Bring a little of the old and a little of the new into your holiday season with this “Hourglass” timer by Polder. Polder, of course, is famous for making a ton of different great digital timers and thermometers. However, they’ve devolved a bit with this digital timer - if not in function then definitely in form.

This playful hourglass timer comes in various colors, though red would be perfect for the holidays. You can actually flip it over to switch between clock and the timer functionality. There is also a stopwatch and you can enable falling “digital sand” for entertainment purposes.

Polder Hourglass Digital Timer (Red) - $14.99
Available at Target.com

This is a super elegant and trendy wine decanter made by the world famous Riedel glassmaking company of Austria that’s been around for 11 generations. This is the handblown “O” Decanter (they also have “O” wine tumblers) made of lead crystal and with a 750 ml capacity. One handed pouring is probably easier with this decanter than others because of the unusually deep thumb-well that allows for easy grasping.

The mouth of this decanter is cut at a sharp angle spout for accurate pouring. It stands about 9 inches tall and is actually more sturdy than you might believe.

Continue reading “Riedel “O” Decanter” …

These tree cake pans might be a good gift choice for those bakers on your list. Made of pure silicone, they supposedly can withstand 675 degrees F for sustained periods without any breakdown problems. Because it’s silicone it cools fast and cooks evenly, though they say you should still spray it with non-stick or grease/coat the pan according to your particular recipe.

I think it might make a great jello mold as well. They also have a few other holiday shapes including a red bell pan.

Ok, so Panini Presses are all the latest rage it seems. The basic idea behind these sandwich grills are a lower and upper non-stick cooking surface connected by a hinge (similar to a George Foreman grill). You just put sandwiches inside and close the press on it. The heat makes nice grill markings on the sandwiches and also cook the contents to some extent.

Cuisinart makes a few pretty nice presses including this “Griddler” Panini Press which sports 11 x 7 inch grill plates. One of the best things about it is that it features a “floating hinge” which allows you to adjust the grill hinges to accomodate larger than normal type sandwiches like hoagies. Others that don’t have the hinge often struggle to contain a taller type of sandwich.

I’m interesting in getting one of these because people have said that they can be used for other things besides normal panini sandwiches including grilled cheese sandwiches, veggies and pork chops.

Continue reading “Cuisinart Griddler Panini Press” …

I’ve often wondered if these stovetop grills work well or not. I think a lot of people may be wondering the same thing after seeing it used on Food Network shows (like Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute Meals). It’s a reversible cast iron grill by Lodge. I’m most interested in the supposedly easy and even heating that these grills are supposed to have, as opposed to standard grill pans.

At 15 lbs, it’s a heavy bit of kitchen equipment. You’re also not supposed to use soap to wash it. Despite that, I would really like to get a hold of a cast iron stovetop grill like this one of these days to try out cooking breakfast like they do at coffee shops. The double-sided (one side flat, the other with a grill) is a bonus. There’s a “grease gutter” as well which should help oil from pooling between the bars. It’s also a huge grill, measuring 20 x 10.5 inches.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive gift for someone who loves to bake, you might want to introduce them to the Exopat Baking Mat from Matfer. These are actually the same thing as the well known “Silpat” sheet but are much cheaper.

We have the Silpat and were sort of skeptical that this flimsy looking silicone mat would actually work. It looks like it might just melt in the oven, but it’s actually heat-safe to 580 degrees F and is a snap to clean off. The surface feels “slickery” and you can just use soap and water to wash any debris off. You don’t really have to scrub; nothing seems to stick to it.

Continue reading “Matfer Exopat Nonstick Baking Sheet” …

This might be one of those holiday gifts for kitchen folks who have everything. It’s a festively colored red 12 inch Quesadilla Maker. It sort reminds me of a George Foreman Grill. You just place a tortilla on the non-stick Teflon surface, fill the center with meat, cheese and other fillings, and put another tortilla on top. Close the unit and wait for the light to ding, and you’ve got quesadillas.

The surface of the maker actually has 6 ridges that “divide” the quesdilla for you during the cooking. I’ve heard some people say it’s messy cleanup with cheese leaking out, or that it doesn’t completely cook up the filling. To that, I say just don’t put filling near the edge, and make sure to use completely pre-cooked items for the inside. This was only 10 bucks on special last time I saw it, marked down from about $35.

Part of me is thinking this is a “uni-tasker” if I ever saw one. However, if you make a lot of gravy then you might want to check out this Fat and Gravy Sparator from OXO. It has the classic “Good Grips” look for the handle. It holds 4 cups so it’s big enough to process enough gravy for a crowd.

So how does the gadget work? You pour gravy into the separator through the strainer on top which eliminates the solids. Then you wait for the fat to rise to the top. A spout plug prevents the fat from getting into the spout. Then you just remove the strainer and pour the pure gravy out. There’s also a shield guard around the top to prevent the fat from spilling out.

Continue reading “OXO Gravy Fat Separator” …

This is a great digital thermometer for cooking that makes use of a seven inch metal probe. The thermometer readout has a large LCD readout that also doubles as kitchen clock. It takes a single double A battery.

We’ve had this Polder Digial Thermometer for awhile and have been pretty pleased by the performance. The timer can function as either a countdown or count-up timer. The temperature readings seem to be fairly accurate, assuming the probe is placed correctly (any of these probe type thermometers can be affected when monitoring meats if the probe is inserted touching a piece of the bone).

Continue reading “Polder Cooking Thermometer” …

I’m not sure whether or not this special Amazon deal on Kitchen & Housewares will last beyond the holidays. But anyway, if you’re planning on getting a bunch of household items online together you can save quite a bit.

If you go over $125 then you can get $25 off. Basically, just enter the Amazon code NOVSAVER when you check out. I can think of about a zillion kitchen items I need that would fit the bill… =)