Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

Gunmetal Great

Le Creuset’s wares have always been a staple of upscale kitchens, but we’ve never particularly liked their boisturious color options. This exclusive gunmetal gray version ($300) of their classic 7.25-quart round french oven done in collaboration with one of our favorite Southern publications, Garden & Gun, however, provides a tasteful upgrade to the deep black [...]

The First American Cookbook

American Cookery ($10) is the first cookbook written by an American. Strangely, the only details that are actually known about its author come from the words “American orphan” found on the cover. Other hints from the book’s text suggest she was a domestic laborer who lacked formal education. The book was published originally in 1796 [...]

Never over cook again

Sous-vide (pronounced soo-veed) is a rather nerdy, but effective cooking submovement in the world of haute cuisine. The term literally translates to “under vacuum” in french, and involves sealing food in airtight plastic bags which are then placed in a precisely maintained hot water bath for extended periods of time. Typically the water temperatures are [...]

Old Meets New

The duties of a traditional cast-iron range are typically three pronged: prepare food, provide ambient heat and heat water. They also happen to look like a million bucks. The trouble is, most take hours to reach proper operating temperature making them a poor match for busy households or those not fully entrenched in the slow [...]

No more fishy business

We like author Barton Seaver’s new book, For Cod and Country ($18), for two reasons — neither of which involve the deplorable wordplay in its title. The first is that it’s filled with creative recipes for fish that will surely impress cod-fearing dinner guests if executed correctly (re: not like tuna surprise). The second, and [...]

Oven Armor

Aprons and oven mitts in many ways perform similar functions. One prevents stains from scarring your clothing, while the other prevents scars from ruining your hands. This brilliant design combines both features in one convenient product, making it a bullet-proof vest of sorts for chefs. It even has two buttons at the waist for hanging [...]

Dinner Is Served

The biggest bone we have to pick with Food Network personalities — or any telegenic chef for that matter — is how much easier cooking looks when their ingredients are already on hand and nicely organized by an army of production minions. “Now just take seven- and-a-half peeled edamame beans wrapped in pancetta and mix [...]

Bowled Over

A brand new bowl probably isn’t at the top of your Christmas list this year, nor will it ever be. The Lékué Steam Roaster by Compeixalaigua Design Studio ($40) sports a cool enough design that we’d at least appreciate finding it under the tree. Made from 100% “Platinum” silicone, its ideal use case involves a [...]

Sodium Never Tasted So Good

You don’t need us to explain how salt can add flavor to your food. That said, we’re guessing you didn’t know about this Smoked Salt Set ($58) from The Meadows. The set contains six 1.2 oz jars packed with some of the most exotic salts on the planet. The salts are then smoked to add [...]

Putting Your Entire Recipe Library at the Tip of Your Finger

Products like the Amazon Kindle, Apple iPadand Skiff E-Reader are clearly aimed at putting all those paperbacks you have lying around out of their misery, but what about your cook books? The reality is, none of the current crop of e-readers out on the market are really built to work in the hazardous environment that [...]

Kiss Cooking on the Open Flame Goodbye

By Guest Writer and Outdoor Enthusiast Sandy Bandu Mountain Science Research is renowned for designing lightweight and efficient camping gear, and as a leader in stove technology the Whisperlite Internationale is arguably their defining product. Used and pushed to the limit by outdoor enthusiasts for over 20 years, the Whisperlite weighs in at under a [...]

Great Tool for Keeping Meal Time on Time

Anyone who has ever hosted a big meal can probably relate to the stress of timing multiple dishes at once. While normally in these situations over-worked cooks might enlist the help of others in the form of “hey remember this time for me, will ya?”, the margin of error for this method could definitely use [...]

Pack Your Blades Safely While on The Go

Perfect for the finicky chef in your life or aspiring knife thrower , this knife roll provides protection and a personal touch to a cook’s most precious piece of preparation equipment. How do you like them alliteration apples? Made of water-resistance fabric, this simple pouch has eight reinforced slots for knives, along with separate pockets [...]

Torch The Taste Buds One Gallon At a Time

If you or anyone you know enjoys a little kick with their food, these personalized, gallon jugs of Tabasco’s famous hot sauces should have you salivating (or sweating) already. Available in the classic original, as well as their four other popular flavors including chili pepper, chipotle, green pepper, and tongue-scorching habanero, buying one for the [...]

Spicing Up Meals, Cajun Style

Salivating over our recipe for Steak au Poivre got me thinking about how long preparing even the most basic meat recipes can seem after a full day’s work. The trouble is, unless you’ve got a prime, aged, bone-in porter house, cooking the majority of meats out there sans flavoring can leave even voracious carnivores disappointed. [...]