Gourmet Meals in Crappy Little Kitchens Read Free Page B

for stuffing. The plastic ones will probably snap under the pressure of either of these jobs.
    Box cheese grater
    It will tackle any grating or microplaning need you have and can hang from your pot rack. Each of the four sides has different size holes for making hash browns, grating ginger, or shaving truffles. It’s also a useful tool for shredding cabbage or onions.
    Fine strainer
    Sometimes you need to strain a sauce to remove stems, seeds, or shells that might escape through the holes of a stockpot strainer. A fine strainer only costs a couple bucks and doesn’t take up much room; in fact mine hangs from my pot rack. It also works well for sifting flour and dusting desserts with cocoa or powdered sugar.
    Thermometer
    You’ll need one digital-read multipurpose food thermometer. It fool proofs the difference between medium rare and medium, prevents sugar from getting cooked past the soft ball stage, and perfectly regulates your frying oil in the saucepan, so you don’t have to buy a fryer! The same one can work for meat or candy!
    Sheet tray
    Most home cooks are more familiar with the term cookie sheet, but it truly can do so much more than that. You can use it to toast nuts, or as a lid on a pot of water. You need one for roasting vegetables, and don’t forget the cookies!
    Cake pans
    No one loves cakes more than I do, but I find I don’t make them that often. For the recipes in this book, you’ll only need a 6-inch and 8-inch springform pan. For all other cakes baked in my CLK, I purchase disposable pans. Grocery stores carry a variety of shapes and sizes so you don’t need to store regular pans that you only use twice a year. If you find yourself making a lot of cakes, go ahead and buy the pan you need.
    Blender
    Luckily blenders come in various shapes and sizes, so you should be able to find one that will fit some nook or cranny in your house. A six-cup blender with three AMPS and two speeds is perfect for my home needs. Remember you don’t need to store it in your kitchen if there’s no room. Keep the box it came in, and when you’re not using it, leave it in the hall or bedroom closet. A food processor is certainly helpful, but not necessary if you don’t have the room.
    Torch
    You can buy the tiny one for too much money at your local kitchen gadget store, or you can go to the hardware store and buy a serious torch. A propane torch will caramelize a brulee in 30 seconds as opposed to that tiny butane one sold in a kitchen store that will take 5 minutes. It will come with a small propane canister that is very cheap to replace when it runs out, but chances are, it will last for years. I use mine for everything from caramelizing sugar on desserts to searing large pieces of meat.
    CLK Saboteurs
    Your kitchen is probably cluttered with a ridiculous number of unnecessary items that you’ve accumulated over time and stashed in every nook and cranny of your cramped space. How often have you used the ice cream maker from Auntie Ann or the trifle bowl from your wedding? Go through your kitchen cabinets and drawers and pull out every piece of useless equipment, unnecessary bowls, pans, and gadgets, and box them up. You only need the important tools I’ve recommended above, but if this causes a great concern for you, wait a year. If you haven’t gone into the box because you needed something in one year, the whole box goes to charity. Someone needs that crap more than you!
    In particular, you should unload the space-wasting, extraneous items, aka CLK Saboteurs that follow:
    Colander
    Because our stockpot comes with a built in strainer and a steamer basket, you have two colanders right there. One big, and one small.
    Roasting pan
    It’s just too big! If you plan to roast a turkey or something huge, just buy a disposable pan for the occasion. Don’t store that monstrosity of a roasting pan for the blue moon occasion when you cook an entire rib eye. A Dutch oven or