Kitchen "Candy" ~ Or, Look What I Just Got!

There have been a number of us treating ourselves to new kitchen gear lately, because I've seen comments about "my new this" or "I just got this" pop up in dinner threads and elsewhere. I thought it might be a nice place to post all of our new (or new-to-you finds for those of you with Thrift Shop Luck) kitchen toys so there is one thread to hunt through when you think "I know someone just bought a something...now what did they think about it?".

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Since this is my idea, and I just bought myself some candy, I'm going first.

I've been eyeing a new, shorter chef knife for a while. Even collected Discover cashback cards to use at BB&B. But when Himself and I were out for a ride yesterday, we ended up at a favorite kitchen goody shop in southern CT. Turns out they had a great deal on Wusthof knives...and a better knife than the BB&B $120.00 on my wish list. Even with a coupon, I couldn't beat the $80 price. The gift cards? They can now go to a new electric toothbrush that Himself needs to get. Best price I found for this Classic Wide 6-inch Chef was $119.99 at Amazon. Until yesterday...



I also got a Helen Chen Carbon Steel Wok. I gave my original one to our son about 10 years ago. That wok is older than our son! Still going strong. Now I get to season a new one. This will be my project sometime in the near future:


What new kitchen goody have you got for yourself lately? And tell us how we just can't live without one. I'm looking at you, Insta-Pot.

What a coincidence. I ordered a new knife, myself. It is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

I damaged my primary chef's knife many months ago, but have been using it, anyway. It gets the job done, but it has a knick in the blade that bugs the heck out of me. I finally broke down and bought a new one -- a Victorinox 8-inch chef's knife. I can't wait to get it.

I popped into into Tuesday Morning today (it is next to PetsMart, where I needed to go), and they had a bunch of Staub cast-iron cookware. If I didn't already have a good collection of Le Crueset, I would have been tempted, for sure.

The last kitchen toy I bought was my Searsall, which was a good six months ago.

CD

I didn't have to wait for a delivery! Now I have to learn how to work with it without adding finger tips to our dinners... It is seriously sharp!

No Tuesday Morning near where we now live, CD, but I loved browsing that place back home. Got some great deals there.

I have one Staub. LOVE it! I have two pieces of Le Creuset, but I'm now a Staub girl. If I get any more enameled CI, it will be more Staub.

Cooking Goddess said:

I didn't have to wait for a delivery! Now I have to learn how to work with it without adding finger tips to our dinners... It is seriously sharp!

No Tuesday Morning near where we now live, CD, but I loved browsing that place back home. Got some great deals there.

I have one Staub. LOVE it! I have two pieces of Le Creuset, but I'm now a Staub girl. If I get any more enameled CI, it will be more Staub.

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I was pretty impressed with the Staub stuff, too. I just don't need any of it, at least not now.

CD

We have a nice big (at least 5-quart) programmable Rival crock-pot that gets used often during the wintertime and a lot during the summertime. I discovered recently, when I made a huge recipe of beef stew, that the removable crock had a big crack in it.

Have no idea how it happened because I'm the only one who touches the thing and I've always been very careful with it. Washed it by hand, etc.

The crack must've been there a while but it really left evidence when I made the stew (lots of liquid to seep for a long period of time). There was a cooked-on trail directly along the path of the crack. Drat!

I've looked at what a replacement crock would cost. Holy Christmas, Batman. I may as well buy a new crock-pot. Not...

Enter Goodwill on Friday. Was looking for something else but, yep! Found the exact replacement and spent less than $5. Scored!!!

Katie, you seriously find the best deals at your Goodwill!

Good idea for a thread, CG! I haven't bought any new kitchen candy in quite some time. I do need a new chef's knife, and could use a new toaster before too long.

Cheryl J said:

Katie, you seriously find the best deals at your Goodwill!

Good idea for a thread, CG! I haven't bought any new kitchen candy in quite some time. I do need a new chef's knife, and could use a new toaster before too long.

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Thanks, Cheryl, but I really just stumble on them most of the time. However, I will have to say that the three Goodwill stores that I frequent are more like shopping at a very, very nice consignment store without the "consign" part.

What I see on the shelves and racks are always first rate. I can't imagine what they turn away.

When I bought the crock-pot crock, I also bought a John Deere-licensed dinner plate for our youngest grandson who eats, sleeps, drinks, plays all things John Deere.

Sure enough within the same week, my Mr. Coffee and microwave quit on me. My daughter bought me a MW oven about ten years ago. So I was not surprised when it quit. It began arcing. I found a Magic Chef that had a smaller footprint on my counter top. Quite happy with it. Easier to operate.

I notified Mr. Coffee about my machine just up and quitting on me. It was less than seven months old. I sent an email to the company with all the information. About five days later there is a package for me down next to the mail boxes. It was a brand spanking new even better Mr. Coffee. It has a lot of bells and whistles that the broken one lacked. No cost, no tax, no shipping charge. I wanted to call them to say Thank you. Pirate told me to keep my mouth shut. Send them an email. So I did.

Now that is customer service. Two new appliances that take up less of a footprint on my counter top. And I only had to pay a minimal amount for the MW oven. No shipping or tax either.

Katie H said:

...Enter Goodwill on Friday. Was looking for something else but, yep! Found the exact replacement and spent less than $5. Scored!!!

