Handy anything you use in the kitchen.

Sue

Hands down it is rubber spatulas. I must have 10 of them in the crock and drawer by the stove. They stir, flip and scrape.

Party_music, could you post your pattern for the 'pot holder?' What a great idea, and a gift to give with the dishcloths and towels I've been making. Thanks.

I use the heck out of my digital scale. I also use the thermapen a LOT! I love those plastic cutting sheets.

I bought this folding cheese grater about a year ago at BBB, but it looks like this one from Amazon. Nevertheless, it is a great grater, easy to clean, and it is very easy to get the cheese after it has been grated. I do NOT need a four sided box grater - just the two sides, and so it is perfect. I store it folded and hang it on my pot rack, easy to find and out of the way. It's DW safe, but I generally wash it by hand, since I run the DW only about twice a week.

I really like the little glass bowls for prepping stuff ahead of time (What's that fancy French term - Mise en Place?). They also serve well for small servings of dessert or potato salad, etc. I have 3 different sizes, several of each.

I hate HATE an oven mitt....I use those suede pot holders....and somehow I have lost one and need to replace it. I am one of those people who use a dish towel to grab a pan out of the oven, if my suede pot holders are not handy.

What do I find handy....hands down the Cuisinart! It slices, dices, purees, shreds, kneads, cuts in butter and grates in fine, medium or coarse pieces.
Oh yeah and those silicon scraper/spatula thingies...how else could I get the hummos out of the work bowl??

I have a well-equipped kitchen, thanks to my love of cooking and baking, but I think one of the best things to have are bar mops. Thirsty bar mops.

Essential.

A Thermapen and my nakiri knife.

Silicone tipped tongs and spoonulas. My Swiss Star peelers.

I have the exact OXO grater as Lars. I also like their fine grater.

For those not handy with the knitting needles, you can buy little silicone sleeves on Amazon for your cast iron. A little more burn and stain resistant as well.

I have some silicone spatulas that Jessica brought me a decade or so ago and I love them, they're one piece so separate handle to come off or get gunk stuck in where it joins the "spoon". I have several rubber/silicone scrapers but those are my favorite. Like Peppi, I have a crock full of utensils by the stove for easy access and there are several in there.

I also use a dish towel to take hot dishes from the oven, but my dish towels are bar mops, like mimi. I buy a couple dozen at a time and they get used for everything from dish towels to counter cleaning to removing hot things from the oven to wiping my hands. Into the washer with bleach and they're ready for a second round. When they get bad, they become garage rags, and they're cheaper than paper towels.

Elery got one of those instant read thermometers and I find that I use it for everything from testing the turkey to checking my jam, I use it a LOT.

Other than that? Well, actually, my husband is very handy to have in the kitchen!

Annie

I have more stupid purchases, "what was i thinking?!', than goodies. Horrid silicone potholders and cheaply made this and that...and many great purchases that are no longer made. Thanks to e-bay i can find new-old-stock.

A bit frustrating when something good is no longer available...my favorite suede oven mitt for example. (if i could find it i would buy ten)

My favorite Cuisinart discontinued years ago i have a boxed back-up from e-bay so i now have three.

My folding grater cracked after just a year use. The plastic edging. Seems many things new do not last. A couple pepper mills bit the dust when my old classic from 25 yrs ago is still fantastic. I just avoid anything with plastic.

Like Annie i use 'bar mops' for dish and counter cleaning towels and have two stacks...nice fresh ones and elder ones that are in the cleaning closet for floors, then get ugly and go into the garage. Not much paper towels used in this house unless an ugly dog puke or or a wipe in a bowl of 4 day old food forgotten in the fridge or an ugly sink wipe. (a roll of p-towel lasts us a couple months, sometimes three).

Bar mops are used for pot holders and constant counter wipes as i have a few dry freshies at all times on the counter. Then toss the used ones daily down the laundry 'chute', and go in the weekly white load with socks. Sometimes separate if funky. I used to dye the old ones so DH could get with the program and help separate the laundry load. (he had a bad habit a few years ago taking the counter cloths, wiping a floor spill mess, then plopping it back on the counter, yikes!)...

My "oven mitts" are welding gloves with a cut up 1/4" thick silicone hot pad glued to the fingers and palms. Really effective.

Okay, useful things in the kitchen - stainless steel work bowls. They nest well and hold raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods. A whole supply chain.

Kitchen scissors. Indispensable for snipping parsley & bacon.

Parchment paper and throwaway aluminum pans! I can't begin to guess how many hours I spent washing pans and cooking sheets before I started using both.

The simple things: a good spatula and a really sharp knife.

