Got a graduate
in your life? Whether your high school graduate is planning to leave
the nest and roost on a college campus, or your college graduate launches
into their first real apartment, their need to eat is a constant.
That need, combined with the reasonable fear that it will be satisfied
with fast food, take out pizza and a box of donuts, makes kitchen
gadgets terrific gifts for your favorite graduate. These gadgets have several things
in common that make them attractive to people with limited time,
patience and culinary skills. They are all easy to use and clean,
and they work with microwave ovens. They are easy to pack and transport
for those ever-so-numerous moves that tend to occur during the first
few years away from home. Most important is that they are goof-proof;
as long as the brief instruction sheets that come with them are
read and followed, there should be no difficulty fixing basic dishes
for even the most cooking-challenged.
Mixing It Up
One terrific tool is the
immersion blender, and according to testing by Cooks Illustrated
magazine, the Kitchen Aid brand does the best job. Its stainless
steel wand and powerful motor make quick work of blending and chopping,
and the blender maintains power during stressful jobs, such as blending
chilled or frozen drinks. The wand can be rinsed off easily after
use.
Microwave Meals In Minutes
Another unusual & and
useful & gadget I've purchased is Mainstay's Rice
Cooker/Vegetable Steamer. This handy little pot contains is fashioned
for cooking either rice or pasta to delectable tenderness in any
standard microwave. It works beautifully with white, brown, and
wild rice or rice blends, as well as standard or whole-wheat pasta.
The interior is nonstick, so a little overcooking doesn't result
in the usual sticky mess left with stovetop preparation. This device
also comes with a basket for preparing steamed vegetables. I've
tried it with freshly picked asparagus, frozen cauliflower and brussel
sprouts and snow peas with great success. Ears of sweet corn will
probably need to be halved to fit into the pot. Finally, the rice
cooker also contains an array of smaller tools, such as a rice paddle
and set of measuring spoons.
A second gadget that may fall into
the category of "why would anyone need one of these" but
is a real gem is the NordicWare Egg Cooker. Don't let its "cutesy"
egg shape fool you - this egg steamer turns out four perfectly hard-boiled
eggs in as little as eight minutes. The eggs don't crack, are
never rubbery, and are consistently easy to peel. It may not be
practical for boiling a basketful of eggs for Easter use, but it
is great for whipping up a few egg salad sandwiches or boiling enough
to add to potato salad
Finally, popcorn poppers come and
popcorn poppers go, but Presto's "Orville Redenbacher"
branded microwave popper sets a new standard. Its space-age design
maximizes and reflects microwaves throughout the batch, resulting
in relatively few unpopped kernels. Adding the "power cup"
& a reusable cardboard disc & keeps stray kernals from
lodging in the bottom of the popper, and also shortens popping time.
Although Redenbacher popcorn is recommended as the brand to use
with the popper, it works very well with any store brand or name
brand popcorn available at the grocery store. The Presto popper
also includes recipes for interesting popcorn creations and flavors
in the owner's manual.
A Touch of Luxury For Small Spaces
An incredibly generous gift
idea is the Hamilton Beach Tabletop Oven. This miniature oven can
bake and broil, and has rotisserie and convection features. The
interior can holds a seven pound roasting chicken, 12" pizza
or standard Bundt cake pan. I've used mine to barbecue a ten
pound rack of ribs that I cut in half and roast a small leg of lamb.
The convection feature is amazing, and is a remarkable addition
on a device that retails for around $200.00. Convection cooking
crisps the exterior of chicken and turkey while maintaining a moist,
juicy interior, and cakes and cookies bake thoroughly without drying
out or becoming overly browned. The clear acrylic front door and
removable shelves and crumb pan make this the easiest oven to clean,
and the entire device weighs less than 50 pounds.
These gadgets are available at discount
stores such as Wal-Mart or K-Mart or on line through one of the
kitchen outlet stores. Be assured that your new grad can eat healthy
meals in a hurry without worrying about when the drive-thru window
closes.
