Out With The Old, In With The New... Appliances

Every so often, I'll develop an obsession with time-saving kitchen gadgets. As an outer-borough dweller who spends hours on the subway, I eat most of my meals in Manhattan, but I still fantasize about cooking at home.

Sometimes a fascination with one machine will lead to another. A few years ago, I brought a Tiger rice cooker home from Tokyo. I was amazed at its ability to make perfect rice in 30 minutes. But as I was browsing through Amazon.com, I noticed an intriguing new appliance: the Zojirushi NH-VBC18 10-Cup Rice Cooker and Warmer with Induction Heating System. I just had to have this new-fangled rice cooker; it makes soft, regular, hard, semi-brown, brown, sweet, and mixed rice. Unlike other rice cookers, it features an "extended-warm" button that keeps rice moist for days. You can even program it to have your rice ready for you when you arrive home or wake up. I like to get up and pretend I'm in Japan... I'll have a bowl of rice mixed with egg, soy sauce and natto.

But I usually just have a cup of coffee in the morning. Although I love my stovetop Bialetti cappuccino maker, my quest for convenience has led me to scope out other machines. The Saeco Vienna Deluxe used to be my favorite coffeemaker, but I soon grew tired of cleaning the grounds from the inside of the machine. Now I just press a button each morning for my Nespresso.

Last month, my 8-year-old Black & Decker toaster suddenly gave out. I soon learned how far toasters have advanced the last few years... they've merged with convection ovens! Krups even produces a model in which you can push a button for cookies, or thin pizza, or thick pizza... I purchased the slightly less feature-rich Krups FBC2 6-Slice Digital Convection Toaster Oven. It includes a non-stick bake pan and a broil tray.

My last purchase isn't a replacement, but rather a new gadget. This appliance might seem a bit frivolous (indeed, one Amazon reviewer wrote that she stands by it "even in the face of ridicule"), but I've found myself using it more than I expected. The Krups 230-70 Electric Egg Express Egg Cooker makes 7 hard-boiled or soft-boiled eggs, or 2 poached. (When boiling them the traditional way, I'd always forget about them and they'd crack.) Make some toast and you'll have an instant breakfast, or save the boiled eggs for your next Nicoise!