Q: Are there any cool kitchen tools that I might have missed?

A:

Our faves: the Silpat and the Microplane grater. Both have been around for a few years, but if you haven't fstried them yet, you'll flip when you do. The Silpat is every baker's dream: a rubbery silicone-coated mat that absolutely nothing sticks to. Line cookie sheets with it, and even the stickiest confections peel off clean. Silpats and others like it are in kitchen stores for about $25. The Microplane grater is completely different from boxy graters because it slices, rather than tears at, food. It's razor sharp, and makes snowflakes out of orange zest and curlicues out of chocolate with total ease--no sore wrists? Coarse, fine or ribbon styles, $5 to $15 in kitchen stores.

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