Kitchen Gadgets

Discussion in 'Food & Drinks' started by Beth Gallagher, Jun 16, 2020.

  1. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    One last thing before the caffeine wears off:

    I keep my knives in a drawer rather than in a butcher block in order to save countertop space.

    I bought these cheap things to keep them organized:

    Kinfe holders.jpg

    Knife drawer.jpg
     
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  2. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    So I bought a grill basket today for my grill:

    [​IMG]

    I made grilled chicken fajitas for dinner, and when I was prepping the chicken & veggies and putting them in the marinade last night, I figured I could skewer the chicken, but messing with sliced peppers & onions was a whole 'nuther thang.

    Some percentage of the reviews said "Nothing I've done will get this thing clean!" And my chicken marinade had honey in it. So I had a large jelly roll pan ready (cookie sheet with sides), filled it with soapy water, and immediately put the pan in it to soak. It's a pretty black crusty mess. We shall see...

    I like the concept. The flames lap up through the holes to grill the meat and the veggies. It did not come with instructions. Some sites say to put the food on this cold and then set it on the grill, and others say to preheat it for 10 minutes. I preheated it. That honey sure seared to the hot basket. And things cooked way faster than the recipe said, since they hit a hot pan rather than sat above flames.
     
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  3. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I'm not 100% sold on that charcoal basket.

    Where the chicken cooked took extensive cleanup:

    I had to:
    >Soak
    >Scrape with a putty knife
    >Scrub with steel wool

    I repeated that process 4 times over the course of a few hours last night.
    There were still lots of patches of stuck food.

    I then added a grease dissolver (Greased Lightening) and let it soak overnight. This morning I scraped off more bits, then put it in the dishwasher. I took it out of the dishwasher and did one final steel wool scrub, which finally removed all the remaining bits that had been loosened by the Greased Lightening + dishwasher.

    Note to self: Don't get the thing searing hot and then throw a sugar-based marinade on it.

    The side the veggies cooked on was fine. They had been tossed in oil with garlic, salt & pepper. They did not stick one bit, nor did they leave any residue.

    This is gonna take some practice if I'm going to do beef, poultry & seafood on it.
     
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  4. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Why do you need a grill pan for larger items like your chicken? I thought those were for small things that would normally fall through the regular grill.

    One trick I use for grilled chicken is to start it in the oven while the coals get ready. Then it is heated and beginning to cook so doesn't get as charred since it's on the grill for a shorter time. (I like lemon butter on chicken instead of BBQ sauces.)
     
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  5. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    My Cuisinart crock pot gave up the ghost about a month ago, so today I decided to try out the "slow cook" function on my Instant Pot. The results were less than stellar, so I'm shopping for a new slow cooker. I was eyeballing this one pretty hard but I think I'll stick with the true "crock" pots that have the stoneware crock.
     
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  6. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Wow, those drawers look so organized. My kitchen drawers look like they belong in an episode of Hoarders.
     
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  7. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I had a chicken breast cut into strips for fajitas. That's why the marinade with honey in it, coating all those pieces. There was gobs of it. The basket was so screaming hot I could have given the strips 60 seconds on each side and eaten...they got overcooked and charred, as well as stuck. If I hadn't had the veggies to mess with (or just done them on a cast iron griddle), I would have put the chicken on skewers.

    The basket worked well for the veggies, but it's so large it covers the entire grill, so there's no place to put the meat at the same time, although they do make smaller baskets. Ain't no big deal. I don't grill as often as I used to (I do lots of batch cooking & freezing these days), but now that I have this, I might start grilling shrimp & scallops. Should be pretty easy to swab a spot with oil before laying down the food.

    I like your idea of getting chicken started in the oven and then hitting the grill for flavor.
     
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  8. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    OIC. When I make chicken fajitas, I grill the whole chicken breast and slice it after it's done. (Same with beef.)
     
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  9. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I've heard that about Instant Pots

    I've got a 7 quart Crock Pot brand that literally boils water. There were lots of bad reviews for it...lots of "I got scalded" complaints. I keep it because it's handy to heat up dishes real fast for pot lucks and to keep them hot. But you cannot slow cook in it. Amazon still sells it. Maybe they fixed it. I got 2 others that I use (including my Rival from the 70s.) Still have the bread steamer insert. And that Rival is still going strong.
     
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  10. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
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    @Beth Gallagher
    Mine are in drawer also.Hubby made my wooden knife holder out of wood of course. Custom made to fit apt. drawer.
     
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  11. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    When I moved 10 years ago, it was a chance to reorganize. I took all those extra big spoons and ladles and pancake turners and put them in a box so my drawers were "minimalist." I lived with it for a while, pulling some back out of the box when I realized I needed backup. Then the rest went to Goodwill.

    Since we're all friends here, I'll show you my junk drawer and my gadget drawer:

    Junk drawer.jpg

    Gadget drawer.jpg

    I got these a while ago and love them:

    [​IMG]

    Spring-loaded to wedge right in securely.

    Those drawers are unretouched, after 10 years of use. I just opened them up and took the pic.

    The junk drawers looks junky (it kinda is), but I know right where everything is because the stuff is organized into each "pocket."

    I have a 3rd organized drawer next to my stove with the spoons, pancake turners and corded-probe thermometers in it so I can reach in and grab as I cook. These come in pairs, so I took the remaining 4th one and put it in the full-width (but short) deli drawer in my fridge to organize cheeses, lunch meats, batteries, etc.
     
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  12. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I like them in the drawer. I know where and what each one is, and it saves counter space. I don't need to change from one knife to another on the fly, like a mechanic getting wrenches and screwdrivers. I pull one out and it's what I need for the tasks at hand.
     
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  13. Maggie Mae

    Maggie Mae Veteran Member
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    Yeah my Instant Pot is awesome but not for slow cooking. I have 3 slow cookers .. 1 large one that is an oval 6 qt Hamilton Beach. I got it about 6 years ago and I love that thing. I can put a whole chicken in it or a large roast or make a huge amount of chili or stew. My 2 little ones are 1 qt each and round. I bought them about 8 years ago on a BOGO sale and I love those also. I use them for small quantity things. I also use them for when we do fajitas .. he likes beef and I like chicken .. no problem .. 2 slow cookers makes 2 great meals. I've also used them for cheese fondue and chocolate fondue.

    You can't beat a real slow cooker ... many have tried and they have failed.

    Good luck with your search and I hope you find a great one soon.
     
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  14. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Gloria--my knives are in knife blocks on my countertop. Those are John's in the drawer. :D
     
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  15. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    I have some spring-loaded dividers in some of my kitchen drawers, too. Mine are wood and look like they are built in.
     
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