As much as I hate to acknowl­edge base­less enter­tain­ment mas­querad­ing as polit­i­cal com­men­tary, the tim­ing of Rush Lim­baugh‘s lat­est vit­riol aimed at George­town law stu­dent, San­dra Fluke, coin­cid­ing with my intro­duc­tion of “tool of the month” is a set-up I am inca­pable of ignor­ing. It’s a bit like hold­ing back a sneeze. Rest assured, I hap­pily cross party lines for all culinary-based polit­i­cal jabs, but only if the intended tar­get really deserves it, as this one so heartily does.

So. Tool of the month must also go to this Amco Enam­eled Lemon Squeezer. Its cheer­ful yel­low makes it’s the hap­pi­est look­ing device in my arse­nal of kitchen helpers. Cost­ing around $10-$12, this device works great for limes too.

My friends Randi and Kelvin keep me in good sup­ply of their gar­gan­tuan lemons that have no hope of fit­ting into this hand juicer. For those, and for grape­fruit and oranges, I use my very afford­able elec­tric juicer; for juic­ing just one or two, a hand reamer works great.

The result­ing cit­rus juice is a great fla­vor enhancer and emul­si­fier used for a vari­ety of salad dress­ings and mari­nades, including:

cae­sar dress­ing
cilantro pesto
dill vinai­grette
tar­tar sauce
home­made may­on­naise
gar­lic rose­mary chicken

Drop me a line and tell me about that favorite device that is indis­pens­able in your kitchen. Happy juicing!