Stuff You Need

This is the post that almost wasn't! I've spent the last 45 minutes or so on my hands and knees scrubbing my filthy bathroom floor with a toothbrush, and I really wasn't in the mood to blog. You see, we live in a house that's probably sixty years old, and I think the original tile is in the bathroom. It's white tile with white grout. Is there a sane person in the world who thinks it's a good idea to put white tile with white grout in the bathroom? I can't imagine anyone would think that's a good idea! Anyway, it gets all cruddy looking, and I can't stand it! I'm no clean freak by any stretch, but it was getting to be a little much. Butanyway...I've got to keep my 5 or 6 readers coming back, and if they don't get their "Stuff You Need" fix, I can't imagine that they'll be able to go on!

So here we go...what do you need this week?

Knives, my friends...and good ones.

Above, you'll see the knives I use most often in my kitchen (except I forgot one). You don't have to go out and buy Wusthof knives in order to be a success in the kitchen (although that would be nice!), but a good set of knives will go a long way in making your life easier. The top two are the ones I use 99% of the time. They're my two santoku knives, and they're the workhorses of the Orr kitchen. When I've got serious chopping to do, that's what I reach for. For a long time, I only had the big one, but I got the smaller green one from Pampered Chef (my stepsister is a consultant, and they've got some nice stuff). I didn't really think I needed two santoku knives, but it's been so nice to have them! Now, I use the big one mostly on big stuff (watermelons, canteloupes, etc.), but that's not to say that you can't use it for the everyday stuff, too. It's just that the little green one is easy to handle when I'm chopping onions, mincing garlic, etc. If you don't have a santoku knife, get one...really.

Next, we have the large serrated knife. You just can't cut a nice loaf of bread with the santoku knife...it gets all smashed and ugly. Serrated is the way to go, especially for bread. (I don't have much more to say about it.)

Then, we have the sharpest knife (currently) in my arsenal. I guess it's a chef's knife...I really don't know. This is my meat-trimming knife. I think it's really a pretty all-purpose knife, but that point really helps to get in there and trim up chicken, beef, etc.

Finally, the tomato knife. And no, it's not just for tomatoes. I really like this knife, and I'm not sure why. I really like the sharp point...you can get things started with that. It's David's go-to knife for cutting up oranges. (And while I'm on the subject of cutting up oranges, how do you eat them? I grew up just peeling them and eating the wedges out of hand. David and my inlaws always cut an orange, then eat the flesh away from the peel. The first time I sat and peeled and orange and ate the wedges out of hand, they looked at me like I had two heads. Of course, I probably looked at them like they had two heads while they were slicing away at the oranges. Which way do you prefer?) Let's get back to the subject at hand...the tomato knife is essential for slicing those juicy home-grown tomatoes that are still warm from the sun! That sharp point cuts through the thin, but tough skin without smashing the tomato's flesh, which gives you perfect tomato slices. It's a must-have.

My last little knife (that I forgot to get out) is also from The Pampered Chef. It's a little paring knife, and I think they cost less than a dollar each. I got mine as part of a wedding shower gift from David's cousin Virginia Ann. That knife is sharp! It's great for peeling an apple or slicing potatoes. And for what they cost, there's no reason not to have a couple!

So there you have it...the stuff you need for this week. Really, ya'll...you need good knives.

Stuff You Need

Sorry guys...or the two or three of you who read my blog...I originally intended the "Stuff You Need" feature to be on Mondays. But this week has been crazy, so I hope you won't abandon me for doing "Stuff You Need" on Wednesdays from time to time.

So, I know it's been killing you. What do you need now? You need...

a Silpat!

What the heck is a Silpat? It's a super-nonstick baking mat made of fiberglass mesh and silicone. You never need to grease it. Nothing will stick to it...nothing. They're perfect for biscuits and cookies. Don't you hate it when you bake cookies or biscuits and the bottoms get too brown and then stick? Not anymore...you'll have perfect bottoms that slide right off the baking mat! Have you ever seen those baking challenges on Food Network? You know where they try to build a practically life-sized building out of cereal and marshmallows or something equally crazy? Well...when those chefs are making sugar decorations, what do they use to mold their sugar on? A Silpat! Because NOTHING will stick.

One thing I need to make sure you understand...this thing is not a cutting board. If you cut on it, you could release the fiberglass mesh into the food, and that can't be good for you. They're strictly for baking.

Where can you get a Silpat? (Or two...because you need at least two.) Mine came from Bed, Bath, and Beyond as a wedding gift. They're also sold at Sur la Table, Williams-Sonoma, Macy's, and a ton of other places. They come in different shapes and sizes (even an octogon shaped one for the microwave!), and you can check those out, as well as a list of FAQs at http://www.silpat.com/.

Stuff You Need

This will (hopefully) be a new feature on The Sweet Life. Each Monday, I'll highlight "Stuff You Need" in your kitchen. This week...one of my kitchen heroes:

The salad spinner! For anyone who eats a lot of salad, you definitely need this! My mother-in-law (Shirley), and my stepmom (Theresa), both told me for a couple of years that I needed a salad spinner. I was skeptical. Why in the heck would I buy a salad spinner? I always just bought salad in a bag. Then I began to do a little math (and I avoid math like the plague). David and I eat salad at least a couple of nights a week. We can very easily put away a bag of salad between us at meal time. A bag of salad costs about $2.59. A bag of three hearts of romaine costs $3.00. We can get about 6 side salads or 3 meal sized salads out of it. It's much more economical to buy the hearts of romaine! (Even my mathematically-challenged brain can figure that one out.) That leaves the problem of cleaning the lettuce, though. So I decided to buy a salad spinner and see what all the fuss was about. I went to the local Wal-Mart to buy one, and I was surprised to see that they ranged in price from $2.98 to about $30.00. I'm also no engineer, but I can see that there aren't a whole heck of a lot of mechanics involved in this thing, and I wasn't entirely sure I needed one, so I bought the $2.98 model (see above). I've been using it for several months now, and it's no worse for wear. I did have one "incident" though...I got my thumb hung up in the water hole while the salad was spinning. My thumb stopped the spinning action, the lid popped off, and I had a tornado of lettuce flying through my kitchen. But my thumb was still intact, and the problem was operator error, not the fault of the spinner. Have I conviced you to buy one yet? If you're on the fence, let me leave you with this...in a pinch, the inner compartment (that actually holds the salad), can double as a colander in a pinch:See? I think even Alton Brown would approve, because the salad spinner ISN'T a unitasker. He says you should only have one unitasker in your kitchen! Do you know what it is? Leave me a comment with your answer. I don't have anything to give away to you, but you can have bragging rights as the first "Stuff You Need" trivia contest winner on The Sweet Life!