Although Pampered Chef’s Measure-All Cup is not a new item, it is a much needed kitchen tool that solves this problem.  With its two-part design, the cook can adjust the cup to measure the exact amount.  Once the cup is filled, the cook simply depresses the plunger and transfers the ingredient to the desired vessel.  With the plunger system, there is no need to scrape the sides of the measuring cup to remove the ingredient; the plunger does that for the cook.

Even with two separate pieces to wash, it is more simply cleaned than a standard measuring cup when working with items such as peanut butter.  As the plunger has removed most of the peanut butter, there aren’t groove or corners filled with peanut butter that need to be scrubbed.  The Measure-All Cup only has smooth surfaces that are easier to clean.

The Measure-All Cup also can be inverted and used as a measure for liquid ingredients.  With a pouring spout, it does serve a dual purpose.  However, I tend not to use my Measure-All Cup for these chores.  This is where the two-piece system is less useful, as the two pieces do not make measuring a liquid easier and require more cleaning than a regular liquid measuring cup.

To me this tool is less of a Measure-All Cup and more of a Messy, Sticky Emulsion Measuring Cup.  Regardless to the fact that I don’t use it on daily basis, I find this measuring tool to be indispensable.

One of the features that I like about the thermometer is that the display has a magnetic back.  Whether working at my grill, stove, or oven, I can attach the display and not worry about it falling.  Another beneficial feature is the long cord between the probe and display, allowing me to attach the display to the stovetop while the probe is placed inside a roast in the oven.

This thermometer has a temperature alert feature, which I have found to be quite helpful.  Place the probe inside a pork tenderloin, choose the desired temperature for the alert, and go about whatever else is needed.  The thermometer will sound a loud alarm when that temperature is reached, so there is no need for repeated checks on the doneness of the meat.

The thermometer also works well when working with stovetop items, such as caramel sauce and fudge.  I have found that candy thermometers that attach to the side of a pot can be difficult to use if there is a limited amount of liquid in the pot.  While the Polder thermometer doesn’t attach to the side, there are two options for checking temperatures. First, if the liquid doesn’t need to be stirred, simply resting the probe in the pot works.  Second, if stirring is needed, the probe can be placed in the liquid and quickly provides a temperature reading.

With a timer included, it can help you keep track of baking or cooking times while awaiting the correct temperature on another dish.  At a price point of approximately twenty-five dollars, this timer/thermometer is an affordable and indispensable kitchen tool.

The other night we were enjoying a dinner of chili and cornbread and using the coarse grater to top our bowls of chili with cheddar cheese.  Being a semi-firm cheese, it does require a little bit of pressure while grating, but this grater should have been designed for grating cheese such as this.  So, imagine my surprise when holding the grater in one hand and the block of cheddar in the other hand, I heard (and felt) a snap.

Yes, just a little bit of grating and the grater broke in half.  This does not seem the sort of quality one should expect out of a Microplane product.  While I will not let one bad purchase, that only got worse, deter me from purchasing another Microplane product, I will be giving my next coarse grater a thorough inspection.

Here’s what I will be looking for:

• One-piece handle assembly- I have no need to remove the handle grip, which also removes the possibility of water being trapped inside the handle.
• Durable materials- The now-broken grater had a hard plastic edge around the metal grating piece.  Apparently the hard plastic was not designed to handle a small amount of pressure.

Here’s to hoping I find a new coarse grater that grates well and is cleaned easily.

While the Oster blender is the choice for larger batches of foods in  need of processing or anything containing ice, it is large and takes slightly more effort to clean.  Therefore, my other blender is the compactly sized Magic Bullet.  With cups that come in two sizes (12 and 18 ounces), it is useful for an assortment of kitchen tasks.  For a certain daughter that doesn’t like chunks in her salsa, the 12-ounce cup is the perfect size to create the smooth salsa she likes.  When making homemade breadcrumbs, that same small cup is the perfect size to make a batch.  The 18-ounce cup is useful for blending a small amount of canned tomatoes or creating pesto.

Since I received my Oster blender, I honestly haven’t used the Magic Bullet to make my smoothies.  I find that Oster produces a much smoother drink.  However, I do find that the Magic Bullet does a consistently good job on many other items, as noted previously.  Other benefits to using the Magic Bullet is removing its contents and cleaning it.  As both cups are much smaller than a traditional blender, it is easier to scrape all ingredients out.  There’s no need to place a spatula (and half of your arm) inside the container.  Also, the cups and blade assembly can be placed in the dishwasher.  No need to spend time scrubbing every crevice, your dishwasher will do the work for you.

