Top Kitchen Gadgets

Have you struggled trying to laboriously peel the skin off a clove of garlic? It's thin, it's crinkly, it's a pain in the neck. The Zak Garlic Peeler ends all that. Just put a clove of garlic inside the tube, roll it around on your counter, and voila!

The skin comes right off! It's magic. It's so easy, you'll want to make chicken with forty cloves of garlic or shrimp scampi.

Now that you've got all that garlic peeled, it's time to use it.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

9 cloves of garlic (peeled)
6 large potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup whole milk (or light cream, if you feel decadent)
freshly ground black pepper

Add potatoes to large saucepan and cover with water. Add the garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Potatoes are done when they're easily pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes and return them (and the garlic) to the pot. Heat briefly over low heat, shaking the pan, until all the moisture has evaporated.

In a small saucepan, heat the butter and the milk together on low heat, until the butter melts.

Remove the potatoes and garlic from the pot. Mash them. You can use a masher, or for better results, a Kitchen Aid mixer. Add the butter and milk mixture and stir until smooth. Add remaining salt and pepper to taste.

The Microplane Grater, or zester, started its life in woodworking, as a rasp, and moved over to food. Use it to grate cheese, chocolate, or as a lemon zester. In a few seconds you get the perfect topping for spaghetti, or can add professional quality chocolate shavings to your favorite dessert.

Once you've got all that cheese grated, here's what to do with it.

Spaghetti with Broccoli and Parmesan Cheese

1 bunch fresh broccoli
salt and pepper to taste
4 tomatoes (canned) - about 1/2 lb. total
1/2 lb. spaghetti
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Remove the tough (bottom) stems of the broccoli and discard them. Cut tops into 1 inch pieces. There should be about 4 cups.

Cut tomatoes into 1/4" cubes (about 1/2 cup).

Boil enough water to cover the broccoli. Add broccoli and salt to taste. Cook two minutes and drain.

Cook the spaghetti.

While the spaghetti is cooking, heat oil in large frying pan. Add the garlic, and cook gently until wilted. Do not brown or burn, as the garlic will get bitter. Add tomatoes, and cook one minute, stirring. Add cooked broccoli, salt and pepper.

Drain the spaghetti and add it to the broccoli mixture. Add the hot pepper, basil, cream, and toss, bringing the mixture to a boil. Remove from heat and sprinkle with the grated cheese.

Lots of soup recipes call for you to make the soup, puree it in small batches, and then return it to the pot. You have to get the big blender out, pour small amounts of soup in, puree it, then get a big bowl or another pot to put it in, and keep repeating over and over. You end up with 2 dirty pots and a dirty blender to clean.

With the Cuisinart hand blender, sometimes called an immersion blender, you just make your soup, turn off the heat, stick the hand blender into the pot and whirrr away.

It's much easier to clean up (I have a small NY apartment - no dishwasher - so ease of cleaning is extra important).

A Stick Blender is Easy to Clean, Just Snap it Apart
I originally had a Braun, but ruined it when I went to clean it (and got the motor wet). This model is better. It snaps apart when you push a button, so you can just wash the shaft with the blade, and put the motor half to the side (where it won't get wet).

Tomato Soup
Adapted from recipesource.com

1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 T minced garlic
2 lb. plum tomatoes
1 C dry white wine
3 T chopped fresh herbs (any mixture of basil, oregano, thyme, and marjoram)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil n a 3-quart heavy stock pot over low heat. Add the onions and cook slowly, without coloring, for about 7 minutes. Add the garlic,tomatoes, white wine and herbs. Cover and cook over low heat about 30 minutes, breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon as they soften. Taste for salt and pepper.

Using your hand blender, puree the soup. Serve hot.

Tropical Smoothie
from Jo Anne Merrill, via recipesource.com

2 1/2 C unsweetened pineapple juice (well-chilled)
1 C sliced strawberries
1 sliced banana

Peel and dice the fruit. Add all ingredients to a sturdy pitcher or the container that comes with your stick blender. Puree until thick and smooth.

Serve in a tall glass garnished with a whole strawberry or a sprig of mint.

You can also substitute diced papaya or mango for the banana.

The Black & Decker Mini Food Processor is great for mincing and chopping, without having to haul out (or clean) your big food processor. I use it to chop onions, bread crumbs, nuts, and fresh herbs. It's easier to clean than a blender, and comes with a mini spatula to scrape down the sides. Since it's so small, I can keep it out on a wire shelf in my kitchen, where it's handy, rather than having to drag it down out of a cupboard.

Almond-Mustard Coated Chicken
2T vegetable oil
½ C half and half
1 ½ T Dijon mustard
1 ½ C almonds
1 t salt
2 chicken breasts (boneless) or chicken thighs

Grind almonds in mini-chopper. Whisk together half and half and mustard. In shallow dish, combine the almonds, salt and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken first in the mustard mixture and then in the nut mixture. Heat oil in frying pan. Place chicken pieces in pan and cook 3-5 minutes per side.