When I was on a panel discussion with Florence Fabricant and Francine Segan at the 92 street Y last week, I learned a few new tips. We discussed dining out and dining in and I brought some of my favorite small kitchen tools for show and tell, including a giant cake lifter (for transporting massive amounts of cut vegetables), citrus grater (looks like a microplane but is meant only for citrus), onion goggles, chantry knife sharpener, Oxo tiny clear measuring cup for tablespoons, dental floss (for cutting soft cheese and cheesecake) and a grapefruit spoon.

I use the grapefruit spoon for taking the seeds out of jalapenos, getting the capers out of jars, removing the gills from Portobellos, and separating the skin on a turkey. But Florence shared another good one with me – digging out the choke on a cooked artichoke.

She also gave me another tip – when she bakes shucked oysters she puts them in a madeleine pan so that they lay flat. Now, that is brilliant!!

If you have any unusual uses for kitchen gadgets, please share them with me.