Thursday, March 15, 2012

Pastry cutters are totally multi-purpose

I rarely use my pastry cutter for making pastry dough anymore (because I use the food processor). But it happens to be really helpful for making guacamole. You get the perfect texture because it doesn't make it overly smooth. I'm a firm believer in lumpy guac.

guac

guac

guac
{guac}

We get the avocados mashed and then gently stir in whatever else we're adding (lemon juice + salt if we're going simple, hot fresh salsa + jalapenos + garlic + lime juice + salt if we're feeling fancy).

It's also the best tool for making egg salad, randomly enough.

egg salad
{egg salad}

I mean, I'm not saying you need to run out and buy one if you don't already have one. A fork will stand in for either one of these tasks. But if you do have one lingering around in your drawers, you might want to consider giving it a little bit of extra work.

22 comments:

  1. oooo i like the tip on using it for guacamole. i'm also a firm believer in lumpy gauc. thanks for the idea!

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  2. I was just chopping some hard boiled eggs last night, getting annoyed with how they stick to the knife. I am going to try the pastry cutter next time!

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  3. I'm also a big fan of a potato masher for both of these jobs. :)

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    1. Smart! I don't own a potato masher mostly because it always seemed like a unitasker! Clearly, I was wrong.

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  4. Agreed! I've been using my pastry cutter for only non-pastry tasks over the past year. It's such a handy little tool.

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  5. I used to use my pastry cutter all the time for biscuits, but now I grate frozen butter in instead because I find it works even better. Thanks for making my pastry cutter useful again!

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    1. Ooooh - I've heard of that but never remember to try it! I should get on that.

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  6. haha! I have always used my pastry cutter for making guacamole. It mashes but leaves some chunks too. It's the perfect tool!

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  7. i want, no need, egg salad now! YUM

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  8. I've actually been looking for one of these for my pie crust, but now that it has multiple uses, I'm even more anxious to find one. Guess I'm going to have to make a special trip.

    And I just read Amy P.'s suggestion of grating butter into a dough mixture: genius! I'm taking that one home, too.

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  9. I often use as a banana or potato masher!

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  10. ooo i bet that would work for mashing beans

    i've been needing a bean masher

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    1. Wait, why do you need to mash beans? Now I'm curious.

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  11. What a great idea. I've never thought to use it for guacamole or egg salad! I'm definitely going to try that out next time I make either dish! http://lindseyyoung.net

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  12. I just need a pastry cutter! I love guacamole too though, so that's another reason to buy one. So proud to spy my hometown's Newcy Brown Ale sitting pretty there :)

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  13. thank you for this! now that i don't eat pastries anymore i was actually thinking of throwing that tool out. i certainly eat a lot of guac and eggs, so it's perfect.

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  14. It is an "aha" moment when you use a pastry cutter to mince up your eggs for tuna or egg salad. I think I saw it in Real Simple, too. Genius!

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  15. Oh! Yeah, I started recently making pie doughs in the food processor, and was looking at the pastry cutter and thinking of throwing it out. Guess I won't now!

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  16. Such a great idea and I totally agree and the lumpy guacamole thing :-)
    http://mindpnq.com/

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  17. Guacamole tastes best with a sprinkling of cilantro

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  18. looks yummy! and u are drinking newcastle brown, great! greetings fro newcastle ;)

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