Tuesday, August 28, 2007

TIPS: The Basic Kitchen



When I first moved into my apartment, I was bewildered by the thought of having to buy everything necessary to cook in my own place. My mom always had a crazy amount of cooking supplies in her kitchen, as we did, at one time, have a family restaurant in San Diego. So, in case you are wondering what makes a "basic kitchen", here are my two cents:

Cookware:
fry pan
sauce pan
saute pan
stock pot

Recommended: Stainless steel or stainless with copper bottom, with good weight (read: heavy)

Cutlery
Chef's knife
Bread knife (serrated)
Paring knife
Optional: Flexible deboning knife

Recommended: High end knives like Henckels or Wusthof, as they have good weight and balance, and can be sharpened back to perfection; you can also spring for a Santoku knife, which is a really handy choice

Cooks' Tools
Can opener
Vegetable peeler
Wire whisk
Grater
Wooden spoons
Heat resistent spatula (silicone)
Ladle, slotted spoon, pasta fork
Corkscrew
Measuring cups & spoons
Tongs

Other supplies
Pyrex/glass mixing bowls
Colander (I prefer metal)
Cutting board (I prefer wood)
Oven pans/baking dishes (depends on what you intend on cooking, but get a good roasting pan as a start)
Pot holders

Electrics
Blender/hand blender
Microwave
Toaster/toaster oven

Recommendation: If you're on a budget, just go to somewhere like Target and buy cheapies. However, if you plan on some serious cooking, you may want to invest in a little more expensive electrics, like a more powerful blender or a microwave with higher wattage, cause really, you get what you pay for.

Getting fancy: The more advanced your cooking is, the more tools you will need (well, actually, you will want). Serious kitchen aficionados will buy Cuisinarts and electric mixers - I am hoping to get a Kitchen Aid when I have the money and space - and expand your pan collection by getting specialty pans (I have a well seasoned paella pan as well as a brand new crepe pan). I also got myself a George Foreman grill, for quick and easy indoor grilling, when I don't want to use my grill pan. Once you get into cooking, it's pretty much guaranteed that you will begin to visit kitchenware stores and work yourself into a frenzy over all the available options out there.

Hope that this is helpful to someone out there! Buon apetito!

5 comments:

renn208 said...

I have a pretty simple approach to kitchen goodies...I have to need something at least 3X before I actually buy it.

Started off with a chef's knife, a cutting board, and a cast iron skillet...and it just kind of grew from there.

Fuck garlic presses!

Karen said...

How do you feel about non-stick fry pans?

Steph said...

Ahhh, I left almost all my kitchenware in SF b/c I didn't have the mind to pack it all...so this is very helpful :)

LURVE the blog, Berna! Looking forward to keeping up with it. Want me to link it to mine?

Steph said...

Hey, I forgot to post earlier that I love my microplane. It is indispensable for zesting, grating hard cheeses, and nutmeg! All those things that add that little sumthin, sumthin to a dish. This one I have is really versatile:

http://www.amazon.com/Microplane-40020-Grater-Zester/dp/B00004S7V8/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_k2a_3_img/104-6933292-0603117?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-2&pf_rd_r=05ZHSS4TWFVPFCABH41W&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=304485601&pf_rd_i=B00004S7VK

Steph said...

ahhh my elementary HTML skills come in handy microplane on amazon.com