Cheyenne

I have never associated Korea with fine coffee but when I heard that Zojirushi made a coffee maker I was sold. ("You had me at Zojirushi.") It's one of the few brands that mean anything to me. I adore their rice cooker.

It has everything going for it. Like all Zojirushi ...

This rice cooker is a busy working cook's best friend. Ditto for the healthy cook. I eat twice as much rice now that I have a rice cooker. And I probably cook more at home in general, too. This little cooker just makes it so easy and convenient.

I set the timer/warmer to ...

I bought this stovetop smoker after reading about it on one of my favorite food blogs 101 Cookbooks. I imagined using it as you would an outdoor smoker--to smoke chicken, pork, mushrooms and other veggies, etc. But this smoker is so easy to use that I have found myself smoking some more ...

I have only just begun to realize the full power and versatility of this hand blender. I use it mostly to puree soups and blend smoothies. But it would be worth the price just for those two purposes alone.

My favorite feature is the no-splash head. It prevents the food splatter issue ...

This is a great gadget for food geeks who like appliances with some cool factor. You don't really need this thermometer. You can use a traditional meat thermometer just fine. The process is simple enough. But this gizmo really does make the process easier.

It allows me to multitask in the kitchen ...

This beehive-style blender is a classic. It has style, it has horsepower. It's cool like an old classic car is cool.

It has two speeds: fast and faster. It crushes ice and pulverizes the frozen fruit in my smoothies. It's not a quiet machine, but who cares when it looks that good ...

This makes a great cup of coffee when the machine is clean. But it is never clean.

I'm not a huge fan of grind-and-brew coffeemakers. First, they use a blade-style grinder. People who know way more about making coffee than me have declared burr grinders far superior--a better grind for ...

If you want to do the fried turkey thing for Thanksgiving--without causing a giant fire--then this product is for you.

Is it worth it just to lug this monster fryer out of the garage once a year for the annual turkey? Well, if it's a tradition in your home and you use ...

Leave it to Le Creuset to create a spatula set that is swoon-worthy. I swear--my love affair with Le Creuset cookware has no end!

If you own Le Creuset pans--or even if you don't--you will want this set. The crock is gorgeous with amazingly vibrant color. So not only ...

Fondue parties are back in style. With what's-not-to-like ingredients like wine, melted cheese, bread--why did fondue ever go out of style, anyway? Probably because a lot of fondue makers are a pain to deal with.

With an easy-to-use-and-clean fondue maker like this, fondue parties will never go out of style at your ...

Surely one of the greatest advancements in culinary history (at least of the last 50 years) has been the development of non-stick cookware.

Calphalon bakeware is amongst the best non-stick bakeware available. And this bakeware set is no exception. It has all of the basic tools for home baking: there are three ...

Get ready to test the culinary limits of your toaster oven! This set is the perfect size for toaster ovens. So it's perfect for dorm-room chefs, RV and boat gourmands, and other space-challenged cooks. We could use one at my office come to think of it.

These three bakeware items are very ...

I am not a fan of bakeware sets. Especially those sets with a lot of items. I'm convinced that you get better cookware by selecting each piece individually, based on its own merits and your unique needs. I'm not a one-size-fits-all sort of gal -- some may even call me high-maintenance when ...

This set is made of aluminum. Let's start there. Many people get professional results using aluminum. They are sturdy but lightweight and, for the most part, provide an even temperature distribution. But I find them difficult to clean. It may be me -- maybe I'm not greasing them well ...

All nonstick bakeware is not created equal. This Calphalon bakeware is so easy to use and clean it could turn anyone into a baker. The nonstick is so excellent that even the stickiest gooiest baked goods will slide right off. (Go ahead - imagine the stickiest, gooiest baked good you can - ...

This set has everything you need and nothing you don't. You have a nice-sized 10-by-15-inch cookie pan, a rectangular cake pan and two 9-inch round cake pans (so you have the flexibility to make several types of cakes). And I would use this rectangular cake pan for lasagna - it's the ...

