The Well-Equipped Cook: Toast the Holiday Season in Style with These Winning Gadgets

Be a supreme mixologist with these essential tools. [We Would Love Your Feedback! We want to bring you the best Well-Equipped Cook newsletter. Please fill out our survey and receive a free download of The Perfect Cookie: Jack's Favorites.s]( [Cook's Illustrated] The Well-Equipped Cook A Curated Collection of Equipment with Tips, Videos, and Recipes [Toast the Holiday Season in Style with These Winning Gadgets]( Volume 181 Toast the Holiday Season in Style with These Winning Gadgets [view collection]( In the test kitchen, our focus is firmly fixed on developing foolproof recipes for food that doesn’t disappoint. But no celebration is complete without a few good drinks, too. That’s why, this week, we’ve collected all of our top-rated gadgets for making the best beverages ranging from kid-friendly sodas to fancy and flavorful cocktails. [Our winning cocktail shaker]( is leakproof and easy to use, and [our favorite ice cube tray]( is designed to keep your drink cool without watering it down. We’ve also included all manner of wine tools, from a [foolproof twist corkscrew]( to [the gadget that preserves open bottles for up to a month]( and a cleaner that can take care of red wine stains with just a few spritzes. To get the party started, you’ll want to have a few snacks ready to share, and you can’t go wrong with any of the picks in our book [All-Time Best Appetizers](. This best-of-the-best collection contains 75 crowd-pleasing recipes ranging from simple dips and spreads to elegant plattered foods such as mini quiches and Spanish tortilla. Our editors have also taken care to include plenty of vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free recipes, so no guest will be left out. Don’t miss these guides Our buying guides contain recommended equipment from our rigorous equipment testings. We post new guides every week, but they’re available for only a limited time. As we often say, we do the testing so you don’t have to. [Everything You Need to Cook with Kids This Holiday Season]( [Everything You Need to Cook with Kids This Holiday Season]( [9 Handpicked Gifts from Executive Editor Lisa McManus]( [9 Handpicked Gifts from Executive Editor Lisa McManus]( [Luxurious Gifts for the Cook Who Has Everything]( [Luxurious Gifts for the Cook Who Has Everything]( [Tackle Holiday Baking with These Top-Rated Essentials]( [Tackle Holiday Baking with These Top-Rated Essentials]( Your Best Party Starts with Our Best Recipes [All-Time Best Appetizers]( cover price: $22.95 Your Price: $15.95 [ORDER NOW]( KITCHEN MUST-HAVE Wine Away Red Wine Stain Remover [Wine Away Red Wine Stain Remover]( [BUY NOW]( A few spritzes of this citrus-smelling liquid lighten stains on khakis and dish towels to a pale grayish green that comes out completely after one laundry cycle. Ridding shag carpeting of the stain requires a dozen spritzes, plus blotting and reapplying, but the extra effort eventually works. Best of all, the formula uses plant-based enzymes and acids that are nontoxic. HOW TO MAKE Holiday Spritz [Holiday Spritz]( The holiday table features many sweet foods as well as a lot of fatty foods. Both of these characteristics demand specific qualities in a drink. The golden rule in pairing wine with sweet foods is that the wine must always be sweeter than the food. Try a bite of a sweet dessert and follow it with a sip of a dry red wine, and the otherwise balanced wine will taste unpleasantly sour. Therefore, a good holiday drink needs a little sweetness; we achieve that by using small amounts of sweet vermouth and the liqueurs St. Germain and Aperol. Fatty foods coat our tongues and dull our perception of many tastes. To counter that, it helps if a drink has high acidity and carbonation, like a dry white sparkling wine such as Prosecco or cava. All of this adds up to a type of cocktail not often considered during colder months: the spritz. [Get Recipe ›]( [More Foolproof Cocktail Recipes ›]( [America's Test Kitchen Cooking School] [How to Use a Cocktail Shaker]( WATCH AND LEARN How to Use a Cocktail Shaker Our [Online Cooking School video]( shows you how to expertly mix a drink (and be safe doing so)! [Watch the video ›]( test kitchen quick tip Shaken or Stirred? When and Why We Use Cocktail Shakers There are two main categories of cocktails: stirred drinks and shaken drinks. The way you make a cocktail depends on its contents. [Read more ›]( [Shaken or Stirred? When and Why We Use Cocktail Shakers] [Everything You Need for an Epic Night In]( bonus guide Everything You Need for an Epic Night In A big night out can be fun, but sometimes we like to cozy up at home with family and friends and enjoy a night in. Whether we’re playing board games or watching movies, snacks are an essential part of the experience. In this buying guide, we’ve selected the test kitchen–approved equipment you need to make homemade versions of treats such as popcorn and potato chips, along with some of our favorite store-bought snacks—so you’ll be ready for your big night in even if it’s impromptu. [View the guide ›]( EQUIPMENT GIVEAWAY [Messermeister 16.75-inch Bamboo Knife Magnet]( Messermeister 16.75‑inch Bamboo Knife Magnet [enter now]( This handsome bamboo knife strip provides 1.25 inches of clearance between knife handles and the wall. It has medium-strength magnets that hold knives with just the right amount of pull, and it is relatively durable, sustaining only a few tiny scratches after extensive use. Of all the magnetic knife strips we tested, it was by far the easiest to install. It can be yours! All you have to do is [click here]( and you’re done. One lucky winner will be chosen at random each week, so keep reading The Well-Equipped Cook for your chance to win! 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