At WineSalon, we’re on a mission to help people create lasting memories through food and wine. Part of the challenge of hosting a good dinner party is that, unlike in a restaurant, you’re responsible for taking on all roles. In a restaurant, a chef and cooks make sure that the food goes out hot, ready, and beautifully presented, along with a team of sommeliers and servers to make the guests feel at home, serve wine, clear plates, and provide conversation. Often referred to as the front of the house (servers, sommeliers) and the back of the house (chef, cooks), there’s a good reason that restaurants keep these two dynamics separate. Speaking as someone in the industry, the personalities and talents needed for either side are often wildly different.
Yet when it comes to being an inspired host for a great get-together or even just cooking for family, we’re torn between being a perfect chef and a perfect host. That steak needs to come out at a perfect medium-rare, wine glasses and decanters need to be sparkling clean and polished, and guests are coming at you with questions (for the last time, the restroom is down the hall, second door on the left!)
Whether it’s the perfect temperature on a roast or making sure your wine is properly decanted and at the right temperature, be sure to give yourself ample time and margin of error.
Anyone who has hosted dinner parties before understands this challenge all too well, but there’s one thing that significantly lowers your stress level and keeps the vibe alive- timing. Whether it’s the perfect temperature on a roast or making sure your wine is properly decanted and at the right temperature, be sure to give yourself ample time and margin of error. The difference between dinner at a restaurant and hosting a food and wine gathering at home is that you’re a friend and family member first, not a sommelier or a chef. When you have the space to relax and breathe, you start to create lasting food and wine memories with your friends and family at home, because no one likes a stressed or grouchy host.
Read on to see our top recommendations for our favorite food and wine gadgets. We personally own and use each of the gadgets and receive a small commission for any purchases through our included links.
Our Favorite Food Gadgets
Sous Vide Circulator
If we had to recommend one item on this list that would most significantly reduce your stress, a sous-vide circulator would be the one.
So what’s so great about being able to keep water temperature constant? Well, that perfect medium-rare steak you’re trying to serve your guests? A margin of error of minutes or sometimes even seconds for the exact temperature can now be extended to hours. And this extends to all sorts of other ingredients and applications like keeping a sauce warm, poaching eggs, etc. And you can cook to scale without having to be limited by how many burners and pots you have. 6 steaks set at a perfect medium rare temperature can all be finished with a sear at separate timing of your own choosing. Precision and ease of mind, what could be better?
We love it for: sauces, steaks, poaching
Vacuum Sealer
Along with sous-vide, a vacuum sealer is a must. Although for some uses a ziploc bag will suffice, a vacuum sealer makes sous-vide a whole lot easier by ensuring that food will submerge fully in water during the process.
A food-saver can also keep your fresh ingredients their peak longer, so you can pick up that beautiful steak or piece of trout the day before your party and know it will still be fresh. If any leftovers survive your dinner party, you can vacuum seal them and heat them up in the sous vide machine the next day, no microwaving needed!
We love it for: fresh fish & meats, leftovers, freezer storage
Instead-Read Thermometer
On the flipside, we all have times where we spontaneously have get-togethers that aren’t planned so far in advance. For when you need to cook in a pinch, an instant-read thermometer will give you much more accurate gauge than simply relying on cooking times given in recipes.
See below for a comparison of using an instead read thermometer versus using a sous-vide setup for a NY strip paired with Kanpai Wines’ Cabernet Sauvignon.
We love it for: quick cooking, steaks, searing
Our Favorite Wine Gadgets
Rapid Wine Chiller
For anyone without a dedicated wine fridge, white wines and rosés are typically stored outside on a shelf at room temp. There have been countless times when I’ve been too caught up with cooking and preparing for a get-together that I’ve forgotten to do the most basic thing- chill my white or rosé wines. This machine chills a bottle within minutes and eliminates the need for an ice bucket to keep your wine chilled throughout the evening. If you find your wine getting too warm, simply pop the cork back in and cool the wine down again.
We love it for: last-minute wine purchases, hot days
Reverse Flow Aerator & Decanter
To aerate or not to aerate? To decant or not to decant? Wine lovers have debated this for years, but why choose? With this wine breather carafe, you can simply try your wine straight from the bottle first and then if you feel like it’s a bit tight, go ahead and pour it through this carafe. It will aerate your wine immediately without having to decant ahead of time. It’s also awesome for presentation as it heightens the anticipation of your guests for that great bottle of wine. The best part is, you can simply turn the whole breather upside down to get a clean pour back into the bottle so no leftover wine goes to waste.
We love it for: young wines, quick decanting, improving inexpensive wines
Coravin
For most wine aficionados this comes as no surprise, but the classic Coravin has earned its place on this list time and time again. Perfect for a night of light drinking (hey, it happens sometimes!) or if you just want a taste of a special wine, the Coravin allows you to tap into a bottle of wine without removing the cork and replaces any air with argon, preserving that really nice bottle of wine you’ve been dying to taste. Somms in training will often pour just an ounce or two of multiple wines to compare, and then save the rest for another day. If you vacuum seal your leftovers and tap your wine with a Coravin, you can enjoy your favorite food and wine for even longer!
We love it for: rare & special wines, wine tasting flights, light drinking
Any of these gadgets will help you be the star of your next dinner party so you can stop worrying and start creating lasting food and wine memories.
Cheers—
Peter & the WineSalon team