Rouxbe

It's difficult to pin down to one. Aside from a good set of knives and a cuisinart, my top choices are
Escali electronic scale
Electronic meat thermometer that monitors the internal temperature
Parchment paper - a miracle worker when used on pizza pans, baking sheets. It makes clean up a snap.

Every christmas or birthday some well meaning person presents you "the cook" with the newest gadget. In my top ten, the garlic press is one of them (I can hear the howls now)

I find that rinsing the herbs, shaking of the excess water, rolling them in paper towels and placing the package in a loosely sealed plastic bag will hold sturdy herbs like sage, oregano, italian parsley, tarragon etc. for at least 2 weeks, even 3 weeks (store them in the vegetable drawer of the fridge). Marjoram is less durable and so are basil and cilantro.

The Thermoworks is available at Amazon for $95. A bit pricy but probably worth it since it only needs to penetrate 1/8" and merely leaves a tiny hole (think steak, chicken, hamburger). I won't throw my trusty older unit away because when roasting, I like to keep the probe in the meat to be able to continually monitor the temperature.

I love soft Polenta with braised meat but it is impractical to make a batch just for two. This sounds like a great way to give a new life to leftovers providing you plan ahead and make the additions before the Polenta turns solid.

I fully cook the gnocchi, briefly cool them in ice water (or just gently rinse in a sieve with cold water if I am lazy), let them dry in a single layer on paper towels, and then quick freeze them on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Wrap well, defrost what you need. I like to warm them in plenty of unsalted butter, then put them (about 1 1/2 layers, if that makes sense) in a small baking dish, and then sprinkle with parmesan. Bake in a hot oven or broil until cheese and gnocchi are lightly browned

Rinsing the gnocchi helps with sticking, plus I don't leave them on the paper very long. Since making gnocchi is time consuming and messy, I like to make 2 or 3 batches because once you are set up, it does'nt take that much longer and you are set for impromptu side dishes.

I did not make this lasagna recipe but I have made the Ragu from Mario's cookbook (same recipe). I found the Ragu to be bland and somewhat greasy tasting.

I have tried and failed 3x now. First, high temperature yielded a tough bird and a nasty oven. Second, slow roasted resulted in a tough and greasy goose. Lastely, roasted in a covered roaster at moderate temperature, the oven stayed clean, the grease rendered well but the bird was tough as nails (ps: the meat went bye bye but the fat is kept in the freezer for frying potatoes etc)
Help!!!

Tony, thank you for your input, I will give that a try. Also, what do you think about brining the goose?

I agree with Julie, capers are much underused. Along those same lines, so is the use of acid such as a squeeze of lemon juice or a mild vinegar in soups or sauces. I have also been known to add a few squirts of the green tobasco sauce to a braise.