hands down - our coffee maker.

yes, we could do individual drip cups, or a plunger, but we love waking up to coffee in the morning and the ease of making several cups at once.

i should say that we are dedicated coffee-drinkers...and while i have a kitchen with less than 6 feet of counter space, i wouldn't give up the coffee maker for anything.

Immersion blender and food processor.

I don't actually bother keeping cupboard space for the food processor, since it's used several times a week!

too funny, we were just talking about this last night. we have a lemon squeezer that we use literally everyday. i can't imagine hand-squeezing all the lemons and limes we use. PLUS we get more juice from it anyways. it's super easy to clean, and it's still pretty small. just make sure you buy the metal ones! the plastic ones break if you try to get TOO much juice from them :P

http://www.amazon.com/Supreme-70417-Yellow-Lemon-Squeezer/dp/B000A7S636

Immersion blender e mini food processor... no space for more :'(

Immersion blender. I ordered one months ago and finally gave in and opened the box when I was making a strawberry rhubarb puree. I was a FOOL! Best thing ever and the blender has gone on the shelf.

And I totally admit that my mandoline is starting to supersede the food processor. Even after taking off a quarter of my thumb and feeling squidgy now whenever I use it.. that thing is badass awesome.

It's funny, you said no cast iron skillet - we actually have an electric frying pan which I think is the biggest life-saver of all time. I use it probably 4-5 nights a week. If not that then, a good set of knives and knife sharpener, plus great cutting boards.

can you use immersion blender to chop garlic and onion and make pate?
if yes, i am ordering it today.

Food processor! I LOVE ours and get lots of use out of it.

Dutch Oven is also pretty irreplaceable.

Just got my Blendtec last weekend! I didn't realize how essential this was until I had it. Oh, how I love that machine!

1. Immersion blender and the little processor attachment
2. Cuisinart Griddler (esp since we bought the waffle plates)
3. Coffee maker, but especially the bean grinder.

Cuisinart Smart Stick - got it as a Christmas gift, and it is good for everything!

garlic press hands down but it takes up zero counter space sooooo, oster beehive blender. works well for smoothies, ice cream fixins, soups, hummus, curries, etc.

My Atlas pasta maker. I really haven't found a good way to stash it, but I use it at least once a week. It earns its keep in my kitchen.

Immersion Circulator (not blender) and Zojirushi Rice Cooker.

The first was revolutionary to my cooking. For those who have not tried cooking sous vide - you're missing out on the world's best food.

The second is a weekly staple in an asian household.

For me it's the microplanes and a tool called a Benriner to turn vegetables into long strands that I use as a substitute for pasta. Lost a ton of weight using a Benriner! I've been using a high quality plastic one, which was about $65, but I intend to upgrade to the restaurant style commercial version pretty soon (about $450 though it does many more cuts & even some designs). Try to take it and I'd give my life in the attempt to preserve it!

Cuisinart smart stick and mini food processor AND the electric skillet.

The essential gadgets in my small kitchen are:

-Zojirushi Rice Cooker (excellent for rice, obviously, and also steelcut oats)
-Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker (I use it so much since I got it for Christmas, never thought I would!)
-Breville Smart Oven (Love it! So much easier cooking for one or two in this than heating up the bigger oven.)

These three appliances are on constant rotation in my kitchen. I also use my microplanes nearly everyday.

Our coffee maker and rice cooker are so essential, I didn't even think of them until they were mentioned. I cannot imagine morning without coffee; the husband cannot face the day without rice (when we bought a new, bigger one, we actually took the old one to my parents so he can have rice there! To them it is a bizarre, exotic machine they'd never use on their own.)

The mini-processor has been way, way more useful than I could have imagined. I can chop the onion in there, and LEAVE it there, while I use the cutting board to chop other veggies. It's unexpectedly helpful not to have to find a place to keep the chopped onions until I'm ready to cook! I also use it to grate parmesan, make breadcrumbs, coarsly puree beans for burgers, chop or grind nuts, etc.

For a long time I had the cuisinart mini food processor and blender combo, which was a great space saver because they both use the same base. I've only recently graduated to a full-size food processor when it finally broke after years of use.

I'd have to say the one gadget I use for other-than-intended uses is my meat tenderizer/pounder-- I use it daily to crush garlic cloves and it's such a time saver for me!

My garlic press changed my life a little bit. It makes cooking so much easier,and inspires me to use more fresh ingredients. Perhaps it's just because my knife skills are terrible. But garlic press, best gift ever, thanks Mom!

my life would certainly be a lot different - in fact it was a lot different, before - without a vorwerk thermomix...ator! :)
can't do without it

Food processor and stand mixer. The food processor gets a lot of use making hummus and pesto (as well as chopping) and the mixer gets used for kneading dough (I have bad wrists and wouldn't be able to make bread without it) and making other baked goods.

Our bench scraper. It smashes, it scoops, it scrapes!

I also do not know how we lived without our pressure cooker for so long. Short ribs in the middle of the week? Yes, please!

I'm also madly in love with our Calphalon Unison Sear Nonstick 7 1/2-Qt. Deep Fryer with Thermometer that we got for Christmas last year. We've only fried in it once and it is great, but it is a champion in the kitchen - it takes up less room and is easier to clean than our old stockpot that we were using to make pasta or boil potatoes and other veggies. The lid has slots for easy draining. Love it!

personally, the greatest multipurpose kitchen tool ever is a food processor. it can make ice cream, slice fruits and veggies, it can make dough, it can make pesto.. greatest tool ever.

