wires require much more movement and hard work from
your wrist. The OXO Good Grips 9-inch Whisk ($8.95) has
thin, flexible wires, which make whipping vinaigrettes into
shape an effortlessly enjoyable endeavor.
- Salad Spinner
Yes, it will get your greens dry, and we all know that dry
greens are better at holding dressing (right?), but the salad
spinner is actually one of the truly great multitaskers in the
kitchen. I fill mine with water and pick herb leaves directly
into the bowl. Once they’re picked, I swish them around, lift
them up in the basket, dump the sandy water, and spin dry.
You can wash delicate items like berries and then dry
them in a salad spinner lined with a few layers of paper
towels to extend their shelf life by a few days. Or take
chopped tomatoes for a spin for easy seeding (the seeds slip
through the basket while the flesh stays put). Washed
mushrooms, sliced peppers, broccoli florets—anything you
could think of stir-frying or sautéing—will cook better after
a thorough drying in the spinner. Use the power of
centrifugal force to whip away excess marinade from
shrimp, chicken, or kebab meat. And if you’ve got a sturdy
one with small slots, like the OXO’s Good Grips Salad
Spinner (about $30), there’s no need to own a colander—
just drain beans, pasta, and vegetables in the spinner basket. - Stiff Spatula
My Due Buoi Wide Spatula (about $35) is exceedingly
sexy, in that mostly platonic inanimate metallic object kind
of way. It’s got a business end that’s 5 inches long, a