And now for the fun stuff. When I moved into my first apartment my family and friends gave me all kinds of kitchen implements and of course over time I’ve collected more though various means. Even though my kitchen is bursting at the seams with all kinds of gadgets, gizmos, pots, and pans there are a few that I think are absolute requirements and some that are beyond useless.
My list of 10 things every kitchen should have:
1. A timer. This is pretty self explanatory, and most kitchens already come equipped with one, either on the stove or the microwave. I’m taking it as a given that you have both a stove and a microwave. I will however get into microwave cooking at some point in the future.
2. 6 to 10 qt stock pot. Although you can’t live on pasta alone I don’t think I could live without it which makes a large stock pot a requirement in my kitchen. I’ve actually used this for soups and stews and shockingly enough stock.
3. Strainer. If you’re going to make pasta you need a good strainer.
4. At least 1 skillet. 9 to 10 inches preferably. I find this to be the most useful size. It’s big enough for grilled sandwiches and eggs and if you’re really good even pancakes.
5. At least 1 sauce pot. 1 to 2 qt. this will be good for pasta sauces, (I know I’m a little stuck on the pasta right now, I just ate it for dinner and it was fantastic) gravy, dressing, stuffing, the list could go on.
6. 1 good knife. I prefer a larger knife, 8’ Chef style is my go to knife. This is for many reasons. It’s great for chopping leafy greens and potatoes. It’s also great for smashing garlic.
7. Pepper grinder. If you’re going to cook with pepper you might as well use the best stuff you can. If you use pre-ground pepper the oils evaporate over time and leave you with just the pepper shell and not much flavor. If you grind your pepper as you use it your get the freshest pepper flavor for the money.
8. Wooden spoons. It never ceases to amaze me how often I use my wooden spoons, they’re great. And they’re cheap! The most useful thing about wooden spoons is that the help keep your pots and pans nice and scratch free. If you stir your sauces with a wooden spoon instead of a metal spoon you can run it right along the bottom of the pot without scratching the surface of the pot which also helps keep whatever you’re cooking from sticking and burning.
9. Baking sheets. Not only are they an absolute necessity if you like to make cookies or pizza they are also great for catching drips from pies or casseroles.
10. Cork screw or another wine de-corking implement. Because glass shards are never on the menu.
A few additions to this: I know you were going for a David Letterman top 10 thing here so I'll keep it brief.
ReplyDelete1. METAL strainer! In the interest of saving space, I've found that I use my metal strainer almost exclusively. It's great for pasta, home brewing (removing particulate matter etc after a THOROUGH bleaching) and most importantly for meat. There's nothing quite like soggy tacos...
2. Wooden Spoons good: Bamboo, GOOD for the environment! I've found that you can get a whole BAG full of these doo dads for about the price of one wooden spoon. The reforestation time is SIGNIFICANTLY less with Bamboo than traditional lumber. Just as good and they hold up pretty well over time. The only drawback with them is that they split if you soak them too long...
3. A GOOD cuttingboard. I can't tell you how many I've gone through and the best ones I've found have felt pretty solid and generally the best one have been of cross hatch construction. As of late, I've seen a few Bamboo (see above), however I've not picked one up as I have a perfectly good plastic one from Kitchen Aid that has survived a good 6 years now and is still holding strong.
Glass shards by the way are a great diet plan... if you never plan to eat again...