Rada knives & the Rada sharpener

Love my Rada knives!!

You can get Steve Raichlen suede gloves at HD or Amazon. Not exactly for the kitchen, but we use them all the time with our Big Green Egg, and we cook outdoors at least twice a month throughout the year.

I have a Japanese vegetable cleaver that I use all the time and a Japanese Chef's knife that I use frequently, such as when I am chopping large quantities of celery. Both are razor sharp and will shave hair. To keep them sharp, I use a couple of double-sided whetstones. I hardly ever use my Cuisinart after getting these knives, except for when I make purees of hummus or bean dip. One of the reasons for this is that I have to store my Cuisinart on a shelf and move it to the counter when I want to use it, as I have limited counter space, and the Cuisinart is very heavy. I suppose I could leave it on the counter, but it is not pretty. It would be different if I made huge batches of things, but I am only cooking for two people, and only dinner and week-end meals.

I also love my 10" meat slicer, which I use almost every day for making my lunch sandwiches. It's "not intended for hard cheeses" but works fine for two or three slices at a time, and it will make paper-thin slices of Italian salami.

I have one of those old-fashioned plastic V-Slicers that is about 25 years old. I use it exclusively for chopping onions. I've gotten so good at it that I can use the slicer faster than chopping onions with a knife. It's especially good for chopping onions very small. I love it!

I can vouch for Annie's DH. He is very useful in the kitchen!

I hate oven mitts, they are just too bulky to grab a pan for my hands. The last few years I have collect a good number of the fabric potholders from Ikea. Great in the wash and when they "yucky" with burn marks (don't ask) into the trash they go and I head to Ikea for more.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40210020/

I bought a pair of Ove Gloves from Kijiji for $5. They're great for pulling small dishes out of the oven, or grabbing the hot cast iron skillet.

I use the little bar mops for cleaning, I use the small ones, so they'd be too small for using as a tea towel for drying dishes. These come in a pack of 8 and I get them on sale for $3.

At the Kitchen Table there was a discussion about cleaning cloths and people are raving about the Flour Sack towels. They're great for drying dishes, washing windows etc etc. I found one local Walmart that has them and we bought a package last weekend. Hubby thinks they're fantastic for drying dishes!

One thing that I thought I wanted, and I've only used it once or twice is a rasp. I thought I'd use it more. I wouldn't rush out and buy one again.

Our Dollarama sells Betty Crocker silicone spatulas, spoons, basting brush etc. I love them. They come in different sizes and are used all the time.

The Swing-A-Way jar opener. Opens any size jar effortlessly - from big wide ones down to those little bottle tops that hold vegetable oil or pancake syrup.

https://www.amazon.com/Swing-711BK-Comfort-Opener-Black/dp/B000HMC5JA

Yes! to the silicone basting brush/pastry brush. Once I saw what was growing underneath the band that holds natural bristles together-yuck!

I understand what you oven mitt haters are saying, but my skin will literally (not figuratively literally, but really truly literally) start burning without them. If you can get things out of a hot oven with flat potholders, you have my total admiration.

Sleevendog reminded me about my peppermill. I've had it so long I forget that it's remarkable, though I was just thinking it would make a good wedding present for a couple I know. If you want a really good peppermill, no plastic parts, really long history of particularly high quality, very fine to coarse grind you set yourself, all even, you can't beat the Atlas. Besides the linked brass, they have copper, chrome, and some mixed. Amazon has a really good price on them right now.

My ancient Russell Hobbs electric kettle and a couple of microplane graters. And yes, kitchen scissors on 3 sides of the kitchen - don't want to have to walk for these things! Oh...my LLBean sandwich spreader!

Bought some of the Ove Gloves several years back and lost them. No idea where I put them. Thought they might be handy and they were cheap at the time. Someday I'll come across them when I'm looking for something else.

Probably the two handiest "gadgets" (don't like that word for this application but...) is the little slide out cutting board that sits under the microwave. Gives you something to set the dish on when you pull it out of the oven. The other is a under counter paper plate dispenser. I use paper plates for disposable cutting boards, microwaving and of course to eat from at times too.

Two handy things for opening jars are the (I think it's called a) jar-pop or something like that. Like a big plastic bottle opener. The other is a strap wrench. Got the wrenches for free after rebate and they grip the jar lids nicely.

Also like the side cutting can opener. I think mine is a Good Chef or something like that.

Does anyone have a link to buying one of those pull out cutting boards that sits under the microwave? I've searched high and low but I can never find these. That would be very handy for my setup.

