Indeed, More Favorite Things

I think I'm a simple kind of gal when it comes down to brass tacks. What I like versus what I dislike is pretty defined at this point in my life.

Over the last week I've been very busy. It was crunch time with holiday demands, not to mention the fact that 1 night I stayed up til almost 3am to put the finishing touches on that last batch of beach gingerbread people. As the hours ticked past, my mind wandered to so many things, not the least of which is of course food. And that often breaks down to my kitchen.  Here we do not have a fancy kitchen. I've written about it a little bit in prior posts. It's been remodeled since we moved here, but the floor plan didn't change much. As my skill set has improved in every way possible through the years, I have different needs and expectations of what a kitchen should be, and what belongs in every kitchen.  I have a short list of what my favorite things are in my kitchen, and I'm going to share this with you now.

I have a Vitamix; I could not function without it. I bought it brand new, and paid full retail. Since I've make this purchase, I have sent it out for service once, I think it was built with a defective motherboard (is that what they call it?) because it didn't work correctly at first. Being that I paid full retail (back then Vitamix certainly wasn't on QVC or in Whole Foods!) I was very upset, and wondered why did people fuss about this appliance. I sent my Vitamix out for service (at their expense by the way) and it came back all fixed. It was like it was re-born, and I fell in love with it the day it returned. This appliance is something I simply cannot function without.  I use my Vitamix at least once every day, sometimes 2, 3 or 4 times a day. This is some of the best money I have ever spent and it's a favorite thing by far.

I have a Kitchen Aid.  I have outgrown it in the last couple years.  I'm not as in love with my Kitchen Aid as I was perhaps a couple years ago, as it is far too small for my needs, and I think the 9 & 10 speeds have blown.  But, my Kitchen Aid is at least 10 years old, and I use it far more than probably what my model was designed for. I'm going to buy a new mixer soon. I want a Hobart desperately, but have you seen the prices of Hobart? Even used ones go for astronomical amounts, so I've not completely ruled out another Kitchen Aid, albeit bigger & more horsepower. I cannot function without this mixer.  I will not part with my small Kitchen Aid when I get my next one.  It's small enough and a favorite color (the motivating factor when I bought it way before I owned this B&B) so that I think I should keep it.

My knives. I have a very small selection of knives that I never added to after my initial chef training. I have an offset serrated, a 10" chef's knife, and a few very small paring knives. That's it. I also have a steel that my first teacher made me buy, and taught me to properly use. These knives have served me many years, and even with the recent addition of a professional food processor, get way more use than the food processor does. I'm not happy with my food processor, and am researching them again too. But, I am happy with my knives.  When a professional chef tells you not to over clutter your kitchen with gadgets, devices and small wares, it's good advice to heed.

My warming drawer. This was a concession to the fact that there was no way we could fit a double oven into this tiny kitchen. I grew up in a house that didn't have a lot of discretionary income, but we had a double oven. I never gave this a second thought until I rented my very first apartment, which of course had a horrible, old, barely working electric oven. I had no idea every home didn't have a double oven, so ignorant of me. I had to relearn how to cook with just one oven, it changed everything. To this day I pine for a double oven. But we had enough room for a warming drawer if we removed one of the drawers in the new cabinetry, so we did. I couldn't function in my kitchen without my warming drawer.

I have very few kitchen drawer gadgets, and get by with a high quality potato peeler, box grater, old mandoline (yes the same one that I almost lost a digit on), and a stainless steel scraper. It has measures on the side so I can measure my loaves of biscotti as I straighten the edges with my scraper. I use that scraper for everything, in fact I actually have FOUR scrapers. This helps me avoid cross contamination issues when I'm working allergy free or gluten free.  Regardless, if I emptied out all the other crap in my kitchen drawers, those are the favorite things I would keep.

Aside from a few basic stainless pots & pans, I have some ancient cast iron I use. I've been exceptionally disappointed with all baking pans and baking sheets I've purchased since going pro, and have absolutely no favorites. The nonstick stuff is horrible, it flakes off and kills us. The sheets I've purchased are low quality, but very high cost. The stainless I've been duped into purchasing came from China, and is thin, low quality, not as advertised. And, even the All-Clad sheets I invested in were a waste, they are far too heavy on their own, and honestly the last ones I reach for when baking. For a baker to say I have no favorite baking pans, well that's quite a sad state, no?

And, lastly, one of my favorite things is being smart enough not to get sucked into the advertising propaganda that says I need to have all sorts of clutter and gadgets in my tiny galley style kitchen.