Making Do

[KYHeirloomer]

In an older copy of Food Arts magazine there was an article about a mini-trend towards smaller restaurant kitchens. In each case, the interviewed chefs made the same point: You have to make do with what you have. You have to be flexible. You have to use available equipment in ways other than it was designed for.

The article ends with a quote from Chef Jason Travi, who says: “If necessary, you can cook a turkey in a toaster oven.”

It occurs to me that this is even more true for home cooks. Despite the fact that we all have equipment and tools our parents never dreamed of, we still have to adapt. We don’t have lines. And we don’t run multiple kitchen tools at the same time.

Most of us, for example, don’t own deep fryers. So we use a cast-iron kettle and (if we’re smart) a thermometer to achieve the same end. We don’t have holding boxes to keep food warm until we need it. So we set the oven on low, and hope that will do the job. We only have one, or at most, two ovens. So we find ways to stack, and mix & match dishes when there’s a lot of baking and roasting in the offing. I’d venture to say that none of us own a salamander. So we use the broiler setting in the oven---which doesn’t always do quite the same job, but what can you do?

As a former short-order cook, I miss my flat-top. There is, literally, nothing you can cook on a range that you can’t cook on one of them (and, btw, do a whole lot of them at one time). Obviously, there’s no room in my kitchen for even a small flat-top. But a plain griddle, stretched across two burners, can come close.

So, here’s my question: If space and money were not considerations, what cooking equipment would you most like to have? And, being as you don’t have it, how do you achieve the task that gear is designed for?

It also occurs to me that I’ve never owned a toaster oven. No particular reason. But I guess that means I’ll never cook a turkey in one.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Great questions Brook, I would simply LOVE 2 ovens, a deep fryer, and most of all a SOFT-SERVE Ice Cream machine just like the one at Dairy Queen

Now when I want some soft vanilla ice cream I have to stir & stir it until it reaches the consistency I love and yes I just have to have my Curly Q on top, and so I make my own!!!

As you mentioned a salamander would be awesome, but well as you said we have to use our broiler and get the result we hope for

Like you I use my dutch oven to fry in, of-course a smaller pot if I am only frying small amounts!

And cooking with only one oven can be daunting at Thanksgiving & Christmas! But I try and perpare as much as I can the day ahead and then only have to worry about the Turkey and dressing on Thanksgiving Day, and then warming up the rest when the bird comes out! The only veggie I do not make ahead of time is the Green Bean Casserole it MUST be made and served same day, no if's ands or but's!

I would also love a Brick Oven, in leu of a brick oven to bake pizza in I use a pizza stone and get really great results!

There have been times when I lost my measuring cup and had to use a canning jar to measure liquids, they work really well!

Really though I am very thankful for what I do have as you mentioned our ancestors had much less, and I love MAKING DO!!!! I think that is why I love camping so much, it gives me alot of opportunity to IMPROVISE

[jfain]

I think for me it's true that you can't miss what you don't have. I have a stove, microwave, icecream maker, crock pot, toaster oven, food processor, blender, kitchen aid and grill. With these I'm able to make all the recipes I want to. I think I would like to have a sausage attachment for my kitchen aid though and maybe a walk in pantry.

[jglass]

I have a very tiny kitchen.
I would love to have an exhaust over the stove. When ever I use my grill pan or indoor smoker I have to raise the window and put a fan between the stove and the window to route the air out the window. We have a small corner in the livingroom stacked with my ice cream maker, water bath canner, food dehydrator, big food processor, rotisserie, ice cream maker, bread machine and nu wave oven. In the kitchen I have a microwave, small round convection oven, cake stand with dome, coffee maker, 3 cup chopper, stove and fridge. In a cabine over the stove I have my big and small mandolines and a chopper gizmo. I even have pans stored in my old dishwasher lol.
Cooking for Jon and I works fine in a small kitchen but when I have to cook for a crowd and haul it to another location it is a pain. I would love to have more room to work in there.
During the holidays I try and plan for things I can take the day before the meal that can be served cold or room temp. I store everything I can the day before in Jon's Dads fridge. I always have to cook the ham, turkey and sometimes porkloin. I start my ham about 2-3am the night before dinner. That way it is done by breakfast and I can do the turkey. I have a big oval crockpot that is good for porkloins. I do my desserts the day before so they are out of the way. I like to make some roasted veggies and mac and cheese so I fit those in. I have an outdoor smoker/indoor roasted I teased Jon last year I was tempted to run an extension cord to the balcony and cook the turkey outside lol.
Jons Dad has offered for me to cook there before but the man has hardly no pots and pans and a worn out stove. I would have to haul my cookware/bakeware and other stuff there before even thinking of cooking. It is easier just to deal with my lack of room. It is only 3-4 times a year anyway lol. The biggest pain is the heat/air conditioning in this apartment. The intake for the ac is right across from the stove. As soon as it sucks it a little heat it ices up. You have to turn the heat all the way up to thaw the ac /heat out. It is best to turn it off and raise a window when the oven is on. These windows are single pane and have no screens in them so when you raise the window to cook ..usually at night when it is cooler the bugs head straight inside attracted by the lights

[Mapiva]

I love my toaster oven KY. I use it to warm up food that would otherwise get soggy in the microwave like puff pastry or pie. It uses much less energy than the oven. It's great when I'm making garlic bread too. A lot of people say they don't like toaster ovens but I like mine.

At our house in Greece we're building an outdoor brick oven. You have not tasted a roast with potatoes unless you've tasted one maked in a brick oven. It's impossible to build one here in NY.

What's a salamander? Sounds slinky.

[jfain]

I love my toaster oven too. It's great if you have a left over piece of chicken and you want to crisp up the skin before you eat it or if you want a sandwich with cheese melted on top, etc. Mine has a broiler on top which I love. Some things just don't taste as good reaheated in the microwave.

[KYHeirloomer]

Whoa, ladies,

I never said I disliked toaster ovens; merely that, for no particular reason, I've never owned one.

For all I know they're the greatest things since sliced bread. But I have no opinion one way or the other.

Cathy: As a matter of fact I do have a deep fryer; one of those double size ones, with three baskets. I can use two smaller baskets side by side, or one big basket, depending on what I'm frying.

For many years, however, I just used an iron kettle which was reserved for that purpose. Never tought I was deprived.

But I love the deep fryer for several reasons, not the least of which is that it doesn't tie up a burner that I might need for something else. And, with the built-in thermostat, I don't have to keep monitoring oil temperatures.

Mapiva, I know you've seen salamanders. You just didn't know what they were called.

Imagine a small pizza oven with an overhead burner only. They're used for broiling and other quick-cooking techniques. But due to their size and configuration the heat is highly concentrated; much more so than the broiler in an oven.

The name comes from the pagen belief in the four elementals (earth, water, air, and fire). The fire spirit was a salamander, usually represented as a lizard-like creature made of flames.

[jfain]

I would be afraid to get a deep fryer. I have a serious french fry addiction. I never order them because I can't be trusted not to eat a bucket full. It's only the realization that if I want them I have to pull out my pot and thermometer that keeps me from needing a 12 step program.

[jglass]

The dont fry alot so I dont need a deep fryer.
I make buttermilk fried chicken in my iron skillets. Occasionally I fry doughnuts or beer batter veggies.

[Mapiva]

Originally Posted by jfain

I would be afraid to get a deep fryer. I have a serious french fry addiction. I never order them because I can't be trusted not to eat a bucket full. It's only the realization that if I want them I have to pull out my pot and thermometer that keeps me from needing a 12 step program.

Sounds serious jfain. I feel the same way around Krispy Kreme.