I have never seen what you're talking about, Arkansas Girl, and I'm pretty good at searches, and haven't even turned up a magazine photo. There's an alternative which is a rack that installs in the top of a lower cabinet which holds a cutting board that you remove and replace. Also, places like Cuttingboard.com and Cuttingboardsetc.com make custom cutting boards, and might be able to make the whole contraption for you.

plllog, cynic had mentioned it. I thought maybe she could provide a link or maybe someone else had seen them. My microwave sits on a cart and that's the only place it will fit in our kitchen because the kitchen is so small. I know they are made, it's finding the thing that seems near impossible. I guess someone could make one, perhaps my brother in law! :)

arkansas girl, I have a microwave cart that has a pull-out board -- probably the same thing cynic is talking about. I just did a quick search and they still exist... here's one at the first link I found -- I've never heard of 'hayneedle' before! :p

ETA: Sorry, andreap, I don't have or use a pattern! I learned to crochet when I was a kid and am not good with even knowing what each of the stitches is called. I just crochet whatever I feel like.

Oh, cart! I was looking for something that was just a situpon for the MW on the counter, which would also be cool.

Hayneedle is a big online seller. I think they're similar to Overstock and Wayfair.

Google search for patterns for handle covers. You can also buy them. I have silicone ones.

I had one of those pull out cutting boards at my house in White Cloud, and a pull out knife drawer too, those were features I loved, but haven't been able to figure out a place to install in my cabinets here in the new house.

Annie

I use a small window squeegee to wipe water from the counter into the sink instead of mopping again and again with a cloth. Saves time and effort. I wipe the counter once with a cloth for perfect results after getting rid of the water with the squeegee.

I son't have a DW so when I do the dishes I end up with lots of water on the counter.

What I would like to find would be a type of a riser that sits under the microwave that would have a pull out cutting board or something that pulls out so you can have a place to set your plates as they come out of the microwave. That would be very handy. I already have a very nice microwave cart.

wintercat, good idea about the small squeegee! I'm going to have to steal that idea! Thanks!

Arkansas girl, I noticed in your post you called Cynic a she, not so, he is a he. :)

I wonder why some don't like the oven gloves, maybe they do not fit them right. Mine fit okay, just the fingers are a little long.

Sue

OOps! I was thinking he was a she. HA!

I have a generic "ove glove" that I don't like because it's not heat resistant enough.

My pepper mill from, we think, more than 25 yrs ago. Gave it as gifts for a few years. The French Perfex.

Pricy now! But some things we have for a lifetime and worth the initial expense.

My ove glove is great, until it gets wet, or steam. Then it lets the heat in.

Sleevendog, I was just looking at Perfex pepper mills online yesterday.

I have a knock-off, and it doesn't grind well any more. I'm trying to decide whether to get another imitation (I don't know what mine is but Norpro makes one now) or spring for the real thing. The old Perfex mills did not have that letter "P" and I wish they'd stayed plain. What I like about both these mills is that they look good with my old pewter salt shaker. I don't want a big pepper mill.

Jasdip, that is why I bought myself two pair in case one gets wet. too dirty or something. I don't even use my pot holders any more, well, I might to set something on. Mine is generic too and was so cheap on clearance too.

Sue

My perfex does not have the 'P'. Way too old. Still grinds perfectly as if new.

I think they started that 'S and P' ten years ago? -ish...to sell a set with one that had as 'S' for salt. I have no need for a salt grinder...salt is salt and does not need grinding. Nothing fresh about ground salt. Peppercorns are best bought whole, then ground fresh.

Here is the suede glove i so adore.

This puppy hangs in the barn used for the smoker and bbq and is 20yrs old and soft as a baby butt, no heat transfer, protects the entire arm, total control. not bulky.

This pair o' carp is not even a year old and used only a few times as it has steam burned me half of those times. total garbage and into the garbage.

I may have found a decent lifetime suede one by googling...expensive but i've spent more on junk disposable ones the past 5 or so years...

I bet you could find some old suede clothing item at the thrift shop and make these easily.

Don't tell me you don't have one of this in your kitchen:

http://redcook.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/plate_lifter.jpg

dcarch

I have a pile of suede scraps and a monster sail makers sewing machine...and have a million projects...but i work 60-80 hours a week and zero time.

I was just sharing something quality i happen to like and no longer made, and purchasing less than quality on products that are garbage and might help others avoid the same mistake.....

I'll bite, dcarch. What is it?

It is a very clever hot plate lifter. It helps to lift very hot plates, small or large, light or heavy, securely with one hand, from deep inside a pot.

No need to look for and put on an oven glove.

About $3.00 each.

http://redcook.net/2008/04/04/plate-lifter/

dcarch