Kitchen Essentials

There's nothing like moving to remind you of what is important. I'm referring to the essential kitchen items that you save until the very last minute to pack. 80% of the stuff in my kitchen drawers and cabinets I lived without for weeks leading up to the move (and some are still packed away in the basement). Here are a few items I consider essential in my kitchen.

1. Barista Cappuccino Machine. The only one on the market for under $500 that has more than a 1 year warranty. Going on 7 years now (with just a few minor fixes needed), and used daily, it's still going strong. The Starbucks Barista Burr Grinder is well-worth the investment, too ($90).

2. Cuisinart. I use it everyday for most everything I prepare - pasta sauces, bread and pasta dough, pesto, grating cheese, slicing, dicing and chopping vegetables...the list goes on & on. I use it so often, I had to buy a second one. They sit side-by-side on the counter.

3. . Heat Diffuser. The newest of my "essential" gadgets. I sold my house a few months back and am renting while I build. The rental has a decent gas stove, but I found that I could not get the flame low enough to gently simmer sauces. This gizmo is placed above the grate and diffuses the heat between the flame and the pan. I can now simmer for hours!

4. Lemon/lime juicer. There is absolutely no substitute for freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice in your recipes. Toss your bottled stuff, buy the fruit and squeeze it into your dishes as needed.

5. Asparagus peeler. The chef at Kinkead's in Washington turned me onto this device years ago. Thick asparagus, sweeter than I ever tasted was presented with my dinner, defying everything I had learned about asparagus (pencil thin stalks only). I questioned what made this asparagus so amazing and was told that thick stalks of asparagus have the most flavor, but the tough stalks turn most people off. Snapping off the tough ends and peeling the stalks does the trick. Now I only buy thick asparagus. Note: a vegetable peeler is not as effective, as too much of the stalk is removed. The asparagus peeler shaves only a very thin layer.

6. In-drawer knife block (the knives are pretty essential too). I hate the look of those ugly counter knife blocks - and just think of the dust that settles into the slots where your clean knives are placed. Knife magnets are good for a restaurant, but not appropriate for the decor in most home kitchens. Place the knives loose in an open drawer and they quickly become dull. This drawer knife block that I found years ago at Williams Sonoma fits in most shallow drawers.

7. Salad Spinner. We eat salad every night. Work duties typically keep me at the office until 6, so when I arrive home, I immediately prepare a salad. It helps stave off the hunger since I can't usually manage to get dinner on the table much before 8:15. Salad is so essential to my life that each weekend I travel 30 minutes out of my way to buy lettuce. Since Maxwell's closed, Royal River in Yarmouth and the IGA in Cape Elizabeth (of all places!!) consistently have the best lettuce - large, leafy heads, far superior to the lettuce you will find at many supermarket chains. Treat your lettuce right by soaking to clean, then gently spin the leaves dry.

8. Prep Scoop (a/k/a Prep Taxi). My kitchen lacks triangulation, thus I am constantly cleaning up crumbs and drips on the floor in-between the prep counter and the stove. This simple device has changed my life. Prep, scoop and toss. It's that easy.

9. Mortar & pestle. I use my Cuisinart for guacamole and save my mortar & pestle for grinding spices and fresh herbs. Use fresh, as opposed to the dried variety to make your dishes pop with flavor.

10. Pepper Grinder (with options). I like my pepper medium-to-coarse, my husband likes his finely ground. This device has saved the marriage many times over. Fortunately we agree on the Tellicherry pepper.

What's your favorite essential kitchen gadget?