I've had an on-again/off-again relationship with this publication --
Houston Press -- ever since they changed hands to New Times Media (now Village Voice Media) in the mid 90's. Granted, I don't have time to read it like I used to... those were the days, sitting on my front stoop overlooking White Oak Bayou with downtown's skyline looming over I-10 on a Sunday morning, cold beer, smokes, and
Houston Press in hand, just after a jog around the park with the dogs.
Now, I read "the Press" online almost exclusively, and usually only when their well-placed tweets entice me that direction. I was always a fan of their music coverage and occasionally their expose pieces, but I will say that I have taken a shine to their food writers lately.
Right now I'm enjoying Katharine Shilcutt's post on "
The 10 Most Useless Kitchen Appliances."
Of course, I'll have to go down to the mat on #10 -- The Blender. Garage sales were made for Blender Friends that you can use til they blow up. Having a smoking blender in your kitchen is one of life's little fun spots, especially if you have kids.
And okay, I have a bread machine, too, but only because I saved it from certain doom at the hands of my sister, Martha, who was fixin to chuck hers in a resale shop. The thing that's handy about it -- baking bread without turning your whole kitchen into an oven. That's a crucial point here in The Republic.
Total agreement on the Rotisserie... had one, finally lost it in one of the divorces. Glad.
Virtually every other item on Pages 2 & 3, though -- for noobs. No way in heck would I clutter up my cabinets or counter with those gizmos. And note, as Katharine deftly alludes to, without any of those gadgets, I have and still
fry things (it's The Republic, remember?),
cook eggs (see Survival Food),
ground my son's food at the table (he ate what we ate),
open cans daily (please -- who doesn't?),
cut my own noodles on the drainboard (really, three husbands ago I was insane),
grate cheese thick or fine (usually with nary a nail or knuckle in the batch),
and my popcorn comes off the stove out of a covered frying pan.
I'm eagerly anticipating the rest of the pieces in this series of "pivotal issues" on cooking mechanics. That is, the mechanics of cooking. Or I suppose you could be cooking mechanics. None o' my business.
