What is your favourite cooking implement?

We have an old skillet my husband's grandparents gave us when we moved in together because we didn't have one of our own. We were supposed to give it back, but it's still here, seven years later.

The bottom is warped and won't sit on the burner evenly unless the heavy glass lid is on. But it's my favorite to use when I fix fried potatoes.

My takeaway food menu.

My Cuisinart mini food processor. I'm surprised at how much I use it.

an old old cast iron skillet 9"
it's as versatile as it is deadly

Too hard to choose between my top three so I'll list them all....

1. my aged cast iron black skillet
2. my Westbend skillet with a nice glass lid (it's a deep skillet)
3. my porcelain coated cast iron stock pot

As summer is approaching, I'm falling in love all over again with my lime squeezer. I also use my garlic press almost daily.

And ditto on the Cuisinart mini food processor.

luv my 7" chef's blade, also useful for plotting slasher hacker moves for my protags :}

I have an old knife that was my father's mother's (if I can believe him.) My mom had one while I was growing up and we used it until it literally disintegrated. That's probably why I love this one -- who knows how much of that old knife got into my food. I'm part old knife. It's not stainless so we have to be careful not to leave it wet or it rusts. The blade is a very smudgy dark gray almost black. The handle is wood and really feels like wood in your hand. It's the only thing for slicing onions. The blade is so thin, like paper. Any other knife and the onions make me cry so bad I can't chop them. I give thanks to my dad for keeping that knife all those years and then giving it to me every time I use it.

Lately? My George Foreman grill.

My Calphalon skillet and my Misto.

My food processor. And my small Santoku knife. And my ceramic bakewear.

Ooh, great thread.
My Japanese knife, which I like better than a French chef's and highly recommend:

My brand new extremely nifty bamboo cutting board that stores several flexible cutting mats inside it, one for veggies, one for meat, etc. Sorry, can't find a good picture online but I just got it at CostCo and I suggest you rush right out.

I do believe that knife and cutting board are the most important kitchen tools.

O.K., then I have this odd pot/pan thing that's shaped pretty much like a wok, has a handle, is medium sized, and has like calphalon or something ridges in circles, sorry, can't describe it very well but I use it all the time.

My actual expensive calphalon or something pots are only so-so.

But the tall stock-pot is essential. I actually have one that's commercial sized, which I use for making chicken stock.

Immersion blender is cool.

Don't use the food processor that often, really, but it's nice when you need to make latkes or cole slaw.

Could we even cook without wooden spoons? Is it possible?

Alright this is silly but Sunday we had the best chicken ever, thanks in part to the silly yet cool beer-butt chicken racks they had at the Supermarket. Brined them, rubbed them, shoved Sprite up their butts, and those chickens were To Die For.

And I agree with msc, George Foreman was a genius.

cray said:

an old old cast iron skillet 9"
it's as versatile as it is deadly

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I was having the same thought... only mine's bigger. I refer to it as the "spouse killer" model.

Autodidact said:

Alright this is silly but Sunday we had the best chicken ever, thanks in part to the silly yet cool beer-butt chicken racks they had at the Supermarket. Brined them, rubbed them, shoved Sprite up their butts, and those chickens were To Die For.

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If I didn't know what you were talking about, I think this would lead to some very confused (and possibly awkward) questions about just what it is you're doing to the chicken.

I have what is possibly the biggest cast iron skillet I've ever seen. It's 17" or something crazy like that. I lurves it!

Also my Calphalon stock pot. Wonderful! I couldn't do without my wooden spoons or my chef's knife, either.

My newest toy is a set of silicon bakeware. Awesome.

Hard to choose between my 12" cast iron skillet (has a perfectly smooth bottom and is better non-stick than any teflon), my 8-quart cast iron dutch oven (same qualities as the skillet) or my 6-quart Cuisinart pot that I love for cooking rice. Sadly, all my Revere-ware, that I used to use always, has warped bottoms.

Lots of second place things: Calphalon, 7" santoku knife, Mouli cheese grater, Kitchen Aid food processor, various wooden spoons and spatulas and whisks.

And I think I'd commit hari kari with my santoku if someone took away my gas range.

I like my whisk.

Whisks are nice.

I have to agree with Cranky. Silicon is the best! I absolutley love the baking cups and would never make a layered cake again without a round silicon pan. Also, nothing beats a wooden handle rubber spatula.

In my private little ontology, baking has nothing to do with cooking. I cook; I don't bake.

Autodidact said:

In my private little ontology, baking has nothing to do with cooking. I cook; I don't bake.

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I differentiate between cooking and baking too, and I don't really bake either, although I'd like to start at some point. I've been looking for an excuse to justify buying one of those flashy, retro-looking stand mixers. Are they as fun as they look?