147 – 3 Kitchen Tools You Didn’t Know You Needed

Hey there, friends, and welcome to episode 147 of The Piano Pantry Podcast. I’m Amy Chaplin, an independent piano teacher who also loves cooking. Today, for the 7th time in the history of 147 episodes of this podcast, we’re not talking piano teaching; we’re talking food – because we all have to eat, and I think it’s fun. Those to me are good enough reasons!

Specifically, you’re going to hear about three items I couldn’t live without in my kitchen that are not necessarily considered kitchen staples in most households.

If you’d like to catch more, of the food-related episodes, go back to #4 – Dinner Hour Meets Teaching Hour, #32 – What Your Refrigerator and Stacks of Music Have in Common, #48 – Upgrade Your Recipe Management System, #81 – What’s for Lunch?, and finally episodes #102 and #130 on Freezer Meal Prep.

Now, onto today’s episode

The first item you didn’t know you needed that I highly recommend is a microplane glove. It’s a thin, protective, single-handed glove you wear when grating cheese on a box grater. After shredding my skin one too many times, I finally bought one of these ten or so years ago and I think it’s the most genius thing ever.

I’m embarassed to say every once in awhile I get lazy or am in a hurry, or think I’m not grating enough to bother and I skip putting it on and I swear, every time, my hand slips and I skin a finger.

Recently, I determined I need to wear it when peeling vegetables as well – especially small ones – like little potatoes. Just this past week, I was peeling a pound and a half of baby red potatoes for a rustic potato soup, and they’re so awkward to hold and peel that I managed to skin the most uncomfortable little corner of my pinky finger. I went so far as to move my vegetable peelers into the drawer in my kitchen where I keep my box grater and microplane glove so I remember to wear it when I peel things. We have to protect our piano fingers!

For just $13 on Amazon, you can add this safety tool to your kitchen to protect your precious piano fingers. I’ve linked this along with the other items I’ll talk about today in the show notes at PianoPantry.com/podcast/episode147

By the way, one way to support this podcast is to use the links in the show notes. They are affiliate links which means if you purchase through that link I’ll get a small percentage without it costing you extra. Another way you can support the podcast is to join me on Patreon where you can be a silent partner for just $4 a month or opt for a bit more from me for a few dollars more. Visit PianoPantry.com/patreon today.

The second item you didn’t know you needed that I highly recommend is an instant read thermometer. Keeping this tool in your back pocket will without a doubt transform your success rate with cooking meats. Unless you’re an extremely confident person in the kitchen with using the touch test then get yourself a thermometer. It’s not cheating, it’s just being smart.

In our early years of marriage, as my husband I were finding our way in the kitchen and with a grill, we tried to be all savvy cooking steaks and checking them using the method where you feel for tenderness by comparing it to the feel of different areas of your hand. Rare is the feel of your palm when it’s open and relaxed, medium rare is the feel of the palm when you touch your thumb to your pointer finger, medium is thumb to middle finger, medium well is thumb to ring finger and well done is thumb to pinky. And yes, I could not talk about that without doing that myself – were you doing it too? LOL

The trouble is that it takes a lot of practice to get this right, and it only works for steak. You can’t really do this as clearly with other meats. You also can’t always rely on recipes when roasting chicken or pan-frying pork chops, especially when the thickness of the meat can vary as opposed to what the recipe calls for.

So, the moral of the story – go for a guaranteed and confident finish and get yourself an instant-read thermometer. There’s a range of prices and brands. We went for one that was recommended by America’s Test Kitchen and it is so incredibly fast and accurate. It’s the ThermalWorks Thermapen instant-read thermometer. It’s around $75 but worth it. I’m sure if you go through the link I recommended you could also find some cheaper ones recommended on Amazon as similar items.

Before I go on to the third item, just a quick note to mark your calendars and save the date for the next round of the Organize Your Life with Notion workshop run by myself and Joy Morin. It will be held January 10, 17, and 24, 2025. Those are Friday afternoons 3 weeks in a row from 1:00-3:00pm Eastern Time. Since the podcast will be on a break during the registration period, make sure you’re on our waitlist for notification when registration opens. Visit PianoPantry.com/notionwait

The third item you didn’t know you needed is miniature tools. I’m cheating here a little and suggesting that you have three mini utensils, which I couldn’t say technically puts my list at 6, but I liked the number 3, so I’m grouping these into one recommendation.

I highly recommend three minis: a mini whisk, mini tongs, and mini silicone spatulas. For the latter two, you’ll want at least two, if not three of each one.

I got a set of two mini silicone spatulas while on vacation and window shopping at a Sur La Table years and years ago. I can picture the location but I can’t remember exactly where we were which is driving me crazy. LOL.

I probably grab those little guys more than any other item in my utensil drawer. To clarify, I’m talking about a spatula – like one you can scrape a bowl with, not a flipper. After having my two mini spatulas for several years, I decided I needed another, so I bought one from Pampered Chef, and I don’t like it half as much. The type I recommend is more like a spoonula type where one side is slightly concave and the entire tool is silicone. So it’s not like a hard plastic handle that goes into a silicone base. So much more useful that way. They also often come in fun colors and are around $15 for a set of two.

The other mini is a mini whisk, which I grab a lot more than my full-size whisk, especially for whisking up just 1-3 eggs. OXO Good Grips brand has great whisks with comfortable handles and coming in at just under $9 it’s very affordable.

The third mini to stock up on is mini tongs. I have a set of three, which seems to be a good number. Sometimes, when we have company, I find myself needing more, but three is pretty solid. I tend to use them more for serving than cooking, such as servers for a bowl of shredded cheese for a chili or baked potato bar, as a salad server, or for turning or serving small items like meatballs. Unlike the other two minis, I don’t have one particular brand that has stuck out to me to recommend but you’ll still find a link to the set I own from Amazon in the show notes. Like the whisk, I believe it’s under $15.

I do have a confession to make. You would think that hearing me talk about tools like this means that I am a gadget freak. The opposite is actually the case. I don’t like specialized kitchen tools like avocado peelers or gimmicky gadgets. I’m much more of the less is more person. If I could get by with a good chefs knife I would.

In fact, this is exactly why I think my recommendations mean even more – I am not one to have a gazillion gadgets and utensils but I am all about having the most functional, useful items I can. Any of these items would make great stocking stuffers if you have friends or family that enjoy cooking.

I hope you enjoyed my list today. I would be very curious to hear what items would be your recommendations if you were writing this episode. Be sure to let me know on social media on Facebook at Piano Pantry or on Instagram, where You’ll find me @pianopantryamy

Just a note that besides the Notion workshop, I’ll also be running the winter session of the online digital organization coaching series on Fridays from January 31 – March 7 from 1:00pm-2:30pm Eastern Time. That’s 6 Fridays in a row for 90 minutes. Join the waitlist for that at PianoPantry.com/getorganized

Thanks for being here, everyone. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and take a moment to rate and review. Until next time!