The Chefs Kitchen

[Just4AFriend]

Hand mixer as pictured earlier
Emulsifier..,
Veggie soup with minimal chopping
Mix to purée in the pot
(No skinning the potato or any other veggies)

 

[HotBrand]

Gasp. How did I not know about your thread, HotChef?!

Hi all! **SUBSCRIBED**

What’s your favourite piece of kitchen gadgetry or your favourite cooking equipment that you own?

My dough scraper. It's got a wooden handle with engraving, custom-sized, and it is SOOOO good.

Seriously. It makes focaccia so much easier to make without having to compromise texture with extra dusting.

If anyone ever finds it hard to manually knead a wet dough, a dough scraper is so bloody useful.

 

[HotChef1970]

What a fun thread HotChef! The most used thing in my kitchen is my Pampered Chef pizza stone. I just got a new one for Christmas because my old one cracked recently in the oven. I had it for 15 years and it was beautifully seasoned and the prettiest shade of golden brown. I was sad when it broke.

The only gadget or appliance that sits on my counter is my air fryer. We use it almost daily. We love it.

I have a stainless KA mixer that stays in the cabinet, I really only use it around the holidays to make cookies and cheese balls. I am fortunate to have enough cabinet space that I can keep my counters gadget free.

And how cute are you making pizza!

Pizza stones are great for so many things other than pizza, actually they are better for many other things than they are for pizza, why - well they don’t really get hot enough to make real pizza unless you have an oven that goes up to 450c - that’s the minimum I let the base of my oven get to before putting a pizza in - cooked in under 90 seconds.

Air fryers are so good, more versatile than many people think, depending on what type of model you have - have you ever tried using it on a lower setting to dehydrate your own fruit?

I’m jealous you have enough cabinet space free to keep your counter space de cluttered- I wish I did!

And you’ll make me blush calling me cute lol - thanks

 

[Deleted member 3041612]

Pizza stones are great for so many things other than pizza, actually they are better for many other things than they are for pizza, why - well they don’t really get hot enough to make real pizza unless you have an oven that goes up to 450c - that’s the minimum I let the base of my oven get to before putting a pizza in - cooked in under 90 seconds.

Air fryers are so good, more versatile than many people think, depending on what type of model you have - have you ever tried using it on a lower setting to dehydrate your own fruit?

I’m jealous you have enough cabinet space free to keep your counter space de cluttered- I wish I did!

And you’ll make me blush calling me cute lol - thanks

But you are cute.

 

[HotChef1970]

I have one small shelf of cookbooks. Some of my favorites are my two Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks. One was my Grandma's. One I bought when I moved out. My favorite is my recipe box that my Grandma gave me for my wedding. They are handwritten family recipes that I truly treasure.

I just picked up an old cookbook from my mom. Mid 40s on how to prepare meat. Great pics all through.




My kitchen is 90 % Pampered Chef as I used to sell it. I love everything I use. I cook every single day. I love to cook and I am damn good at what I do, so I have the tools to do it!!

My cooking blender has been super fun to experiment with. Made a whole bunch of jelly around Thanksgiving. It was easy peasy!


Thanks for the fun thread! I will stop by often!

Family handed down recipes are the best- no arguments there

If you’re good at cooking then it’s absolutely right that you should have the tools you need to do the job, and cooking blenders are great, although I had to move mine to the garage as I only have a small kitchen and couldn’t justify the counter space over a mixer & instant pot (duo crisp model)

 

[HotChef1970]

Gasp. How did I not know about your thread, HotChef?!

Hi all! **SUBSCRIBED**



My dough scraper. It's got a wooden handle with engraving, custom-sized, and it is SOOOO good.

Seriously. It makes focaccia so much easier to make without having to compromise texture with extra dusting.

If anyone ever finds it hard to manually knead a wet dough, a dough scraper is so bloody useful.

Welcome along to the kitchen HB my brother from another mother!

As an ex pastry chef a dough scraper is as much an essential tool as a knife is in the kitchen, particularly as you say when the dough is very wet, and I’ve used some doughs in the past that have 65-70% hydration levels, particularly for pizza.

 

[HotChef1970]

Hand mixer as pictured earlier
Emulsifier..,
Veggie soup with minimal chopping
Mix to purée in the pot
(No skinning the potato or any other veggies)

I totally agree, if you’re going to blend and emulsify your soup who cares how you chop your veggies

 

[HotChef1970]

But you are cute.

