Kitchen essentials

[philosophe]

Originally Posted by Thomas

...if you can find a restaurant supply store, you're in luck. What I use:

equipment:
8" chef's knife
paring knife (Both knives Forshner/Victorinox, sturdy, great edge, inexpensive)
8" stainless fry-pan (Vollrath)
add a 10" fry pan if your stove has big enough burners
8" cast-iron skillet (Lodge)
tongs
spatula
Microwave
wire whisk
cutting sheets

spices:
salt
pepper
basil

cookbooks:
America's Test Kitchen Cookbook, or any of the Best Recipe Series.

This is a great basic list. You could easily order it all from Bridge Kitchenware in NYC.

re cookbooks, I'd go with Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.

 

[GQgeek]

10" Saute pan of uniform thickness. Aluminum is fine, but it should be just as thick on the sides as on top.
Lodge cast iron pan
4qt saucepan
1.5 or 2qt saucepan
10" frying pan
8" Chef's knife, although some prefer larger. It's personal preference.
paring knife

You can get most of this stuff at a restaurant supply store for cheap if you don't want to go the $$$ all-clad/mauviel route.

Oh, and we all know the connedude likes it teh bacon, get one of those non-stick aluminum "pans" that stretches over two elements. They work a lot better with gas, but they're great for breakfast since you can put 5-6 slices of bacon plus your eggs or pancakes on them. I find a frying pan too small for bacon cause I like to do a lot at a time and 12" frying pans are unwieldy and prevent others pans from sitting in the center of their element/burner.

Personally, I couldn't live without good wine glasses and fine bone china dinnerware, but i've been told i'm a bit gay.

 

[RJman]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Personally, I couldn't live without good wine glasses and fine bone china dinnerware, but i've been told i'm a bit gay.

Oh yes, I forgot, a sausage stuffer!

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by RJman

Oh yes, I forgot, a sausage stuffer!

Yes, I was going to put this, but we're talking about Conne, and he already has a sausage stuffer.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Yes, I was going to put this, but we're talking about Conne, and he already has a sausage stuffer.

I prefer to be called his special little friend. Calling me his sausage stuffer is just disrespectful.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

I prefer to be called his special little friend. Calling me his sausage stuffer is just disrespectful.

Quoted just in case you decide to edit!

 

[Sartorian]

The Minimalist in the NYTimes wrote up a list last year. He bought everything--including a decent knife--from a restaurant supply store here in the city. Think he spent under $150; read the article.

If you have a good chef's knife, you need something to keep the edge keen; don't use one of those diamond cutters, get a proper sharpening/burnishing steel. Also, drop the 10 bucks on a wall magnet to keep the knife dry and clean.

Tongs are essential--they basically act like hands in the pan. Don't need anything more than the basics, no need for the Good Grips fancy models.

All the pans mentioned previously are good. I find a decent colander w/ a handle is much handier and more versatile than a large basket strainer.

Two other things to consider are a good can opener and a good, versatile grater.

Buy good salt--Kosher def. and/or sea salt.
Use whole peppercorns in a proper pepper mill.

Rubber gloves so you can wash/rinse dishes in hot water and some decent hot gloves/pot holders (I have some from Ikea that suck, don't waste your money).

To aid in rinsing, get one of these or similar for your sink.

I recently switched from a french press to a stovetop single-cup Italian espresso maker. I'm now a bigger fan of the stove-top coffee. Only problem is you need to get a finer grind (fine, unless you grind your own).

A nice surface to chop/cut on. I've started using one of those tiny bamboo ones, and it works great for just me.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by Sartorian

The Minimalist in the NYTimes wrote up a list last year. He bought everything--including a decent knife--from a restaurant supply store here in the city. Think he spent under $150; read the article.

If you have a good chef's knife, you need something to keep the edge keen; don't use one of those diamond cutters, get a proper sharpening/burnishing steel. Also, drop the 10 bucks on a wall magnet to keep the knife dry and clean.

Tongs are essential--they basically act like hands in the pan. Don't need anything more than the basics, no need for the Good Grips fancy models.

