My favorite tools...

Tis' the season for graduation! The office where I work threw myself and fellow graduates a lunch to celebrate 4 years of college. ...and we ate until we couldn't eat anymore.

I knew it would be like this, see? Our office knows how to do it. We don't just celebrate, we go all out. In an effort to feel better about myself, I got up and ran 4 miles before work to compensate for the binge-eating I was about to behold.

A lot of times, people will ask me about my favorite tools to use in the kitchen, so I thought I'd share with you the things I can't live without!

#1: My iPhone.

It's true! More so Siri actually. Have you ever seen this Apple iPhone ad?



This is basically me in the kitchen. From setting timers, converting measurements, and asking how many calories are in the ingredients I use, there's no way I could make it in my kitchen without my iPhone.

#2. My cast-iron skillet.

I'm a southern boy... what can I say? And I use this skillet to cook up anything from biscuits, to chicken pot pie or skillet apple pie! If you don't have a cast-iron skillet, I'd suggest an investment, because it's not just the flavor they give your meals, it's also the texture as well. Joy the Baker wrote an excellent post on seasoning and cleaning your cast iron skillet.

#3. My Le Creuset.

This is definitely NOT a requirement to cook great meals in your kitchen, but I LOVE every single Le Creuset item I have. There's quality there that can't be matched... and no one is paying me to say that! The texture of the breads I cook, the casseroles I make are incomparable.

#4. My Kitchenaid.

Again, not something required, but definitely something loved. Whether I'm whipping up my fresh homemade whipped cream for my wife's Strawberry Cake, or making homemade cookies, my Kitchenaid is a staple in my kitchen. Recently, we celebrated my Mom's 50th birthday, and my wife and I were at my grandmother's house preparing for her surprise party, and I didn't realize she didn't have a stand mixer, so I literally had to whip homemade whipped cream by hand. It was the first time I'd ever done that, and I proudly boasted about it for days afterwards. So, like I said, it's not a necessity, but I love mine.

I could dig in to one of these right now...

I've got some great posts coming up over the next couple of weeks. Please accept my apologies for the lack of posts... I've been a busy dude. Between the end of the semester, and now finals... I've been pretty booked, but I want to stop... and say THANK YOU! ...for all of your support! It's overwhelming, and I feel blessed!