If you want to generate a custom Debian live CD, including only the tools you want (and maybe additional tools you don't find in other live CDs) there's a really simple solution: live-helper.

Creating a basic bootable Debian live CD ISO image in the current directory is as simple as:

$ lh_config
$ lh_build

That's it. The result will be a file called binary.iso, which you can either burn on a CD-ROM via

$ wodim binary.iso

or test in QEMU using a command line like this: