Help me put something cool on la table
October 30, 2019 3:00 PM Subscribe
I found an old Sur La Table gift card that I'd forgotten about, and now $138 is burning a hole in my pocket. I would like to buy something fun and a little frivolous that will make my cooking life better--what do you suggest?
I already own a stand mixer, food processor, instant pot, and all the other basic small appliances. I have good pots and pans, too, so not looking for recs on those. Right now I'm leaning toward some kind of really ridiculous and ornate coffee making device.
I already own a stand mixer, food processor, instant pot, and all the other basic small appliances. I have good pots and pans, too, so not looking for recs on those. Right now I'm leaning toward some kind of really ridiculous and ornate coffee making device.
I got an inexpensive but well reviewed espresso machine-with-a-milk-steamer-thing for myself almost a year ago for my birthday, and also decided I was going to buy myself those little Illy pre tamped single wrapped espresso pads so I didn't have to deal with any faff. Your budget would get the machine and enough espresso singlets for a month +.
I make myself delicious and dead easy cappuccinos every weekend. 10/10 would buy again.
posted by phunniemee at 3:10 PM on October 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
I make myself delicious and dead easy cappuccinos every weekend. 10/10 would buy again.
posted by phunniemee at 3:10 PM on October 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
If you don't have one already a really nice chef's knife is such a great thing to have. If you want to go more frivolous maybe a more specialized knife like a vegetable cleaver or pairing knife. Shun makes a really nice vegetable cleaver and I love mine to death.
posted by Ferreous at 3:16 PM on October 30, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by Ferreous at 3:16 PM on October 30, 2019 [4 favorites]
If you make bread, a high quality bread knife is also a nice splurge over $100 (e.g. here)
I think Chemex is the best coffee maker that’s not espresso: $50 for the basic model and $350 for the robot version., so $140 gets you a nice classy manual kit with lots of accessories and (expensive, lab grade) filters.
posted by SaltySalticid at 3:19 PM on October 30, 2019
I think Chemex is the best coffee maker that’s not espresso: $50 for the basic model and $350 for the robot version., so $140 gets you a nice classy manual kit with lots of accessories and (expensive, lab grade) filters.
posted by SaltySalticid at 3:19 PM on October 30, 2019
Do you have a Sur La Table store near enough to you to go? I've found that the in-store experience there makes it easier to envision whether something you want will actually work for you - and to discover surprise items you never realized you needed (Rose water extract! Tyrannosaurus cookie cutters! Whatever this thing is!)
posted by Mchelly at 3:20 PM on October 30, 2019
posted by Mchelly at 3:20 PM on October 30, 2019
It is expensive ($130!) and of limited use, but whenever I'm in a Sur la Table, I lust after this potato pot/bread baker in red. Or possibly blue. For some reason the website has neither of those colors.
It is yet another a pan and not coffee related, but it is a bit ridiculously indulgent.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 3:23 PM on October 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
It is yet another a pan and not coffee related, but it is a bit ridiculously indulgent.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 3:23 PM on October 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
(Oh shoot my suggestions above are available online at sur la table, but my links are to other sites)
posted by SaltySalticid at 3:29 PM on October 30, 2019
posted by SaltySalticid at 3:29 PM on October 30, 2019
Siphon coffee makers are totally cool to watch, and sur la table has a couple to choose from.
posted by Dr. Twist at 3:54 PM on October 30, 2019
posted by Dr. Twist at 3:54 PM on October 30, 2019
Get a sous vide circulator. If you cook meat it will make your dinners easier and more delicious.
posted by Uncle at 4:03 PM on October 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Uncle at 4:03 PM on October 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
It is expensive ($130!) and of limited use, but whenever I'm in a Sur la Table, I lust after this potato pot/bread baker in red.
I got this as a gift and absolutely loved baking bread in it. (Until I was clumsy and dropped the top half onto the floor and broke it, sigh.)
posted by sallybrown at 4:10 PM on October 30, 2019
I got this as a gift and absolutely loved baking bread in it. (Until I was clumsy and dropped the top half onto the floor and broke it, sigh.)
posted by sallybrown at 4:10 PM on October 30, 2019
I got a professional waffle maker a couple of years ago and there have been very few weekends since then that haven't involved enjoying a batch of these delicious overnight yeasted waffles. It's been well worth the cupboard space!
posted by burntflowers at 4:18 PM on October 30, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by burntflowers at 4:18 PM on October 30, 2019 [2 favorites]
Get a ridiculously expensive enameled skillet! I got a Le Creuset for my birthday and I'm getting to the point where I won't cook in anything else. For day to day use, it really has served all of my needs. Mostly non-stick, less fussy than cast iron, and very pretty. Can't recommend it enough.
posted by owls at 4:58 PM on October 30, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by owls at 4:58 PM on October 30, 2019 [2 favorites]
A good immersion blender with chopping and whisking attachments. I recently got the Wirecutter's recommended one and it is amazing.
posted by medusa at 6:57 PM on October 30, 2019
posted by medusa at 6:57 PM on October 30, 2019
Porcelain Ramekins or le cruset
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:39 PM on October 30, 2019
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:39 PM on October 30, 2019
Cake decorating kits or nice spatulas.
Tiered dessert display
Ice cream maker
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:40 PM on October 30, 2019
Tiered dessert display
Ice cream maker
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:40 PM on October 30, 2019
Seconding Uncle’s recommendation of a sous vide circulator. This comes in under budget, and if you cook meat, it will change the game.
posted by mumkin at 10:25 PM on October 30, 2019
posted by mumkin at 10:25 PM on October 30, 2019
If you don't have good quality knives, definitely invest in one or two of them. I have a couple of Wusthof knives, and they were well worth the cost.
posted by spinifex23 at 10:34 PM on October 30, 2019
posted by spinifex23 at 10:34 PM on October 30, 2019
I'm going to second mandymanwasregistered and suggest a bread-baking dome or pot.
Maybe it's just me, but the fancy coffeemakers I've encountered have often ended up sitting unused on the counter, because the maintenance is too much of a bother.
posted by mumimor at 1:06 AM on October 31, 2019
Maybe it's just me, but the fancy coffeemakers I've encountered have often ended up sitting unused on the counter, because the maintenance is too much of a bother.
posted by mumimor at 1:06 AM on October 31, 2019
Just a note on knives, generally you're better off buying individual pieces and not a set. There's a couple of reasons for this, one being that the set knives are often lower quality imprints of the brand and the other being that they come with a bunch of stuff you'll likely never need. Get a couple high quality ones that will be workhorses. Chef knife, paring knife, petty/deba knife and a serrated is a great basic combo.
posted by Ferreous at 7:30 AM on October 31, 2019
posted by Ferreous at 7:30 AM on October 31, 2019
If I had that card and were leaning toward a coffee set up, I'd lean toward either buying a Chemex + a good electric, gooseneck kettle OR a really good coffee grinder if I didn't already own one.
posted by voiceofreason at 8:06 AM on October 31, 2019
posted by voiceofreason at 8:06 AM on October 31, 2019
This is a hard question, because getting the best bang for your bonus bucks at Sur la Table can be surprisingly difficult. A lot of their bigger-ticket stuff is perhaps too big of a ticket, and I feel like their catalog has gotten a bit too focused on lifestyle instead of upgraded practical tools. I looked at knives there once, and it felt like there was a gap between the bottom end and all the premium stuff. They sold something that was almost what I wanted, but I couldn't bring myself to pay the retail price for almost when I could get exactly what I wanted for less on the internet. The cookware often strikes me the same way. Sure, I'd like a Le Creuset or Staub enameled cast iron Dutch oven, but would it be six times as good as the Martha Stewart one I got on closeout at Macy's? Would it even be a mere three times as good as the discounted Staub that shows up at Marshall's every now and then?
$138 gets you into some single taskers that might bring joy but might also just occupy space in the end (e.g. coffee stuff), a single upgrade to a practical tool (say, a nice new fry pan or a knife if you find one you like), a new gadget you don't mention you have (an immersion circulator, a fancy kettle), or maybe just a replacement set of semi-consumables (say, bakeware to replace the stuff that's warped or has crud baked on, or all new wooden spoons and spatulas if yours are chipped, warped, or cracked). Would you get use out of the ice cream maker or meat grinder attachments for your stand mixer? Need specialty blades for your food processor? Need a storage rack for the blades you have (or pot lids, or whatever)? Want a really nice cutting board? You could also stack up smaller, cheaper items, like a cream whipper and a hand mixer, and still have a little for a couple silicone pot holders, but you'd need to spend a bit of time figuring out the product mix for you.
Personally if our kitchen could handle it I'd be looking at a Breville Smart Oven (or a competitor). But counter space is at a premium in our kitchen and power is even more of a problem due to some strange choices made by renovators before us, so all I can do with a Smart Oven is admire it in other people's kitchens.
posted by fedward at 9:27 AM on October 31, 2019
$138 gets you into some single taskers that might bring joy but might also just occupy space in the end (e.g. coffee stuff), a single upgrade to a practical tool (say, a nice new fry pan or a knife if you find one you like), a new gadget you don't mention you have (an immersion circulator, a fancy kettle), or maybe just a replacement set of semi-consumables (say, bakeware to replace the stuff that's warped or has crud baked on, or all new wooden spoons and spatulas if yours are chipped, warped, or cracked). Would you get use out of the ice cream maker or meat grinder attachments for your stand mixer? Need specialty blades for your food processor? Need a storage rack for the blades you have (or pot lids, or whatever)? Want a really nice cutting board? You could also stack up smaller, cheaper items, like a cream whipper and a hand mixer, and still have a little for a couple silicone pot holders, but you'd need to spend a bit of time figuring out the product mix for you.
Personally if our kitchen could handle it I'd be looking at a Breville Smart Oven (or a competitor). But counter space is at a premium in our kitchen and power is even more of a problem due to some strange choices made by renovators before us, so all I can do with a Smart Oven is admire it in other people's kitchens.
posted by fedward at 9:27 AM on October 31, 2019
I second a sous vide stick. Just like the instant pot it allows you to attack old things in new ways and is the perfect way to cook proteins easily.
posted by exparrot at 12:39 PM on November 1, 2019
posted by exparrot at 12:39 PM on November 1, 2019
SLT offers knife skills classes (in my area it's $59), which will make allllll your cooking better. Pair that with a Wustoff Classic chef's knife.
posted by radioamy at 10:02 PM on November 2, 2019
posted by radioamy at 10:02 PM on November 2, 2019
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posted by Everydayville at 3:09 PM on October 30, 2019 [1 favorite]