Ideas For Little Kitchen Gifts

With Mother's Day approaching, I thought it would be fun to mention some kitchen items that would make great gifts for anyone who needs to find that extra gift from the family dog, etc. These tools are priced under $25.00, have multiple uses (since no one ever has enough kitchen storage), and can be easily purchased on the WEB. All of these items can be found for comparable prices at either at www.cookswares.com or www.kingarthurflour.com.

Tongs, (Under $10.00): It took me a long time to find out how incredibly versatile kitchen tongs are. We all use tongs for the grill, but grill tongs tend to be expensive and they don't fit very well in drawers. But spring loaded, locking tongs made from heavy-duty stainless steel fit into drawers or tool canisters quite easily. Available sizes range from 8 to 16 inches. Unlocked, they spread widely, making them much more versatile than tongs that only separate a few inches. They are not only the best way to pick up meat (as they don't pierce the meat, the juices stay inside), but to grab almost anything out of pots, the oven, the microwave. They can toss salad quickly and stir sautéing onions. The only problem I've ever had is in lifting pasta from a pot, as the hot pasta water can run down the shaft and burn your arm. OXO does make locking tongs that purportedly do not have this problem.

Scoops, ($20.00): Scoops are for ice cream, true, but once you buy several different sizes they become multitalented. Using the smaller scoops for a cookie recipe produces uniform cookies that finish cooking at the same time. Ice cream scoops are great for putting muffin batter in muffin tins without dripping on the edge. And the larger scoops make great presentations out of all sorts of things. Instead of ladling curry or a stir-fry over rice, put a scoop of rice on the plate and surround it with the sauce. Sprinkle with parsley, and it looks very impressive.

Nonstick Silpat Pads, ($16.00 - $35.00): Silpat is becoming a little like Kleenex; a brand name that stands for all makes of the fiberglass and silicone coated pads which were designed in Europe to replace parchment paper in baking. These pads are environmentally friendly, reusable up to 2,000 times and are time savers as they do not need greasing and flouring. They're a joy to clean as I have yet to find anything that sticks to them. They take extreme temperatures, ranging from 40 to 480 degrees. Use them beyond baking cookies or cakes. They're great for baking coated chicken, the candy recipe given below, or pre-scooping ice cream in individual servings to freeze before a dinner party. They're also easy to store as they roll up tightly, or just keep them directly in a baking pan.

Probe Thermometers, ($25.00): Most people with some kitchen experience own an instant read thermometer. The new probe thermometers offer a lot of additional value. Their great asset is a 38 inch narrow metal cord with a probe at one end. The probe is inserted into whatever's in the oven, and the cord snakes out the closed oven door. Outside the oven, the probe wire connects to a square, digital kitchen timer, which functions as a regular kitchen timer as well as continuously displays the temperature of the dish cooking. You can monitor cooking progress, and the timer will alert you when the desired temperature is reached. The timers are magnetic so they can stick on an appliance. The newer probe thermometers also come with a clip to hold them inside a pan, making them practicable as a candy thermometer.

Since Mother's Day justifies candy (cooked by someone other than Mom of course), I'm closing with the following recipe that really shows off the advantage of both the silpat pads and the probe thermometers:

Coffee Foam Candy:

1 ½ cup sugar

¼ cup strong coffee

¼ cup light corn syrup

1 Tablespoon baking soda

Put the Silpat on a baking sheet.

In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, coffee, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil and cook until the mixture reaches 295 - 310 degrees, (the hard crack stage). Remove from the heat and add the baking soda carefully, as the mixture will bubble up. Stir with a heat resistant spoon until the candy thickens and pulls away from the side of the pot. This will happen quite rapidly.

Pour the mixture onto the Silpat and allow to cool and harden. Be careful, as the mixture is very hot.

Break into pieces for eating out of hand, or pulverize in a food processor or blender and use for topping ice cream or cake.