Kitchen magic
Good knives, back-to-basics coffee pots, cast iron on the chef’s wish list
For the person in the household who takes great pride in their kitchen, there are few things better than a new gadget to help make meal prep a little easier or more fun.
And surprisingly, there’s a big, back-to-thebasics move these days.
For instance, while coffee shops abound and offer every means of masking — or enhancing — the flavor of those coffee beans, a lot of people are looking at pour overs.
“People are looking for a different way of preparing their coffee and there’s a real minimalist movement on,” says Matthew Segura, co-owner of Now We’re Cooking. “A pour over is a system where you take your water that’s hot and you have a filter and you pour that water in that system and you pour it into the coffee mug after you let it steep. People are still into French presses but pour over, I think it’s a millennial thing. They’re trying to minimize what they have and a pour over is something simple.”
At $35, the Chemex 3-cup, filter-drip system is an elegant, café-shaped carafe that fits the bill quite nicely, Segura says.
“This is where coffee has now gone to, although we do still sell a fair amount of drip systems and French presses,” he says.
The BonJour Coffee and Tea 3-cup press for $31.95 “is still pretty popular,” Segura says. “French presses are minimalizing again, that space that you have with not having to have a big appliance taking up all this space.”
The bonus with this system, he says, is it works well with loose tea, as well.
Function, beauty
At Le Creuset in Santa Fe, the brightly-colored stoneware French Press couples functionality with a splash of color to the kitchen, says employee Zachery VanCuren.
“It is stoneware so it is basically clay-like ceramic,” he says. “You put the coffee grounds inside of it and fill it up with hot water, let it set for three to five minutes, put the top on and push the grounds down and the coffee is pretty much ready to go.”
The dense stoneware blocks moisture absorption to prevent cracking, crazing and rippling and the impermeable exterior enamel resists stains and scratches from metal utensils, VanCuren says. The 12-ounce capacity container, which stands 6.5 inches high and can also be used with loose tea leaves, runs $63.
For those who still like their foam and froth and other assorted bells and whistles, the Capresso Froth Control Automatic Milk Frother and & Milk Chocolate Maker is a minamalist’s dream for $74.95.
“There are still a lot of people who like to do their drinks like Starbucks,” Segura says. So they want to put froth as a topping. This guy gives you froth, but you can also do hot chocolate. So it’s heating up the milk as well as frothing it for you. Most frothers you have to heat up the milk in another source then you can froth. This does it all.”
Sharp gift
When it comes to doing it all in the kitchen, there’s nothing like a standout set of knives for the wannabe chef, says Now We’re Cooking co-owner Nancy Herring.
Her personal favorite is the Zwilling J.A. Henkels 8-piece block with a four-inch paring knife, a five-inch serrated knife, a 5½-inch prep knife, eightinch chef’s knife and eightinch bread knife, along with the wood block, steel sharpener and kitchen shears for $199.
“It’s a holiday promo and it’s such a great deal,” Herring says. “We sell a lot of these to CNM students because it has everything they need and a little bit more than they need. If you know someone who likes to cook, good knives make their job so much easier. And they will think of you every time they use it.”
Of course, what’s fine set of knives without a primo cutting board on which to use them, she says.
TeakHaus boards by Proteak, which start at $41.95 for a beautiful, multi-grain look, are the stylish addition to any kitchen, Herring says.
And of course, a fine set of knives need to be kept in tip-top shape.
“If somebody has good knives and they don’t have a knife sharpener, you have to add a knife sharpener to the list,” she says. “You want your knives to continue to be sharp because a dull knife is not a fun knife.”
A small, hand-held, countertop sharpener by Kitchen IQ goes for $8.95 while the Chef’s Choice electric knife sharpener runs $139 and uses “vibrating diamond sharpening surfaces,” Herring says. “They’re super easy.”
Updated cast iron
When it comes to actual cooking, it’s hard to beat old-fashioned cast iron with a modern twist, VanCuren says.
“The benefits of cooking in cast iron, if you’re anemic or need more iron in your body, this helps,” he says. “But our cast iron is coated with enamel so it’s not like raw cast iron since enamel-coated you don’t have worry about it getting rusty or seasoning it. It holds the heat evenly and cooks evenly.”
The round Dutch ovens are a popular item because you can slow cook, medium cook, do large pot roasts, cook hams and even use them to bake in, VanCuren says.
They range from the two-quart size for $147 to the 13¼-quart size for $392. Oval Dutch ovens, which are perfect for larger size meats like turkeys or large cuts range from 6¾-quart for $259 to 15½-quart for $473.
A brazier is also a versatile tool because of its multiple-use capabilities, VanCuren says.
“You can cook on top of the stove, like a normal pan or if recipe calls for it to be baked, you can throw it in the oven,” he says. “It comes with our heaviest lid and you can use it without the lid. It’s heavy because it’s a domeshaped piece, which helps circulate the heat in a circular motion.”