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Michi said:
This is an original Zyliss chopper that is at least 35 years old. Way back then, I used it to chop onions. For a while. Until I figured out that it takes no longer to do that with a knife, and then there is one fewer thing to clean up :)

The one thing I still use it for is chopping nuts. It's great for that because the nuts don't go flying all over the place, and I can chop them as coarse or as fine as I like in a few seconds. I'm told that the current models of the Zyliss chopper are not as good as the original one, so I'm planning to hang onto this one until, one day, it gives up its ghost. Hopefully that'll be after I'm dead :)
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I end up chopping a lot of dried fruits, nuts and chicken livers for Passover every year. Love my wooden bowl and curved knife (uluu) for that. Super useful, doubles for bread basket the rest of the year.
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Squeeze bottles, so handy, such a complete pain to clean if they had oil in them... I haven't found the bottle brush that makes this easy, yet.

One thing I've used over the years way more than I thought I would, stainless steel steam table inserts.
-I have two large (2-3 gallon?) ones I use to cool down stocks, stainless steel is pretty conductive to temp transfer (the opposite of insulated) so plopping them into a cooler full of ice and putting small ice paddles in them will cool the stock down very fast.
-I have a couple small ones (1.5-2 quart?) that see much more action. I find they are the perfect thing to whip cream in with a hand mixer. They are a perfect match for my small immersion blender to blend my red sauce, soups, or whatever. I have a regular blender, but the insert/immersion combo cleans up so much easier, and when I'm done, it is already in a short term storage container.

Sizzler platters - I use these all the time when I start meat on the range, I'l move it to a sizzler platter before putting it in the oven to continue cooking while I use the first pan to deglaze and start a sauce. These are also great things to use in a toaster oven, they are just the right size.

One thing I notice when I cook in other people's kitchens is that many are missing what I consider a fundamental tool of cooking, some nice heavy-duty stainless steel tongs. I'm not saying most people don't have tongs, only that the ones they have are flimsy and I hate them! 😉
 
More a food tip than a gear tip... but as someone who always used a fair amount of ham cubes and bacon cubes (excuse me, lardons), I found that cutting my own from bigger chunks of cooked ham and bacon is both a way to save money and get higher quality at the same time; pretty much all the pre-cut cubelets here are just filled with water and junk... it's much easier to buy quality if you just buy a whole cooked ham or chunk of bacon (as long as you read the labels).

If you really want to be decadent... I found that replacing bacon / pancetta with cubes of coppa di parma works quite well...
 
My plan is to just try all the combinations. Never hurts to try right? :D Using coppa as ersatz bacon also turned out to be quite a pleasant upgrade. It's going to be my first time eating guanciale ever; could never find it in the past. My expectation is that it's the pancetta that's most redundant between the three.
 
I have never had Guanciale nor heard of it except on this forum. It sounds good.

When it comes to storage containers, we like Pyrex round glass containers with lids. They can go straight from the refirg to the microwave. For cleanup they go in the dishwasher with no less for wear.
 
we're going to try some stainless steel for storage in the fridge and freezer, glass is a bit bulky and prone to accidents with kids in the house.
 
Jovidah said:
My plan is to just try all the combinations. Never hurts to try right? :D Using coppa as ersatz bacon also turned out to be quite a pleasant upgrade. It's going to be my first time eating guanciale ever; could never find it in the past. My expectation is that it's the pancetta that's most redundant between the three.
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While you're at it do give Amatriciana with Bucatini a try!
 
Lars said:
I keep a small container next to my cutting board for scraps and such. Makes working tidy a lot easier..
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I do the same thing. Helps me get stuff to the compost bin, and it’s so convenient to have it “right there”. I use a hotel steamer pot. It goes in the dishwasher occasionally. It’s bombproof.
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I have one of those stand-alone garbage bins and I just move the entire bin next to me...
 
i put my cutting board on an overhang and bring my garbage bin just under it. scrape scraps directly into garbage with knife spine.
 
Well, Ikea supplied us with stainless steel food storage containers to replace the glass that was replacing the plastic :)
So now they stack without taking tons of space and I'm no longer afraid of shattering a glass container against the workspace edge....(it's been known to happen)

Dirt cheap too, and they seem sturdy enough to survive many cycles)
 
Stainless sounds good but I like being able to look into the container and see what's in there. With stainless you have to pull it out and look inside.
And when I am snooping in my refig with lots of containers it is too much trouble.

Here is our vegie and coffee scrap bin. No meat products go in it. We make it into compost for the garden. I have a compost bin in the garden that we dump it in.

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agree, yet the plastic lids allow some see through, and we have developed a habit of labeling whatever goes in the freezer
 
sansho said:
i put my cutting board on an overhang and bring my garbage bin just under it. scrape scraps directly into garbage with knife spine.
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Same... either that, or peel stuff straight above the bin.

boomchakabowwow said:
My favorite method , but we are mandated to compost everything.
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I'd happily seperate it out to a green bin or compost, but I have an appartment without a balcony. I'm not willing to put up with the amount of live fauna that would crop up from having a seperate bin for it that would only get picked up every few weeks...
 
Jovidah said:
I came home from the store yesterday with guanciale, pancetta and coppa di parma. I think it's time for some serious carbonara experimentation... :)
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Figured I'd post a follow-up after my vigorous experimentation - all in the name of science of course. Pancetta was arguably the least interesting of the bunch, and the most like 'normal bacon'. I also found little benefit to adding all three; it just doesn't bring that much more to the table.
Personally I actually prefer a version with just coppa over a version with just guanciale, although this might have something to do with my guanciale being extremely fatty, to the point that it was at least 75% white vs 25% red.

My winner though was a mix 50/50 guanciale / coppa.

Even on their own both are really good at elevating anything you put them in (not just carbonara), but for me having both just dials it up to 11.
Either of them is noticably better than just using your average bacon.
 
boomchakabowwow said:
My favorite method , but we are mandated to compost everything.
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I don't compost meat as I will have animals in my garden digging out the meat and fat scraps. And I really don't want to teach animals to eat in my garden. I have trouble with racoons taking the lid off my trash can and digging trash out all over the yard especially when the wind blows.
 
Wide plastic dough scraper. Use it for; scooping up food, Scraping liquid and scraps off my board when cleaning, Crumb down my table. Scraping bits of dried food from the dining table the kids have left - you can chisel away with it, Scraping food off the side of my blade. 10 a penny on Amazon, man I love a good scraper.
 
Actually forgot to add this, but on the topic of guanciale... it goes really well in risottos (so does coppa for that matter).
Even just the most rudimentary basic risotto of just guanciale + rice + good stock is already quite a treat. The guanciale really elevates it. I'd actually be more inclined to buy more guanciale for the risotto than for the carbonara.
Just make sure to cut the cubes on the smaller side for risotto (can get chewy otherwise and they 'blend' in better).
 
Before starting rice, but, wanting a crispy prosciutto or whatever meat topping, crisp up the meat in the pan you'll be making the risotto in. Then start your rice in the leftover flavor.
 
Not just from the prosciutto. I render down and reuse pretty much any animal fats and trimmings that would otherwise end up in the bin. Leave no flavor behind!
 


using one of those handheld frothing tools as a lightweight immersion blender... never seen that one before. interesting.
 
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