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A peeler to the third power

If we had more room in our kitchen drawers--and maybe a few more dollars in our pockets--we might have a couple different vegetable peelers. Maybe we would have a heavy-duty peeler for the thick-skinned vegetables, like zucchini, and another peeler for the softies, like tomatoes or peaches. We might even have a julienne peeler, for shredding thin strips of vegetables. Rather than giving up drawer space to three peelers, however, we can now use Williams-Sonoma's new Trio Peeler.

The Trio Peeler has three retractable blades, all of which are stainless-steel. The soft-grip handle is a little oversized, which makes … Read more

Press bacon to perfection

Sometimes, when I'm frying up bacon, it curls when I'm not looking. As it shrinks, some parts of the bacon strip lose contact with the pan, guaranteeing that my breakfast won't be as crispy as I was hoping. There have even been mornings when the bacon curled up into a pile, extra greasy rather than crispy.

If you have something to hold down your bacon--preventing it from curling up--breakfast goes a little better. Williams Sonoma sells a kitchen tool that does exactly that: the Bacon Press. This cast-iron press with a wooden handle is shaped like a … Read more

Ditch the knives for a chopper

Every time I start thinking about taking apart vegetables--chopping, slicing, coring, or anything else--I have to go looking for a different knife. I would much rather grab just one tool. It just makes sense.

Williams-Sonoma makes that one tool. It's called the Professional Multi-Chopper and it has four interchangeable blades that let it slice, dice, wedge, and core fruits and vegetables. With this chopper, I only need one tool to cut up all the vegetables that I need for a meal. It cuts down on cleaning time--it's dishwasher safe.

The Professional Multi-Chopper doesn't just appeal because of … Read more

Basting pot protects sauce and hands

It takes a careful eye at the grill, along with a steady hand, to grill up moist chicken or juicy steaks. A good basting during the cooking process can help those flavors along. Most basting brushes don't work too well with a grill, though. Even if I can leave a brush near the grill somewhere safe, it seems that the local wildlife is bound to get interested in whatever I'm using to baste my food. Maybe it's just me, but I'm not too found of basting with a sauce that flies have been diving into.

That'… Read more