Bonnie: Hell for a baker? An oven that required re-tying the door with a rope each time you opened it. That was my kitchen during the writing of my 365 Great Cookies and Brownies cookbook.

I knew I’d have to do something, but kept putting it off as I was planning a kitchen renovation. That planning moved to a higher priority at one of my soup parties—a great way, by the way, to entertain, as everything’s done before guests arrive.

Slight aside, for those of you interested in this type party: just set out pots of soup (either on the stove or on hot plates at various stations around the house), the accoutrements (grated cheese, croutons, fresh veggie toppings), and—of course—spoons, napkins and soup containers. I use coffee mugs, not bowls. They’re easy to hold while milling around, their imprints are conversation starters, and they’re small enough to be filled with just enough soup that your guests don’t feel piggy trying each and every one.

At one of these parties where friends were packed like pickles-in-a-jar into my kitchen, my friend David Astrachan was leaning against my jury-rigged stove and unknowingly untied the rope holding the heavy door.

KABOOM!

All conversation stopped.

“Not to worry, it happens all the time,” I said, scurrying into the kitchen, picking up the heavy door and retying it. Tight. I was so glad it hadn’t landed on his foot. I knew I had to either buy a new stove soon or get moving on my new kitchen. I chose the latter.

I redid my kitchen completely white with a just a pinch of blue. After the hellacious orange countertop, mustard appliances and yellow-orange-and-silver Mylar wallpaper, I needed white. Clean white. I also needed counter and closet space. I wanted it all. Who doesn’t when they redo their kitchen?

I thought I had considered everything—everything, that is, but where to dry dishes. At first I put a small dish rack in my second sink for them to dry, but realized I then had only one sink. Then, I put the rack on the counter, but when I was done cleaning up, I didn’t like how messy it looked. I tried to hide the rack under the sink, but it didn’t always fit easily.

Enter Oxo Pop-Up Dish Rack, what I started out to write about in this Bite, but got side tracked. It’s an ingenious rack that folds up for storage.

It opens large enough to allow huge pots or Riedel wine goblets to dry. And once things are dry, I easily drain the water by just tilting it over the sink, then collapse and store it on its side with my large cutting boards, leaving me with a less-cluttered kitchen and more counter space. Dish drain perfection.

Bryan: An ingenious product for any home. Counter space is king in the kitchen and nothing bogarts it like a dish rack. It’s a simple premise: wash, dry, fold it up and put away the rack… instant counter space. Eric… why didn’t we think of this? It’s fantastic!

Eric: Without a doubt counter space is king, that is why this is one of the most practical, smack yourself in the head, “why didn’t I think of that” products. Living in a variety of houses/apartments, and cooking in my fair share of kitchens, I can easily say that this is one of the most practical pieces of equipment for any child, student, housewife, businessman, etc., and will pay for itself in terms of ease of use, lack of frustration and, most important, counter space.