Reeded Rattan Basket

It was a rollicking day in the test kitchen. Click through to see a handful of shots from our day of chopping, cooking, photographing, and of course eating!

It was a happy day in the Test Kitchen yesterday as the FOOD52 team welcomed Merrill back into our Tuesday routines of chopping, stirring, and mixing! Click through to see more from our day in the test kitchen.

You'll be hearing from the staff at FOOD52 every week in Too Many Cooks, our group column in which we pool our answers to questions about food, cooking, life, and more. The New York Times Dining section ran a piece this week about those kitchen gadgets that you buy thinking they'll make your life easier -- oyster knife, bread machine, milk frother -- but that end up gathering dust in a cabinet.But sometimes more is more, even if those pickle tongs take up too much space in your cutlery drawer. Here are our favorite kitchen utensils -- the ones we won't give up in favor of a simpler life. It's funny how so many of our answers are about tools that are just so "satisfying" to use!Click through for pitters, slicers, and choppers galore.