Cool Thanksgiving Kitchen and Entertaining Gadgets

Thanksgiving and the holidays are here and for many families entertaining, and of course, eating healthy and not so healthy are some of the center stage activities. I visited Despierta America again this week to showcase some of the cool kitchen and entertaining gadgets that can help families enjoy more and toil a little less.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HfyDCiuNac

The Bartesian

Like I told Alan on the show, many people have the gift of mixology but I’m definitely not one of them. I can cook pretty much anything but in the mixology department, I’m an epic fail. This is why I like the idea of a smart at-home bartender that pretty much takes care of the mix preparation and you come out looking like a super host to your guests.

It couldn’t be simpler to use, you have four glass bottleswith your favorite base for the drinks such as whiskey, rum, tequila or gin. Thecapsules have all the ingredients, bitters, etc. so you don’t have to buy orstore anything else. Next, you choose a capsule with the drink you want to make,put it in the machine and the next part is pretty easy, it asks you thestrength you want, you push the button and voilà, a premiumcocktail comes out ready to enjoy.

The JBL Link smart speaker

This speaker is the best of both worlds. A smart speaker that uses Google Assistant, paired with great sound from JBL. It has an 8-inch high definition touch screen so you can look up the recipes, interact with them and it’s also splash-proof so no worries about having it near messy food prep.

I liked that it has a front-facing camera for video calls but what I liked, even more, is that it has a privacy switch that you can cover the camera with. Call me paranoid but I’m sure this will bring a little peace of mind when working on those top-secret family recipes.

Puppy Cube

This is way more than a projector, it’s a full-blowncomputer powered by Android, yes, the same operating system running in themajority of smartphones in the world. In there, you have a web browser, apps,games and of course, the ability to watch videos.

You wouldn’t think that you need a projector in thekitchen but after checking out the Puppy Cube, I changed my mind. This thing isso cool that it’s hard to describe but picture this, you could project right onthe countertop where you are cooking and use the touchscreen function to startand stop the recipe video, browse ingredients and multitask, like any Thanksgivingor holiday host that needs to do a gazillion things at a time.

You can place it on the table or flip it around to project onto a wall or screen, so you can use it as a projector for the family or even a business presentation. It comes with decent speakers and if you are serious about sound, it can connect to external speakers as well. It has a remote control for when you are using it to project on the wall to watch movies and in case you are caught up in one of those rooms without a power outlet handy, it has a battery that lasts a more than two hours which is conveniently the duration of an average movie, unless you are watching The Godfather. Very cool.

The Spherificator

This is one of the simplest and coolest products foraspiring chefs and those of us that like to show off in the kitchen. When itcomes to this one, you don’t know you need it until you see it! Imagine beingable to turn almost any food you like into these cool looking caviar-shaped pearlsfull of flavor. Not only do they look amazing, but they can be prettyversatile. You can use them to decorate your food, in drinks and to become a moleculargastronomy star in your own head. At least you are guaranteed to impress yourguests, provided that the flavor you choose for the little spheres is up theiralley.

The Vitamix Ascent Series Smart Blender

A blender with a touchscreen? Seriously? Well,yes.  This blender didn’t make it to the Despiertasegment because the package didn’t arrive in-time, but I did get some time totest it after and it’s pretty cool.

This is what other blenders aspire to be andsomething that you never thought a blender could do. It has several programmedfeatures that help you make smoothies, soups, you name it, but the winningfeature is that it’s really designed to blend like nothing I’ve ever seen. Ithas many smart features such as different container sizes, so it knows toadjust the blending time depending on the container you are using.  It even has a self-cleaning function to makesure all the annoying little deposits are unstuck from the blender and the containersare dishwasher safe. Definitely the mother of all blenders.

As always, we get invited all over the place for thecoolest Thanksgiving and now upcoming holiday segments. Cosette, our starproducer puts the segments together, coordinates logistics, reaches out to thecompanies and makes a very complicated logistic driven segment seem easy. I cantell you for sure, that they are not, but they are definitely fun.