Shhhhh, that’s meant to be a secret...........

 

[Rainydaythings]

.....

 

[HotChef1970]

Joule (sous vide)
Rocket espresso machine
My knives - I love chopping and slicing things. It chills me out.

Simple contenders:
- Heavy duty citrus press/hand juicer
- Mandoline
- Microplane

Wow that’s an impressive list for an amateur.........
I’ve hot the Anova sous vide - I make the most amazing 36 hour pork ribs in the summer that spend a total of 20 minutes on the bbq but 40+ hours in the prep & cooking stage.
I’d love a decent mandoline for my kitchen but I fear someone else would try and use it and I don’t fancy blood all over my car when I have to make a trip to A&E.
And the micro plane, wow whoever invented these needs a medal, the single best grater ever.

 

[HotChef1970]

I realise it’s been a while since I posed a question

What’s your favourite “cheat” ingredient in the kitchen?

For me it has to be the jars of curry pastes that sit in the top of my fridge, so convenient & if you get the right one they are pretty authentic- they also take the hassle out of shopping for small quantities of some obscure ingredients to make your own, and they last longer than your own paste.
The other one would be a stick of garlic butter, again for convenience- great for throwing into a pan when cooking to add a small amount of garlic & butter for those days when you don’t want a whole clove of garlic

What’s your favourite cheat ingredient- no judging here from me

 

[SisterJezabel]

I realise it’s been a while since I posed a question

What’s your favourite “cheat” ingredient in the kitchen?

For me it has to be the jars of curry pastes that sit in the top of my fridge, so convenient & if you get the right one they are pretty authentic- they also take the hassle out of shopping for small quantities of some obscure ingredients to make your own, and they last longer than your own paste.
The other one would be a stick of garlic butter, again for convenience- great for throwing into a pan when cooking to add a small amount of garlic & butter for those days when you don’t want a whole clove of garlic

What’s your favourite cheat ingredient- no judging here from me

I'm with you on both the curry pastes and garlic butter- recently I discovered a garlic, thyme and black pepper butter which is delicious on steaks! I will admit I have stopped using pure cream and gone back to the thickened stuff (with that bit of gelatine in it) because it doesn't curdle when you cook with it- not that I often cook with cream! I also have a tube of ginger paste and crushed chilli in the fridge door for when I can't be arsed chopping chilli!

 

[SisterJezabel]

Wow that’s an impressive list for an amateur.........
I’ve hot the Anova sous vide - I make the most amazing 36 hour pork ribs in the summer that spend a total of 20 minutes on the bbq but 40+ hours in the prep & cooking stage.
I’d love a decent mandoline for my kitchen but I fear someone else would try and use it and I don’t fancy blood all over my car when I have to make a trip to A&E.
And the micro plane, wow whoever invented these needs a medal, the single best grater ever.

Love the Anova here too! I buy sides of rump these days and vacuum seal them before throwing them in the freezer and then defrost them in the water that they are going to 'cook' in. They defrost in next to no time! Same with chicken breasts. Never thought of doing ribs in it- I usually bake them slowly before barbecuing them, but I can see sous vide-ing them would be perfect! Thanks for the tip, Chef!

 

[Rainydaythings]

.....

 

[HotChef1970]

Love the Anova here too! I buy sides of rump these days and vacuum seal them before throwing them in the freezer and then defrost them in the water that they are going to 'cook' in. They defrost in next to no time! Same with chicken breasts. Never thought of doing ribs in it- I usually bake them slowly before barbecuing them, but I can see sous vide-ing them would be perfect! Thanks for the tip, Chef!

I’ll pm you the recipe and method I use

 

[KimGordon67]

I realise it’s been a while since I posed a question

What’s your favourite “cheat” ingredient in the kitchen?

For me it has to be the jars of curry pastes that sit in the top of my fridge, so convenient & if you get the right one they are pretty authentic- they also take the hassle out of shopping for small quantities of some obscure ingredients to make your own, and they last longer than your own paste.
The other one would be a stick of garlic butter, again for convenience- great for throwing into a pan when cooking to add a small amount of garlic & butter for those days when you don’t want a whole clove of garlic

What’s your favourite cheat ingredient- no judging here from me

Probably not a 'favourite', but certainly convenient - jars of minced garlic and ginger. Not as good as the real thing, but passable if the garlic/ginger is going into something that'll cook for ages. We started using them when I was married - my (ex)husband is Indian, so there was a LOT of garlic and ginger being used, and it was just way easier. Real garlic when it matters though.

