I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas weekend. The work and activity wiped me out for a couple of days afterward, but I'm recovering my energy now.
My favorite gifts
I have to preface this with a comment that I typically request very practical gifts, especially gifts that make my life easier.
First on my list: an oversized cutting board
This is a 12 by 18-inch white plastic cutting board, 1/2-inch thick. It's a commercial cutting board. My family members bought it from a restaurant supply store. Restaurant supply stores typically carry good-quality, durable, basic kitchen tools at better than department store prices (for similar quality).
This was an item that I was very specific about. I took measurements of my available countertop work surface, the interior height of my dishwasher, and my storage area for keeping cutting boards. I wanted as large of a board as possible, which would fit within those limitations. The standard sized cutting boards often leave me with a big mess of veggie bits that have migrated off the edges of the cutting board and sometimes onto the floor. I like a large working surface so all the pieces remain on the board until needed.
To give you an idea on size, the above is a photo of my bread board (which is standard home cutting board size) placed on top of my new white cutting board. I have 2 other plastic cutting boards, one is quite small and used for small chopping jobs, the other is about the size of my wood bread board. I will continue using the other boards along with the new one. I usually choose the cutting board according to the size of mess I anticipate making.
Are your cutting boards large enough for your cooking style? I think some of us are just not so tidy when cooking and need larger surface areas for the different steps. (That's my way of saying that I'm a messy cook.)
Come back tomorrow, and I'll tell you about a couple of other favorite (and practical) gifts from this year.
BTW, my daughters loved the snowman-mittens gift. I love quick crafts that result in cute gifts!
