Singletaskers

Alton Brown once famously declared that the only singletasker allowed in his kitchen is a fire extinguisher. And it's a basic good rule to follow - so many kitchen gadgets are built for a single purpose, and so often, they're not even that good at that. Fifteen examples are in listed here - imagine a little doodad whose only purpose is to help you get that banana peel started. Oh, and that egg cracker: by the time it takes to even load the device, you could have already been cooking.

That's not to say I haven't entertained the idea of a single tasker in my kitchen. I've yet to find an alternative purpose for say, the ice cream maker. And while the waffle iron gets plenty of alternate uses:

waffled grilled cheese pan de sal sandwich

I must say I am still stymied by a bit of nostalgia: the waffle dog. While people in America are mostly familiar with the concept of a corn dog (a hot dog covered in cornmeal batter and deep fried - usually on a stick), the waffle dog is a hot dog cooked in a waffle. But to accomplish this, you'll need a waffle iron specifically designed to hold a waffle dog. Near as I can tell, the concept is peculiarly Filipino, although the product itself seldom seen outside of the Philippines. I've read of waffle dogs being experienced in Thailand, and there's certainly a waffle dog franchise based out of Hawaii (no doubt catering to the local ethnic Filipino population). Perhaps a waffle dog maker can make for an interesting single tasker in one's kitchen one day.