Not sure if it's a 'cheat', but when I open a carton of chicken stock, I hardly ever use all of it, so freeze the rest in cubes, that I then keep in a container in the freezer for when I just want a little bit of stock for something, especially if you just want a tiny bit of liquid when you're frying something. (Maybe the carton of chicken stock is a cheat though? Do many people actually make their own chicken stock?)

 

[Anastasia1999]

I realise it’s been a while since I posed a question

What’s your favourite “cheat” ingredient in the kitchen?

For me it has to be the jars of curry pastes that sit in the top of my fridge, so convenient & if you get the right one they are pretty authentic- they also take the hassle out of shopping for small quantities of some obscure ingredients to make your own, and they last longer than your own paste.
The other one would be a stick of garlic butter, again for convenience- great for throwing into a pan when cooking to add a small amount of garlic & butter for those days when you don’t want a whole clove of garlic

What’s your favourite cheat ingredient- no judging here from me

Bisto.

Pesto.

 

[HotChef1970]

Bisto.

Pesto.

Yes to the first one, it’s a staple in my cupboard too, definitely no to the 2nd one if it’s the type in the jars as that stuff is vile, the only time pre made store bought pesto is ok is if it’s fresh chilled pesto

 

[HotChef1970]

Probably not a 'favourite', but certainly convenient - jars of minced garlic and ginger. Not as good as the real thing, but passable if the garlic/ginger is going into something that'll cook for ages. We started using them when I was married - my (ex)husband is Indian, so there was a LOT of garlic and ginger being used, and it was just way easier. Real garlic when it matters though.

Not sure if it's a 'cheat', but when I open a carton of chicken stock, I hardly ever use all of it, so freeze the rest in cubes, that I then keep in a container in the freezer for when I just want a little bit of stock for something, especially if you just want a tiny bit of liquid when you're frying something. (Maybe the carton of chicken stock is a cheat though? Do many people actually make their own chicken stock?)

I’m not so sure on the garlic and ginger in jars because of the way the taste changes with the stuff they have to put in to preserve it, we can buy frozen pouches of chopped garlic/ginger/chilli here which can be a godsend to keep around for when you want them.

And that chicken stock idea is perfect, I tend to do something similar if I open a can of coconut milk as I rarely use more than half of the can in 1 go, ice cube trays are a great way of portioning things, just don’t put your chicken stock ice Cubs in your favourite cocktail by mistake

 

[AveryElle]

What’s your favourite “cheat” ingredient in the kitchen?

Take out menus.

No, that's not true. Those are all on my phone.

I'd have to say a few cheat ingredients for me are:
1) pitted kalamata olives, which can add so much to even the most basic dish. Jarred pasta sauce? Plain cous cous? a salad? So good.
2) Better than bouillon no chicken base which make so many soups better. Vegetable base has too many veggie specific flavors going on. This one is perfect.
3) Maldon flaked sea salt and a fresh squeeze of lemon. Elevates most vegetable dishes in a way to avoid the pat of butter at the end that makes restaurant veggies so good.

 

[Dribble]

Cheats? Is there such a thing? A pinch of baking powder in my meat marinades allows me to use cheaper cuts

 

[AveryElle]

Rao’s marinara sauce!
I always add more things (sautéed garlic, onions, red wine, spices) but it significantly cuts down time, which is especially nice on weeknights.

That is good shit! Not too long before the pandemic, Whole Foods had a huge sale on it - like 40% off. I bought SO much and have just recently run out. I'm sad.

 

[AlpineFresco]

What’s your favourite “cheat” ingredient in the kitchen?

I've been wracking my brains over this one, but I really don't know I've got one that I use that often.

I feel like I must be forgetting something... <shrug>

 

[Rainydaythings]

.....

 

[ef_oh_ex]

Rao’s marinara sauce!
I always add more things (sautéed garlic, onions, red wine, spices) but it significantly cuts down time, which is especially nice on weeknights.

Mine is red onion: steamed, or sauteed or raw (in salad, if I mince it well), adds a lot of flavor, as does the red wine, too.

I like the marinara idea, but have been avoiding Costco at this time, due to sheer number of people there - j/s!