So, I tried the Gillette Fusion Power (the new 5-bladed razor).

For the first time since I’ve started shaving, they’ve introduced a new razor where I really can’t tell the difference between the new one and the previous one. Each of the models before this has been a marked improvement over its predecessor. This one - not so much. It may actually be ever so slightly worse. It feels somewhat smoother, but also not quite as close. The M3Power was a near-perfect compromise on that front.

Honestly, it’s difficult to tell, because they’re both great. If you have an M3Power, I see no reason to change. If you don’t, this is a fine alternative.

I don’t use a lot of butter at the table, but I do use it pretty frequently in cooking. With even just a very little bit, it adds a tremendous depth, body, and flavor to most kinds of cooking.

Yes, I’m firmly in the “butter is good” camp.

I keep a stick in the fridge in one of these, at the ready. It sounds stupid, but it’s very convenient to not dirty another knife or deal with loose shards of butter and oiled paper in the fridge. Especially when you forget and realize you need it immediately in the middle of a recipe while something else is cooking. It’s a small thing, but I like it. Butter is best stored in the freezer for any length of time, so it’s easy to pull out a stick, unwrap it while it’s still frozen, and pop it in. (Note: butter for cooking should always be unsalted, so you can adjust the salt yourself as you go.)

If you’re the spready type, this is also pretty good at shaving off thin slivers that melt quickly.

My only complaint is that the basic white model is kind of fragile plastic. I’ve broken two of them over the years - once when I dropped it, and once when trying to cut through frozen butter. But they’re cheap enough to replace. I’ve linked to the “Pro” model, which looks a bit more durable.

Buy the Buttermate from Amazon.

I first bought this printer in 2000, for $500. It’s still a great photo printer, with vibrant colors, great paper support (borderless on some sizes up to 13″x19″), pretty fast, and very high resolution.

Today, I noticed that Amazon has it for $360 plus a $100 rebate. At this price, I think this is an outstanding deal.

Buy the Epson Stylus 1280 from Amazon.com.

It was just impossible for me to sit up straight in my old chair, which had no back support at all. I knew it had to be replaced when I found myself adjusting the center post every 20 minutes. I hate most office chairs - they’re not tall enough, and they have the wrong kinds of adjustments. I like the Aerons and Mirras, but they’re pretty expensive, even used.

This chair is a pretty good compromise - not too expensive, tall (it’s the only chair I could find that I could sit in comfortable at less than the maximum height), and with a good lumbar support.

Plus, it’s on sale this week and staples.com has free delivery.

Buy the Situations Mesh Manager’s Chair at Staples.

They call it a “Jelly Roll” pan, but it’s really just a standard half-sheet pan. These pans are incredibly versatile, and Chicago Metallic makes very heavy duty ones that will last a long time. They’re good for everything from baking cookies to roasting lots of asparagus. If you use it for long enough, you might actually even be tempted to make a jelly roll, although I’ve never heard of such a thing.

Combine it with a Silpat liner or parchment paper for non-stick cooking.

Buy Chicago Metallic Half Sheet Pan from Amazon.

After many many years of getting by on a Cuisinart Little Pro Plus, which I heartily recommend as an introductory model or if you have small food processing needs, it became time to upgrade to a full size model.

I looked at the current Cuisinart offerings, but was uninspired. Even the new front-loading models look like they still have the same deficiencies - hard to clean, not enough attachments, and, most importantly, no citrus juicer. The default for most food processors seems to be no juicer, and I can’t imagine why. I don’t use it very often, but who (in the class of people that’s already decided to spend money on a food processor) doesn’t want to make fresh orange juice or lemonade at least sometimes? I feel like not having a juicer on a food processor is overlooking a major use of the very powerful motor you’ve got on your counter. The Little Pro Plus comes with one - why not any of the “real” models? Not all of the Kitchenaid models do, but this one does.

Setting aside the juicer for a moment, this Kitchenaid model has a few other nifty features:

1. The 12-cup capacity seems perfect. It’s surprisingly powerful, and also quiet.
2. Two mini bowls that nest inside the main bowl, a 4 cup with a multi-blade for small chopping tasks, and a 10-cup for use with the slicing and shredding discs. This seems very useful for isolating small jobs that need to be done before the main mixing, without having a lot of extra stuff to store separately.
3. An egg whip attachment. I haven’t tried this out yet, so I don’t know if it’s any good, but it intrigued me. I suspect (and hope) that this may substantially cut down on the mixing time for making marshmallows, which normally take 20 minutes or so of beating in the stand mixer.
4. It has a lot of attachments, and all but the juicer fit in a case that they include.
5. The pieces fit together very smoothly, with very little catching.

I also have to take a moment to talk about Kitchenaid support. Their customer support is legendary. They have a history of fully standing behind their products. In contrast, Cuisinart support seems to have lagged in conjunction with being absorbed into a series of larger companies.

Still testing, so no final rating yet, but I’m very happy so far.

Buy the Kitchenaid 12-cup Food Processor from Amazon.

