- Alan Petrillo A fanclub?
- Jay Ashworth "The electric skillet has a fanclub?"
- Alan Petrillo The Farberware stainless ones do.
- Alan Petrillo Hmm... I wonder if I could turn this into a show.
- Jay Ashworth No reason why not. You don't need anyone to clear it anymore; you can do that yourself.
- Jay Ashworth You have an HD webcam? :-)
- Alan Petrillo I'll have to build a set.
- Cj Hopkin hot plate, coffee pots, open fire...all good for cooking!
- Alan Petrillo Yup. And the little portable butane burners are also an option for people with limited access to electricity.
Sometime
ago a friend of a friend mentioned that he would like to cook more for
himself, but he is limited to only a microwave oven and a George Foreman
grill. His situation is not at all unusual. In these days of economic
uncertainty many people are living in habitations which do not have a
full kitchen, and are limited to a kitchenette. Sometimes not even
that. These people are limited to a few countertop appliances to do
their cooking.
A microwave oven is the single most important
appliance in this situation. It is the ultimate fallback. Some good
cookery, more than just warming up food, can be done in a microwave
oven, as long as the cook is familiar with the microwave's properties
and its limitations.
There are, however, a number of small
appliances that should be available to use for preparing foods that
microwave ovens are not good at.
As my friend mentioned, a good
one is a George Foreman grill, or other brand of contact grill. Of
course, the primary use of a contact grill is cooking meat, and they do
that well, as long as you do a few things to prep them. But they are
also useful for a number of other things as well. With care, they can
also be used to grill vegetables, and they make dandy sandwich presses
as well. You can even make toast in them, if you don't mind it being
pressed, like Cuban Toast.
But these two appliances should not be alone in a kitchenette. They should have a couple of indispensable friends.
The
first of these is a toaster oven or a countertop convection oven.
Anything which needs an oven can be made in a toaster oven, on a smaller
scale. If you're only cooking for one or two then it's just the right
size. Anything which requires baking, roasting, or broiling can be done
in a toaster oven. And, of course, toast. Don't cheap out, get a good
one. Even high quality toaster ovens aren't terribly expensive, and a
quality appliance will pay off in the long run, both in terms of utility
and longevity.
If you want, and don't mind spending the money,
appliances exist which are a combination of microwave oven and
convection oven. I've never used one, but they seem like a good idea if
you are pressed for room and want both functions in one appliance.
They are, however, expensive.
The next small appliance that the
kitchenette should be equipped with is a slow cooker, AKA a Crock Pot.
Again, don't cheap out. You don't need one with all the bells and
whistles, which are mostly useless, IMHO, but a good quality appliance
with a removable insert which you can take out and wash is a must. I
would forego high tech electronic controls in favor of a high quality
insert, and a robust heating unit. A constantly simmering pot of soup
waiting for you when you get home is always a welcome thing. I know
guys whose crock pots, during their bachelor days, never got cold. Add a
trivet (AKA "meat rack") to the bottom of the pot, and you can also use
it as a roaster. Anything which needs a long, slow cook time at low
heat is a candidate for cooking in a crock pot.
If you get
nothing else to supplement your microwave oven then I strongly recommend
an electric frying pan. I cannot stress enough the utility of the
humble electric frying pan. You can do almost anything with one. The
range of food you can make with an electric frying pan is simply
endless. Anything which can be done on a stovetop in a skillet can be
done with an electric frying pan. Not just frying and deep-fat frying,
but sauteeing, searing, simmering, braising, boiling, and steaming all
can be done with an electric frying pan. Most of what can be done in a
crock pot can also be done in an electric frying pan. Anything which
requires a hot surface can be done in an electric frying pan. Best of
all, they're cheap. If you want to get a basic aluminum non-stick one
then you can get it brand new for about $30. If you want a high quality
stainless steel one then you can get one for under $100 new, and if you
take care of it then it will last you the rest of your life. I got
mine, a good stainless one (Farberware 310-A, to be precise), for $20 at
a thrift store, in excellent condition. I expect my grandchildren,
should I have any, will be able to use it.
My own
recommendation is to consult eBay for a Farberware 310-A or 344-A.
After all, what other electric frying pan, of all things, has an
internet fan group? If you want to go new then don't get over-anal
about brands. If you look at many brands of electric frying pans then
you'll see that a lot of them look almost exactly alike. That's because
half of the small appliance brands on the planet are owned by the same
transnational umbrella corporation, and they all come out of different
doors of the same factory.
A different tack would be to get a
hot plate and a selection of cookware to go with it. For this I
recommend an induction hot plate. This requires shopping a bit more
carefully for cookware, because you have to get induction ready
cookware, but it pays off. They are more efficient than conventional
hotplates, and turn more of your hard-earned electricity into hot food
instead of a hot cook. Also, since even the cheap Max Burton induction
hot plates have temperature control functions, anything you can do with
an electric frying pan you can do with an induction hot plate, plus a
lot more, since you can use it to heat different cookware. With the
right cookware you can also use the induction cooker for most of the
same functions as the crock pot.
You need not spend too much
money on the induction cooker either. Generally speaking, a more
expensive induction cooker will get you more functionality, such as
better power level control, finer temperature control, and larger
inductors, but for the most part there is little you can do with a $3000
Volrath that you cannot do with a $79 Max Burton. Plus, when you're
done with it the Max Burton fits into a cabinet a whole lot better.
Lastly,
for people living in closet size apartments with shoebox size kitchens,
keep in mind that with a little thought, and an eye toward efficiency
and minimalism, you can do a lot with them. Consider that an apartment
in Paris will usually have a kitchen only about 28 square feet in size,
but a good cook can still put together a tasty meal in one. And if any
people know food it's the French!
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