It’s that time of the year, gravy goodness will be flowing soon–or it could be gravy grossness if you don’t get rid of all that fat from the meat drippings first.  There are all kinds of methods for separating the fat from the drippings, but using a fat separator is, in my opinion, the quickest and easiest.  The OXO Fat Separator comes in two sizes, a 2-cup and a 4-cup.  They are heat resistant and have a built in strainer.  I personally have the 4-cup and love it.  OK, did I just say I loved a fat separator?  I think I’ve been spending way too much time with all these kitchen gadgets.

$11 for the 2-cup and $15 for the 4-cup

Buy from Sur La Table

When you absolutely, positively need 1/4” tomato slices, what do you do? Sure, you could dig out the measuring tape, a hammer, and a laser level. Or you could even call in the Army Corps of Engineers, but there is a better way. The Amco Tomato Slicer cuts nearly perfect 1/4” tomato slices with just a press of your hands. Place a tomato, up to 3” in diameter, into the base, set the slicer on top and press down. Quickly and easily you are greeted with nine 1/4″ tomato slices.

See, isn’t that better than having the Army Corps of Engineers over? Can you imagine how many strangers would be using your bathroom?

$19.95 from Williams-Sonoma

When I first saw the RSVP Herb Scissors, I thought to myself, “Wow, those would really freak out a hairstylist.”  I’m thinking if hairstylists have nightmares, these scissors are probably a main player.  Well, these scissors and having to cut Donald Trump’s hair.  Whoa, scary.  Anyway, the five 3” stainless steel blades allow you to cut herbs directly into a pan or over a plate for garnish, which is pretty handy.  Sure, you could use a knife and a cutting board, but seriously—check these things out and tell me you wouldn’t want a pair.  You could run walk around the kitchen yelling, “WOLVERINE!“  How cool would that be?

$12.99 from Chefs

If you’re like me and have a terrible habit of using public library books as cutting boards, the genius minds at Fred and Friends have come to the rescue. Slice, dice, and julienne all you want on this cutting board with no fear of destroyed book fines.  Made from solid hard beechwood, lightly dressed with mineral oil, and measuring 6”x9.5”.  A whimsical addition to any kitchen.

$11.99 from PerpetualKid

There’s something about a baking pan that looks like the large intestines that makes you say, “What in the world were these guys thinking?”  But the reason for the unusual shape is to create the perfect chewy brownie, not to teach you about anatomy.  No more fighting over the few pieces of chewy brownies baked in a traditional pan.  Baked in this crazy baking pan, every single piece of brownie has a yummy, chewy edge of goodness.  A design that forever marks its place in history with the other great inventions of man – such as the wheel,
the light bulb, and the toupee.

$34.95 from Amazon

This one kinda reminds me of the paper cutters we had at Ninja School.  Lift the handle, slide in some long grass or other vegetation – like eggplant – cut into strips, then attached to our ninja jumpsuit as camouflage.  This made it easy to sneak around and take over small Japanese villages or Italian restaurants.

In this case, though, the beautiful 8” Shun Chef’s knife designed by the legendary Ken Onion, sits prominently in a bamboo knife stand making it easily accessible in the kitchen and impressive as a functional display piece. This is a great chopping knife with its nice weight, contoured handle, and perfectly curved blade.  So, if you are planning potato salad for 157 people, this is the knife for you.

$199.95 from Sur La Table

Piece of toast stuck in the toaster?  Jamming a fork into the innards of the toaster is not recommended as you may scratch the toast.  Oh, and there’s that whole electrocution and death thing too.  Metal is one thing you want to keep out of your toaster.  Pudding is OK, metal is bad.  Put that on a sticky next to your toaster.  So, with the Wood Toaster Tongs, I’ve hung up my favorite tool for dislodging a stuck piece of toast – my car battery jumper cables.  The wooden tongs slip easily into the hot toaster to pluck out that pesky stuck toast.  And it also takes up much less space in the drawer than the jumper
cables.

$4.95 from Cooking.com

If you’ve ever gone to heat up your lunch at the office and discovered some cubical jockey has already done that for you… and left you nothing but the mushrooms from what was last night’s spaghetti and meatballs, then give this a try.  Maybe… Experimental Meal – Consume At Own Risk, Biodangerous – Yesterday’s Leftovers, or Nuclear Waste – Eat and Glow …will stop them from pilfering your lunch.  OK, doubtful as we all have that one coworker that will eat a packet of hot Chinese mustard, an entire ball poin pen, or even nuclear waste for a 25 cent bet.  “Heck yeah I’d eat that for a quarter.”

You get three containers in a set (13.5 oz, 20 oz, 33 oz) and each has a nifty dial to set the date so you know when it was put in the fridge.  This way the food doesn’t actually turn into what the label says it is.  After 89 days in the fridge, chicken and dumplings starts to look a bit gnarly.  Heck yeah I’d eat that for a quarter.

