What's In Your Kitchen / Bare Essentials

What's In Your Kitchen?

In order to do a job, any job you have to have the right tools.  Some tools are essential and some tools just make the job easier and you more efficient.  There are secrets and tips that are only learned from experience or observation.  This is where I want to give you a head start on just a few kitchen essentials and tips that will make you a star when it comes to how you work that magic in the kitchen. Let's get started...

Knives,  You must have knives to prep and cook, and if I were on a limited budget I would say that if you had these knives in your kitchen you could get by doing almost anything!

 

 



Large Chef's Knife 10" - 12"                                                                Paring Knife

Carving Knife 6"                                                                                    Serrated Bread Knife

                                           

 

Pots and Pans, there are tons of options when it comes to pots and pans.  You can go high end and get the entire set, or you can get a few good pieces and build your way up.  There are just a few tips when looking at these essential items.  First get a heavy bottomed pan, and no I'm not talking about a Freddie Mercury song, I mean one that has a thick bottom.  These conduct heat better and more evenly which means your food cooks better!  They need to be oven safe, meaning you can put them in the oven to finish dishes so no plastic handles!  If you have these three items to start, you'll be in a good spot to cook a lot of dishes.

 

Large Sautee Pan  

Medium Sautee Pan

Medium Sauce Pot with Lid    

 

Utensils, Utensils, Utensils... My gosh, there are utensils for everything in every make, model, design, whatever.  How do you know what is good, bad, useful and necessary?  I have to admit I have a whole drawer dedicated to kitchen gadgets.  I have trimmed it down somewhat but use most of them regularly.  Folks that are new to cooking can become overwhelmed, but hopefully this tip will help you out.  If you have these few items you can do virtually anything you need to do!

 

Rubber Spatula  / Regular Spatula / Wooden Spoon Set / Whisk / Ladle / Potato Masher / Metal Scoop Strainer and most importantly Metal Tongs !

 

Cutting Board, You need a cutting board or three!  At most home stores they have a wide variety of cutting boards.  In my opinion you need at least two, one for everything that gets cut and one for meats.  We don't want cross contamination.  I have tried all different kinds.  I love wood and I love the new plastic rubber kind as well.  If going wood get a good one, the thicker the better, think warping!  Use that for all your chopping and cutting except meats!  I use the plastic kind shown below for that, it's easy to wash and keep clean and doesn't slip around on the counter surface.  They also keep your knives from getting damaged.

 

 

Miscellaneous Items, Have you ever been to a restaurant and the waiter asks if you want fresh ground pepper?  There is a reason for that... It tastes better!  You can buy whole peppercorns and use a coffee grinder to have fresh ground pepper whenever you need it!  I also buy bulk sea salt or kosher salt and keep them in those bamboo containers for convenience.  Once you go fresh ground pepper... you never go back!  You can use the grinder to grind all your fresh spices as well.

 

 

Heavy Equipment, You might not always need these items but once you get them you will see how much easier they make your life!

Stand Mixer / Food Processor and a good Blender