Friday night, I was invited to join a group of food bloggers for dinner at the Greek Islands. Remember last week when I wrote about Inger’s Dinner Club and how it was just like being called up to the big league? Well, eating with this esteemed group of food bloggers was like being chosen to participate on Top Chef and being in front of the judges. Super powerful group of food bloggers, it was amazing I could actually eat anything! (I managed, don’t worry)
And as you know, when I go to a blogger meetup, food or otherwise, I like to ask my fellow bloggers their favorite kitchen gadget. Sometimes I ask them to imagine which kitchen tool they could not live without, or which one they need on a daily basis. The idea is to say the first thing that comes to mind. For me, it is a great way to hear what others cook with, as well as making sure I capture the event. Without further ado, here are the favorite kitchen gadget and tools from the food blogger meetup in Chicago:
Lydia, from Perfect Pantry and Kalyn, from Kalyn’s Kitchen, our hostesses for the evening, love their Immersion Blenders. Lydia also loves her Mexican Molcajete, which her husband hauled home from one trip to Mexico. Lydia claims it makes the best guacamole.
At my table, I had a great discussion with Hetal and Anuja (both of Show Me the Curry) about the pressure cooker. But their favorites are a Pampered Chef Strawberry Huller and a Hamilton Beach Coffee Grinder, with a removal, dishwasher safe basket that cleans up nicely in the dishwasher. Kristen, from Dine and Dish, along with her adorable sweet pea, loves her Bread Machine, and Kim of the Building Blocks Show likes her Kitchen Aid Mixer (cobalt blue). Krista of Londonelicious told me about her Pineapple Corer, but then corrected herself and told me she really likes her Tupperware Veggie Peeler. Stephanie, from a Year of Slow Cooking, loves her Crock Pot (natch, guess I should have figured that out myself!)
After I chatted up my table, I headed out to talk to the two other tables of bloggers. Elise from Simply Recipes loves her Ceramic Knife, Stephanie from Iron Stef her Microplane grater, Kelly from Barbaric Gulp her Fish Spatula, Sandie from Inn Cuisine her Food Processor and Toaster Oven (I let her give two answers), Jane from This Week for Dinner her Kitchen Scissors, and Kathy from Panini Happy her Toaster Oven (shouldn’t it be a panini maker? Just kidding!)
Maris (who I bailed on this weekend too many times to count) from In Good Taste loves her Kitchen Aid Mixer, Biggie from Lunch in a Box her Burr Coffee Grinder, Alanna from Kitchen Parade her Cast Iron Skillets (3 sizes), Anne-Marie from This Mama Cooks her Frigidaire Range, Jaden from Steamy Kitchen her knives (Global and Shun), Sara from Miss Adventures in Italy her Santoku 7″ knife (or was it her Pasta Machine, my notes are fuzzy), Jennifer from Savor the Thyme her Tongs, Cora from Cora Cooks her Avocado Slicer, and Roni from Green Lite Bites her Digital Food Scale.
The only person I did not get a chance to meet was Ree from The Pioneer Woman so I have no idea her favorite kitchen tool. Oh wait, here it is on her site, Pioneer Woman Answers Back.
My suggestion, add these folks to your RSS Reader? Don’t know what an RSS Reader is? Check out my post on Uptake where I explain RSS and how to use a feed reader.
Meyer Lemon and Cranberry Buckle (recipe)
Family Dinner Plan: Still with the freezer
In the Kitchen with Chez Pim: Marmalade
11 Comments
Fun seeing you again, and what a fun time we had at dinner! You’re very quick getting this done! My brain is still a bit fuzzy, but I did manage to get the photos loaded into the computer last night before I fell into bed!
So nice meeting you at BlogHer, and so sad that I had to leave TBEX early. (Shopping was successful, however.)
Here’s the pineapple corer I was talking about: http://bit.ly/PFKqO
And this is the citrus peeler…very simple, just like a crochet hook. But it takes orange skin off so much better than using a knife or something.
http://bit.ly/5u1rG
Hope you had a good trip back! I’m still a little out of it, but with a good night’s sleep tonight, I should be in good shape!
So good to see you! What a whirlwind weekend. So many new and familiar faces. Loved the question on kitchen gadgets. The other one I was thinking of that is even more indispensable to me is a thick plastic pastry sheet. It was made by Tupperware years ago (don’t think they sell it anymore) with guidelines for rolling out pasty dough to the right sizes. I just love it. You can pick them up used on eBay if you just search for “pastry sheet”.
It was so great to meet you, Gudrun! I know, I know – my panini maker is a very close second favorite
Elise, I think Wilton may make one of those pastry sheet things. I have one for rolling out fondant into the correct amount for the size of cake you’re “wrapping.”
It was great to meet all the food bloggers – wish I had time to talk/hang out with all of you more. (I was too busy noshing on the baklava.) Hope to meet up with you all at BlogHer Food, too.
Hi Gudrun–you are so much fun and I LOVED your question. I am still torn as I do adore my scraper. I mean, I have even used it to cut things.
Hope to see you again soon.
Typical. I see I’m the only food blogger who gave two answers (food processor & toaster oven). This explains why I’ve thought of at least 5 more gadgets I can’t live without since our conversation that night—I have such a hard time making up my mind!
Great fun meeting you, hope to do it again sometime. Have fun with your pie party!
What a fun post! That dinner was absolutely fantastic…not only the food, but the wonderful company that came along with it.
So glad to have met you. Keep thinking of you when I look at all my swag
Do NOT worry about bailing on me
I will only hold it against you if it happens again! LOL. It was nice to finally meet you in person – now I know whose CSA box I am jealous of every single week!
It was a pleasure meeting you Gudrun and I can’t believe how quickly you got your BlogHer post up. I’m still hoping to get mine out today!
You know, while I can’t live without my Kitchen Aid Mixer, my funnest kitchen gadget is definitely my crepe maker. Everyone starts salivating when I pull that one out. : )
Hi Gudrun…it was a pleasure to meet you and all the other food bloggers. What a wonderful dinner! Thinking a little more on the gadget question, just realized how much I use my standard no-frills mortar and pestal – gotta love it!