Cooking

Grilling is a communal affair. Not in the sense that there are altruistic reasons for such behavior, but it is a matter of simply wanting to keep an eye on what's yours. After scoping out the perfect steak, burger, chicken thigh, or what-have-you, the worst thing that could happen is when one of your so-called friends makes a grab for it when you are not looking. The best way to fight this unwelcome intrusion of grill space, naturally, is to keep an eye on your goods, but that's not always easy to do--especially with gas grills, which tend … Read more

I can't think of how many recipes I have that require me to heat up milk or melt butter before mixing in other ingredients. Being able to handle such tasks directly in the measuring cup I've already placed ingredients into makes the cooking process go that much faster. The Stove-Safe Measuring Cup can handle stovetop and oven temperatures, letting you not only measure and heat in one container but even cook. This measuring cup can also safely be used in the microwave and can take a ride through the dishwasher with no problems. If, for instance, you wanted … Read more

Maybe you've got a giant home theater system that can make an audience feel like it's in a full movie theater. Maybe you've got a smaller TV for your family to just hang out around. Either way, a batch of popcorn is perfect for whatever movie you'll be watching next. The EasyPop Popcorn Maker, from Cuisinart, takes the necessary steps to make sure that you'll have a great bowl of popcorn every time you need it. The popcorn maker includes a motorized stirring mechanism to reduce the number of unpopped kernels, as well as specialized … Read more

There's always been a relatively simple approach to the question of what to do with your spoon when you're not stirring a hot pot with it: you find something that will catch drips and set your spoon on it. It's not a perfect system--if you've got multiple spoons, it's easy to forget which spoon goes with which pot--but it hasn't been an area for particularly novel development, at least until now. The Utensil Pot Clip is an all-new approach to the question. This stainless steel and silicone tool clips to the side of pots, … Read more

Your everyday vegetable peeler will always make a mess out of soft fruits and vegetables, but a peeler made for more-precise work--like peeling a peach--will take forever on a job like peeling a potato. It's important to have the right tool for the job, and that means having a variety of different peelers. You don't have to completely fill a kitchen drawer with utensils, though. The Twist & Peel Dual Peelers, from Kuhn Rikon, provide you with four different peeling options. Each set includes a green and an orange peeler.

The Twist & Peel Dual Peelers have two … Read more

Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup will always be one of my favorite meals, but that doesn't mean that I'll always keep making them the exact same way. The Breville Quattro Sandwich Maker offers a simple way to handle those grilled cheese sandwiches, along with a variety of other hot sandwiches. The flat cooking plates ensure that both sides are cooked equally, something I tend to have a problem with when my sandwich is in a pan. The upper plate floats so it can handle even tall sandwiches piled high.

The Breville Quattro Sandwich Maker has a nonstick … Read more

The La Plancha Cast-Iron Griddle offers up 14 inches of cooking surface--and you can take it anywhere. This heavy duty cast iron griddle can be used on the stovetop, on the outdoor grill and even in the oven for frying. If you've got veggies you're worried about falling into the grill, the griddle's got it taken care of; not only does it have a flat surface but also a high back that keeps food from getting away from you and falling over the edge. If you're craving cookout flavors but the grill isn't an option, … Read more

Learning to cook is a process. The journey that we take in the kitchen is filled with rewarding experiences: from the time we first learn how to not burn toast, to when we first complete an entire meal. (That would be the one served with a vegetable--and no, a tomato on a fried hamburger doesn't count.) Eventually, no matter how far we progress, there is always a new tip or trick to learn. And then sometimes, it's just a matter of doing things quickly.

The Rosle Multi Chopper is a convenient kitchen gadget that streamlines food preparation. Well-suited … Read more

There's just something about curly fries that consistently seems cooler than regular french fries. It may seem like the way you cut potatoes couldn't matter much, but just a little change automatically seems better. The Curly Fry Cutter from Progressive allows you to turn potatoes in your kitchen into curly fries without much trouble. By using the cutter's unique threaded handle to hold your potatoes in place, you can quickly slice or spiral cut your fries without any safety concerns. The cutter uses stainless steel blades, but its construction keeps them far away from your fingers. The … Read more