Fix-It and Forget-It

We currently have a friendly debate at The Good Cooking Store about sifting dry ingredients before we bake. Some of us don’t sift, and others sift everything!

While it might not be necessary for weekday desserts, we can agree that sifting dry ingredients for special holiday recipes does make a difference. Sifting helps to make baked goods rise more evenly and makes a wonderful texture to decorate.

Our measuring flour sifter makes this step in your recipe fun and stress-free. It has a nice handle for easy gripping. The attached cup catches the sifted ingredients, measuring as you go.

This flour sifter is available at The Good Cooking Store and they do ship. Click here for more information.
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Christmas is a great time for decorating cookies, don’t you think? The classic gingerbread cookies. Bell-shaped sugar cookies. And kids love to play with the icing colors and edible glitter! We catch their spirit as we scoop up the decorated cookies for exchanges and gifts.

This year, make your festive decorated cookies stand up with Nordicware 3D Holiday cookie cutters! These fun cookies make a great conversation starter at your table. Use them as your centerpiece. . . then pass them for dessert.

Nordicware 3D Holiday cookie cutters are available at The Good Cooking Store and they do ship. Click here for more information.
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When people talk about different gadgets that are staples in their homes, usually somewhere on the list is a nut chopper. Folks, there is a great chopper that beats the one in your grandmother’s kitchen or even your mother’s. You’ll need this one, especially if you’re a baker.

The Progressive Nut Chopper was recently rated best by Cook’s Illustrated. It has a removable base and measurements so that you don’t have to guess about the amount of nuts you’ve chopped. And it offers a stainless steel grinding mechanism that makes the chopping fast and easy.

Check it out before you begin baking this holiday season!

The Progressive Nut Chopper is available at The Good Cooking Store and they do ship. Click here for more information.
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Last week when we polled our The Good Cooking Store staff on great gift ideas, this cheese slicer was very high on their list.

This thing works—and it’s fun. Shaped like a giant mousetrap, the cheese slicer is very durable and sits on the board in such a way that it stores well, too.

Who wouldn’t love a practical, fun gift this year for the holidays?

Oh Snap! is available at The Good Cooking Store and they do ship. Click here for more information.
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We asked The Good Cooking Store staff recently for good, unique gift ideas. We weren’t looking just for Winter Holiday gifts, but gifts that would be great for any occasion: birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and holidays included.

These Food Face Plates ranked high on their list of unique items. What a great gift to encourage children to eat their vegetables! And it promotes the fun of eating as well.

But, hey, these plates aren’t just for kids. We recently had a customer buy these plates for his nephew’s upcoming wedding. Forget his-and-her towels. How about his-and-her plates?!

You can find these plates at The Good Cooking Store. And, yes, they do ship! Click here for more information.
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Calling all bakers: If you love your stand mixer, here is a bowl set that you won’t be able to live without.

These bowls have so many great features that I’m not sure where to start. They are silicone, so they can withstand heat up to 490 degrees. They come in perfect sizes, just right for mixing a cake or cupcakes or brownies or cookies….

But the best feature by far is that they are flexible. Sift your dry ingredients into one of these bowls, and then squeeze the bowl into a funnel shape over your stand mixer. Voila… no more making a mess while pouring ingredients into your stand mixer bowl.

The iSi Flexible Mixing Bowls is available at The Good Cooking Store and they do ship. Click here for more information.
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How many times have you baked brownies knowing that you were going to eat the first one you cut? You had to, right?! Because that first piece is never presentable enough to give to someone else. When you dig in with a knife or serving spatula, that first brownie never comes out as a full square. It is generally a gooey, smashed rectangle at best.

Well, no longer do we have the “smashed first brownie” excuse. This little spatula is small enough to slip right under the first brownie with no effort at all. Its edges are sharp enough to cut the brownie cleanly, as well, so serving becomes a snap.

The next time you make brownies, you’ll have to find a new reason for eating the first one yourself. Why not eat it just because it’s good?!

The Brownie Spatula is available at The Good Cooking Store and they do ship. Click here for more information.
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Cast-iron Dutch ovens have sometimes been described as the original slow cookers. These heavy cookware pieces are great for anything that requires a slow simmer: sauces, stews, and roasts, for example.

Staub Dutch ovens are produced in France and have several distinctive qualities that set them apart. They are all hand-cast, making each Staub piece unique. The interior of each one is coated with a special black enamel that allows you to brown, roast or caramelize ingredients exceptionally well.

The outside of each oven also has a black enamel coating, but then Staub adds rich and beautiful colors on top of that to make it a perfect “oven to tabletop” dish for your home.
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Many times kitchen gadgets are created for one specific purpose. The manufacturer has a very detailed idea of what it should be used for and often will name the gadget something that relates specifically to that purpose. But why should we be boxed in by a name?

Our Architec Gripper Bar Board is one such gadget. Just because it says “Bar Board” on the label doesn’t mean that this wonderful little cutting board needs to stay at your bar. This small board is a great grab for just about any chopping need in your kitchen. In fact, the company contends that 70% of your kitchen cutting tasks can be done on this board. It is very small (5 inches x 7 inches), but it does the job!

Believe it or not, the best thing about this board isn’t its size. All Architec cutting boards (not just the small ones) come with grippers on their undersides, so they will stick to any surface and not slide around.

So use them for lemons, onions, tomatoes or whatever you’re cooking at home tonight. You can find these little boards in 6 different colors at The Good Cooking Store. (And, yes, we do ship.)
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Do you ever need a friend to lend a hand when you’re cooking? Just a little help… someone to hold a spoon to keep it from disappearing among the ingredients and cooking tools, or to keep it from making your work space messy?

What about this little chicken? She does her job without complaint…sitting on the edge of your pot while you work, holding your spoon until you’re ready to stir. She doesn’t make a noise. She just keeps you company when you need it in the kitchen!

This little chicken is available at The Good Cooking Store. It’s a great hostess gift. And it would make a great little stocking stuffer for all of the cooks in your life. (It really isn’t too early to be thinking about Christmas!)
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