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Good Taste: Bitchin’ Kitchen Gifts for the Home Chef You’re Sweet On

Yes, we Culinary Carolines love jewelry and sexy lingerie as much as the next girl, but the way to our hearts is also via a well-chosen kitchen tool. A brand new toy. Something intelligently conceived and executed, something that feels good in hand. From the luxe to the workaday, the saucy to the sturdy, these babies will not disappoint.

I might be prone to gush over Cat Cora‘s anything, but check out this brilliant invention. A stainless steel pot, with a clear glass lid, which comes with a bamboo nesting bowl. Holla! Place the stainless steel pot into the bamboo bowl, and your one-pot meal is instantly beautiful, easy to handle, and insulated.

“All the products are highly functional, eco-friendly, save time and save space – like my Cook N Serve – you can cook, serve and store one-pot meals then toss it in the dishwasher,” Cat says.

It’s also so perfect for – drumroll – potlucks! Just make sure some unprincipled dame doesn’t walk off with it at the end of the night, because a piece that hot could make a gal momentarily lose sight of her morals. $70

Tropical girls, biker girls, and outdoorsy girls (not to mention saucy Yuletide vixens) frolic all over these craftastic potholders and oven mitts covered in Alexander Henry fabrics. Lauren also has beefcake fella versions for all of your best gay boyfriends. $13 per pair.

Dreamfarm is a brilliant Aussie company with re-thought kitchen classics. Take their Chopula. It’s a spatula that also chops. Whack that omelet into thirds when a surprise breakfast guest rings your doorbell. It’s also designed to rest on the counter with the business end up in the air-so you can offload your spoon rest (or cross it off your list of things to buy someday. I haven’t managed to get around to buying one yet.)

Their Chobs squeeze onto the corners of your cutting board, elevating it up just enough so that you can flip it and use the other side. Less dishwashing=more smooching. Both items are $10 a piece.

When there isn’t a butch around for miles (or if your fave butch has carpal tunnel, or if the jar is just impossible), solve the problem forever with the OXO Good Grips Jar Opener. Salsa, tomato sauce, artichoke hearts…don’t go working too hard, running the lid under hot water, smacking it with a metal spoon, squeezing it in a drawer, wincing, straining – stay cool with this power tool. $10

In general, can openers leave much to be desired. The cheap manual jobs gouge your thumbpad. The better ones tend to skip. The electric ones are bulky, silly and loud.

The Fissler Magic Smooth Edge Can Opener is like buttah. It’s light, ergonomic, and it manages to lift up the top of the can while leaving smooth edges behind. $27, and worth every penny.

Still mulling? Here are five more ideas.

So now that you’ve gotten my bitchin’ kitchen 411, you really have no excuse to make a left at Lame Gift Lane. Hook it up! Trust me: your girl’s appreciation will be truly scrumptious. (Feel free to throw any questions out in the comments section. I’ll do my best to respond with suggestions and advice.)

Candace is the co-editor of Dear John, I Love Jane: Women Write About Leaving Men for Women (Seal Press, 2010), and Ask Me About My Divorce: Women Open Up About Moving On (Seal Press, 2009). She is currently working on a memoir-with-recipes for Seal Press called Licking the Spoon. Candace is also the features editor at Mothering magazine, mama of two, and enamorata of smarty-pants Laura, her live-in recipe tester. Follow Candace on Twitter @candacewalsh.

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