Gadgets, Cookware, and Cutlery

So despite knowing better, I was rushing and misusing my knife over the weekend while chopping ingredients for pizza which resulted in cutting 1/3 way through my index finger. I managed to contain things with some tape and a napkin so I could finish cooking. Once things stopped bleeding and the pizza was off the big green egg, we put a few Steri-Strips on it to keep things closed. Using the opportunity as a teaching tool, I thought I would sit down and document how to properly hold and control a knife. Perhaps I will follow these instructions in the future and save myself from another incident.

I purchased an Aerobie AeroPress about a year ago and love it. For $26, you can’t get a better and cup of coffee. The AeroPress takes some fundamental ideas of how an espresso machine and French press work and combines them into a small and easy to use package. The result is a smooth cup of coffee without the lingering grounds you commonly find in a cup made by a French press. The AeroPress is not a replacement for a cup of espresso nor does it scale, as it becomes labor intensive when trying to make multiple cups of coffee simultaneously.

In addition to the AeroPress, I bought a Capresso Infinity burr grinder and retired my old bean chopper. The burr grinder provides a more consistent grind and produces a better overall cup of coffee. The Capresso is a good upgrade from the chopper but is still considered entry level. I have a few minor complaints with the grounds getting stuck in the chopping chamber and collector but some tapping and regular cleaning helps.

The folks over at CoffeeGeek.com have done a great job grilling the inventor of the AeroPress and have a number of good reviews of the Capresso Infinity.

• Cibus Vitae Store - http://www.cibusvitae.com/pages/store.html
  
• AeroPress Thread - http://coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/195166
  
• Capresso Infinity Review - http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/grinders/capressoinfinity

I have recently been dabbling with baking bread including pizza dough and bagels (yeah, I tend to just dive right in). Through reading, talking with people, and my own experimentation, I have concluded (like most) that baking bread is more science than art. Bread making should be approached as a scientific process and variables should be controlled including ingredient ratios, temperature, and time. A few gadgets worth getting are a digital scale and a candy thermometer.

Digital Scales are most important for solids, like flour, where the volume can very dramatically depending on how tightly packed it is. The combination of a scale and some good notes will ensure consistency between baking.
* TIP: Four cups of flour in most recipes is meant to be 1 lb. You can find a great conversion calculator at http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/flour_volume_weight.html

Candy Thermometers will give you insight into the temperature of your water and yeast mixture which should be 105 F. I also use an instant-read digital thermometer and a wireless thermometer for meat.

The products we use and recommend can be found at the Cibus Vitae Store.