Kitchen Gadgets - Oxo Good Grips Pastry Scraper (doubles as a food scoop)

This Oxo Good Grips pastry scraper is one of those tools in the kitchen that you'll use time and time again. Not only does it work fabulously to scrape up dough after you've made pie or bread, but its sharp edge helps to cut into that dough.








Plus, it also doubles as a handy food scoop - once you've chopped herbs, veggies or meat - you can use it to scrape up the food and get it into the bowl or pot! I've never regretted buying anything from Oxo Good Grips - love that brand.

Chef'n Citrus Zester - Clever Design

Another clever Chef'n product, this time a handy little zester that fits perfectly in the palm of your hand. The little container catches all the bits of zest as you go, making it so easy to use. And there's no clean up.

Such a smart design on this one. Comes in cute citrus inspired colors: lime green, orange, and lemon yellow.

Kitchen Gadgets - A Great Knife Sharpener for under $10 (Accusharp)

Those beautiful kitchen knives you have don't seem quite so lovely when they get dull. Once in a while, you need to pull out this handy knife sharpener from Accusharp, which gets rave reviews from users! For under $10, you can get all of your knives nice and sharp again, good as new. Just sharpen your knives once or twice a year, and you should be good to go...to chop, slice, dice, and julienne your way to culinary creativeness.





(Don't forget that every time you use your knife you should use a honing steel. Honing doesn't sharpen the knives or remove any metal from the edges, but it works to sort of realign the edge of the knife, giving you a more precise cut again. Hone every time you use the knife, and sharpen your knives only up to a few times a year.)

Kitchen Gadgets - Highly Rated Vacuvin Pineapple Slicer

No more messy situations when you're trying to get into that spiny, spiky pineapple! Vacuvin's pineapple slicer makes it a breeze. Just slice off the top of the pineapple, then place the pineapple slicer at the top and screw it down into the pineapple.







The results? Beautiful, sliced pineapple - minus the hard inner core, and all the tough outer stuff. Delicious pineapple in just moments! This gadget is very highly rated. Read all the rave reviews by clicking on the link above.

Le Creuset Cool Tool Handle Sleeve - Keeps Pots and Pans' Handles Cool

Ahhhh, Le Creuset. You'll never catch me saying anything bad about this beautiful cookware. It cooks beautifully, is a perfect partner in slow cooked favorites like soups, stews and chilis. But, beyond that it looks exquisite - pretty enough to keep out on the stove anytime!






Le Creuset has a nifty tool to keep the long handles on any of your cookware cool enough to handle - the Cool Tool Handle sleeve, made of durable silicone. Comes in a variety of colors, and will work on Le Creuset skillets and grill pans. Easily slips over the long handle, to allow you to grab even a hot pan handle with ease. A top notch gadget for any kitchen. Would we expect any less from Le Creuset?

Kitchen Gadgets -What is a Mezzaluna?

Want an easy way to chop, chop, chop those herbs? What you need is a mezzaluna! Basically a dual bladed rounded knife with handles on either end, a mezzaluna makes chopping even piles of herbs a breeze. You might've seen Nigella Lawson (or other famous Food Network chefts) chop herbs this way.

Need a fun and unique gift for your favorite foodie? (Yes, that can include yourself! We all need to treat ourselves once in a while, right?) A mezzaluna might very nicely fit the bill...Check out this classic version I found for under $10:






A rounded-middle chopping board that is especially designed for use with a mezzaluna makes chopping herbs and garlic all the easier! This one is by Nigella Lawson, who (like I mentioned before) I've often seen on Food Network using a mezzaluna.







And, pizza lovers - here's an oversized mezzaluna just for slicing your favorite cheesey food! Just roll the mezzaluna a few times over the pizza, and voila! Perfect slices, all ready to pick up and chomp down on.

Kitchen Gadgets - Trudeau Pot Clip Spoon Holder

Sometimes the greatest gadgets are the simplest ones, the ones you wonder: "Why on earth didn't I ever think of that?"







This handy gizmo by Trudeau is one of those gadgets. This handy little pot clip attaches easily to the side of any pot or pan, and securely holds your wooden spoon (or other utensil) in place over the pot, allowing any drips to drop right back inside the cooking pot. A fantastic gadget that really works! And prevents a lot of stovetop clean-up later on...

Kitchen Gadgets - Easy Jar Openers

Let's face it - there are a lot of people out there who have a very difficult time opening jars. Maybe (like me!) you just don't have big, strong hands. Or, maybe arthritis has set into your hands, and makes it very difficult to ease open jars anymore.

Jar openers are a very popular and helpful kitchen gadget - and they make a very thoughtful gift for a friend with arthritis. Jar openers come in a variety of styles, but I've chosen two of my favorites...

