chef's faves

before i went to culinary school, i was your stereotypical foodie.  i watched food tv ALL of the time, bought all sorts of crazy ingredients, experimented with recipes, and spent tons of money on kitchen gadgets and cookware.  if there was a tool or a pan for it, i thought i needed to have it.  so i ended up with a kitchen full of stuff that i very rarely used and had to dig through constantly to find the few tools that were actually useful.  when i got to school, i realized that most of cooking/baking rely on a few concentrated techniques and minimal equipment.  in reality i could do just about everything i wanted to do with a chef's knife, a vegetable peeler, a scale and a piping bag.  i did keep all of my cake decorating equipment as well as my kitchen aid and my food processor, but most things went far far away.

so here's a list of my favorite things to have in the kitchen (equipment only with this post, ingredients will be featured later)

1) a good chef's knife- your knife should fit your hand well and should be kept sharp at all times.  a dull knife is actually more dangerous than a sharp knife.  spend a little money on your knife.  it's an investment in your cooking future.  you want solid steel (german or japanese are best) that is single forged, meaning the whole knife is made from one piece of steel.  DON'T worry, I'll share knife skills tips soon.  i recommend that you take some time to save up and buy a full set of knives that includes a paring knife, a boning knife, a fillet knife, and possibly even your steak knives.

2) a sharpening steel- buy on when you buy your knife and use it every day.  

3) a good peeler and can opener-  i'm a klutz of monumental proportions so my can opener is one that doesn't leave sharp edges.  i like a y-shaped peeler because i think the motion is more natural and it's easier to not peel your finger tips or knuckles, but as long as it is sharp, any peeler will work.

4) a big cutting board- at least 11x14 inches, if not bigger.  you need space to work when you are cooking and a tiny cutting board gets dirty, crowded and unsafe very quickly.  wooden cutting boards are controversial, but absolutely the best for your knives.  composite plastics are good, but NEVER EVER under any circumstances, buy a glass cutting board.

5) many, many, many silicone spatulas in a variety of sizes.  i use these for all of my cooking, mixing, prepping, and portioning needs.  i really like the cupped version that can be used as a spoon as well, but all varieties are useful.  my chef's level OCD requires that i have different colors for sweet foods and savory foods, but you don't have to get that detailed.

6) a great blender-  i have the ninja complete system that has interchangeable pieces so you can have a blender and a food processor.  it also does the single serve cups for smoothies in the morning.  i LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it because i have multiple tools without taking up extra counter space.  my blender gets used for smoothies, sauces, fillings, toppings, dough, and lots of quick veggie prep.  

7) a food processor- mine is part of my blender, but get one that will fit somewhere between 7 cups and 11 cups of product.  anything smaller or larger doesn't really make sense for most families. 

8) a pasta roller and cutter- we don't eat a ton of pasta anymore, but fresh made pasta is too easy to not do on your own.  plus it's a great activity for kids of all ages.  

9) great scissors- most brands of kitchen shears will come apart completely for easier cleaning, which also makes them fairly easy to sharpen.  i have 4 pair because i need them in reach wherever i am.  (actually if you walk around my house you will find that there are at least 2 pair of scissors in every room because i hate looking for them when i need them)

10) a quality digital scale- this will run you somewhere between $30-$40 and should weigh up to 11 lbs in both English and metric units.  it should be accurate to a single gram or 1/10 of an ounce.  when you buy your scale, find out what type of batteries that it takes and buy several extras at the same time.  it's a really bad day when your scale battery dies in the middle of mise en place.

11) a microplane- that cute little grater on a handle that all of the fancy tv chefs have is actually extremely handy.  it works for citrus zest, spices, and for grating parmesan on top of your pasta 

12)  a good source of tunes-  working in the kitchen can be a very zen like experience.  especially if you have good music to go along with your tasks.  my playlists vary based on what mood i'm in, but there is ALWAYS music in my kitchen.

13) tons of tupperware- ok so i actually don't have any real tupperware in my kitchen, but storage containers are a must.  if you can find a place to purchase them, the pint and quart containers that you get from your grocery deli are actually my favorite.  they're reusable for quite a while, they stack nicely for storage and when holding food and the lids are 1 size fits all!  if you can't find those, go for whatever fits your lifestyle best.  i try to have containers in 1 cup, 2 cup, 4 cup, and 8 cup sizes as well as zip top bags in every size possible.  when all of your cooking happens on one day you need lots of storage space.

14) plenty of fridge and freezer space-  if you have the funds and the space a deep freezer will make a big difference in what you can accomplish in 1 cooking session.

there are obviously many other tools in my kitchen, but this is my must have list for quick and easy food prep.  now it's time to go forth and shop for kitchen gadgets!  and don't forget to check out this week's menu in the pages section.  recipes and shopping list coming very soon.