By Jomay Steen
Replacing my battered stockpot was like a trip through the magical land of Oz.
My all-terrain aluminum camping kettle has finally given up the ghost. It sprouted a pin-hole sized leak that filled my stove well with a scorched watery stew. The cleanup was a huge pain in the neck, but what an opportune time to replace a stockpot.
It just happened to be in time for Someone’s in the Kitchen’s annual product showcase. Just about half the population of Rapid City and I arrived at the store Friday morning to be wowed by a variety of cool kitchen gadgets, all developed to make the process of getting meals on the table tastier and easier for the cook.
Instead of a stockpot, I came close to buying a set of professional chef knives, a complete set of Le Creuset stew pots and—the most improbable of all—a skillet-sized pressure cooker. “My father would LOVE this,” I rationalized as I gazed at the skillet.
The Fissler Ultimate Frying System comes with a novogrill frying surface, safety handle, cookstar all-stove base, hanging eyelet, a steamer basket, glass lid and locking pressure lid. All of this skillet stuff costs the same as one-third of my mortgage payment or my entire gasoline budget for the month.
“Lifetime guaranteed,” the skillet salesman purred, which was more than could be said about my house or gas tank.
In the end, I brought a sleek, sophisticated Cuisinart 12-quart stock pot with steam basket and strainer and a bag of La Panzanella Groccantini (20 percent off) for about $90. It cost more than I figured on spending, but I did upgrade. With the tasty recipes and free coffee thermos in the long-run, I came out $1,000s ahead of my impulses.

Le Creuset’s Chicken Stew
1 tablespoon each of butter and vegetable oil
1 pound chicken thighs
1 large onion, diced
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (28-ounce) can puree tomatoes
1/2 small can tomato paste
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 heavy cream, optional
Place butter and oil in a 5-1/2 or 7-1/2-quart Le Creuset French oven, heat over medium heat. Add thighs, skin side down, cook on each side for 3 minutes. Remove meat to the lid of your pan.
Saute vegetables in the pan dripping for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add all spices and stir to blend flavors. Add all other ingredients; bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to simmer. Return the thighs to the sauce. Simmer on stovetop for 1 hour with the lid on or place in 300 degree oven for 1-1/2 hours. Adjust flavor with salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, stir in heavy cream if desired. Serve with crusty bread and parmesan cheese.

Beef Burgundy with Mini Farfalle
Prepartions: 2 minutes
Cooking time with Fissler skillet pressure pan: 6-8 minutes
1 pound lean beef steak or stew meat
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 sweet onion, sliced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1-1/4 cup Burgundy win
1-1/2 cup mini farfalle
1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh pepper to taste
Cut beef into about 1-inch cubes. If using the pressure pan, beef can be seared without oil then cut into pieces.
Place the beef cubes in the cooker and saute with sliced onion on high heat for 2 minutes. If a lean meat is used saute with 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Add all the other ingredients into the pot. Mix so that all ingredients are coated. Close lid. Cook for 6 minutes under pressure, reducing the heat and timing from when the second ring on the indicator rod is visible.
Release pressure using the slide on the handle or by running cold water over the lid. Serve with parsley and freshly grated cheese, optional. Mini Farfalle can be substituted with regular Rotini or Fusilli pasta. Once pressure is built, adjust cooking time to about 8 minutes.

By Crystal Hohenthaner
Rapid City Journal staff 

Bamboo?
Plastic?
Metal?
Silicone?

I just don’t know what to do. I’m trying to figure out what makes a great cooking utensil – durability, flexibility, endurance? Obviously I want it all. But I don’t know where to find it. Oh, and did I mention I want it to be cheap. Okay, maybe not cheap. But I don’t want it to cost me as much as a week’s worth of groceries.

I think I want a set of bamboo cooking utensils, because my mom has a set that she’s had since I was born and she still loves them. But I went looking for one of my own and the only set I could find was at JC Penny’s – and it was $104.

Okay, even if they last 30 years that seems excessive. There were only 5 tools in the set and I would still need to buy a rubber spatula and a slotted spoon! For goodness sake, my whole set of pots and pans was only $150!

Honestly, I don’t even know which utensils will be the most useful. I have a confession to make: I use my silverware when cooking. That’s right. Plain old forks and spoons is all I really have to get my cooking done.

For the most part it’s no big deal, but it does create some comedic moments – and some ugly food. For example, the last time I made pancakes with just a fork. Man they were hard to flip!

Some of you out there must have cooking utensils you love. Please tell me all about them and help me decide what to buy. Is the spendy bamboo the way to go? Or should I just go for some classic metal (maybe stainless steel) stuff? Please tell me, is there a great product out there that I’ve never even heard of?

So, I told you folks I would let you in on what happened when I used my heart-shaped silicone ice trays as candy molds and here are the results: I have no idea how well silicone cake pans work, but these worked great as candy molds! However, due to my lack of experience, it was certainly an adventure using them.

First of all, they smelled like, well, silicone. So I had to wash them. That was a slippery, soapy mess. I dropped several of them and had to wash them again.