The rice cooker is used for almost every dinner and certainly every breakfast.

My tongs and microplane are indispensible!

crock pot and food processor.

food processor

My Cuisinart smartstick! It's an immersion blender that also has a whisk and mini-food processor attachment. I was gifted the first one ~6 years ago, and used it to it's sad demise about a year ago, when I bought the exact same model again. It gets used (any one of the three attachments) every single day.

Another vote for the lemon squeezer mentioned by J&H above. I use mine just about every day and I love that thing!

I love my immersion blender too.

Also, I have one of those mezzaluna and curved cutting board sets (similar to this http://www.everythingkitchens.com/Mezzaluna-Knife-Set.html ) that I recieved as gift. I didn't think I'd use it much, but I use it all the time. Its so quick and easy to chop up some herbs or an onion that I rarely bust out the food processor. I even use it to make pesto.

1. I'm also for the immersion blender. Great for single servings and so much easier to puree hot soup than transferring to a blender (in batches!).

2. Food processor with shredding attachments. It literally takes seconds to shred cabbage and have nice even slices of onions. And you can pretty much do anything from peanut butter to scones with the S-blade.

4. Pasta rolling machine. A total splurge but it made my life! I make batches of pasta every other weekend and dry them for later use. I guess it's a unitasker but I think even Alton would agree it makes a difference.

Ah! I must have deleted #3, the garlic press. Beats hand mincing or buying the gross minced stuff.

I'm right with everyone else about my immersion blender and food processor. Whole lotta love for those tools. I'll add two things to the mix: my toaster oven – not only can I toast toast (and a lot of it at once) in my little toaster oven, I use it for all those little baking jobs that one might hesitate to turn the oven on for: toasting nuts, making croutons, roasting off peppers, even a small batch of biscuits or cookies or anything you'd bake in individual ramekins (Baked eggs! Tiny bread puddings!) ... and my set of fine mesh colanders – I use them all the time for the obvious (pasta, washing fruits and veg, etc.) but they make great steamers too for veggies, quinoa, rice and the like, as well as sieves for fine soups and sauces.

bread machine!!! stores easily in the closet when not in use. I use it weekly for bread and yummy pizza dough!

Electric Kettle. Good for slipstreaming boiling water for cooking pasta or meat. :)

Small Cuisinart food processor. Mine broke awhile ago so I started haunting local thrift stores for a new/used one. Took me three months, but went in there last week and there was one waiting for me, in its original box and still wrapped up--never used. Cost me all of $8! Now I can make my handfuls of fresh bread crumbs, pesto and lots of Caesar dressing...without lugging out the big processor which never does as well on the small jobs.

2 cup food processor, cast iron skillet and stand mixer (I bake a lot).

Food Processor for sure. I use it at least 4 or 5 times a week. I don't even care how much space it takes up. Dips, sauces, breadcrumbs, ice cream, pie crust, grating cheese and chopping vegetables. My food processor is definitely the tool I don't think I could manage without.

TONGS!

Electric kettle and Vitamix.

My vitamix hands down

The greatest tool ever is the thermomix vorwek. It can cook soup, rice, meat, fish, make bread, pastry, icecream. It prepares any dough - pizza, bread, scones, pie, cookies, puff pastry- in about a minute! It can cut vegetables, do milkshakes, and turn caster sugar into confectionare's sugar, and bread into bread crumbs. It's the biggest money and time saver.
I'm always surprised how Americans haven't discovered this amazing tool yet.

My immersion blender, rice cooker, and Kitchenaid stand mixer get more use than anything else I own. The blender just lives on the counter plugged in (with the blade and cup in the cabinet with the glasses to keep it clean) since we use it every other day or so.

As far as cookware goes, though, it's hard to beat a double boiler with a steamer insert: it's small enough to use as a sauce pot, big enough for pasta for two, wonderful for tempering chocolate and perfect for steaming veggies. I have a 3-quart Tramontina that I bought for $32 at Walmart and it's the most useful pan I own besides a skillet.

A microwave (ducks away)

Immersion blender. We have the Cuisinart one that is a immersion blender/mini food processor/egg beater all in one. It's amazing. We make mango salsa, pina coladas, pureed soups, everything.
We specifically registered for it because we just don't have room for a blender or food processor otherwise.

Magic bullet - use it daily for breakfast smoothies. On the weekend it whips up eggs for omelets or salad dressing.

Salad spinner - I can't imagine living without this. It gets used a few times a week.

Microplane grater! It's more useful to me than a garlic press, easier to clean too. And course, my food processor.

Salad spinner. Gets used for washing berries, cherries, mushrooms, as well as lettuce and herbs. Immersion blender for soups, salad dressings, sauces. Victorinox Chef's knife can be used for almost everything ESP because of the sharp, thin blade.

Electric egg cooker. I have very few appliances and this is one I would never give up. We have a friend with chickens, so get fresh eggs. Fresh eggs are difficult for me to peel, but when steamed in the cooker they peel so easily. Makes tuna salad, deviled eggs, etc so much more enjoyable to make.

I consider the coffee maker as essential. Nonessential but useful items include my Joseph Joseph Uni-Tool and Carousel. And the Ninja has replaced food processors and blenders.