When we first “tied the knot” a dozen or so years ago, we purchased an inexpensive set of cookware at Target. Budgets were tight and cooking wasn’t such a passion. All the pieces were coated with teflon for a non-stick finish, even the sauce pans. Overall, the pans worked well and held up to frequent use. Concern over the safety of teflon began to emerge a few years ago. Pans heated to 500º C could emit toxic fumes. According to Cook’s Illustrated, it was fairly easy to get to that temperature quickly when cooking over high heat. We began to consider other alternatives.

As I become enamored of cooking and my husband ran out of gift ideas, finer cookware became a common and welcome present to be gleefully opened. Now, I have a nice set of All Clad stainless steel cookware and an ever growing variety of Le Creuset cast iron.

I still have a few teflon coated fry pans that are needed for crepes (or 49ers). We also cook eggs and egg whites daily, so a non-stick pan is needed for that, but does the non-stick have to be teflon? Some folks have suggested going back to the original non-stick, cast iron. I’ve tried cooking eggs in my Le Creuset skillets with the inner black, matte finish. It works okay, but not as well as teflon.

I was at a Le Creuest outlet in Gilroy, California in January and I believe I saw skillets with the shiny enamel finish on the inside. I didn’t buy one at the time and searched for them when I got home. Either I was mistaken or they don’t normally sell fully enameled skillets. My Le Creuset french oven and deep saucier clean up so well, I wondered if fully enameled skillets would fare as well. Since I could not find new Le Creuset with the shiny enamel interior, I decided to check eBay. I found a vintage Le Creuset pan on eBay that had the shiny enamel finish. I decided to buy it and give it a try.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well it works for eggs. It’s a small pan, about 9″ in diameter, so it’s not too heavy. With a spray of canola oil, I preheat the pan on low. Once it reaches a suitable temperature, I add the eggs. It works well enough for scrambled eggs, perhaps a higher heat might be more suitable. I’ll have to play with that. It does an amazing job on eggs over easy. The eggs do not stick at all. Once I flip the eggs over, I turn the heat off and let the residual heat finish cooking the other side for perfect eggs. Clean up is a breeze, just like teflon.

I’m not sure if other cast iron manufacturers make fully enameled skillets with the shiny interior. It would be a wonderful addition if they did.

Hi, my name is Sylvia and I have a kitchen gadget obsession. I know I’m not alone. Stores like Williams Sonoma, Sur La Table, Crate and Barrel, not to mention Amazon.com love us. Where some people buy shoes, we buy kitchen ware: appliances, cookware, bakeware, tools, etc.

Some gadgets get used frequently and I wonder how I got by before they graced my kitchen. Other things seemed like a good idea at the time, but gather dust and get moved around until the next garage sale or eBay auction.

I have a KitchenAid Professional 600 mixer, Stella. (My third KA Mixer, all worked beautifully, I just ‘had to’ upgrade. ) I love Stella and use her several times per week. She stays on the counter ready for action. She’s a big mixer with a large 6 quart bowl. However, sometimes you don’t need a bowl that big and it can actually be a hindrance.

KitchenAid came to the rescue by introducing a 3 Quart Bowl and Combi-whip in March of last year. (Yes, I did rush out and buy it last March.) This smaller bowl ingeniously attaches to 5 quart and 6 quart models that use the bowl lift mechanism. Currently, it is a Williams-Sonoma exclusive.
[ CORRECTION: It is now also available directly from KitchenAid. ]

Is the smaller bowl and whip a necessity? No, I got by quite well without them. However, having a second, smaller bowl is a nice convenience. The small bowl nests well, so it’s easy to store. That is half the battle in my small kitchen. The 3 quart bowl will nest in the 6 quart bowl, but I use the big bowl to store the attachments including the dough hook, the paddle, and the combi-whip. The wire whip is too big and gets stored in a cupboard. I have some of the KitchenAid bowl covers to keep the attachments and bowl clean. I nest the 3 quart bowl with some bowl shaped strainers.

So far, I mainly use the 3 quart bowl and whip for making pie crust and making buttercream frosting. It does an excellent job of cutting butter into flour. It also mixes buttercream well and is little easier to scrape down. So, while not a necessity, this bowl and whip are keepers.

Well, actually it just peels, cores and slices apples, pears, and potatoes. However, by using this nifty gadget making an apple pie becomes almost effortless.

