Suppose you were a young adult just establishing your own place. Suppose further that someone offered to completely fund the outfitting of your entire kitchen. What would you buy? Assuming major appliances are already in place, here are my suggestions:
Service for 4 or 8, depending on your needs. Dishes, glassware, flatware, wine glasses, coffee cups and steak knives.
Two spatulas, two turners, two serving spoons and two tongs. A ladle. A whisk. A countertop container to keep these handy near the stovetop. A can opener, a bottle opener and a corkscrew. A couple of trivets. A colander. Three or four assorted-sized mixing bowls. A couple of cutting boards. A vegetable peeler. A box grater. A salt server from which to pinch kosher salt. A set of measuring spoons. A couple of large serving plates and bowls. A dish rack with a drain.
A dozen kitchen towels.
A chef’s knife and a paring knife–two of each if there’s more than one cook. A large serrated knife. Kitchen shears.
Heavy aluminum or stainless steel cookware with lids: a 12-inch skillet, a 2-quart saucepan and a 6-quart pot. One 10-inch nonstick skillet. One 12-inch cast-iron skillet. One 6-quart enameled, cast-iron Dutch oven. Two heavy half-sheet baking sheets with wire cooling racks. A Pyrex lasagne pan, brownie pan and pie plate. Glass measuring cups, 2- and 4-cup sizes. A set of graduated prep bowls for Zen-like mise en place.
A water pitcher with a filter. A food processor. An electric kettle. A rice maker. A slow cooker. A coffee maker in the style of your preference. A coffee grinder. A restaurant-style sugar pourer. Two glass bottles with pour-spouts for cooking oil. A pepper mill. A toaster. A butter dish or bell.
Things you probably do not need. A blender. A mixer. A garlic press. A pizza wheel. An electric grill, griddle or panini press. A large set of assorted pots and pans–or any cookware with plastic handles that aren’t oven-safe. Potholders of any kind. Cheese slicers, apple corers. A big block of assorted knives.
Less is more. That innocent little mellon baller may look beguiling, but do not succumb! Think hard before you let it into your kitchen and your life, lest one day you wake up and realize you can’t find anything, let alone cook, in your overcrowded kitchen. It can happen. I’ve seen it before and it’s not pretty.
A note about plasticware for the storage of leftovers, etc. I’m in favor of a small number of pieces. Maybe a couple small ones for taking to work for lunch, a couple of mid-size containers and a couple of large ones. The number and variety of these pieces should be kept to a minimum. If you don’t heed this warning, you’ll forever after be sifting through a pile of lids to find the one that matches the container in your hand. Nothing will disturb your Zen-like peace of mind faster. In actual practice I buy those light-gauge, semi-disposable ones from the supermarket. You can wash and reuse them many, many times, but if you happen to lose one at work it’s no big deal. I know this isn’t necessarily the most environmentally-friendly solution, so your mileage may vary.
No potholders????
The thing about using towels for potholders is, sometimes you might grab a slightly damp towel from off the counter to pull your dish out of the oven. And if you do, you could end up with a burn, or even a shattered pyrex dish. That’s the beauty of potholders–they sit hanging by my oven, not lying on the counter soaking up moisture.
Aside from that, I mainly agree with your selections, but I would substitute a bit here or there: I’ve ditched my slow-cooker in favor of my pressure cooker. I use my blender more than I use my food processer.
I would also agree that the “complete sets” of pots and pans that are on most newlywed’s gift registries include far too many pots and pans, and usually they don’t include the essential cast-iron skllet.
You’re right about potholders and kitchen towels. That’s the danger of having one multipurpose item: don’t grab a hot item with a damp towel. But that’s why you should have at least a dozen of them! You’ll always have dry ones available. I just think the peace and happiness that comes from only having one item instead of two makes up for the danger.
I’ve considered a pressure cooker. But in my mind the only thing I’d use it for is cooking beans. You know, using dried beans and getting them done quick. Otherwise… I don’t know what I’d do with it. I mean, I’m sure I could find things to do with it, but if I don’t already have the need…
My slow cooker doesn’t get a lot of use. Occasionally I make a turkey breast in it. And it’s good for pot lucks and get-togethers when you need to serve hot food out of someone else’s kitchen.
What to do with a pressure cooker? How about….chili con carne, pot roast, lamb stew, goat curry, pulled pork, barbacoa…
If you like to buy organic meat at the farmer’s market, as I do, it’s a lot easier to justify spending $5 a pound for the roasts, then to spend $12 a pound for steaks.
And yes, of course, beans. tuscan beans with sage and garlic. Black bean soup. Red beans with tomatoes and guajillo chile paste. Navy beans with pork shoulder.
Also, I love the energy-efficiency of the pressure cooker, and the fact that I can make a stew or beans in summer without heating up my kitchen by having something simmering on the stove for hours.
Well, I make chili on the stovetop in my Dutch oven and then finish it in the oven for a couple of hours. Likewise with other stews and braises. Navy beans with pork shoulder sounds divine. And making stew in the summer without heating the kitchen–now that sounds like a pretty good reason to have a pressure cooker!
Picked up a nice nearly new pressure cooker at a neighbor’s yard sale. She had bought a bigger one to accommodate her extended family. Haven’t used it yet, but the navy beans and pork shoulder sounds like my kind of food!