In addition to all the usual kitchen tools that I enjoy getting as gifts (usually any and all), this year I’ve added a few tools to my wish list that I haven’t used before while cooking. The first is a cookbook holder. I usually lay my cookbooks on the counter, and I have to bend over to read the recipe. I think having the recipe sitting up on the counter will be much easier to use (saving me time and effort), and keeping the pages clean (I have so many splattered cookbooks!). I’m also hoping to get a mandoline to finely slice vegetables. I’ve heard the new, lower-priced plastic ones work really well, and I’d like to try one out. And lastly, I’ve put a gravy separator on my wish list. I don’t make gravy very often, but there are other times that I would like to separate the juice from the fat from meat and poultry (pan sauces, stock). A gravy separator is such an easy and neat way to do it. The biggest item on my wish list this year is a renovated kitchen – and I think I just may have one by the end of the year!
One of the few times a year I even consider baking cookies is around the holidays. As I have been thinking of what to bake, and when, I realized that I should probably get the proper gear to set myself up for success. I have mentioned in past answers that baking is not my thing, so getting the right equipment may not get me better results, but it can’t hurt! I turned to the baking master, Sharon, to discuss the right baking sheets, and I ended up learning a lot. These are the kinds of conversations that would probably bore the socks off others, but if it has to do with cooking we are usually excited to share ideas. Sharon uses a Silpat, a nonstick baking mat, over a specific perforated baking sheet designed to go with the Silpats. I have one Silpat I got as a gift years ago, but I honestly forget to use it. I have never seen or heard of the perforated baking sheet, so now I am intrigued. Since I was going to put cookie baking sheets on my wish list this year, I can now be more specific and ask for the special perforated kind to use with my Silpat.
