Every summer, I vacation at a cottage with a rudimentary kitchen. Since cooking is part of the fun of a house party, I pack a box of my favorite kitchen essentials:
1. All-Clad 14-inch fry pan. Yes, it is a huge pan, but it provides the expansive surface area for better browning. I can caramelize onions […]

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch Food Section, Let’s Eat, features today a dessert using the cream whipper, which is so much fun! Fill the canister with heavy cream (or in their recipe, sweetened raspberry puree mixed with cream), then use a N2O charger, and — voila — perfect whipped cream comes out in luscious swirls.
At parties, […]

The best gifts are the ones we secretly lust after, but can’t justify buying for ourselves. Thrill your loved ones with these special gifts that cooks will adore and use regularly.
Emile Henry baking stone is available in purple or black. This baking stone features handles, has a beautiful and durable glaze, is oven safe, grill […]

Jennifer asks, “When would I use parchment paper vs. greasing the pan? Are they interchangeable? Thanks!”
Parchment paper is a wonderful tool for baking: food easily slides off the paper after baking. Parchment paper is not the same as wax paper, which should not be used in the oven. Parchment paper is available in […]

A clever tool for every cook and baker is the Danish dough whisk, which looks like a miniature rug beater and is actually made in Poland, not Denmark. This handy tool is more than a wooden spoon in combining foods, but less than a whisk (which can get clogged in thicker batters).
Anyone who has taken […]

At Kitchen Conservatory, we love Thanksgiving. We love to give thanks for the bounty of wonderful and delicious foods available for our table. Yes, we can help you with all the Thanksgiving equipment needed for the big meal.
The best turkey roaster is on a special sale — $159.95 (regular value is $330). Made by All-Clad, […]

The New York Times in today’s food section gives a shout-out to our favorite peppermill, the Peppermate. This pepper grinder is fully adjustable, easy to fill, and the large handle is easy to turn to get a volume of freshly-ground pepper. The mill is available in either white or black (I use the white mill for white […]

A delicious holiday treat is a deep-fried rosette. Better than funnel cakes, these crisp pastries are served hot out of the fryer and dusted with powdered sugar. The batter is simple — a thin crepe-like mixture (flour, egg, and milk). Rosettes can be eaten as is, or used as a cup to hold food (the […]

The number-one job for a blender is crushing ice to make smoothies, milkshakes, and other frozen concoctions. But most blenders cannot handle ice. And most kitchen electrics offer no more than a one-year warranty.
Then there is the Vita-Mix, an extraordinary machine with a seven-year warranty. The two-horsepower motor can easily handle ice everyday. The powerful […]

It isn’t just knives that get dull with use. Graters and peelers dull with use. If the edge drags and you have to push harder, well, it is time to get a new grater and retire the long-suffering rasp to grater glory. Kitchen Conservatory can sharpen knive blades, but not graters. Yes, it is time […]