 Up until last year, the only chef’s knife I used was my mom’s old cleaver that I took from home when I left for college. I can’t imagine how long that cleaver has been in the family, but it has definitely been around for at least two generations. I sharpen it every couple months and it’s still versatile enough to slice tomatoes and cut through cartilage. It even doubles as a scraper to transfer chopped vegetables from the cutting board to the pan.
I experienced first-hand the capabilities of this knife when I was about seven. I stuck my hand up on the counter to grab a piece of carrot on the cutting board while my mom was still chopping away and I nearly got my left index finger cut off! The scar, both physically and mentally, lasted through my adolescence up until high school >< Of course, I eventually got over it and grew to love the thing =P Before I left for culinary school in Paris, I brought the cleaver back home to my mom... for safekeeping 
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 Whenever a recipe calls for a lined baking sheet, I always turn to my trusty Silpat. It turns any pan into a non-stick surface without having to be greased down. Made in France by Demarle, these fiberglass-silicone baking mats are used by professional pastry chefs everywhere to make anything from cakes, cookies, and breads, to candy, like super sticky, yummy, salted caramels =) Back in culinary school, we brought them out to help us pull sugar since they can withstand ultra high temperatures… up to 480 degrees F (280 degrees C)!
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 There’s something irresistibly enduring about miniaturized foods that always makes us coming back for more. Take, for example, the miniature version of a hamburger, the mighty slider. I have to admit, I can never eat just one =P And for some reason, the mini croissant at my favorite patisserie in LA, Amandine Cafe, is hands-down far superior in taste than their regular croissant, even though I’m sure they’re made from the same dough. Barilla Pasta has their Piccolini line of mini pasta shapes, and even Pepperidge Farm has miniature versions of their distinctive cookies… the mini Chessmen cookies are so cute, so buttery, and so good =D For those of you out there who think you’re immune to the mini-food craze, just think about all the baby carrots out there you’ve munched on as opposed to their big brother =P
In terms of level of cuteness though, nothing quite beats cracking open a mini quail egg. Their shells are a bit tougher to break through than a regular chicken egg, but inside, you’ll find something much richer and delicate in flavor. And did I already mention, they are oh, so cute!?
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 For those special moments in time when you need to caramelize some sugar, melt a cheese topping, or toast meringue to a golden brown, you can always pop the thing in the oven, pre-set to broil, but hey, what’s the fun in that? Nothing beats a spectacle at the end of a meal quite like caramelizing the sugar on top of creme brulee with a flame torch right in front of your guests. If you really want to put on a show and play with fire, get yourself a hardcore propane torch you can find at hardware stores. (Of course, don’t forget to get yourself a small fire extinguisher for the kitchen, too, while you’re there.) If you prefer not to risk setting your kitchen and the rest of the house on fire, stick with the smaller butane torches I actually have both… the smaller one I use for more delicate tasks like browning meringue on top of mini lemon tarts.
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 There’s something about getting your own individual dessert at the end of a meal that makes everybody at the table giddy. Perhaps it’s the warm feeling we get just thinking about devouring the entire thing by ourselves… or, for all of us romantics out there, we’d like to think the dessert was made especially just for us by the chef. Secretly though, on the inside, we’re just excited we don’t have to share
Thank goodness for these little individual baking dishes that can hold both sweet and savory foods, be it baked or chilled, and go straight from the oven to the table. No doubt, ramekins rank pretty high up on my list of favorite things. I got my 4-ounce ramekins at Pier 1 for $0.99 each… they are durable and dishwasher safe. (Note that some stores label these as 6-ounce ramekins, since they do hold up to 6-ounces when you fill them up past the outer rim.) You can use any size or shape ramekin you like, but I think these particular ramekins provide just the right amount for one serving of creme brulee and the outer rim lets you gauge how much liquid you need to balance the burnt sugar-to-custard ratio. I also use these to make individual chocolate lava cakes, since sharing is definitely out of the question for that one =P
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