ottawa foodies

For me its the rice cooker. I love to make curry with rice so its so simple to just throw it in there and then just have to work on the curry. i don't have to use the stove for it and pay attention since the cooker does all the work.

I am pretty in love with three 'appliances'.

1) Rancilio Silvia Espresso machine. We have had our special lady since September 2001. 9 years old and never in for repair.

2) VitaMix. This workhorse we have had for 7 years I think. It can blend electronic devices if necessary. Short of that, it's blend is notably smooth and creamy, if desired. Love it for everything from soups to smoothies.

3) Starfrit crepe pan. It makes a fine, fine crepe every time. Nice size too. If you want my crepe recipe, I will happily share.

As a baker, I pick convection oven and stand mixer.

As a fish lover, I use electric fish roaster. It eliminates 99% of smoke and smell from the fish.

For me, best cookware hands down is my medium size cast iron fry pan (with lid). Great heat retention and cleans up easily.

I’ve cooked everything from eggs and cakes to zucchini (including rice) in it with great results.

JMHO

I am amazed how much a dutch oven has positively impacted my cooking of everything, particularly when weather is cooler.

Other honourable mentions would include a bamboo steamer basket for veg and seafood, pressure cooker for stock, big cast iron pan for everything, salad spinner to save kitchen towels.

Hands down, it is a hand blender for me. Mine has a couple different attachments including a beater. So although its no vitamix, for soups, purees, shakes, salad dressings etc it is my go to tool. For such a small appliance I think every chef has room for it in their kitchen.

I'm with HotFood and Trachino, I can't live without a cast iron skillet. Can go fromt he Stove top to the over without blinking an eye, you can use metal utensils with abandon. Also, I can't live without a good set of knives, at least 4 varying sizess and a sharpener.

Good one, EnglishFood. I recently heard a good tip for homemade pizza that utilizes cast iron skillet. Since we don't have pizza stoves that go to really extreme temps, a good tip is to put it into an iron skillet first few minutes on stove top, then stick it into stove at really high temp. It won't burn but will cook pizza the same level (or really close) to the pizza at pizza pizza etc