand, but bread machines are great for mixing and kneading
the dough while I work on something else. For mixers, you want a stand mixer
that’s a dependable workhorse, day in, day out. The good ones last for
generations. In juicers, I look for dependability and ease of
cleaning.
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Baker's Peel
These handled, wooden boards taper to a thin edge. They are indispensable
for placing and rearranging pizza and bread loaves in the oven directly on
top of your baking stone. Find them in specialty kitchenware
shops.
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Baking Dishes
I particularly like to use baking dishes like those made of heavy, glazed
cast iron that cook well and look great on the table, too.
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Blini fry pan
I have more of these small, round, black steel pans than I need for cooking.
I use them for cooking and serving individual portions such as my
Southern Italian
Ratatouille and potato gratin and my
Strawberry, Rhubarb, and
Red Banana Crostata. By Bourgeat. Look for them in specialty kitchenware
shops.
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Deep Fryers
If you like to deep fry at all, get one of these. They are safe — children
won’t accidentally knock over a pot of hot oil onto themselves. And
they maintain temperature automatically, giving you more consistent results.
The fryer I use on the show is by Maxim. You can find it in specialty kitchenware
shops or fine department stores.
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Earthenware crock
Keep your eyes open in antique shops as well as kitchenware and home accessory
shops for glazed earthenware crocks. They have all sorts of uses even if
you don't cure olives or tomatoes in them. On the other hand, having one
makes it more likely that you would.
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Electric Skillets
I learned to use one from my mom and I still like it for particular items
such as the Polpette of
Potato. They’re also great for cooking pancakes. Some of the new
ones, like the black oval one I use on the show, are so good looking you
can serve directly from them. This one is an oval roaster grill pan by Maxim.
Look for it in specialty kitchenware shops and fine department
stores.
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Garlic Peeler
This is my number one gift for garlic lovers. Don’t ask me how it works,
but it does, swiftly.
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Giant martini glass
To use this glass as a serving dish is so unexpected, it's sure to get your
guests talking. Available from George Bradley, Marin Flowers.com,
800.456.5669.
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Gnocchi boards
These are small, wooden, ridged paddles. In Italy, the paddles are sold as
gnocchi boards; in America, they are sold as butter paddles. You hold them
with one hand at about a 45° angle. With the thumb of your other hand,
press each piece of gnocchi dough gently against the paddle and down and
away. The gnocchi will curl around your thumb and the outside will be marked
with ridges. The ridges help the gnocchi cook evenly and the indent holds
the sauce.
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Grater, nutmeg
The flavor of freshly grated nutmeg can knock your socks off. A little goes
a long way, while the ground stuff in the supermarket is often a ghost of
the real thing. Nutmeg graters have tiny sharp teeth that bite into the hard
nutmegs.
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Grater, Parmesan cheese and citrus
zest
The best graters for Parmesan grate the cheese into a very fine dust like
the finest powder snow. Parmesan has a strong flavor and it’s expensive.
The grater makes the most of a precious ingredient. These graters work great
for citrus zest as well and their shape saves your knuckles.
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Grill plaques
Maybe I prefer grill plaques to pans because they are closer to what I’d
cook on in the restaurant. These heavy, cast-iron, rectangular, ridged plaques
fit right over the burners. They distribute heat evenly and you can use high
heat without worrying about warping. By Le Creuset. Look for them in specialty
kitchenware shops.
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Japanese turning slicer
This slicer from Benriner comes with three blades: miniscule, tiny, and fine.
It's great fun for making long spirals of vegetable julienne such as the
zucchini in Spaghettini Squared.
It's also great for cucumber and zucchini salads and for turning out potato
spirals to deep-fry on their own or to wrap around shrimp bound for the
grill.
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Kitchen Scissors
Did we all grow up with mothers who threatened us with our lives if we played
with their scissors? It’s not necessary any longer. These stay sharp
and have soft handles so they don’t chafe.
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Knives
A great knife may be relatively expensive but it is your most basic and most
often used tool. Good knives last for years and years. Once you buy them,
promise you’ll keep them sharp. Take knives out of the display case
and test them for balance and comfort. They should feel like an extension
of your hand.
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Lemon zester/stripper
This handy tool for cutting citrus zest is essential in the kitchen and the
bar.
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Mandoline/vegetable slicer
This handy tool does the fancy cutting for you — julienne (matchstick-sized
pieces) and paper thin slices for
"carpaccio" of vegetables such
as tomato or zucchini.
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Mixing bowl with grip
Hurrah. Somebody thought to put a solid grip on a mixing bowl. It will never
run away again, or tip over either. This shape is great to use as the top
half of a rough and ready double boiler.
