Giveaway! Kitchen Tools | Apples & Onions

Happy Thursday loves! Lydia and I have been talking about how we so appreciate your every comment, email, Facebook post and tweet. You’ve made writing this blog a rewarding experience for us at A & O and we thank you.

But we’d really like to thank you with a gift.

Which is why this first ever A & O giveaway is actually a gift from both of us to (one of) you.

Would that we could give it to you all.

We’re giving one reader our three favorite kitchen tools, all from Crate & Barrel. The first indispensable kitchen tool is the OXO stainless steel and nylon tongs seen above. Lydia and I keep several pairs in our kitchens because when we’re together we each need one if not two—for flipping our meats and vegetables, for plating salads and sides, for tossing pasta and nudging hot pans out of the way. Tong devotées think of them as an extension of their own arms.

OXO makes the most comfortable and good looking tongs of all.

And we think that matters : )

Second, we have our Microplane grater-zester. An invention that seemed revolutionary just a few years back has now become a necessity. No more must we struggle to protect our soft finger pads while zesting citrus or adding fresh nutmeg to our pumpkin pie.

This fab tool also grates Parmesan into a beautiful soft snow.

Last but certainly not least we have a dual citrus squeezer, an absolute must when you make as much vinaigrette as we do or like to enliven your soup and fish dishes with a drop of acidity. The squeezer adds force to your natural squeeze and the cup–which adorably resembles the citrus you’re pulverizing in your now-mighty grip– keeps those pesky seeds from falling onto your plate.

(One tip–if you need to zest and juice, say, a lemon, be sure to zest then slice it in half for juicing. It’s tough to zest a wet and deflated half lemon.)

If you’d like to add these ergonomic workhorses to your collection, tell us below—what is your favorite kitchen tool and why?

Comments will close at midnight Pacific time this Friday, November 5th. We’ll then choose a winner at random and make the announcement after he or she has been notified next week. Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

If you’d like a double entry, follow us on twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed within the same time-frame and we’ll enter your name a second time.

Good luck!

xoxosl

25 Comments on Giveaway! Kitchen Tools

m
November 4, 2010 at 8:27 am (13 years ago)

i love the wisk, i love to wisk eggs!
Vanessa
November 4, 2010 at 9:08 am (13 years ago)

My kitchen is ridiculously low on kitchen tools, so much so that friends staged an “intervention” last winter, giving me a few as gifts (unfortunately no tongs). Was I borrowing a bit too often!? SO: my favorite tool by far is the wooden spoon. It is a mystery to me why things seem to come out so much better when stirred with a wooden spoon! is it the balance, the feel, that they don’t transfer heat, don’t melt or scrape the pan?–and nothing beats tasting sauces on the thick lip of a wooden spoon.
Julie Lagrotteria
November 4, 2010 at 9:33 am (13 years ago)

I want the citrus squeezer for margaritas! = )
Katie
November 4, 2010 at 2:51 pm (13 years ago)

My favorite tool is my splatter guard! I’m a clumbsy girl who likes to cook so the guard keeps me from getting hot oil all over the stove, the counter, the floor, the ceiling, amd myself!
Karen
November 4, 2010 at 3:12 pm (13 years ago)

Egg separator from Crate & Barrel!

This nifty little dohicky is a steal for what it does. Gone are the days of messy fumbling as you prepare to make a healthy egg white omelette or Chinese egg tarts. I cannot live without this tool.
Elisabeth
November 4, 2010 at 3:21 pm (13 years ago)

The microplane grater is soo amazing and has changed my relationship with cheese. It grates cheese so finely while keeping it fluffy and to top it off is easy to use.
I love all microplane products and really excited to try to the new herb cutter!
Whitney
November 4, 2010 at 3:22 pm (13 years ago)

I want the citrus squeezer too! It looks great because those pesky seeds always end up on my plate when I cook with lemons. Plus I can invite Julie over to make me one of her famous margaritas!
Susannah
November 4, 2010 at 4:06 pm (13 years ago)

My favorite is a silicon spatula because it’s bendy, doesn’t melt and comes in gorgeous colors!
Allison
November 4, 2010 at 4:44 pm (13 years ago)

I want the stainless steel and nylon tongs – they would be amazing and a treat to cook with!
Liz
November 4, 2010 at 4:46 pm (13 years ago)

I don’t know if this counts, but my favorite is my cutting board. Our kitchen counters are terrible and can’t be used for chopping, dicing, etc. I also frequently turn the cutting board over to use to roll out pie crusts – it works great!
Eve
November 4, 2010 at 5:03 pm (13 years ago)

I love my grater! Works on cheese and chocolate–two of my faves. 🙂
Catherine
November 4, 2010 at 6:09 pm (13 years ago)

It’s a tie, I can’t lie…My Microplane box grater is my best friend
Although its taken a knuckle or two, I’m always coming back for more. It’s always on my counter and helps me with a multitude of tasks: carrots, ginger, citrus zest, cucumber slicing…. AND my glass citrus juicer, again, rarely put away-but that dual squeezer is on my Xmas list (along with an immersion blender), I’ve heard great things ;)!
Halie
November 4, 2010 at 7:35 pm (13 years ago)

I couldn’t bake my pizza’s with out my all purpose thermometer!
Lauren
November 4, 2010 at 7:54 pm (13 years ago)

I want the citrus squeezer!! So perfect for when I make lemonade 😉
Karyl
November 5, 2010 at 1:05 pm (13 years ago)

Couldn’t live without my Japanese vegetable peeler. It is so easy on my hands.
Mariah
November 5, 2010 at 3:02 pm (13 years ago)

My garlic press! I couldn’t live without it for mincing fresh garlic. Which makes me think I’d LOVE the citrus squeezer and must have one…
April
November 5, 2010 at 3:41 pm (13 years ago)

Kitchen shears, hands down. They’re a no-brainer for opening pasta or chocolate chip bags and trimming trussing twine, but I also use them to snip fresh herbs, trim green beans and peapods, peel and devein shrimp, break down chicken, and even cut up pizza in a pinch.
marah
November 5, 2010 at 4:02 pm (13 years ago)

so. let me start with saying that your three tools are hands down always in the mix in my kitchen (I made a cooking pun!) seriously, I love them all and am constantly using them. that being said, I just this month became the proud owner of some most fantastic knives. and I have to say, even owning just one perfectly sized and weighted knife can change a life. big time. does that count as a tool? I know we’re talking different price points than a citrus squeezer but had I known what I was missing I woulda splurged years ago and gone without the jcrew (fill in the blank).
🙂
Marol
November 6, 2010 at 5:32 am (13 years ago)

NOOOOO!!!!! Open to US Residents only?? Nuts. I think I need ALL of these kitchen tools. Off I go to see if Crate and Barrel deal with pesky non US residents…. IRELAND NEEDS ERGONOMIC WORKHORSES TOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Great post. This was my first visit to your site, and I will certainly be returning. A few laugh aloud expressions. Hands down, sweetest giveaway post I’ve ever read.
Shibli
November 7, 2010 at 10:43 am (13 years ago)

Is the contest still open? I am from outside US, can i participate on it?
applesandonions
November 7, 2010 at 2:58 pm (13 years ago)

Sorry Shibli, the contest ended on Midnight Friday evening. Better luck next time!