And now for this years first Kitchen Gadget Thursday, the double-edged grapefruit knife!

On one side, a curved, deeply ridged blade separates segments from the outer skin. The serration makes it easy to handle around the fruit’s thick pith, and the bend makes it easy to scoop and pull each slice away from top to bottom. The knife’s other side is a double blade, meant to fit closely around the membranes of each segment and slice your work in half. As a duo, the knife works quite well, preserving a more of the fruit than comparable grapefruit spoons. It’s ergonomic and sturdy (made of stainless steel) and really does cut down on the time it takes to prep a grapefruit.

I was talking to my dad yesterday and one of the topics of our conversation was coffee machines. Turns out his old one crapped out and he’s on the hunt for a new one. He has recently retired and to keep busy he got a part time jobs at C.A. Paradis (Chef’s Paradise!). If you’ve never been, this place it’s a MUST! They have almost every kitchen tool or gadget known to man!
He was talking about their selection of coffee machine and which one he was considering. This weeks KGT is totally appropriate. Here it is, check this unit out!!! SAECO Xelsis Stainless Steel

With the Xelsis, it is like having a coffee-bar in your own home. Making use of cutting-edge technology, the Xelsis is extremely versatile and able to offer multiple types of beverages, all of which can be completely personalized: from strong Italian espresso to a mild American-style coffee, cappuccino to latte, and even hot water for a cup of tea. It is possible to create up to 6 user profiles, of 6 drinks each, customizable for each family member. The Xelsis’ 36 unique beverage settings are all activated with the simple touch of an icon. All beverages and functions are accessed through the wide, easy-to-read display screen located prominently on the front of the machine. The Xelsis alsp provides an entirely integrated milk solution to automatic espresso machines, making it easier than ever to enjoy cappuccinos or lattes at home.

I guess maybe I should start the Kitchen Gadget Friday as opposed to Thursday, since this is the 3rd week in a row I post my gadget late. I’ve been so busy as of lately it’s hard to make time to post frequently, that was the whole idea of KGT.
Anyways better late than never,

The kerneler had the potential to be a fun knick-knack—I didn’t expect it to change my life, but I thought maybe it would encourage me to make better use of some farmers’ market produce. I liked that it shucked off the kernels and collected them in a cute little canister, both eliminating fuss and mess.

But here’s the thing: it doesn’t fit around most ears of corn, and requires far more force than just using a knife whenever it does. Even then, it’s hard to get the kernels out of their container, as they get stuck in its little ridges rather that pouring. Cleaning is a downright hazard, with sharp edges all over and plenty of stuck kernels around them that can only come out with careful prying. Good thing frozen veggies are just as healthy, anyway.

Here’s a shot of the commercial product, you’ve probably seen the Subway “monkeys” attendants use these.

Perfect chef-sliced tomatoes are now a reality for the home cook thanks to the new Joie Tomato Slicer with Knife from MSC International. Simply fit the slicer over the tomato, place on a sturdy flat surface, and make smooth guided cuts with the matching knife. This 2-piece slicer set also works for potatoes, onions, and more. For quick slicing, while keeping your fingers safe, the Joie Tomato Slicer with Knife just might become the hardest working gadget in your kitchen.

It’s late in the day for my usual KGT post but better late than never! Today’s post is a kitchen appliance I had never seen before setting foot into Chef Michael Blackie‘s “Star Wars” Kitchen! Chef Blackie has several different kitchen gadgets. A Thermomix, is a cooking machine capable of many functions, including chopping, mixing, kneading, simmering, boiling and steaming. Definitely a cool kitchen gadget if you can afford it!

Chop! Chop! The Personal Soup Chef is perfect for you to get your favorite soup recipe going in no time at all. After all, it is capable of chopping up your vegetables automatically without the price of nagging at you for all your other faulty traits. It is capable of simmering broth at the optimal temperature to make nearly two quarts of homemade soup with minimal human intervention. Inside the soup cooker lies food processing blades that will slice vegetables and gently stir ingredients as they cook.

I’m not quite sure what to say about this, except every house should have one! LOL
Enough said here’s this weeks KGT!

I’m usually not a huge fan of tacos. We ate them almost every night growing up, and I got sick of them. But lately I’ve been craving tacos. This “taco taxi” will hold up to three tacos for you while you apply fixings and eat them one by one. Yum.

don’t know how they manage to do it, but many people are like dorks in the kitchen! They get two left-feet and splatter the whole place with mess! To top it off, invariable the smoke alarm goes off, thanks to clumsy ventilation and cooking! This situation is both funny and radical, coz you can’t have the smoke alarm go off for nothing! Rectify the situation with an anti-smoke alarm; welcome Smokey the Remote Smoke Alarm Silencer! No more hurrying to remove batteries of the alarm.

This everyday kitchen timer hosts an XBee chip that communicates wirelessly with the smoke alarm. So when the alarm goes off, simply press his hand to temporarily silence it until the smoke clears.

The FridgePad is billed as the “ultimate fridge magnet”. I’d say it’s probably the ultimate anything. Think about it. Even with my obviously awesome “Waterproof, Kitchen-Proof iPad Case” (a ziploc bag), your iPad still gets in harms way in the kitchen. The FridgePad fixes this by mounting the iPad up where nature intended: on the front of the refrigerator.

I bet you thought I wasn’t going to “KGT” this week eh? Well I found the coolest thing ever for those “gotta own a mac” product people. I’m somewhat guilty of this trend as well, I recently lost my iPhone 3GS and the first that came to mind was iPhone 4.

Anyways here’s this weeks KGT!

MacBook fans are serious about their Apple products. You have to be in order to swallow the price tag that comes with all Apple products. I do believe when I bought my MacBook I called it an investment. Now that the keyboard is fried all of one year later and I’m looking at a huge repair bill, I’m starting to question my own sanity. However, the truth is I still love my MacBook, despite that I’m using a USB keyboard to be able to work it. If you’re just as head over heels for your MacBook, here’s one kitchen product you just have to have.

Mac lovers should never be stuck cutting up their food on a normal cutting board. No, you need one made to look identical to your beloved MacBook. They didn’t use just any wood to make this either, it’s made out of apple tree wood. You can purchase one for EUR 43 or right around $54 by going here.

I think I might start a new trend on the site, I think I’ll call it “Kitchen Gadget Thursdays” or KGT for short because I’m a geek!. On each Thursday I’ll hunt the net to find the coolest kitchen related item and post a picture and a short write up. The guys over @foodieprints do a “wordless Wednesday” maybe I can start the “KGT”

Here’s my first KGT POST!

If you’ve become obsessed with giving your food that smoky flavor, you might looking into this Smoking Gun. It’ll allow for you to smoke a whole lot more than you normally would thanks to some unconventional methods. Instead of being stuck only smoking foods while you cook them, you can smoke items that you don’t actually want cooked.

You just choose your wood as normal and use the gun to blow it onto your food of choice. Since the smoke travels a little bit of a distance it won’t actually cook the food of choice. It will work on delicate fruits and vegetables as well as both cooked and uncooked meats. The extender hose measures 18” long and the gun itself features a removable filter. You can purchase The Smoking Gun for $99.95 through Williams-Sonoma.