I must admit, I bought the Foodsaver after seeing a late-night infomercial for it. It turned out to be great - I use it frequently for sealing bulk meats for freezing, and for keeping grains and leftovers fresh. This model is more than powerful enough, and includes a storage space for a roll of bag material (for making custom-sized bags). The Foodsaver can seal with bags (Tilia makes special bags, in rolls and precut - either’s fine), canisters (make sure you get the plain brown ones - the “designer” line models do not seal well, in my experience), or in mason jars. This last is extremely convenient, as mason jars are dirt cheap, but note that this is not the same as sterlized jarring, and all sealed foods need to be kept in the same way as unsealed (refrigerated or frozen) - they just last a lot longer.

Buy the Foodsaver Professional II from Amazon.

Wusthof makes pretty good knives, although they’re not my personal choice. On the Friday sale, $50 is a very good price for a forged Santoku.

This knife should be a great general chef’s knife, for chopping, slicing, and other prep tasks. It has kullens in the side of the blade to reduce sticking. In my experience, this only makes a difference if you’re slicing very thin slices, but there’s no drawback, and it does make the knife somewhat lighter, which I prefer.

I love to cook, but when it comes to speed… that’s not really my thing.

I actually looked at this book in the store, and wasn’t going to get it, but we attended a demonstration lecture in which he cooked five or so of the recipes from the book, and I was impressed with the overall approach. Jacques Pepin is a man who knows food - he’s nearly legendary for his mastery of technique and his knowledge of classical cuisine. This book is a totally different beast. It’s all about what he cooks on an everyday basis… when he’s tired at the end of the day and doesn’t feel like cooking, but still needs to eat and doesn’t want to order in… when unexpected guests arrive and he doesn’t have time to prepare a full meal. Obviously, there’s a strong French base, and while I wouldn’t call it fusion, there are noticeable influences from other cultures as well (his wife is Puerto Rican). One of the dishes from the demo was sauteed asparagus with croutons, almonds, and chorizo - delicious.

Some of the recipes are simply fast and simple preparations, some use canned and frozen ingredients, some can be made quickly with a little bit of planning ahead, and some use special techniques to speed traditional methods (like braising in a pressure cooker) - the common thread is a focus on getting you out of the kitchen quickly so you can concentrate on eating. Like many of my favorite cookbooks, the focus is more about explaining what’s going on rather than specific recipes - a number of them say things like “just do this with whatever vegetables you have handy”.

I bought the book recently, so I’ve only had a chance to make a few of the recipes - the first one is an immediate favorite and I’ll definitely make it again.

Instant vegetable soup (paraphrased):

Bring a few cups of water or canned stock/broth (I like Pacific Organic Chicken Broth) to a boil. While it’s boiling, shred a few cups of assorted vegetables (carrots, mushrooms, onions, broccoli, potatoes - whatever) with a box grater. Add the vegetables to the broth with a few handfuls of leftover wilted salad greens. Boil for a few minutes, then add some diced scallions. Boil a bit more, then sprinkle in a few tablespoons of cream of wheat, farina, or grits, and simmer for a few more minutes - this will thicken the soup. Grate a generous portion of gruyere or other cheese into soup bowls, and ladle the soup on top of the cheese. Finish each bowl with a pat of butter and a splash of extra virgin olive oil and serve with some crusty bread. Very simple and unexpected, but it was delicious and hearty.

Jacques is amazing to watch - there’s a companion series on PBS in which he demonstrates many of the dishes from the book. His technique is just impressive, he’s charming and relaxing, and the camera work is very very good so you can actually see what he’s doing.

Second Opinion

Mayur says:

I bought the Pepin book in SF on a trip, and like it quite a lot. What I find the Pepin book most useful for, actually, is as a study on how an expert chef might use packaged supermarket ingredients and stuff you’d have lying around the kitchen anyway. I must confess that I don’t actually find it so useful for whipping up exceptional meals in a hurry; for that, I find that certain other books (From Simple to Spectacular, How to Cook Everything, Elements of Taste, even Think Like a Chef) have a broader range of techniques and effectively incorporate a wider array of possible recipes via adaptation of the ones included. The problem with the Pepin cookbook is that I actually think that too few of the recipes are particularly widely adaptable; the bean dip or potato salad recipes, for instance, are recipes for just that. It’s not really worth adapting them to other ingredients, and in any case, one can make bean dip or potato salad without recourse to a chef of Pepin’s talents.

Buy Fast Food My Way from Amazon.

I’m not a huge fan of Calphalon anodized aluminum. I find it to be an unpleasant cooking surface for general cooking - everytime I’ve used it, things have stuck to it, and it’s dark so you can’t really see what you’re doing.

On the other hand, aluminum is a great, very even conductor, and Calphalon uses decent-quality nonstick finishes. I don’t use non-stick pans for most things. I like the browning that I get with steel (or Cybernox - more on that later), but I have a few non-stick pans around, because they’re perfect for omelets. Add to that that they periodically appear for FAR less than their advertised price ($15-$30 - this one’s $15 on the Friday sale), and you’ve got a great deal on your hands. This pan is a traditional crepe shape, so I suppose it’d be okay if you want to make those too.