Do you like vanilla?  Who doesn’t?  Do you like small cookbooks that feature a particularly pleasant ingredient, like say…vanilla? 

***FREE STUFF ALERT***

Then you might be interested in this delightful cookbook about Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, called A Century of Flavor.  Since 1907, the family has been making vanilla extracts from the exotic vanilla orchid beans.  This cookbook combines family recipes from the Nielsen family collection with some recipes provided by a star-studded cast of celebrity chefs, including Rick Bayless and Marcy Goldman

One of the things that struck me most was the diversity of recipes that can be enhanced by extracts.  I always think immediately of baked goods, but one of the recipes that I can’t wait to try out is by J. Warren, called Cherry Vanilla Chicken a la Nielsen!

This vanilla-inspired cookbook, published by family-owned Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, celebrates the exciting nuances of one of America’s most-loved and versatile ingredients – pure vanilla. It is filled with 50 of the most tantalizing recipes, highlighting the intricate, yet delicate flavors of pure vanilla and is written for the novice cook as well as the seasoned chef.

***FREE STUFF ALERT***

If you’d like to have a copy of this cookbook, simply leave a comment below telling me what your favorite use of vanilla is. In a week, I’ll be randomly drawing 5 winners. I’m sorry, but all winners must be in the USA for this particular giveaway.

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Eastern knives are different from Western.  Most fundamentally, Japanese knives are harder steel, thinner, designed for a specific hand (right or left, not both!), and keep an edge longer.  The down-side is that they are more brittle, harder to sharpen, and are designed for very specific tasks so that you need more of them.  This is because the Japanese food culture calls for slicing food without crushing it.  In the West, we’re more likely to have a favorite knife with which we hack away at everything!

Recently, the Gyutou knife has become more popular in the West.  The big three Japanese knife companies (Masamoto, Misono, and Masahiro) all have a version of this knife, which approximates the Western Chef’s Knife.  The Gyutou is thicker than the traditional Japanese knife, and the blade is curved like a chef’s knife instead of straight (for rocking instead of for slicing).  I don’t know how much they’ll catch on in Japan, but I’m certainly finding them interesting.

Image: Japanese-Knife

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Lots of onions! This is one of the tastiest polenta dishes I’ve ever had. The recipe below serves 4 as a side dish; if you’d prefer to make it the main dish, the recipe can easily be doubled or even tripled.

Polenta with Prosciutto and Onions

Olive oil
3 – 4 thin slices of prosciutto
2 onions, chopped
1 c water
3/4 c chicken broth
1 t dried sage
1/2 c coarse cornmeal
1 T butter
1/2 c parmesan, fresh grated

Heat some olive oil in a large saucepan, and lightly crisp the prosciutto. Remove and set aside. Add the onions and more oil if needed, and cook till tender. Remove onions and set aside.

Add the water, broth, and sage to the saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Slowly add the cornmeal, a little at a time, stirring constantly. I like to start this process with a whisk and end with a wooden spoon. Cook over low heat until the mixture is thick and pulls away from the pan.

Stir in the butter, a couple tablespoons of the cheese, and half the onions. Spread into a small (3 c) oven-proof serving dish. Top with the rest of the onions and the prosciutto, and sprinkle on the cheese. Bake for just a few minutes in a 400 degree oven to melt the cheese. This can be made ahead of time and popped into the oven for 10 – 15 minutes to heat before serving.

Refer to my post on basic polenta technique for more information on making polenta.

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Holy guacamole, Batman!!  The new Kenwood Cooking Chef can actually cook your food while it slices, stirs, and mixes.  Unbelievable!

I have to admit that I fall into the category of cooks who will say no thanks to such a gadget, appliance, whatever you want to call it.  I like food preparation and cooking, especially with hand tools.  But I certainly can’t ignore the fact that some of you might find this to be exactly what you’ve been dreaming of, forever.

With an induction burner and heat-proof stirring attachments, this mixer will free you from endlessly stirring your risotto, for example.  Other attachments and tools that are available are a food processor, steamer, blender, whisk, dough hook, basket , and a beater.

Via: MyDigitalLife
Image: Kenwood

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Turn your oh-so-slippery can of refreshing beverage into a cup that you can hold onto.  Actually, if you really need these Can Grips to keep hold of your beer, maybe it’s time to put down the drink and walk away!

For anyone who finds it difficult to hold a can for reasons besides intoxication, these look like a very good idea.  At only $3 each, they could be worth a try.

Image: DrinkingStuff

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For those of us who can’t seem to drink out of a can without spilling on ourselves: the Snap Capp!  These are plastic re-closable tops designed to snap onto 12 and 16 ounce aluminum beverage cans, converting them into something a bit more…civilized?

Anyway.  They look like a pretty good idea to me.  Snapp Caps claim to help retain the fizz, keep bees and bugs out of your drink, and end confusion over which can is whose (multiple colors).  They are, of course, reusable.  About $10 for the set of 4.

Funny enough, after I posted yesterday about some infomercial products, I found one on Snap Capps on Honest Infomercial Reviews.  They give them a mixed review: yes they work, but hmmmm…they leak.

Image: Drinking Stuff

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Good Housekeeping (October 2009) put four popular kitchen products to the test recently.  At least the infomercials would lead you to believe that they’re popular.  I don’t know…somehow I’ve managed to resist all of them!

Pasta n’ More, the microwavable dish for your pasta (and more!), they thought was pretty good.  I don’t know if this plastic pot is really worth the price, but I suppose it depends upon how badly you want to microwave your spaghetti.  I can live without it.

Debbie Meyer’s GreenBags worked better than ziplocs for some foods (strawberries, bananas, and lettuce), but worse than ziplocs on other foods (broccoli and peppers).  They are way too much to tempt me, plus we make it a practice to eat our produce quickly.

You can also check out the reviews on the Big City Slider Station and ShamWow if you’d like to.  Just visit the Good Housekeeping site for all 18 household product reviews!

Image: Mypastanmore

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About $125 for the package.

Image: Cameron’s Cookware

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Chew On This has a wonderful tool to help you remember what goes with what in the herb world.  Their Illustrated Guide to 40 Culinary Herbs even rated a mention by Martha Stewart in the September issue of Living.  With little pictures to help you identify what you’re using and a dial to show you what to use it with!

The reverse side has storage and preservation tips and more information to encourage your own herbal explorations.  About $11.

Image: Chew on this

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