Then – and I don’t know what possessed me – I decided that I needed to grease the molds before I put the candy in them. Now, I know that silicone is supposed to be non-stick and that’s part of why it’s amazing. But for some reason I decided to make sure my candy wouldn’t stick. Perhaps I didn’t trust myself. Or perhaps I didn’t trust the silicone molds because they were so inexpensive. (Sreiously, three trays for $2.50 — that suspicious!)

So, I made the mistake of spraying them with non-stick cooking spray – which just made everything incredibility slippery. And I do mean everything! The counter, my spatula, the floor, the bowl I was using – even my feet. In fact, I got enough slippery stuff on my shoes that I slipped in the bathroom after finishing up with the candy. (I had to thoroughly wipe my shoes after I was done with this heart-shaped silicone candy mold project.)

So, I used too much non-stick spray on my non-stick trays. And it turns out that even though the trays were inexpensive they are pretty high-quality silicone – or at least high enough quality to work very well as candy trays!

Well, I made my heart-shaped fudge and I gave it to the cast members of  “Criminals in Love” (all wrapped up in the red-lace cellophane bags that I also got at the dollar center at Target). All and all – aside from almost spraining my ankle – I’d say it was a pretty big success.

I also bought the heart-shaped cake pan and made a big brownie in it. It turned out great and I didn’t really grease the pan at all (cause I forgot that step).

After all this mess, I have decided I really do heart silicone! (But I don’t heart non-stick cooking spray.)

Garbanzo beans snagged me a new kitchen toy for Christmas.

My fellow blogger Crystal is not the only one whose kitchen has been missing a few essential ingredients. I have a good set of pots and pans, but for a couple of years, my mother has been trying to convince me that I needed a food processor. I didn’t want to bother with something with so many pieces and parts, but I finally agreed that I needed one after I tried to make hummus in the blender. I managed, but the blender barely survived.

I’ve been dabbling in Middle Eastern cooking for the past four years, and nearly every recipe I’ve tried involves chopping a lot of nuts - or in the case of hummus, mashing up a lot of garbanzo beans. My parents got me a small food processor for Christmas that’s just right for my apartment-sized kitchen and a good batch of hummus.

For those of you with food processors, I’m open to suggestions. What’s your favorite use for your food processor?
Meanwhile, here’s my hummus recipe, which comes out much more smoothly with the help of my new toy.

Hummus
2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained
1/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. salt or your favorite seasoned salt*
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. dried parsley

Place the garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt or seasoning salt in a food processor. Blend until smooth. Transfer mixture to a serving bowl. Drizzle olive oil over the garbanzo bean mixture. Sprinkle with paprika and parsley.
Let sit overnight (preferably a full 24 hours) to allow the flavors to blend before serving. The waiting time is crucial; you would not believe how much better this tastes if you let it sit awhile before you eat it.
Serve hummus with raw or blanched vegetables or pita bread.
Makes 16 servings; a double batch is great for a large crowd.

* If you have it, use Tastefully Simple’s Mild Moroccan Seasoning Salt. It is terrific in this recipe.

Sometimes lunch time is a trial for me. I live near my office so I can go home for lunch. However, on days like today, going home for lunch also means being tempted to take a nap. I didn’t want to risk a nap-hangover (being tired at the office because I had taken a nap) this afternoon so I went to the mall for lunch.

I had a pretzel and looked around at Target. I have recently become a fan of the little dollar section near the front door at Target. I usually don’t buy anything, but today I couldn’t resist. Target had three-packs of little silicone ice cube trays that were heart shaped for only $2.50!

What can I say, turns out I’m a sucker for heart-shaped items – I bought the ice trays. I think I’ll see if they work as candy molds. I promise to let you all know how it turns out.

They also had a heart-shaped silicon cake pan for only $2.50!

Now, I realize that the low prices of these items is suspicious, but the ice-cube trays have to be able to resist being frozen and the cake pan said on the label that it would be okay in up to 500-degree heat. I didn’t buy the cake pan today, but I think I’m going back for one before Valentine’s Day. I think I’ll make mom and dad a big heart-shaped brownie in honor of the saint.

So, this will be my first foray into silicone bakeware territorry…in fact it will be my first foray into heart-shaped food territory too. Do any of you more experienced cooks out there know what I can expect?

Is silicone bakeware the greatest thing since sliced bread or should I just stick with my non-stick cooking pans? 

I just love Christmas, don’t you? I remember when I was younger, my sister and I would get toys and we would HAVE to open them the moment we received them. I’ve developed more self-control since then. In fact, I haven’t used any of my beautiful new toys this year. And I got some good ones…
 
To all of the “What’s for Dinner” Blog readers who were distressed for me over my no-pots-or-pans plight I have great news: my parents gave me a set of pots and pans for Christmas! They are beautiful too!
 
Mom and Dad got me Rachel Ray’s 10-Piece Stainless Steel Cookware Set. It has orange handles…very Crystal.  (That’s it below.Isn’t it pretty? )

They also found the perfect blender for me. My old blender no longer crushes ice or – well, blends.
 
