This Corkscrew Works with Just One Finger

LeCreuset Screwpull Pocket Model

Few things can ruin a nice bottle of wine (say a nice, buttery Chardonnay with great legs) quicker than having to struggle with the cork. The Ms used to swear by her cute little pocket corkscrew – the pocket design that assembles into a T shape and breaks down to something that looks like a short, fat ballpoint pen – but I called it the "cork destroyer" because of its habit of leaving shreds of cork in the bottles. So we compromised: she got to spend twenty-some dollars on a new kitchen toy and I never had to use the cork destroyer again. That was twenty years ago; we're now on our third LeCreuset Screwpull. I guess that means we drink a lot of wine: we wore out two corkscrews!

The Screwpull comprises three pieces: the base sits on the mouth of the bottle, the screw part is centered in the body of the base, and the crank assembles perpendicular to the bottle while connecting to a square "nut" on the head of the screw. To use, you merely hold the base in place and stick a finger through the loop on the end of the crank. No joke: instead of grunting and straining to remove the cork, you can actually crank the cork up out of the bottle using just one finger! The spiral screw, which is some 2½ inches or so in length, has a non-stick Teflon® coating. The sharp point easily pierces corks, and then the screw levers the cork up, up, out of the bottle and into the body of the opener as you spin the crank arm around the top of the bottle. Lift off the opener, reverse the cranking direction, and you can remove the cork from the opener with no damage except a small hole in the top and bottom center. Since one of the Ms's hobbies is making wreaths out of used corks, the Screwpull's gentle treatment of the cork is a definite positive.

Once you've opened your bottle, the Screwpull disassembles into a compact little "kit": the crank section is a hollow tube, which slides into the body of the opener to cover the screw section, protecting it from damage. Thus disassembled, the opener fits into a pocket (it's perhaps 1½ inches in diameter and 3 inches long) or it can be stored in the plastic box in which it's shipped. Screwpulls come in four colors – black, clear, red, and blue. Apparently they also came in green, because that's what color our second is. The opener includes a short knife blade that folds out of the body housing for cutting foil capsules – this feature is, unfortunately, awkward to use, but fortunately is usually unnecessary.

With the increasing use of synthetic corks in recent years, we've found that the Screwpull functions equally well on almost any composition - natural cork, all-plastic cylinders, or those "pseudo-corks" made of foam surrounded by a skin of plastic. Composition appears to make no difference whatsoever to this little guy.

Easy to use, compact and easily portable, gentle on corks, and good for any type of cork - the Screwpull is a definite winner in the corkscrew sweepstakes!

Summary

PLUS: compact, easy to use, doesn't "eat" corks
MINUS: the foil cutter is rather useless; also a tad on the pricey side
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Here's a pocket corkscrew that only takes the strength of one finger to pull the cork - and leaves that cork undamaged to boot.

copyright © 2018 scmrak

A Good Stockpot is a Thing of Beauty, but this One's Just Cute

Le Creuset 16-Quart Stockpot

A good stockpot is a thing of beauty, a symphony of the compromise of form and function. It's heavy enough for good heat distribution but not too heavy to lift; it's large enough for a generous pot of stew or soup, but not large enough to deep-fry a moose. Our white Le Creuset Enamel-on-Steel Stockpot fits both bills. The pot's 16-quart capacity makes it roomy enough for brewing up good, rich stock from a 17-pound Thanksgiving turkey, though it will obviously handle smaller batches as well.

New Baster, New Technique. Happy Thanksgiving!

OXO Good Grips Turkey Baster

When Thanksgiving rolled around, I was devastated to learn that my super-cool Tovolo turkey baster had somehow gotten crunched in our gadget drawer. That meant I had to make an emergency trip to the local store for a new one. The pickings, sadly, were kinda slim (at Kohl’s, if you must know), but I found an OXO Good Grips Turkey Baster for the surprisingly high price of $14.99 (the only other model cost even more) and brought it home with me.

Grind Your Own Coffee: Little Muss, Little Fuss

KitchenAid BCG111 Blade Coffee Grinder

The fact is that, while I drink as much or more coffee than many people, I’m not that “picky” about the stuff. When push comes to shove, my coffee needs are pretty basic: I want it dark, and I want it strong. Froufrou infusions of vanilla or hazelnut need not apply, nor do I want artificially-flavored creamers. French roast, though? Bring it on…

We quit buying ground coffee a while back and went to whole bean, mostly because we were buying three pounds at a time and could taste it going “stale.” That switch necessitated a new grinder, since the one we’d had for more than thirty years was basically shot. Pretty much all we could find in the local stores was the KitchenAid  BCG111OB, in "onyx black" (it's also available in "empire red" as the BCG111ER). We’ve had good experiences with KitchenAid in the past, so it was pretty much a no-brainer.

Let's All Do the Corkscrew Two-Step

Le Creuset Waiter's Friend Corkscrew

Some time ago, one bottle of bubbly flummoxed every corkscrew in the house. It had a a muffin-top like a champagne bottle, but too small to “thumb” it out. The lady of the house liked the stuff enough to buy more, but mentioned the problem to a liquor-store clerk who claimed to have just the solution. He sold her a corkscrew he claimed would "open any wine bottle." He was pretty much right: the Le Creuset Waiter’s Friend may well be the king of all corkscrews.

Le Creuset's version modifies a typical folding waiter's corkscrew: you know, the kind that levers the cork out by propping a folding arm on the lip of the bottle. Their modification is a corkscrew with a "two-step" function: the levered arm has two positions based on a spring-loaded catch. You use position one to start the extraction, while position two finishes pulling the cork.

Forget the Cheap Plastic Cutting Mats!

Progressive Prepworks Cutting Mats

In the age of bacteriaphobia – when the average homemaker douses every surface with antibacterial soaps, consumes antibacterial wipes like… like Kleenex®, and sprays Purell® as if it were air freshener – wooden cutting boards are, apparently, passé. Silly people, don’t you know your gut is full of bacteria?? In reality, though, cross-contamination between meats and raw vegetables can be a problem, so even the most bacteriophilic homeowner (that's be me) uses different knives and cutting boards for meat and vegetables, even if the veggies will be cooked.

Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches: I Scream with Delight!

Cuisipro Mini Ice Cream Sandwich Maker

We're (fairly) hardcore about watching weight at our house, but we still cling to one vice: ice cream. We both love the stuff so much we eat it almost every day, though we try to stick to low(er)-fat versions whenever possible. While trying to cut back even further, we started eating an occasional Skinny Cow® ice cream sandwich, which – unfortunately – aren’t all that great. But wait: there’s a way to make your own at home: the Cuisipro Mini Ice Cream Sandwich Maker. Not only are the results yummy, making your own is fun!