Posted on June 26th, 2012 by Sara Moulton | Filed under Blog « Kitchen Tools « Useful Info | Submit Comment
This is not about my Napoleon complex. I really mean it -we little people work better with a bigger knife. Actually, mostly, big people chop more efficiently with a bigger knife too. Why?
Well, Here are two chef’s knives, side by side, an 8-inch and a 10-inch:
The 10-inch knife is heavier.
The heaviest part of any knife is where the blade meets the handle:
that is where you should position your “victim,” aka the item you are going to… 
My Vitamix Blender:
For years I have wondered about the vitamix blender and whether it was really as fantastic as advertised. It appeared from the all the hype that the machine was so tough, so virile, you could throw a moose in there with a few ice cubes and make a moose shake, no muss no fuss. I marveled about how all these high profile chefs, such as Jean Louis Palladin and Gale Gand seemed to literally embrace the machine… 
I cannot cook without putting on an apron first. It is almost like my hands don’t work unless I do. I don’t understand how someone can cook a whole meal just wearing their regular clothes without protection. My apron has the same effect on me as my glasses, it helps me to focus and get the job done and get it done in a more professional fashion. I am messier without an apron.
But there are many aprons out there… 
You already know that my very favorite shoes for the kitchen are Converse hi-tops (they’ve been in the Sara’s Pick’s archive ever since this site launched.) So you can imagine how excited I was when Bill Nichols, a viewer who is also a Converse fan, e-mailed me that the company is offering the option of designing your own personal pair of Chuck Taylor hi-tops. You can select from a variety of colors and patterns and decide on everything from outside… 
Several years ago, I rediscovered these easy-to-use, color-coded lemon, lime, and orange squeezers. Made of sturdy die-cast aluminum with an optional baked-on finish these squeezers turn citrus halves inside out to give you an incredible amount of juice without the seeds. They can be stored in a kitchen drawer, are easy to clean, and dishwasher safe. Prices vary from $12.95 to $15.95 depending upon finish and size. They are available in kitchenware stores nationwide and by mail from Broadway Panhandler.… 
The skewers I use on the show, which are my favorites, were invented by my friend Elizabeth Karmel, who has a wonderful website called www.Girlsatthegrill.com. She used to work for a company that manufactures grills and is my go to person about everything related to grilling. You can find them at LaPrimaShops.com.… 
You’ve seen them in Mexican restaurants. Made of volcanic rock, this Mexican version of a mortar and pestle can be used for grinding all sorts of ingredients but is most often used for preparing and serving guacamole. Available in many gourmet kitchen equipment shops, they are available by mail from Williams-Sonoma.… 
