Handy tools for holiday cooks
It’s that time of year: We’re all on the on-ramp to the holidays. With feasts, parties and other events ahead, it’s a perfect time to make sure your kitchen is ready and raring to go. These 11 items should be in a well-stocked holiday kitchen:
1 Roasting pan and rack For a turkey, ham or roast, you’ll need a sturdy roasting pan, either 11-by-14 (28-by-35.5 cm) or 13-by-16 inches (33-by-40.6 cm) — which will fit up to a 20-pound (ninekilogram) turkey, for example — fitted with a non-stick rack. The rack ensures even browning, and lets you roast vegetables in the pan below the meat if desired. Get a pan with high sides to prevent splatters, and generous handles for easy lifting. Make sure it’s solid, and can also be transferred to the stovetop so you can finish making gravy in the pan. It’s worth paying more for quality on this one: A good roasting pan will last a lifetime. 2 Meat thermometer When turkey breast meat registers 165 F (74 C), it’s ready to come out of the oven — and you don’t want to be guessing at the temperature. Some thermometers stay in the turkey (or the roast) the whole time, and some even have a remote reader that saves you from opening the oven to check the temperature. But there are also lots of great instant thermometers available, and a quick check gives you instant results, as promised. There are dial versions, digital displays — buy one that has a screen you find easy to read. 3 Baking dishes and casserole pots You’ll need a number of baking dishes to make sure all your sides — roasted vegetables, stuffing, casseroles — have a place to cook (or reheat). Casseroles are deeper and should have lids, and might hold anywhere from two to four quarts (2.3 to 4.5 L) of food, or more. The most popular baking dishes are usually something in the nineby-13-inch (23-by-33 cm) or two-to-three-quart (2.3-to3.4 L) range, and you should mix and match shapes and depths. If you are bringing a side to someone else’s home, look for a baking dish with its own snap-on lid. It’s great for portability and for storing leftovers. 4 Storage containers Some of us have a pretty serious fixation about storage containers. In a perfect world, you’ll have some “good” ones (for you alone to use and keep) and some that are up for grabs (bought to be packed with leftovers for your guests to take home). “Good” ones might be made of durable plastic or glass, should be stackable and dishwasher-safe, and have sturdy lids to keep things fresh. The take-away containers just have to seal up tightly, and then they are no longer yours to worry about. 5 Sharp knives If you’ve been wanting to up your knife game, now’s the moment. Good knives don’t have to cost a fortune, though some can get pricey. If you’re going to buy one good knife, make it an eight- or 10-inch (20.3- or 25.4-cm) chef’s knife. Bigger knives do more work, so go for the 10-inch (25.4-cm) if possible. Shop somewhere where you can hold the knives to compare heft and feel, and talk with a salesperson about what you like. 6 Pie plates Where there is a holiday dinner, there will likely also be pie. With luck, it will be homemade (or at least semi-homemade — a premade crust can be unrolled or transferred into your pie plate. Shhh …). A nine-inch (23-cm) pie plate is the most useful size. Metal works, but glass and ceramic tend to look prettier on the table. 7 Carving board with trench If you have ever carved a turkey (or chicken or roast) on a cutting board without a trench, then you have probably spent time mopping up precious juices from the counter and floor. You want to collect those juices in the canal carved in the board and put them to use in your gravy (or just drizzle them over the sliced meat). I lean toward a good-looking, sturdy wooden board, which is also great for serving if you’re not going the platter route. And, of course, you’ll be using your board for all of the slicing and dicing as you get ready for the meal. 8 Turkey baster A dry turkey is to be avoided at all costs, and this is where a simple baster comes into play. These come in plastic or stainless steel, and are usually inexpensive. But don’t buy a supercheap one as the bulb may not have a good seal, and therefore not suck up the cooking liquid as effectively. Wash this utensil especially well after use to keep the bulb pliable and the baster clean (some even come with a cleaning brush). 9 Fat separator To get the great pan liquid for gravy after you’ve roasted poultry or meat, you’ll want to remove most of the fat. There are two kinds of fat separators: pitchers and bottom drainers. Both work fine. (Sometimes they might be labelled gravy separators.) Choose one with a four-cup (1 L) capacity, a wide strainer, and a big spout to pour off the liquid cleanly and easily. Definitely make sure it’s dishwasher-safe. 10 Mixing bowls Plenty of choices here, from plastic to glass to metal. Get a nice assortment in a range of sizes; it’s almost impossible to have too many during the holidays. Some have a rubber rim around the bottom, which keeps them nicely in place as you stir and whisk away. 11 Rimmed baking sheets These are the workhorses of the kitchen, indispensable for holidays and all days. The most commonly available and useful size is known as a half sheet, measuring 13-by-18 inches (about 33-by-45 cm). You will use these for roasting vegetables, making cookies, broiling chicken, baking fish, you name it. The rimmed edge stops dripping, which prevents the fire alarm from going off (very important). Buy heavy sheets — lighter ones can warp during cooking, especially at high heat or under the broiler.