A fun trick if you need a whole head of garlic peeled is to put it into a pot with a lid, shake vigorously for 10-20 seconds, open pot, and voila! A peeled head of garlic.
ETA: Actually, here’s a video demonstration using two bowls. I forgot to mention the bit about smashing the head down first to separate the cloves.
There’s not one damn gadget I have that has made me a better cook. But there are lots of them that have made my cooking tasks easier. (For the record, I’m a pretty good cook.)
I, too, am a liberal user of the food processor and Kitchen Aid mixer with all its wonderful attachments. I have the can opener, the pasta pot, the mandolin, stick blender, vacuum sealer… all that and too many more to name. And yes, I have the garlic peeler. Love it. For one or two cloves? Nah. But I’ll tell you when it comes in handy: Canning time. When you’re peeling 100 or so cloves of garlic, that little tool is a fabulous help!
My favorite gadget, well, that’s a hard choice. I use everything in my kitchen sooner or later and am grateful to have it. But I’d have to say it’s a pair of scissors. I use them all the time, to cut string for tying meats, to open recalcitrant packaging, to snip herbs. Seems like I’m reaching for them several times a day. I use poultry shears, too, but they’re not the same as a good, all-purpose pair of scissors. Not sure if they qualify as a ‘gadget,’ but they’re awfully handy all the same!
Then you gotta check the video tip out! 
LOL, saw that after I posted my post! Pretty darned slick – I’ll be giving that a try next canning season! Thanks.
Ok… that is really cool. There aren’t that many times that I need a whole head other than when I am roasting it but I will definitely keep that in mind.
This was a close contender in my original list. My wife and I don’t drink Coffee and my son who does has a Kureg. I do love pepper though and have a coffee grinder that I bought specifically for spice grinding. I mainly do pepper corns, but other dried spices like rosemary also work well in it. I don’t know how long it would take to make a pepper crusted tenderloin without it and am glad I don’t have to find out.
This vegetable chopper from Williams-Sonoma. Also, my cast iron skillet. Not exactly a “gadget”, but I do love it.
Favorite? Pretty much task specific for me. I love the flat whisk, which works great for sifting flour without a sifter and mixing the flour, salt, whatever together in a bowl. The Microplane zester for citrus and hard cheeses. Immersion blender (I bought this one, which is amazingly fast and thorough) for soups, of course. Food processor for large amounts of veggies or making bread crumbs or chopping nuts, etc. The food sealer has served me well for at least ten years now.
I guess if I had to choose, it would be the processor because of its multitude of uses, including juicing oranges. The mixer is very cool, as I have the pasta and sausage grinder attachments, but it doesn’t get a huge amount of use.
pulykamell: loved that video.
My Griddler must be a different model- how do you do the floating thing? They are nice appliances!
Tongs.
Simply push on top front of the top lid and it will unsnap. It is attached in the middle so it can pivot. You then can use the adjustment on the side to keep it higher or lower if you don’t want to smash what you are cooking (or keep it low if you do want to smash something like a nice Cuban sandwich).
This is the one I have (but I didn’t get it from this site… I think I found a deal on Amazon)
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/cuisinart-griddler-deluxe/s231393?b=1&a=1552
Yeah, but not silicone tongs. Unless you like almost picking things up.
That isn’t a gadget… that is a requirement. Probably the most used utensil I have (I should probably make that plural since I have several). I use them for everything from stirring to flipping to serving.
Same here and there are maybe 10 sets of tongs in my kitchen. And… just straight up tongs, no locking thingy, no silicon no sliding mechanism… etc.
As for garlic peelers… peeled garlic from the Internaional markets is a lot more convenient and no garlic paper floating around the kitchen.
I like many of the ones you all have mentioned so far. I was going to chime in with the spiral slicer. Really slick way of turning vegetables into noodles and ribbons. Blanch for a minute or two, then serve with sauce, and you have a decent non-pasta pasta dish.
Mine’s the 3 knob job further down, so no floaty.
Here hoping the non-stick is more durable than the old George I just threw out.
There may be something I’m missing on these type of things. You have to get out a knife and cutting board to cut it into pieces that fit the gadget. I could have that onion chopped at that point in half the time it would take to get out, use, and clean up the chopper.
I do have something similar I use for hard boiled eggs though. Wires run in one direction only. Push once for slices, push, rotate and push again for chop.
I hand wash the cook surfaces just because that is the way I am. I have come home and opened the dishwasher to find they were washed there by my wife several times though. I’ve had it for over a year and have used it countless times and so far they look brand new.
Half used cans in the fridge? I’ve always been taught that’s a huge food safety no no. I have the same sort of can opener, but I’d never store food in a can in the fridge. I had a roommate who did that and also put whole saucepans in the fridge. He was trying.
Huh. I do it all the time, but I use the canned food within a day or two. Never heard of it being a problem, but it does appear to be a thing.
What’s wrong with whole saucepans in the fridge?