23 Dec 2016
by scolgin
in Good Gadget, Bad Gadget, Humor
Tags: Bellelay Abbey, chanterelles, cheese, Cowgirl Creamery, gadgets, girolles, raclette, Swiss food, Switzerland, tete de moine
The best obscure one-use gadgets come from Europe. My friend from Austria gave me a spaetzle maker. How often to YOU make spaetzle?? Probably less often than I, which is a couple times a year — often once around Oktoberfest. The spaetzle maker takes up almost one whole drawer all by itself. But when I make spaetzle, I sure am happy to have it.
The spaetzle maker
I also have a raclette stove, which takes up the better part of a whole cupboard shelf. Raclette is an Alpine French cheese that you melt on tiny skillets, and then mash together with boiled potatoes and cornichons. The last time we used it, George W. Bush was president. But boy, is it cool. More
13 Jun 2014
by scolgin
in Cooking Tips, Humor
Tags: burgers, cooking tips, gadgets, grilling, Himalayan salt block, humor, Sur la Table, Williams-Sonoma
Around about this time each year, I get emails from the likes of Williams-Sonoma and Sur la Table touting their wonderful selection of summer grilling “must haves” at up to 50% off. Last year an email from Sur la Table even included the recommendations of “Jenn the Gadget Girl,” whom I tried in vain to prove or disprove the actual existence of.
The emails always seem to arrive when I’m scratching my head about what to blog about, and in that way are like a gift. And this year, they did not disappoint.
Adding to my already formidable collection of “Good Gadget, Bad Gadget” posts is this summer’s grill edition, which as usual is heavy on the “bad gadget” side… It’s hard to believe that in a product lab somewhere on earth, people are actually dreaming these things up. More
19 Nov 2013
by scolgin
in Good Gadget, Bad Gadget, Observations, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories)
Tags: barbecue, Black Equities Group, food, gadgets, grilling, humor, rib eye, Scott Murphy, Topanga
People often give me items for cooking or the kitchen that are sometimes useful, sometimes not. And you never quite know at first in which direction they will fall.
The Scott Murphy Hat
For example, you may open a Christmas gift to discover a beautifully designed utensil from Williams-Sonoma that looks like something you couldn’t live without, and find over time that you have no use for it at all. Conversely, someone may hand you something you couldn’t imagine ever using, and it winds up being one of your MVPs (Most Valuable Products). Such was the case with the Scott Murphy hat. More
20 Sep 2013
by scolgin
in Good Gadget, Bad Gadget, Humor
Tags: bad gadgets, food, gadgets, good gadgets, humor, Jenn the Gadget Girl, kitchen, Sur la Table, tongs
I received a promotional email from Sur la Table. The subject line read, “Jenn’s Gadget Picks”. So I clicked on it, and there smiling at me was a picture of a cute girl that said, “Meet our very own Gadget Girl, Jenn!” And I thought to myself, “Oh no… you didn’t really just create a Jenn the Gadget girl for me to blog about, did you!???”
Jenn.
It was like a gift from the heavens.
If you’ve been following my blog for any period of time, you’ve probably stumbled on one of my many “Good Gadget, Bad Gadget” posts. If not, let me suffice to say that I am a gadget skeptic. More
01 May 2012
by scolgin
in Good Gadget, Bad Gadget
Tags: barbecue, cooking, food, gadgets, grilling, summer, Sur la Table
I have a bad habit of bringing my favorite cooking utensils places, and leaving them there. You may remember the sad saga of my favorite wooden spoon which got left in a ski cabin at Big Bear. Similarly, I left my favorite tongs at a cooking lesson I was giving for my friends’ gourmet girls group. And then I left my next-favorite tongs at the Steve McQueen beach house in Malibu.
A man cannot live long without tongs.
So it was that I was out at Target, shopping for a new pair of tongs amidst the long aisle of mostly useless cooking gadgets. The very same day, I received the first of what will undoubtedly be a “Summer is coming” onslaught of emails from Sur la Table, Williams-Sonoma, Cooks.com and other helpful sources touting this season’s newest and greatest tools and resources for the outdoor cook. More
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