All the pans mentioned previously are good. I find a decent colander w/ a handle is much handier and more versatile than a large basket strainer.

Two other things to consider are a good can opener and a good, versatile grater.

Buy good salt--Kosher def. and/or sea salt.
Use whole peppercorns in a proper pepper mill.

Rubber gloves so you can wash/rinse dishes in hot water and some decent hot gloves/pot holders (I have some from Ikea that suck, don't waste your money).

To aid in rinsing, get one of these or similar for your sink.

I recently switched from a french press to a stovetop single-cup Italian espresso maker. I'm now a bigger fan of the stove-top coffee. Only problem is you need to get a finer grind (fine, unless you grind your own).

A nice surface to chop/cut on. I've started using one of those tiny bamboo ones, and it works great for just me.

I have the oxo grip tongs and they suck. the rubber part came out and it won't stay back in. The Oxo measuring cups are AWESOME though. It's so great being able to see how much you've poured from the top instead of the side.

Agree with you on the colander. A strainer is a pain ********** to clean sometimes.

 

[Sartorian]

One other thing; if you have an oven w/o one, get yourself a broiling pan. I actually found one cheap on Craigslist one time--waaay cheaper than any other route (make sure you cover it w/ aluminum foil).

If you like to bake, get flat metal baker's sheets (the kind w/ a single side bent up) and use baking paper: I'm not a baker, but my friend who is swears the only thing those over-priced, 'non-stick' cookie sheets are good for is to catch grease and other crap underneath things you're cooking. That non-stick bit is a sham when it comes to putting things on cookie sheets.

But if you're a baker, that's a whole other list, I guess.

Oh, and a wisk is always nice to have around, along with some glass mise-en-place bowls of various sizes. But I guess this is moving beyond the essential...

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by Sartorian

One other thing; if you have an oven w/o one, get yourself a broiling pan. I actually found one cheap on Craigslist one time--waaay cheaper than any other route (make sure you cover it w/ aluminum foil).

If you like to bake, get flat metal baker's sheets (the kind w/ a single side bent up) and use baking paper: I'm not a baker, but my friend who is swears the only thing those over-priced, 'non-stick' cookie sheets are good for is to catch grease and other crap underneath things you're cooking. That non-stick bit is a sham when it comes to putting things on cookie sheets.

But if you're a baker, that's a whole other list, I guess.

Oh, and a wisk is always nice to have around, along with some glass mise-en-place bowls of various sizes. But I guess this is moving beyond the essential...

I think the silicone nonstick baking/cookie sheets are fantastic. But parchment paper also works well.

 

[HORNS]

I completely agree with the Forschner knives:
10" chefs
4" paring
boning knife
honing steel

Also, an absolute must is a set of stainless steel bowls.
Get a bamboo cutting board with rubber feet. They're cheap and very durable. Bamboo or wooden cutting boards won't dull the knives so quickly either.
Don't bother with expensive non-stick pans.
A larger collander will be very useful - from straining pasta to rinsing produce.
I love my Oxo salad spinner - it can function as a collander and a large mixing bowl as well.
Get a set of short and long tongs.

 

[Xericx]

Oh yeah, get a lime squeezer. Essential for mixed drinks, mexican food, and pretty much everything. Lime juice = liquid gold.

 

[HORNS]

Originally Posted by Xericx

Oh yeah, get a lime squeezer. Essential for mixed drinks, mexican food, and pretty much everything. Lime juice = liquid gold.

Good idea, but get a lemon squeezer instead. I lemon squeezer can squeeze all limes, but a lime squeezer can't squeeze all lemons.

 

[rdawson808]

People have given you good advice (I've not read all of them) from what I see.

I will recommend these things in particular:

1. Tongs. you'll never believe how useful these are.
2. Bittman's How to Cook Everything.
3. One good versatile knife.
4. And you'll probably want a meat thermometer if no one's mentioned that.

And I'll add this: don't blow wads of money on stuff. You're in college. You can live with cheap utensils (a la IKEA or Target) and other things for years. Don't blow $100 on a knife. Do that when you hvae a job.

b

 

[Notreknip]

This is an A+ thread (for me at least). Keep it going guys!