You can get these two pans for a great value with this set. Let's start with the baking sheet. I love it. I prefer insulated baking sheets since I have a tendency to over-brown my cookies -- or, to be more honest, to scorch them into unrecognizable charcoal lumps. This sheet is ...

What I like about CorningWare is that it's designed to be used for preparing, baking, and serving at the table. (So you're really getting three dishes in one with each piece.)

These CorningWare dishes are indispensable?-they are among the most versatile kitchen pieces you can buy. I use them as both casserole ...

Thirty-seven pieces of bakeware? That's insane. Who needs that much bakeware, you wonder? I was skeptical that these pieces were all necessary. Well, let's take a look at the set and see:

You've got two cookie sheets. That's reasonable; we all need at least two cookie sheets. There's an 8-in. square cake ...

In the past, I've just bought the most inexpensive baking sheets possible, figuring that most baking sheets were going to wear down pretty quickly, anyway. I didn't believe that a long-lasting baking sheet really existed. It was like a mythical creature that was rumored to exist but never actually seen.

As a result ...

When I first heard about this meatloaf pan I wondered: Who makes so much meatloaf that they need a specialized pan? Well, now I have my answer. People who have this meatloaf pan make that much meatloaf because this pan is so awesome.

Seriously, you'll make meatloaf more often if you ...

If you want to bring some order to the overstuffed and disorganized drawers and cabinets in your kitchen, do yourself a favor and buy this set. I had made a resolution to get rid of my aging, mismatched (and potentially unhealthy) plastic storage containers that were taking up a lot of ...

Of all the items in my kitchen, my favorites bear the Le Creuset brand. It's not an inexpensive brand, so the ramekins are a great way to get a little bit of Creuset cachet for not a lot of cash. These are pieces that I display proudly on my open ...

I don't bake cakes. But now that I'm a mom I am determined to try my had at something more than a store-bought, boxed cake mix in a rectangle shaped pan with frosting from a tin.

This petal-shaped cake pan set includes 6, 9, 12, and 15-inch flower-shaped cake pans. Together, they ...

This coffee maker has a lot of special features?but most of them aren't features that I find that useful.

Let's start with the special features that are useful. I like the front access. This is the big differentiator with this model. And if you keep your coffee maker on a counter underneath ...

Good ol' Farberware. It feels like they've been around forever. One of those brands that I recall from my childhood or something. (And I just Googled them to see how long they've been around, and it is over 100 years, so I'm not imagining this.) I swear my grandmother had ...

This is a mammoth-sized coffeemaker. It has lots of bells and whistles: a timer so you can make up-to-the-minute fresh coffee, auto shut off (a must for me), plus a permanent filter (another must). It would be great for a large family or in an office environment.

I wish it had a ...

Your coffeemaker is one of the most used appliances in your kitchen so it pays to put some thought into his purchase. DeLonghi is an Italian company known for their sleek design. And this machine is a sexy beast to be sure. It's also a pretty good price for an espresso ...

This model proves that you don't have to spend a lot of beans to get a good coffeemaker. (Some of the high-priced modes have features you really don't need anyway.)

This is a very basic coffee maker. It's small. It's easy to operate. It makes exactly as much coffee as ...

I am one of those people that always leave the coffee pot on when I leave the house. And even if I remember to turn it off, I wonder and worry that I haven't until I can go back home to check. This pot does the thinking for you. I love ...

Let's just get this issue out of the way: This cookware doesn't compare to something like All-Clad. But at this price, who cares? Circulon offers fantastic cookware at a fantastic price. You can tell a Circulon pan from the telltale circular grooves. They claim that they protect the nonstick coating ...

A frozen margarita? Call me a purist, but I like mine on the rocks. No fancy mix or secret ingredients. Just Tequila, triple sec/Cointreau, and freshly squeezed lime juice, with salt on the rim. Simple and perfect.

This margarita maker is like the fraternity boy of blending machines. It's large and loud. A little ...

What a cool idea: a mini breadmaker that creates adorable little 1-pound loaves. That's the perfect size for my family. I'm always buying larger loaves that end up moldy or in my freezer, where I always forget about them.

This breadmaker is small, too-- small enough that you could actually leave ...