The Magic Bullet may not be my first choice when getting ready to make a batch of margaritas, but it definitely is used several times every week.  It is the perfect tool for many mini kitchen projects.

Besides being useful in grating our blocks of cheese, this tool had other benefits.  The grater was lightweight, making it easy to use for all of our household.  With only a single plane, it is quick to wash, as opposed to a box grater.  Its slender form allows for easy storage with the other handheld utensils.  No need to dig around the cupboards, like when I’m searching for the colander, it fits in a drawer next to the stove.

Unfortunately, with all of the usage, my Professional Coarse Grater broke, and I needed to buy a new grater.  When we went to the kitchen store to purchase a new grater, there were no Professional Graters available.  However, we did see the Gourmet Coarse Grater, which is a Microplane product, so we assumed it was a good choice.

After a month or two of use, I have mixed feelings about this.  What I don’t like about this grater is that it collects water in its handle when it is washed, whether being washed by hand or in the dishwasher.  Thankfully, I have discovered that if you remove the black plastic cover on the handle before washing, no water gets trapped inside.  Unfortunately, if the person washing dishes forgets to do that and you use the grater without removing the water, you will have water dripping onto your food.

I still appreciate the same features of the Gourmet Coarse Grater that I liked in the Professional Coarse Grater.  It grates cheese easily.  It is compact in size and still fits in the utensil drawer.  It is easy to wash.

While the Gourmet Coarse Grater continues to be the most used kitchen utensil, it has lost its favorite tool status due to the water issue.  I am certain that the next grater I buy will be a Microplane but not from the Gourmet line.

However, on a Sunday a couple winters ago we were debating what snacks to make for an afternoon of football.  On the list were a few hot dips, which led to the natural question: how will we keep them warm?  They could be put in our fondue pot, but open flames and a handful of kids aren’t a good mix.  They could be baked in the oven and reheated as necessary, but we planned on a leisurely afternoon with lots of nibbling, so there would be lots of reheating.  They could stay in a pot on the stove, but we were certain that we’d end up with burnt dip in the bottom of the pots.  Then I remembered that one of my friends had told me about mini crockpots.  My husband headed out to a local store and came back with not one, but two mini crockpots.

Since that day, these mini crockpots have seen much usage.  With a two-quart capacity, they are the perfect size for almost any hot dip.  We have used it for espinaca and You Decide How Hot Sausage Dip, among other appetizers.   It also is handy when you’re having mother-daughter movie night and want to have fondue, but don’t want an open flame on the blanket picnic you’ve created.  Plus, if you’re making a small batch of meatballs, it’s the perfect size to let the meatballs simmer in marinara for the day.

Sad to say, the model that we bought is no longer on the market, but having talked to numerous people there are many mini crockpots available that are quite reliable, and inexpensive.  Doing a quick search, for less than twenty dollars you can own a crockpot that will keep your oh so yummy espinaca warm and tasty for hours!

If you’re making a wishlist of kitchen tools and enjoy warm, gooey dips, make sure you add a mini crockpot to the list.  You can thank me later!

Almost a year later, I can confirm that she enjoys having this item at her disposal.  In fact, almost everyone in our house enjoys using it, at least everyone who likes quesadillas enjoys using it!

There are several advantages to using this appliance:

1. The process- I have made many quesadillas, alternating between baking in the oven and cooking in a pan.  There are issues with both.  Heating the oven for a single quesadilla is a ridiculous use of energy and takes a longer amount of time to deliver a quesdilla with a hot filling.  Cooking in a frying pan is quicker and uses less energy, but flipping the quesadilla can be tricky.  Using the quesadilla maker, it takes less than 5 minutes to produce a hot, ready to eat quesadilla without any flipping.  Even our 9 year old can use this on his own.
2. The final product- Using the quesadilla maker, you receive a quesadilla that is c0oked evenly on both sides with warm ingredients.  Plus, the maker produces cooking marks on which you can cut the quesadilla in order to create evenly sized slices.
3. The clean-up- Unless you spill ingredients on the quesadilla maker, all that is needed is a quick wipe of the surfaces with a damp paper towel (once you have unplugged the appliance).

Sure, owning a quesadilla maker does require finding storage space, but as long as you have the room for something that is the size of large frying pan, the storage of the maker is outweighed by its benefits.  Keep this tool in mind for quesadilla fans.  And if you’re looking for some quesadilla ideas, check out the Choose Your Own Quesadilla recipe.