1. The JarKey or JarPop jar opener -

I've seen both of these brands and the concept is pretty much exactly the same. The Jar Key or Jar Pop basically pops open the seal of the jar, making it a breeze to open! These are bestsellers in kitchen shops everywhere, because these work so well! (We had one customer in one day and he bought up the rest of our stock - about six of them, I believe...because he wanted to give them as gifts to all of his friends.) And the current price of $3.49 is unbeatable.

2. Easi Twist Jar Opener


This style basically allows you to get a good grip on the jar lid, thus allowing you to remove the lid without such a struggle. Also popular are little grippy pads that you can find at hardware stores, that basically do the same thing - give you a real grip on the lid, which is often the reason why we can't remove the jar lid in the first place.

Mario Batali Utensils - Especially the Spoon Spatula

I love my new spoon/spatula by Mario Batali. It nestles into my hand just perfectly, is heavy duty enough for whipping up doughs, and is stain resistant (and heat resistant to 500 degrees!) And the neat edges scrape a bowl out perfectly, getting all the batter into the baking dish. Except for those bits you leave there - by mistake of course, and then just HAVE to lick off so you don't waste any.






I find I grab this lovely spoon/spatula all the time now...and yes, the lovely orange color doesn't hurt one bit. Having nice LOOKING utensils seems to make cooking that much more enjoyable. And this one cleans up beautifully in the dishwasher. Hurray!

Must Haves for Grocery Shopping - Reisenthel Bags

A well stocked kitchen these days has a good assortment of durable, re-usable grocery bags or sacks to haul with you on your supermarket shopping adventures. I've discovered a new favorite - Reisenthel bags!

Reisenthel has an extensive line of bags that are easy to roll up and carry in a color coordinated little pouch. Perfect for popping in your purse and keeping on hand whenever you go out shopping...

Or -- how about one of these adorable shopping baskets? Very well designed, sturdy and ready to grab and go on your way to the local farmer's market, these gorgeous baskets will become a mainstay in your home. (Or, just keep one or two in the back of the car. You're ready for shopping any time!)

Just look at some of the fun designs...

The Garlic Chop - Garlic Mincing and Chopping Made Easy - Kitchen Gadgets

Oh, I love a good chunk of garlic. Really - I'm one of those people who seriously doesn't mind when people around me smell like garlic, in fact - it's one of those utopia smells for me! If you're a garlic fiend too, then easing garlic preparation is a must. One of my coworkers insists upon an new garlic chopping gadget called, appropriately, the Garlic Chop:






Pop in peeled cloves of garlic, twist the gadget a few times (more if you want finely minced garlic) and voila - gorgeously chopped garlic, ready to use in all of your favorite, garlic-filled recipes. Hurray! Fresh garlic made simple at last.

A Pepper Mill with Serious Attitude

You think YOU have a big pepper mill? Does YOUR pepper grinder fill you with pride? Well, check this out...I couldn't resist this one - a pepper mill a full 3 FEET TALL!

Kitchen Gadgets - Butter Warmers for Dipping Lobster and Crab

Oh, seafood lovers - I'm beckoning you with a beguiling odor: melted butter. If you love nothing more than fresh lobster or crab, you have no choice but to stock up on some seafood essentials - butter warmers!

Butter warmers can be exquisite and refined, like these stainless steel numbers:







Or, a good butter warmer can be as simple as these little ramekin-type devices (by Progressive International) with tealights underneath to keep the melted butter smooth and silken.





No matter what your style, a great butter warmer takes the delights of eating seafood and turns it into an epic event!

Kitchen Gadget - Silicone Muffin Cups and Pans

There's nothing quite so frustrating as creating the perfect batch of blueberry (carrot, oatmeal, chocolate chip - you pick) muffins, only to find you can't get the litle glories out of the pan when they come out of the oven!

Easy solution? Silicone muffin cups or baking pans. Use the muffin cups - in either grand, regular or mini size - on top of regular sturdy cookie sheets. You don't even need to grease the muffin cups beforehand, and still you'll be able to slide out your baking delights with no worries!





Or, even easier, invest in a high grade silicone muffin pan and you won't even need to use a cookie sheet underneath. Either way, your muffins will look perfect and intact - not misshapen and embarrassing!




Or...for the cutest silicone muffin cups EVER, check out these little lovelies by Wilton - Silly Feet Silicone cupcake holders with silly silicone feet! They're adorable and a surefire hit with kids of all ages.

Kitchen Gadget - Say Goodbye to Wooden Bread Boxes with this WMF Stainless Bread Box

Goodbye clunky bread box! Hello shining, stunning WMF stainless bread box.





This one will keep your bread, bagels, muffins and baked goods fresh and out of sight, while still looking stylish and streamlined. Bravo bread box, bravo!