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Pasta machine
There are simply not enough nonnas to teach us all how to roll out pasta
dough by hand, so we need pasta machines. I’m very attached to my hand-crank
model and use it for cracker dough as well as for pasta.
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Pastry scraper
If you like to make pastry or bread or
gnocchi, this tool will become
an extension of your body. It's solid and comfortable to hold.
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Pepper Mill
At the restaurant, we grind our pepper fresh each morning. At home, grind
it fresh each time you need pepper. Stepping up from pre-ground to freshly
ground pepper is the quickest way to improve the quality of your
cooking.
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Pestle from a cannonball
In my universe, hub caps can be serving platters so why not recycle cannonballs
for peaceful purposes. Available from Hacienda Hardware, St. Helena, CA,
94574. 707-963-8850.
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Pizza stone
I prefer a rectangular stone to a round, and leave it in my oven at all times.
Bread baked directly on the stone has a crisper crust than when baked in
a pan. The stone adds mass to the oven, too. The oven takes longer to preheat
but retains it better even when I open and close the door.
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Potato ricer
A potato ricer makes short work of turning cooked potatoes into piles of
soft, light fluff. Exactly what you need for great mashed potatoes and
gnocchi. A plunger forces
the potato through the holes of a basket. You don't even have to peel the
potatoes.
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Pots & pans
As a general rule, heavy is better. Heavy pans hold the heat and distribute
it evenly. For skillets and sauté pans, I prefer heavy-gauge aluminum
that doesn’t warp or burn when used over high heat. I like heavy, glazed
cast iron, too, especially for soups and stews. When it comes to stock pots
and pasta pots, I always buy them bigger than I think I need and choose ones
with inserts for cooking vegetables and pasta.
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Proofing baskets
The single, easiest way to make professional-looking loaves at home is to
use traditional, linen-lined proofing baskets. They are so handsome though
that you might use them for display. Available through the San Francisco
Baking Institute, 390 Swift Avenue, Suite 13, South San Francisco, CA 94080.
650.589.5784.
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Propane torch
If you love crème brulée, you’ll want a torch. It’s
the easiest way to get an evenly caramelized crunchy top. Ask in your local
hardware store for a propane torch. They cost about $20. One with a trigger
is the easiest to use. Others just need to be lit with a match.
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Riddling rack
These racks were used by Champagne and sparkling wine producers in the making
of their wine. The old hand-methods are being replaced by machine and these
great-looking pieces are becoming available in antique shops, especially
those that specialize in food- and wine-related antiques. They're a great
way to turn your current-drinking wine collection into an eye-catching display.
Available through The Butler & The Chef, 1011 25th St, San Francisco,
CA 94107. 415.642.6440.
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Small ring molds
I use these a lot from molding tomato and bread salad (panzanella) to cutting
ravioloni and molding desserts. They are simple rounds about an inch high
and about 4 inches across. They can be sold as cookie cutters, biscuit cutters,
and muffin molds. Look for them in specialty kitchenware shops. A set of
8 muffin molds (3 ¾-inch diameter hoops), item #465, can be purchased
for $7.95 plus shipping from King Arthur Flour’s catalogue,
800-827-6836.
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Square soup ladle
It's square, so it's a showpiece and fun to use, too. By Kuchenprofi.
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Stainless steel mixing spoons and related
tools
For so long it seemed there was nothing new in cook’s tools such as
spoons, strainers, and spatulas. Then suddenly they have all been redesigned
so they look better and work better, too. Look in specialty kitchenware shops
for the Rosle and OXO brands.
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Strainer, expandable
If you cook lots of pasta or other foods that need draining, this may become
your most frequently used cooking utensil. Its expandable arms allow it to
fit comfortably and securely on the sink rim. You won't have to worry about
tipping your colander over accidentally. Made by Norpro and available at
specialty kitchenware stores.
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Tongs
Cooks at my restaurants keep their tongs in holsters attached to their pants.
We use them all the time. The reason is they act as extensions of your fingers,
turning individual pieces of food, such as pieces of stew meat, without breaking
them or cutting into them and releasing their juices.
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Vegetable peelers
"You say potAto. I say poTAHto." Swivel, rigid, knife-shaped or wishbone-shaped.
Meanwhile, manufacturers have discovered ergonomics! These are comfortable
and stay sharp.
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Vita-Mix Super 5000
This machine is more powerful than anything else I’ve come across and
it’s a chameleon. It acts the role of a blender, a whole grain mill,
a mixer, and more — it’s awesome. Available by calling
800-848-2649.
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