Become a Foodie. Today.

It's almost holiday time! Who am I kidding?? The holidays are HERE, y'all. As I was getting a batch of baked potato soup in the crockpot this morning, I thought to myself, "Man I love my kitchen." And that made me think of how batty I get cooking in other people's kitchens. How you know the Food network chefs always say they pack their knives when they go home for the holidays? I've almost done that. I am by no means a skilled chef, but I've spent enough time in the kitchen to know a life-changing product when I see one.

You know that foodie friend you have? New dish every time, always has little tips and tricks? I have a few of those. Friends, not tricks. Remember the last time she came over and she stood in front of your knife block? "Uhhh...so....where do you keep your knives??" and you thought, "Right in front of you, weirdo." What she meant to say was, "Dude, please tell me you're hiding the good knives around here somewhere." A high-quality knife is life changing. If there is anything you run out to buy for the holidays, please let it be a gorgeous chef's knife. Sure, there are lots of nifty little slicers and choppers, but I've found that a good knife and a few little tips in knife-handling is about ten times faster than contending with and washing other little gadgets.

Here are a few knife tips:

• It should have a healthy weight to it. My darling father taught me this, and I'm pretty sure we were standing in a knife aisle somewhere. Why on earth we were shopping together escapes me, but it's stuck with me. (Thanks, Tim!) And it makes sense. If it's not heavy enough, it's not made of the right material, and you won't be able to sharpen it for years to come. You have to have enough knife to re-build that blade over and over and over. You want a sturdy handle and a separate blade. If they're both made of the same material, somebody's probably working on form over function. 
• My own personal favorite knives are Paula Deen Santoku Knives. I also have the Chef's Cutlery Knives and love them. They're not very expensive and these knives have just lasted and lasted. They're hefty and they hold an edge for quite awhile. The Santokus are my favorite. 
• A good, sharp knife should be quick, shouldn't require any sawing, and should let out a good "snap!" when you slice something like a potato or an onion. I just read somewhere recently that when you bounce the blade of the knife on your thumbnail, it shouldn't slip. If it does, your knives are dull. On the other hand...who the heck bounces knives on their thumbnails?
• What's that you say? Your knives are dull???? Try something like this. You can get a handheld knife sharpener at Walmart or Target for less than $10. Hooray!

Remember the last time your mother peeled a potato at your house? When she said, "Honey, do you have another peeler?" Oh, she didn't say that? Because she refuses to peel vegetables at your house? Well. You need a new peeler. Those little metal guys are great for reminiscing, but somebody's going to lose a finger. And if it's your mother, you'll never hear the end of it.

There are several other things I use on a daily basis that I have a hard time finding in other kitchens.

• Kosher salt. It's cheap, it's tasty, it's WAY more forgiving in recipes. And it comes in a giant box. 
• The Lady & Sons House Seasoning. You make it yourself - takes 5 minutes and it's nice in almost anything. Except cookies.
• Garlic press. If you're going to use garlic, use fresh garlic. I beg you. 
• A scraper/lifter. When I bought this, it seemed like such a waste. But now that I do sugar cookies every so often, I've found that there is NOTHING better for getting flour and other little things off the counter quickly.

I, for one, am PSYCHED about the holidays. Maybe it's because I'm pregnant. The lack of food rules tends to lift my spirits. 

For our Saturday night dinner, we had a crockpot Loaded Baked Potato Soup and bollo rolls with butter. It was amazing. The soup was VERY easy to make (read: no rouxs or other time-consuming starters), and what I thought would be a smaller batch filled my crockpot to the brim by the time the ingredients were all in. I think it'll freeze well and I know this will be one recipe I make over and over! You can probably cut fat all over the place with substitutions and whatnot, but I went full-fat, as it's below 70 degrees outside - don't want to lose that winter coat! :-P