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Anyone who works with candy will tell you how important it is to have a great thermometer.  I am a caramel-aholic.  Okay, I admit it.  I should be in some sort of program for my obsession, but I am not.  I don’t think they could help me with my food addictions.  One of my favorite candies is dark chocolate pecan turtles.  I have always loved them.  I use to pay an obscene amount of money at candy stores for them, until I got this little beauty.  When I found this thermometer at my local cooks store I had to have it.  This thermometer appealed to my practical side - a two for one deal, gotta love that!  I love having tools that are multi-purpose in my kitchen and this thermometer does a lot.  It has read out for the different stages of candy making and is even durable enough to give you a read on deep frying oil.  The thermometer alerts you with a couple of beeps when you are close to your stage, i.e. soft ball, hard ball, etc.  It also has a general temperature feature that is great for reading anything.  The only complaint I have is the clip.  The clip that attaches the unit to your pan is pretty much useless, as many of the reviewers on amazon have stated.  The thermometer is a little to heavy for such a small clip, but if you can get passed this one minor flaw the unit is a winner!  The read out is clear, accurate and quick.  The price isn’t too bad at around $30.  Click on the link above to check it out at amazon.com.

“Okay, so another one of those wacky posts from Nicky over at deglazing.com .  She really loves her $3.00 wooden citrus reamer.”  This is what I imagine anyone reading this to say, but sometimes the most simple gadgets are best.  I frequently use my citrus reamer and find it a great kitchen companion.  Making guacamole, citrus loaf, or lemonade?  Well, this cheap little citrus reamer could be a great gadget for you.  Granted using the reamer for multiple jobs can be a little cumbersome, but $3.00 is a lot cheaper than $20.00 and you may just find juicing with the little wooden reamer efficient enough to make you happy.  It’s one of the few gadgets you can purchase that doesn’t need a manual and a Harvard degree to use.  

This Christmas my husband and I decided to get one big present together and this is it, the Breville Espresso Maker.  We love this new addition to our kitchen.  This machine is simple to use and can make two espresso drinks at once.  The machine comes with the milk steaming pitcher, a cleaner, and two brewing baskets for the head.  One basket makes one shot of espresso and the other is designed to make two.  It also came with a cleaning wand and a pretty extensive owner’s manual.  You can use either loose ground espresso or espresso pods with this unit.  It easily switches between brewing mode and steaming mode with the switch of the dial.  I keep a small kitchen thermometer next to the machine to keep an eye on the milk when I steam it.  The steaming/frothing wand is easy to use after the first couple of tries.  I really enjoy this machine and find it makes restaurant quality drinks at home.  The only downside I can see is if you have a really small kitchen, this thing is a brute and takes up quite a bit of counter space. 

I am the proud owner of a KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer.  I am not saying that my stand mixer is perfect or there haven’t been things that went wrong with it, but overall it is a great little mixer.  I got my mixer 3 years ago and up until then I had been doing all of my baking work by hand.  Needless to say, I was very happy to get a stand mixer, it was like getting two more hands in the kitchen.  The mixer came with three beaters - the whisk, the paddle, and the dough hook.  I do use each of the beaters, but the paddle is the one I use the most.  After three years of baking my stand mixer is starting to show the signs of age.  The knob that holds on the Kitchen Aid logo is cracked and taped.  The bowl is looking beaten up and the motor is starting to make sounds of impending doom.  I will not be upset if my stand mixer doesn’t make it another year, I have really put this one to the test.

I have found this mixer to be a great tool for making doughs, cookies, pasta (with the pasta attachments), quick breads, etc.  The variable speed control is sensitive enough to work with all kinds of recipes.  I love the pasta attachments - very easy to use.  I like the flip top head and will miss it when I move up to the next size.  I could never go back to being stand mixer less, it’s one of the best tools I have in my kitchen.  You can check these mixers at amazon.com by clicking on the photo above.