Apple pie was one of the first things I learned to bake almost twenty years ago. My best friend’s mom was famous for her apple pies and she spent one afternoon showing me how to craft this classic pastry. We of course labored with a paring knife to quarter, peel and thinly slice enough apples for a pie. It was hard work, but well worth the effort. I was able to use my newfound skill to woo my sweetie. I made him an apple pie for his birthday the first year we were together over 17 years ago.

Fast forward a few years when I was introduced to the peeler/slicer that made the drudgery of the paring knife a thing of the past. My friend, Jennifer, showed me this amazing tool and I quickly went to Target to pick one up. The first version I purchased used a C-clamp to affix itself to a table. This worked well if you had a table with a shallow enough depth for the clamp to work. I didn’t, so I usually had to come up with creative ways to make it work.

Later I saw the suction base version, but did not want to replace the one I had. I also had my doubts that the suction base would hold. I read a review on Cook’s Illustrated that claimed it worked well, so last year I purchased a new one and donated my old one to charity. The suction base does indeed hold well and now I can use it on my stainless steel work table.

If you make apple desserts often, this is worth the reasonable price. They range in price from $22 – $28. Williams-Sonoma has a nice version. As an added bonus, it’s fun to use. You simply attach the apple to the three prongs and then rotate the handle. It cores the apple while peeling it. As it rotates through the corer, the apple is sliced in one long piece, kind of like a slinky. Both ends will still have some peel on them. I cut these off and eat them.

When purchasing apples to use in the peeler, look for ones that are uniformly round. If there is a lot of peel left, you can adjust the peeler to cut deeper. You will lose a little flesh, but you will have a nicely peeled apple. If there is any skin left on the apple, dig out that trusty paring knife and whittle away what is left.

I celebrated a birthday recently and must have been a very good girl last year because I was gifted two Le Creuset cast iron pans.

My generous husband gave me a deep covered sauté pan in a beautiful blue. Poor dear searched high and low for this pan. I admired it in a Williams Sonoma catalog, but he forgot where I saw it. It’s not available in many places yet.

Oh my, is that pan heavy. It’s “almost” too big for meals for the two of us. Luckily we’re big leftover fans. I’ve made a few “one pot” meals in it. I haven’t quite mastered the “one pot” method, but am working on it. Less clean up is always a plus. The pan works well and clean up is a breeze. It has an enameled interior like the dutch ovens. My only problem is finding someplace to store it. I think a rearrangement of the kitchen is needed.

My wonderful in-laws gave me a 2 3/4 qt oval dutch oven in Dune which is a beautiful cream color. They gave me my first Le Creuset dutch oven several years ago that started this trend in fine cookware. I had always admired Hope’s dutch oven and they surprised me with my first Le Creuset. Now I have this lovely piece to add to my weighty collection. It is the perfect size for two. I can’t wait to use it. They told me they want to keep me cooking. I will gladly oblige, gifts or not.

Now I just need to keep my sisters from coveting my pans. M has a dutch oven and loves it. A hinted that I never did get her a wedding gift. She’s about to celebrate her 20th anniversary. Maybe it’s time to give her that long awaited gift. I can afford a little nicer gift than I could have when I was 19.

Like many home cooks, I collect an over abundance of recipes, either in the form of cookbooks, magazine articles, Web sites, and food blogs. One problem I have with cookbooks is that they’re hard to keep clean and keep open to the correct page.

The first time I make a recipe, I use the cookbook. If the recipe is a big success and I know I’m going to make it again, I prefer to have an electronic version so I can add any tweaks, weight measurements, or notes. Having an electronic version also allows me to print it again if someone wants the recipe or if I lose it. Not that I’m disorganized at all.

I’ve tried different methods of printing recipes, including index cards. The method I like best is to print the recipes on regular letter-sized paper and store them in sheet protectors in a 3-ring binder. When I’m using the recipe, I can remove the one I need and stand it in a handy little item, called a “Page Up”

The Page Up has a footprint of about 2″ x 2 1/2″. It has a Muppet-like smile into which you insert a piece of paper. Originally, they were meant for offices, to hold documents that needed typing. They even have a line for cooks, called Cuisine. The Page Up base is clear and filled with dried corn, lentils, green beans, rice or mustard seeds.

Look for the Page Up at an office supply store, or you can find them online at Amazon.com.

I have two at home. One I nabbed from my husband’s desk. He’s a dear and gave it up willingly. He’s willing to help with anything that keeps him well fed.