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Katie, you are exactly who I was thinking about as I wrote "for those of you with Thrift Shop Luck". I'm glad you were able to find a new crockpot so fast (and so cheap) since you do use it a lot. IF we're ever in your neck of the woods, I want to go Goodwilling with you!

Addie said:

I notified Mr. Coffee about my machine just up and quitting on me. It was less than seven months old. I sent an email to the company with all the information. About five days later there is a package for me down next to the mail boxes. It was a brand spanking new even better Mr. Coffee. It has a lot of bells and whistles that the broken one lacked. No cost, no tax, no shipping charge.

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That is good business. Take care of a customer, and they will tell everyone they know that you took care of them. As a commercial photographer, I am a "business owner," and I make most of my money from repeat customers, and get most of my new business from word of mouth advertising from my current customers.

CD

Just ordered the Victorinox Fibrox 8" chef's knife from Amazon for $29.98. They were selling them for a bit in December for $32, and this is the best price I have seen.

tenspeed said:

Just ordered the Victorinox Fibrox 8" chef's knife from Amazon for $29.98. They were selling them for a bit in December for $32, and this is the best price I have seen.

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I paid more for mine from Amazon a few days ago. Grrrrrrr!

CD

I don't know if this qualifies as "kitchen candy" but I did this project on a budget.

I recently bought an 90-year-old house that I plan to live in myself for a couple years, but eventually want to rent out as an income property. I don't want to spend a ton of money refurbishing the whole thing, so I'm remodeling it myself - or at least as much as I can. I also want to keep with the spirit of the old house, so no super modern stuff.

The kitchen is good sized and has a nice layout. But it's not been updated in quite some time. The wall behind the sink area was literally a blank slate. So I went out an bought a piece of 120-year -old reclaimed barn wood and made a rustic shelf out of it.

I also built a pot/utensil rack to display a few of my favorite kitchen items. Most of the serving bowls were found at yard sales or thrift stores. I got the wrought iron shelf racks at Hobby Lobby for $12 (with a coupon). My daughter gave me the copper measuring cups/spoons for Christmas. Last but not least, I just put on a fresh coat of paint.

All in all, other than some of the pans, I think I spent something like $80 on the entire area.

Barn wood, purchased locally


Before:


After:

Very nice, Steve!

I recently ordered this

Acacia Double Salt Cellar | Crate and Barrel

And look at this article that just popped up on FB:

Why Every Kitchen Needs a Salt Pig (or Two) | Serious Eats

who'd thunk?
I just liked it, as well as I wanted to insure that I had my salts close at hand---hate having to stop and go digging in the pantry for the salt, or wasting my time with a shaker.
In the top compartment I have course kosher salt, for seasoning and the lower is my treasured Hawaiian Sea Salt, for finishing.

Kaneohegirlinaz said:

I recently ordered this

Acacia Double Salt Cellar | Crate and Barrel

And look at this article that just popped up on FB:

Why Every Kitchen Needs a Salt Pig (or Two) | Serious Eats

who'd thunk?
I just liked it, as well as I wanted to insure that I had my salts close at hand---hate having to stop and go digging in the pantry for the salt, or wasting my time with a shaker.
In the top compartment I have course kosher salt, for seasoning and the lower is my treasured Hawaiian Sea Salt, for finishing.

Click to expand...

That's very pretty. By the stove, I have a lazy Susan with a crock of utensils and my most used oils and vinegars, along with a Le Creuset ramekin of coarse salt (DH gave me a set for Christmas one year). On the other counter where I do my prep work, I use a crystal dish given to us from our Slovakian exchange student as a salt cellar. They are definitely very handy [emoji2]

Kaneohegirlinaz said:

I recently ordered this

Acacia Double Salt Cellar | Crate and Barrel

And look at this article that just popped up on FB:

Why Every Kitchen Needs a Salt Pig (or Two) | Serious Eats

who'd thunk?
I just liked it, as well as I wanted to insure that I had my salts close at hand---hate having to stop and go digging in the pantry for the salt, or wasting my time with a shaker.
In the top compartment I have course kosher salt, for seasoning and the lower is my treasured Hawaiian Sea Salt, for finishing.

Click to expand...

We have this one next to the stove. Salt in one side and pepper in the other.

Kaneohegirlinaz said:

I recently ordered this

Acacia Double Salt Cellar | Crate and Barrel

And look at this article that just popped up on FB:

Why Every Kitchen Needs a Salt Pig (or Two) | Serious Eats

Click to expand...

I love salt cellars, and still have wooden one I bought over 15 years ago. It was one of the first things I ever purchased on Amazon.com.

Recently, at my daughter's apartment, I noticed she also had one sitting on the counter and mentioned that I liked her salt cellar.

"Is that what it's called?" she asked. "I always just call it 'bam salt.'"

"Bam salt?"

So she demonstrated. She opened the salt cellar, took out a pinch between her fingers, and yelled "BAM!" as she flung it into the sink.

Ahh... now I get it. An old Emeril reference.

Love my salt box. Used a big hand-thrown container until one of Glenn's daughters gave me this salt box for Christmas about 5 years ago. I love, love, love it. One side has plain old iodized salt, the other has kosher salt. Every time I use it I say a little "Thank You" to Heather. One of my favorite kitchen tools.

Beautiful job on your kitchen wall, Steve. Wow, what a difference! I love the shelf brackets, too.