$8.99 from Think Geek

You bang away on the keyboard all day and occasionally things come to a screeching halt.  You’re forced to perform the tried and true three finger salute to reset your PC… Ctrl-Alt-Del …a quick remedy to all of your computing woes.  The MOD Design keyboard tea cups and circuit board saucers are a sure way to show off your true computer geek inside and drink some tea in tribute to the keystroke that saves the day.  Please refrain yourself from smashing them as we sometimes frequently do to our actual keyboards.  Seen at the Maison et Object in Paris and crafted by Mod Design in Taiwan.  Price not yet available.

Via Gizmodiva and Electric Pig.

Cutting some simple slits into a pie top serves a purpose to let steam out, as well as adding a decorative touch, but why not add some pizazz.

The Nordic Ware Reversible Pie-Top Cutter has leaves on one side and apples on the other.  Pressing the pie-top cutter over your top sheet of pie dough neatly cuts out pieces of apples or leaves to add to the top of your pie for that serious wow factor.

And it also serves a useful purpose to help identify your pies.  The apples easily identify an apple pie.  And the leaves represent a leaf pie.  Wait a second.  No that can’t be it.  Ah, Autumn – the leaves represent a season.  But, hey, I may be onto something with that leaf pie idea.  101 Leaf Pie Recipes.  Look for it in books stores in the Autumn of 2009.

$11.99 from Sur La Table

An 8 oz. plastic cup: 5 cents
An 8 oz. crumpled plastic cup: free (look in the trash)
An 8 oz. ceramic cup made in France and designed to look like an 8 oz. crumpled plastic cup: $18

Aren’t the French funny?

Actually I like this cup.  In fact, my Dilbert mug may be getting retired.  And just imagine the conversations it will start with the folks at the office.  “Hey, neat cup.  Where did you get it?  How much?  You paid what?!!!!”  Multiply that conversation by 182 times per week.  Sold in a set of six.  Which might be a good thing.  If someone swipes it or the cleaning crew throws it away, you’ll have 5 more waiting in the wings.  Made in France by Revol.

$109.95 for six.  Buy from Cooking.com

I’m a sucker for salt vaults and this one’s a beauty.  Salt is such a huge part of cooking and having it on hand and easily accessible for each layer of your ingredients is so important.  This salt box is especially nice for its easy one handed opening and beautiful soft lines.  It’s made of neem wood, a tropical evergreen native to Southeast Asia.  The natural vegetable oil rub brings out the rich mahogany-like grain of the neem.  And even though it looks like a perfectly respectable lidded chili bowl.  It is not leak proof.  Please use your Tupperware when bringing chili to work.

$18 from Napa Style

Think long and hard before tossing that can of Chef Boyardee ravioli into your shopping cart.  What if you bumped into a friend?  A coworker?  A neighbor?  And they glanced into your cart.  GULP!  You could easily explain the Pabst Blue Ribbon as a cheap beer to make beer-can-chicken, but  how are you going to explain the canned ravioli?  If you’ve got kids, there’s a good out, but if your kids are grown, or you don’t have any… man, you are so busted.  Preparing fresh, handmade ravioli is easy and quick, especially with the help of these ravioli trays.  Make your dough, roll it out into a sheet and place it in the Italian made aluminum form.  Press in your filling, add the top sheet of dough and roll over with the rolling pin.  The ravioli is cut and ready to cook.  Seriously, it’s that simple.  Now, can I talk to you about that boxed macaroni and cheese in your cart?

Round or Square $26 each.  Buy from Sur La Table

These spun bamboo wine and hors d’oeuvres trays are perfect for the upcoming holiday season.  Have them on hand at your next party and you’ll wonder how you ever managed without them.  Slip your wine glass into the slot and now you have a free hand to eat and to easily gather more food.  Not recommended for your yearly split pea soup and tapioca pudding party.

$85 from Viva Terra

I don’t care what it says on the package – my butter stays out of the fridge.  The French have been using these ceramic butter crocks for a very long time to keep their butter fresh without refrigeration and many of them are still alive.  The butter is packed in the lid and water added to the base.  The water creates a seal that keeps out oxygen so the butter stays fresh without refrigeration and spreadably soft.

Soft, spreadable butter is a key ingredient to my delectable PBSTBBBB&B sandwich.  That’s my own recipe.  It’s a peanut butter, sardine, tuna, blueberry, bacon, bologna, and butter sandwich that I developed a few years ago during a 12 hour Brady Bunch marathon showing on TV Land.

Let me know if you need the recipe.  It’s not just a matter of stacking all that foodie goodness up on a piece of bread and thinking it’s going to taste good.  Believe me, there’s a delicate balance of all those ingredients to make it just right, otherwise it’s going to taste kinda funky.

$25.95 at Sur La Table