Cooking in Other People's Kitchens

[pkenna]

I found wooden spatulas last night at target....99c each.

-pk

[Cusina]

This is someone else using my kitchen not vice versa but, anyhow...

One of our babysitters, a local college student, prepared a dish in my kitchen for her wine course. (Yes a real class, they do a pairing dinner and presentation.) She, of course, is used to college life, dorm food and toaster cooking and was pretty wowed by my stove, knives, pans etc... I'm sure her dish was the only one in the class that was made in a $200 pan. She made a pork tenderloin with a wine marinade/sauce that came out really well. She promised us leftovers, but her professor told her she was under no circumstances taking those home! Anything that good was his to keep I guess.

She gave me a whole new look at how great my kitchen really is. And I have to add that my kitchen wasn't even close to being this cool before I discovered eGullet.

[Cynthia G]

I find myself buying those nifty sets of 11 nesting glass mixing bowls from Williams-Sonoma and giving them to people.... after I've cooked in their homes once and discover they own maybe one bowl... usually a "cut glass" serving bowl. I also give wooden spoons and hand mixers frequently. (Yes, mainly to men. )

[balmagowry]

I found wooden spatulas last night at target....99c each.

Really???? The good flat ones? Damn, I just came back from Target, and didn't think to look there - had never found them there before. I wonder how consistent their inventory is from one part of the country to another. Note to self: go back there ASAP and pay attention!

Edited February 18, 2004 by balmagowry (log)

[Katherine]

I find myself buying those nifty sets of 11 nesting glass mixing bowls from Williams-Sonoma and giving them to people.... after I've cooked in their homes once and discover they own maybe one bowl... usually a "cut glass" serving bowl.

I almost gave a chocolate chip cookie lesson to a Chinese-American woman in her home. While checking the equipment, I found she did not own even ONE bowl.

[balmagowry]

I find myself buying those nifty sets of 11 nesting glass mixing bowls from Williams-Sonoma and giving them to people.... after I've cooked in their homes once and discover they own maybe one bowl... usually a "cut glass" serving bowl. I also give wooden spoons and hand mixers frequently. (Yes, mainly to men. )

I've spent a good bit of time working in one friend's kitchen - staying with her as I help her prepare to sell her house and move closer to where I live than the current 4-hour+ drive. In the process I have had ample opportunity to plan housewarming presents that will ensure *my* future comfort in her kitchen! She's OK for bowls and gadgets, for the most part (as previously noted she has the only Colony Cup I've ever seen, other than mine), but she is definitely one of the reasons I am hoping to find a source of wooden spatulas. Also high on the list for her is a proper wok, a good big heavy one like my favorite, with a long handle. And a couple of decent knives. And... hmmm, on second thought maybe it'd be simpler to just make her come over to my house when I want to cook.

[ChzHead]

Dull knives are my biggest pet peeve along with a kitchen that has 100 year old cayenne pepper (or any other spice for that matter!)

BTW, can anybody recommend something that's low cost to carry my knives around in? I may travel with them about 3-4 times a year. Should I invest in a knife roll?

Also, has anybody come up with cool carrier for spices? All the family member's kitchens that I've cooked in have a pitful stash of old spices.

Thanks!

[winesonoma]

Before I bought a knife roll I used an old bath towel. Lay them out about 2" apart fold the other half over and carefully roll them up. Secure with big rubber bands. Hardware stores sell a thing called a parachute bag for holding about 20 different kinds of screws. Put a jar of spice in each compartment and when you pick it up it closes.

[Squeat Mungry]

These days I do almost all of my cooking in other people's (friends') kitchens. I always take my own knives, but I too have taken up the habit of giving essential kitchen equipment as gifts. One thing almost no one seemed to have was a spider, or indeed any kind of strainer at all! Maybe a colander if I was lucky. I'm also a member of the wooden spatula fan club.

I also try to give essential pantry items like good olive oil, spices, etc. Anything I can think of to minimize the stuff I have to lug around.

Great thread!

Squeat

[Pouncy]

I found wooden spatulas last night at target....99c each.

Really???? The good flat ones? Damn, I just came back from Target, and didn't think to look there - had never found them there before. I wonder how consistent their inventory is from one part of the country to another. Note to self: go back there ASAP and pay attention!

I replaced mine with a bamboo set I found in a Joyce Chen 3-pack. A small round flattish-rice paddle-like one, and angled flat one, and a flat-squared off one. They work great, and cost me about 2.50.