Whaddya Buyin'? #1- Outfitting your Kitchen and An Ode to My Potato Masher

This is the first entry of a series about kitchen equipment- the items I feel every kitchen agent needs to fend off the Las Plagas hoard by making them a quiche with entrails (or whatever you want). Outfitting your kitchen and outfitting Leon S. Kennedy in Resident Evil 4 are actually a lot of alike. Recall the skulky merchant from Resident Evil 4,  as he erotically opens his trench coat of goodies like Demi Moore in StripTease. He asks, with a wink and an out-of-place cockney accent, "Whaddya Buyin'?" Screw Magic Mike, I'd take this guy, with his infinite rocket launcher, any day.

Why, hello there.

Anytime he showed up, I knew I could breathe a sigh of relief- No harm was going to come to me here.   I would peruse his inventory carefully, always asking myself about permutations of the following situations: "Do I really need that machine gun?", "That one shot rocket launcher takes up so many blocks of my inventory!", and "It costs HOW MUCH?!?!". Seriously, picking out Leon's inventory is a life skill. These are the kinds of things that should be running through your mind when you purchase inventory for your new culinary adventures. As such, I will be framing my recommendations around necessity, cost and space consumed. So, with out further ado, here's what's under the trench today:

The Good Grips Smooth Potato Masher

Necessity: High! (I use this sucker pretty much every time I cook)
Cost: $12.99 (from Amazon)
Space Consumed: Minimal. I keep mine in a tiny cutlery drawer.

There are potato mashers, and then there is this baby. This thing goes beyond just potatoes. I make guacamole, egg salad, pimento cheese and pretty much anything that needs to be mushy with this puppy. The location of the grip gives really great torque, and the grips rubber handle keeps your hand from slipping. The holes are perfect for creating your desired texture- it doesn't automatically turn everything to a paste. You can also mix up your ingredients without worrying about food pieces getting stuck, and a quick smack on the side of the bowl will release any caked on goodness. Seriously, I bought one, then my mom had to buy one too, and she's had the same masher for 20 years. This, and maybe a good bowl, are the beginner cook's best friends.


So, that's the start. What do you guys think? I am stretching with my metaphor? Am I a little sick for sexualizing the merchant from Resident Evil? Do you own a better masher? Let me know!