Some can make due beautifully with less equipment in the kitchen, but I like to be prepared, and I like to do it right. Certain pieces of equipment I’ve put into the “Wedding Registry” category and am content going without them until then (read: kitchenaid, vitamix, and most le cruiset pieces). Others simply felt necessary at the time. Here are a few of my best buys:
1.) Juicer. I picked this one up during a get-healthy moment. It churns out silky smooth juices like nobody’s business. I love having it around because not only is it fantastic for making fresh juices for a vitamin packed pick-me-up, cocktail mixer, or for adding to seltzer, but also because I have guilt issues about wasting food, and this gives me ZERO excuse for a fruit, veg. or herb to end up in the garbage. I just juice it and shoot it.
2.) Soda Stream. I drink a ton of seltzer to keep me away from soda. Since getting this guy my recycling can barely ever gets fed, and if I need a little flavor in it during a particularly persistent soda craving, I end up using something much healthier than the god awful things they put in soda that I won’t pretend to know how to spell.
3.) Panini Press. This one has three heat levels, both grill and griddle plates to change out, and can open up flat as a big griddle. I am a huge fan of the grilled sammy, but as an apartment dweller without outdoor space, it also doubles as a grill for the few-and-far-between times that I cook meat. It’s not something you may use all the time, but when you do pull it out, you’re really glad you have one.
4.) Knives. While I’m dying to get to knife skills class, I’m glad that once I do perfect that craft, I’ll be doing it with the proper equipment. I've begun slowly replacing my junky knives with great quality ones. The difference you will feel between a well crafted, damascus steel blade and a run-of-the-mill blade is jaw-dropping. Within the first swipe of my Togiharu blade, I knew I was completely in love and an immediate brand loyalist. I swiftly sliced a giant chunk of my finger off after that, but we made friends again (knife skills class necessity, exhibit a). It's worth it to have a sharpening stone for this as well. Watch a couple of youtube videos on how to sharpen knives and you'll be ready to care for them.
5.) Knife Block. Most knife blocks are wooden or bamboo, Global has a stainless and rubber one, but I am smitten with my Schmidt Brothers for West Elm one (I promise this isn’t just shameless self promotion). I always wondered how much the wooden knife blocks were dulling the blade being slid in and out of there, and what might have crept it’s way into those little crevices over time. Enter the Schmidt Bro’s for West Elm knife block. It is so sleek, and allows total visibility to eliminate the game of “is this my chefs knife? Nope, serrated. This one? Nope, Narkiri. This one? Nope, boning”. Adopting what you often see in professional kitchens, the blade is magnetically held to the inner wall and never touches anything but what you’re prepping. I absolutely love it.
6.) Rooster. Allegedly having a rooster in your kitchen brings you good luck, but honestly I just love having him around. I saw this guy and immediately knew he was my kitchen rooster for life, before I even had a kitchen of my own to place him in. I named him Hemingway, and now he overseas my work, giving me the side-eye when I mess up.
Whatever and however you like to cook, invest in the tools you use most. Your dollar will stretch much further with something you'll never have to replace, and you'll be shocked at the quality you're able to turn out with better tools.
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