Things Cooks Love Reviewed By Toledo (OH) Blade

Things Cooks Love: Implements. Ingredients. Recipes. by Sur La Table and Marie Simmons is reviewed by food editor Kathie Smith in the Toledo (OH) Blade

Article published April 22, 2008

Perfect pair: Wedding season and cookware

I'm keenly aware of cooking equipment for two reasons spring cleaning and the fact that my daughter was married seven weeks ago. Recent shopping for bridal shower and wedding gifts found me in the cookware aisles.

Spring cleaning reminds me of the cooking equipment that has been pushed to the back of my cupboards. There's the grill pan I haven't used in years. It splatters too much when I cook with it; the only exception is making panini sandwiches, which work nicely on the grids, provided you use a weight to press the sandwich down.

I hesitate to reveal that I rarely use the 4 or 6-quart pot with the pasta insert, which can double as a steamer insert. But thanks to author Marie Simmons, who teamed up with Sur La Table in Things Cooks Love: Implements. Ingredients. Recipes. (Andrews McMeel, $35), I'm inspired to steam beets in my pasta pot/insert. Ms. Simmons writes that steaming preserves the firm texture and rich flavor of beets better than boiling does - I usually boil or roast beets. Cooked and sliced beets are a wonderful addition to salads. Other foods that can be steamed are artichokes, broccoli, corn on the cob, carrots, and cauliflower. Use a steamer for shellfish, reheating rice, tamales, and lobster.

Among the newest pieces of equipment is the stove-top smoker. It consists of a pan with a sturdy handle that stays cool, a tray with a rack that sits on top of a small inside pan that holds the wood chips (about 2 tablespoons), and either a sliding lid or a removable lid that can double as a roasting pan. It's a piece of equipment I do not own, because I have devised my own stove-top smoker using my Corning Ware Dutch oven, rack, and aluminum foil when I make Tea-Smoked Chicken.

I remember that last summer I needed a food mill, a useful gadget for purees. You won't get a foamy gazpacho (a common issue when using a food processor) if you use a food mill. And, a potato ricer makes great mashed potatoes. Each of these pieces of equipment are great gifts for wedding showers and weddings. Then there are the specialty kitchens which are popular with 20-and-30-somethings. Their culinary tastes provide ideas for gift giving. The Asian Pantry alls for a bamboo steamer, rice cooker, and sushi tools (very big among 30-somethings). To make sushi rolls, you need the rice paddle and the bamboo mat.

The Mexican Kitchen calls for a molcajete (mortar) and the tejolote (pestle). A stove-top pepper roaster, terra-cotta bakeware, and a tortilla press are great gifts for any couple who love Mexican food.

Francophiles will appreciate a chinois, a conical sieve that is used for pureeing soups, vegetables, or fruits. A crepe pan is a frying pan with low sides and an easy-to-grasp long, narrow handle. Fondue pots have become an international social ritual with the idea of sharing a communal dish. I love my gratin dish for baking classic gratin recipes topped with a creamy sauce, buttered crumbs, and/or cheese.

The Indian Kitchen calls for the cast-iron karahi, which can be used in the oven and for deep-frying dishes such as zucchini blossoms and corn fritters. The tawa is an iron griddle with slightly raised sides used to roast spices, cook flatbreads, and grill small batches of kebabs. The Italian Kitchen needs a mattone, a round, glazed terra-cotta dish with a heavy disk-like lid that weights down the chicken as it cooks. A pasta machine, pizza stone, pizzelle maker, and risotto pan make classic dishes.

The Spanish or Iberian Kitchen needs a paella pan, and the Moroccan Kitchen needs a tagine, the glazed terra-cotta cookware with the teepee-shaped conical lid. Kitchen toys make us happy. It's even better when we use them.