TOOLS OF THE TRADE; OR, DO YOU REALLY NEED ALL THESE GADGETS TO COOK?

You know how some women can't pass a cosmetics' counter without picking up something? That's the way I am--and have always been--about food gadgets and appliances. I discovered Williams Sonoma as a young bride, back in the early 70's. I'd literally drool when I received the catalogs. Later, when his stores opened up locally, I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven. Some of the must have's I've purchased over the years include:

cake pans and cookie molds for just about any dessert e.g Madelaine pans (remember those cookies Proust wrote about?)
mezza luna
mandoline
dumpling maker
non-stick straight-sided skillet
pasta machine
espresso/cappuccino machine
food processor
stand up food mixer
electric slicer
panini grill
quesadilla maker
Le Creuset Dutch oven
crock pot
Tassimo single cup beverage machine
deep fryer
turkey fryer

The list could go on and on, but you get the picture. Let me be perfectly honest and say that if I had to hone this list (and the many items that are not on this list but are sitting in my closets) down to those absolute essentials, they would include my food processor, which is 33 years old; my Le Creuset Dutch oven in which I made soups, sauces, pot roast, and lots of other good stuff; my stand up mixer, which makes bread-making and baking a snap; my panini grill, which I've waxed eloquent about in another post; and, my deep, straight-sided skillet, which doubles as a wok. With these 5 "tools," I can make just about anything.

Over the years the number of food catalogs I receive has increased dramatically, but I still find most of what I need at Williams Sonoma. I try to limit the number of junk drawers in my kitchen to 3, but I'm always on the lookout for another toy. After all, why should men have all the fun?