Pulled Pork (or, Edna Redux)

Ode to a Spatula

For years (or at least the two we've been writing this blog) I've lorded my lack of bona fide cooking equipment over Rachel. Yes, she of the gigantic, semi-professional KitchenAid stand mixer can make good pie crust, etc. but is she really sure it's not at least somewhat related to the equipment? I mean, could she really make tasty pie crust using a fork the way I do (badly I admit)? HA!

But since writing this blog and reading a ton of other cooking blogs and interviewing cookbook authors and reading more cookbooks than is probably normal (not to mention foodie magazines), I've got to admit I've been wondering if maybe, just maybe, having some equipment might be okay. I mean, do I really have to recreate the 19th century when I cook?

So last Christmas I asked Santa for — and received! — my little Cuisinart and I have been an electrical chopping wizard ever since. It is simply one of the best devices ever.

Which leads to my spatula ode. For decades, I stirred, sauteed, and scraped bowls with this spoon or one of its 5 siblings.


I didn't realize what I was missing until the day I decided to buy this little Sur La Table spatula last year. (Yes, last year. I bought my first spatula when I was 56.)

It was a life changer. Suddenly I could actually scrape a bowl clean. It was a minor miracle.

Until my birthday this year when I received THE spatula.


It is aptly called Spatulart because it really is a thing of beauty. Not having a handle means it's easier to manipulate, making scraping a bowl even easier. I could probably use this baby and make it look like the bowl hadn't even been used yet, it scrapes it so well. Added benefit? One side helpfully lists liquid measure equivalents while the other side lists dry. Can't remember (or more likely never knew) how many tablespoons are in an 1/8 cup? Not to worry. Spatulart has the answer. (two).

I am in love.

My New Best Friend

The holidays are over and a new year is upon us. Time to think new thoughts and so it is that I kick off this year's postings with an admission. Regular readers know that I have prided myself on doing things the old-fashioned way. Let the other — read lesser — cooks rely on fancy schmancy gadgets that dice in seconds and knead dough in minutes. I remained true to the cooks of yesteryear who made the food the old-fashioned way. Like the Smith Barney commercial, they earned it.

So I eschewed the cadillac Cuisinarts and pasta makers and ice cream makers and felt ever-so-slightly superior when my pie or bread or soup came out tasting just dandy without all those geegaws. Obviously, my thinking went, my food was superior if for no other reason than it was made sans gadgets.

I clearly was not only wrong but delusional.

Over the year as Rachel and I have written this blog and she touted the wonders of her machines or made a recipe in half the time it might take me, I began wondering whether or not I was just being pig-headed. So I asked Santa for a small Cuisinart for Christmas and I am here to tell you, I was an idiot. After only one use, I fell totally, thoroughly in love. It chops, it dices, it minces, all of it in seconds and without a mess. What was I thinking?????



The downside, of course, is that I am now in full lust mode for every kitchen gadget ever made. Sur La Table catalogs are like porn, with just about every page turned down for the next must-have item. Where will it all stop? Who knows? But now I'm just enjoying being in love.

What's your favorite kitchen utensil or gadget? If your kitchen was on fire, what item would you grab and run?