Let's Talk Tools - Part II

A while back, I did a post on some of my favorite cooking tools. I thought I would follow up with some more tools that I can't live without in my kitchen.

Dough Knife

I use this pretty much every time I cook. No...I'm not always making dough...it's the perfect picker upper of various food items. On the cooking shows, you always see the chefs use their knifes to scoop up chopped veggies, garlic, herbs, etc. However, scraping your knife across the cutting board to collect such things can really dull your knife. My cooking teacher at The Kitchen Workshop would always say, "Don't dull my knives...use your dough knife!".

Not only does it scoop up way more food, but it's much safer than using your knife. I just scrap the dough knife across the board, scoop up whatever I'm chopping, and then dump it into the pan or pot. It cost mere dollars at Target or other similar stores (I believe mine was $2.99).

Parchment Paper

I always keep a roll of parchment paper in my cupboard. It's useful in ever so many ways. You can put it on cookie tins and, for some reason, they seem to bake better. They don't stick to the paper and it helps to prevent burning. I also use parchment paper as a liner in cake pans for particularly sticky batters. I use it to line the pan for my Lemon Yogurt Cake and Tortilla Pie. I have also heard of it being used as a little packet to put fish or veggies in...although I haven't tried this yet. You can find it in most grocery stores now and I know they sell it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Fancy Can Opener

This multi image picture shows it all. You just put the One Touch Can Opener on top of a can. Then you press the button and it wiggles around the can, stopping on its own. When it stops, you just pick it up and the top comes with it. It takes the whole top off, so you don't have those sharp cut aluminum edges that have cut my finger on more than one occasion.

I have to say that I was resistant to this luxury kitchen item, thinking "I have a regular can opener...why would I need a fancy can opener?" My cooking teacher always uses one and I did think it was rather nifty. Then one day, my very generous Mother-in-Law just bought me one on a whim! She got it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond with her 20% coupon.

I find that when I'm in the middle of a recipe, it's kind of a pain to stop and open all the cans the old fashioned way. It's much more convenient to just press a button and have it done. It takes a couple of batteries, which last a while.

Do you have to have fun or fancy kitchen tools or gadgets to make great meals? Nope.

Is it fun to fill your kitchen drawers with them anyway? Yep.