Ice Cream Gadgets - my Favorite Ice Cream Scoop - Zyliss Right Scoop Ice Cream Scoop

The Zyliss ice cream scoop is the best I've ever used. I love the fun colors, and the intelligent design of this product:





When you first hold this ice cream scoop in your hands, you'll feel the difference right away. This Zyliss ice cream scoop has an incredible, substantial weight - it just feels RIGHT. It is designed to fit snugly and comfortably in your hand. That weight, together with that clever design I already mentioned - the edges glide right through even hard ice cream - makes this an absolute winner! I have the lime green - love, love, love it! Hard ice cream just seems like a joke now, not an intimidating foe.

Here are some cool (haha, pun sort of intended) ice cream topping recipes posted on my other site. Enjoy, ice cream fans!
Ice Cream Topping Recipes

Kitchen Gadget - Onion Goggles

I already shared with you the secret of preventing onion odor seepage in the fridge. Now, I'll wipe up your onion-cutting tears, or as a matter of fact - prevent them in the first place with - Ta Dah!






You guessed it. Onion goggles! A fantastic novelty gift OR a truly practical gift for anyone who hates to chop onions because of the inevitable tears.

These onion goggles create a tight seal around your eyes, and work well to prevent any emotional outbursts over the chopping board. At least any caused by onion chopping - the rest is your business.

Kitchen Gadgets - Lovely Stainless Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons

I know, I know. I say that a lot of things are necessities. I guess that comes from being a kitchen gadget nut! BUT...having one good set each of stainless measuring cups and measuring spoons really are vital in any kitchen where ANY sort of real cooking goes on.

Here are my picks for top stainless measuring cups and measuring spoons. I love them because they're functional, adorable AND ultra durable. All very important things, and yes adorable CAN be important in the kitchen! It keeps your morale up when you've been cooking for hours and are feeling very UN-culinarily inclined.

MEASURING SPOONS: RSVP STAINLESS MEASURING SPOONS
Their clever elongated design means that you can dip these spoons into ANY jar, and they'll easily fit. Plus, there are 6 different measurements included: 1/8 tsp, 1/4 tsp, 1/2 tsp, 3/4 tsp, 1 tsp, 1 TBS







- Dishwasher safe (hurrah!)
- Constructed of 18/10 stainless steel - a lovely high quality stainless
- Chain to keep all these lovely spoons together, so no losing your spoons!


STAINLESS STEEL MEASURING CUPS
If you want the Best of the Best, it has to be this lovely All Clad set:





Why?

- All Clad makes incredibly fine all stainless products that are meant to last - not just years - but decades and decades. They have a beautiful, substantial weight that proves their quality. You'll love using these!
- Made just like their pots, they also have the traditional All Clad handles - just like the pots and pans have!
- Handy inside measurements - for example, the 1 cup measuring cup has a line inside where the 1/2 cup mark is. Helpful when baking...

Bestseller Kitchen Knife - Kuhn Rikon Colorful Paring Knives with Protective Cases - Ultra Sharp Paring Knife!

At the kitchen shop where I work, we literally sell box after box of these - and each box has dozens of these gorgeous little paring knives tucked inside:






This is my favorite paring knife. Ever. End of story.

Okay, I'll provide a few more details than that! I adore this knife, and once you try it you will too. Don't let it's colorful and playful exterior deceive you. This knife is unbelievably sharp. (Case in point - last Saturday when a poor little girl actually cut her finger on one, even though her Mom had warned her not to take the protective cover off! But don't worry - she was okay. We gave her a Tinkerbell sticker and all was well...)

This little powerhouse of a knife is created with carbon steel - the same type of steel as pricier brands like Wusthof and Henckels! Then it's powder coated with a non stick coating, making it another perfect choice for slicing through cheese! (Hurray! This is what I use the most when cutting through cheese.) I've had my knife at least seven months now and it is still incredibly sharp. It has exceeded my expectations on every level.

This paring knife by Kuhn Rikon (another of my favorite brands) is an absolute must. Don't be foolish and buy one, because a family member/friend/coworker will likely end up 'borrowing' it for an extended period of time. (Forever.) Instead, buy about three or four, and hide one for yourself to use! :) It really IS that good.

Kitchen Gadgets - Cheese Gadgets - The Perfect Cheese Slicer

A nice piece of cheese is a gorgeous, gourmet event to me. Whether it's rich aged cheddar, or a chunk of pungent blue cheese - it's all cheese heaven to me! Which means that I like a good cheese slicer as much as the next cheese lover...



For a lovely version complete with a hardwood board, try this cheese slicer by Prodyne. It has a superior wire for cutting through hard or softer cheeses with ease. Handheld slicers are okay, but once you try this baby you'll be eating more cheese than ever!