I can see how this contraption seemed like a good idea. Why not combine the coffee bean grinder and brewing components into one awesome machine? What coffee drinker wouldn't bow down to this mighty creation? Add the ability to set the timer so it grinds and brews in the wee ...

This tabletop oven does everything a conventional oven does, only much faster and more efficiently. This little oven cooks food twice as fast and it uses 85% less energy. It's almost magical. Well, it uses conduction, infrared, and convection technology to cook the food so quickly. So it's not magical but ...

This is a serious blender for people who have serious blending needs. It's definitely professional-grade quality. It makes my old blender look like a child's toy. I once visited a website where you could view blenders blending things you would not believe. You name it, they would blend it. And this blender ...

This product works just fine. That sounds underwhelming but it is what it is. It's a small version of the extremely-popular Griddler. In functionality, it's similar to the George Foreman grill. But you can use it a few different ways. It's great for burgers and can cook them on both ...

I must say that I am surprised at how terrific the Panasonic rice cooker is. I'm a huge fan of the Zojirushi rice cooker and the Panasonic is a very comparable product for a fraction of the cost

The 5-cup size is more than I need everyday. But you can use it for ...

This is an okay waffle maker. Not bad. Not extraordinary. Just okay.

I guess I'm a fan of the Belgian-style waffle makers-- whether you are making Belgian waffles or not. Maybe I just have a heavy hand with the waffle batter, but when I use a regular (non Belgian) waffle maker, ...

I saw Martha Stewart using this juicer on her TV show. Now, I don't run out and purchase every single kitchen appliance she promotes or raves about. But she was going nuts over this juicer and I was in the market for a juicer and I loved the look of ...

Why would you want an oval-shaped saute pan? Good question. When I first saw this I thought it was for cooking on two burners. And you can use it this way. (I guess it depends on your stove design, really.) On my stove, the size of this pan works ...

This appliance really takes all the fun and drama out of making s'mores over a campfire. Sure, you can make s'mores whenever you want. But there is something magical about doing it the old-fashioned campfire way -- even if that means that you can't have them on command. A perfect fire-toasted s'more is ...

There are several ways to dry fresh pasta. I used to hang my pasta from a towel rack. A wooden dish rack could work, too. And I know someone who dried his pasta on a broom laid across two chairs.

The Norpro Pasta Drying Rack is a much easier way.

If you ...

I couldn't cook without a rasp. I dread the thought. How would I create soft pillowy clouds of Parmesan cheese all the time? I just can't go back to the crude Parmesan scraps created by a regular box grater. Ditto for lemon zest. A rasp eliminates the need for a ...

This is indeed a very jumbo-sized griddle. You could probably cook eight good-sized pancakes at the same time with this griddle. (I'm using the little know but very tasty pancake measuring system here.) I'm not sure where you would store a griddle of this size, but if you have a large family ...

This is the best fruit dehydrator in its price class. (Nesco also makes food hydrators at higher price points with more space, trays, accessories, etc. These, too, are high-quality machines.) But I think that most people won't need more than what this model offers.

There are food hydrators that cost less, ...

I have a strict no-useless-gadgets policy. Especially when that gadget is big and takes up a lot of space. When I first heard of this product, I thought it was the most ridiculous kitchen appliance I had ever heard of (right up there with the microwaveable s'mores maker.)

My feelings about ...

There is something quaint and seemingly old-fashioned about the candle-lit fondue pots, but I will never go back now that I have an electric one. The temperature is so much easier to control with the Rival. The candle-heated ones are okay for keeping a small pot almost warm, but ...

A quesadilla maker? Really? Is it that hard to make a quesadilla? Is it that time-consuming?

One-purpose items are generally prohibited in my kitchen. (My salad-spinner is the one exception that leaps to mind.) And if a product is going to do only one thing, it needs to do it well.

I like ...

If I could only have one piece of cookware, it would likely be a 12-inch pan like this. You can cook anything in this pan. It's deep enough for soups. Great for sautes or stir-fries, too. And it goes right into your oven. Perfect for chicken-and-rice dishes and other casseroles. ...