As all of the kids are old enough to make their own bagels to their liking, we thought it would be best to buy some sort of bagel slicer to make that part of the meal preparation easier.  This purchase would eliminate the need for a cutting board and knife, ensure that bagels were sliced evenly in half, and protect fingers from a wayward blade.  With these three thoughts in mind, we purchased the Bagel Guillotine.  How did it perform?

• Protecting fingers- With a handle and clear plastic shield encasing the pointed blade, there is no way that someone could cut his or her fingers while using this tool.  It definitely has kept all of our fingers intact.
• Slicing evenly- The bagel is placed inside the cradle, and the blade is centered above it.  Unless you purchase mini-bagels, you are assured of getting an evenly cut bagel every time you use the guillotine.
• Eliminating cutting board and knife- Obviously the guillotine met this goal.  However, depending on the type of bagel you eat, the guillotine could make a bigger mess than a cutting board and knife.  If you choose a bagel with a sticky topping, the insides of the guillotine will be coated with that topping.  As the cradle is narrow, it will take more time to clean the inside of that than it would take to clean the cutting board and knife.

What’s our summation of this tool?  It’s a handy tool to have but can be more work than anticipated.  As long as you enjoy bagels with no or dry coatings, then it’s a definite tool to purchase.  If you like bagels with sticky coatings, you may want to stick with slicing bagels on a cutting board to save some time on cleaning.

For a period of a few months, we experimented with ways of poaching the eggs.  Our first attempt was cracking eggs into boiling water.  This produced a mediocre poached egg, though a decent amount of egg white was lost as strands, even with vinegar added to the water.  Our next attempt was using a single egg poacher.  While almost no egg white was lost, it was quite messy, not very user friendly, and (obviously) only cooked one egg at a time.  Leaving one egg on a plate while cooking a second isn’t ideal.  Our third attempt was our winner.  We purchased a Calphalon Unison Slide Nonstick 10″ Fry Pan with Poacher Insert.

This pan delivered a lot of features that we were seeking, though there was a learning curve to using it.  The first benefit to this pan is that up to six eggs can be poached at one time; no more waiting!  The second benefit is that almost no egg white is lost during the cooking process.  The third benefit is that this pan is user friendly; bring the water to boiling, crack the egg, empty its contents into the greased insert, cover, and wait a few minutes.  The learning curve for this pan is the greasing.  Although the poacher inserts are nonstick, the eggs still stick.  Each insert needs to have a generous coating of butter before adding the egg, or it will stick.

Now that we have mastered the greasing of the insert, this poacher is the perfect tool for making poached eggs for breakfast.  According to my husband and son, there is nothing quite like a breakfast of soft poached eggs and cheesy grits.  I may beg to differ, but it does seem to make both of them quite happy.

Although a well-filled sandwich is delightful, a well-filled sandwich that also includes hot, melted cheese is enthralling.   While we could make these sandwiches in the tried and true manner of grilling in a frying pan, the idea of having a panini press was pretty exciting.  We could make toasty sandwiches that would be well compacted and have nice grill marks.

Thus began the journey to find the right panini press.  The first decision was whether a stovetop or electric model would be the better option.  The electric model was eliminated fairly quickly for two reasons.  One, electric presses need counter space, and our counters are pretty filled as is.  Two, electric presses tend to be bigger and need a larger space for storage.  With a basement and pantry filled with our assorted kitchen appliances, I didn’t feel like adding one more.

Once I had the decision narrowed down to stovetop, I studied our options.  Some manufacturers sell just the press, meaning you use your frying pan with their weighted press.  As we didn’t have a grill pan, this option wouldn’t work unless I wanted grill marks only one side of each sandwich.   Other manufactures make a press that is two-sided but has incredibly long handles.  While the long handles would be nice if working over a campfire, it seemed like a bit of a hazard in our kitchen.

Eliminating those options led me to our purchase of the All-Clad Gourmet Accessories Panini with Press.  A two-piece cookware item, it was exactly what I was seeking.  The bottom is a non-stick, anodized aluminum grill pan with a stainless steel handle.  It fits nicely on the stove and works best on a larger burner.  The press (or top) is also made of non-stick, anodized aluminum but is much heaving.  It does a great job of compressing your sandwich.

The size of this pan is perfect for making sandwiches of all sizes.  If using typical sandwich-style bread, you can cook two sandwiches at once.  When using longer, panini-style bread, only one sandwich can be cooked.  If you prefer to make a panini wrap, you can fit that into this pan quite nicely also.