kitchen tools

when it comes to cooking there are two things that have forever changed my life.

one is this:














and the other is this:














the first picture is an instant-read digital thermometer and the second picture is a knife sharpener. before i had an instant read, cooking any sort of meat was hit or miss. most recipes give you the cooking temperature and time, but every kitchen seems to work different so i so i lost trust. i had to resort to slicing into every cut of meat to make sure i wasn't servin' up raw chicken or nuking the steak. but every time i did that i was just making things worse; if i was lucky enough to avoid turning things to sawdust, the end result was a tender, juicy, sliced up mess. now that i've got one of these, i know if i cook broiled chicken to 165 degrees (in the thickest part) it comes out moist and tender no matter where i'm cooking.

the knife sharpener is another must have kitchen tool as far as i'm concerned. the one pictured here is not all that traditional, but its cheap and it works. hey, if you want to pay $30 more for one that will sharpen your knives in 5 less strokes, go for it - as long as it works. but either way, get one and use it often. if your used to cutting through vegetables and mincing garlic with a dull blade, see how much more satisfying it is with a razor sharp edge. its like putting on a new pair of shoes. are your knives sharp enough to cut through the skin of tomato without applying pressure? it not, time you added one of these to your collection.