I’m very excited about my new items, but I have yet to use them. Basically I want to sort of christen them with really great food. So I wanted to ask all of you, what should I cook for the first time in my new cookware? And what should I blend in my new blender?

This year for Christmas my sister asked for a ‘micro plane.’ I’ve put the name in quotes because I’m still not sure if that’s what it’s called. The reason I’m uncertain is because as I scoured the city for this device I was met with vacant stares from almost every department store salesperson I spoke too.

(Of course I realize my mistake in searching for this device. I was avoiding Someone’s In the Kitchen. I get it now — for kitchen needs Someone’s in the Kitchen is your best bet. But it also seems to be the most expensive bet.)

As a result of my feverish search throughout Rapid City for a ‘micro plane’ I spent a lot of time in the utensil sections of all of those department stores. As I stared glassy-eyed at the various kitchen utensils, gadgets and specialty pieces I realized that there are hundreds of specialized devices designed to do only one job.

As a slightly cynical and naturally suspicious person my immediate reaction to these devices is to find them useless and assume they are just one of the great cooperate machine’s capitalist attempts to part me from my money. In fact, a good kitchen knife and some skill on the part of the person using it will usually accomplish the most tasks quite nicely — right?

Well, I’ve been thinking about it ever since I spend $20 on Tonya’s ‘micro plane’ – which I did end up having to get at Someone’s In the Kitchen; and by the way the lady knew exactly what I was talking about the moment I said the words. I really shouldn’t be so afraid of spending a few extra bucks in that store.

Anyway, I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t have enough skill with a kitchen knife to do what those specialty gadgets do. Heck I have an apple corer/slicer that I use constantly. Plus, while I was on my crazy search for my sister’s ‘micro plane’ I found the coolest new garlic chopper and I bought one for my mom and my aunt Mary.

I still think a lot of those gadget-thingies are a waste of money and/or kitchen counter and drawer space, but some of them are incredibly useful. So it got me to wondering, which gadgets do people like the best? And which ones should I buy as a I build my gourmet kitchen?

I already admitted my most-used specialty item is my apple gadget. Heck I don’t think I would eat apples at all if I didn’t have that thing.

So what’s your favorite or most useful kitchen gadget?

About six months ago I got a bonus at work. Which meant I actually had a few extra dollars to invest in my kitchen equipment, and I decided I needed a whole set of pots and pans. Now, I’m no gourmet, so I don’t need the super amazing high-end equipment that say, my mom might need. Plus, I can’t really afford that anyway. I just need something sturdy (and preferably stylish) to practice on.

Well, in my search for inexpensive kitchenware, I found a great deal. A ten-piece set of stainless steel pots and pans that came with a whole set of bamboo utensils, knives in a block and even a cookie sheet. And the whole thing was under $100 on sale.

I pounced at the deal. I got my new goodies home, unpacked the box and put everything in the cupboards. I felt like I was already a better cook – probably because everything matched. I know it’s insane, but that’s how I felt; matching kitchenware equals good cook.

Anyway, I didn’t cook anything for a while. Honestly, that’s because I’m not in the habit of cooking. I mostly microwave and reheat. But about a month later I did finally use a pot to make spaghetti. I boiled the water, threw on the sauce and everything seemed great – until I did the dishes.

My “stainless steel” pot had what looked like rust spots on it. I thought, “I must be crazy or hallucinating. These pots are stainless steel.” So I just washed it and then let it sit in the drainer. The next pot I used was the big one. I hard-boiled a dozen eggs. I hadn’t looked at my other pot for a few days, so I had sort of forgotten about the mysterious spots – until I did the dishes.

My big boiling pot (yeah I don’t know the proper names for these devices) had the same rusty-looking spots as my spaghetti pot. I washed it and let it dry and then re-examined it and my spaghetti pot. The spots may not have been rust, but these pots were supposedly stainless steel. Doesn’t that mean they shouldn’t get, oh I dunno, stains?

Sadly, in the end, I had to return my low-end pots and pans – and all of the goodies that came with them. (I really miss those bamboo cooking-utensils). But now I’m pot-less. And pan-less! I can’t even make spaghetti because I really have nothing to boil water in! It’s sad, but I’ve been eating a lot of McDonalds lately, and I’ve even reverted back to the pathetic re-heating and microwaving habits of my college days.

So I need help people. What kind of pots and pans do you recommend? Like I said, I can’t do high-end stuff, but I obviously can’t tell what the bottom-line stuff is either (Phillip something is what my rusty stainless steel was). Oh, I also have some qualifications I’m trying to stick to.

I love stainless steel and I love red enamel. Everything in my kitchen is either stainless steel or red and I’d like to stick with that. Also, speaking of sticking, I’m kind of anti-non-stick coating because I’m just scared all of that plastic will eventually cook off and I’ll end up eating it.

So, now it’s your turn: What’s the good stuff? Not the best stuff but good stuff? Which bits of your kitchenware have been the best?