For Your Kitchen
My tried and true recommendations for your home kitchen, based on my experience as a home cook, culinary professional and cooking teacher over the years.
I’m not affiliated with any brands, and all my opinions are my own. If you click on the links provided, we may receive compensation. Thank you!
Basic Needs for Every Kitchen
Knives and Such
Chef’s Knife
I recommend an 8" chef's knife for almost any job in the kitchen. Look for a knife with a full tang (the metal extends all the way through the handle) and a bolster (the widened part at the hilt of the blade) to enable a close, secure grip.
Here are my favorites at a couple different various price points:
Made from German steel, this is the knife I've used for 30+ years. Full tang, full bolster, a very well-made knife designed to last a lifetime.
$100+
A very high-quality, medium-priced alternative. Full tang, full bolster, German steel. This is the knife I bought for my son when he was learning knife skills as a tween. The handle is made of a nice nubby rubbery material, which I find easy and comfortable to hold.
About $45
Other Knives
A really good bread knife can make life much easier. Suddenly, you're skipping the bread aisle and becoming a regular at the local bakery, with nary a concern about slicing because, ahem, really good bread knife.
For jobs that are a bit too small for a chef’s knife, a paring knife is useful to have around.
Sharpener/Honer
I know so many cooks with good knives, but no way to sharpen them! So you’re going to need a good quality sharpening and honing tool like this one. The two stages let you first sharpen, then hone dull blades.
Cutting Boards
I love the feel of wooden (or better, bamboo!) cutting boards in my home kitchen. You’ll want a variety of sizes, and make sure you have at least one that’s larger than you think you need. The larger the better if you’re prepping for big cooking projects.
Essential Pots and Pans
Dutch Oven
Le Creuset is the gold-standard for Dutch ovens. Solidly made in France, it's the brand everyone knows and loves, but there are others that are solidly made at a lower price.
A Dutch oven is made of enameled cast iron - so it’s heavy, retains and distributes heat like a pro, and is coated with a slick enameled surface.
You can survive without a Dutch oven, but having one is sooo nice. No hot spots, no scorching; it just holds your braise or stew in a warm embrace, all bubbly and snuggly, ready for you to fall in love.
The classic shape is round, but they also come in oval, which is very convenient for a smaller (or more crowded) stovetop.
$60-$300+ depending on brand and size
#5: glass Prep bowls
Mise en place for curry chicken dish. Our set of glass bowls is the Duralex, pictured.
Quickly, easily and beautifully assemble all ingredients before starting on a dish. The French call this mise en place, which means "things in place."
From under $10-$45, depending on how many bowls you choose.
#6: Cuisinart Food Processor
You won't use it every day, but when you need one, you need one. Indispensable for making pie crust pastry, hummus and other dips and spreads. Also makes it easy to shred pounds of cheese or thinly slice potatoes or veggies in an instant. Most of the parts are dishwasher safe.
Cuisinart is a good brand to look for because it's sturdy, the pieces are dishwasher safe and replaceable if they break, and it all comes apart for easy cleaning. I recommend the 14-cup size to be sure you have ample space for most recipes.
$100-$200 depending on size and brand
#7: Microplane
I love this! It's 3 tools in one: a zester, a fine grater and a garlic press. With this versatile tool, you can zest citrus, grate hard cheeses like parmigiano-reggiano or quickly turn a clove of garlic into useful pulp.
Note two things when buying:
- Look at the holes: they should be very fine, which make this perfect for zesting citrus or grating a garlic clove into pulp.
- Look at the width: the wide (as opposed to long and narrow) face gives you a more useful surface area to make almost every job quicker and easier.
About $15
#9 - Good pots and pans
Top-of-the-line pans will last a lifetime, and are priced accordingly. You can look for deals (my husband got a great deal on my complete set at Macy's 20 years ago), or just buy one good piece each year.
Here's what you want to look for: a full-aluminum core (not just on the bottom of the pan, but all the way up the sides) to heat quickly, and a non-reactive stainless steel surface (inside and out) to retain and distribute heat evenly. Long steel handles stay cool on the stove and can also be put into the oven. Should be very sturdy and durable, with riveted handles.
The picture shows a brushed steel exterior, but I actually prefer the smooth stainless outer surface, because it's dishwasher safe. (It also happens to be less expensive.)
~$75+ per piece depending on brand and size (look for sales!)
Aprons!
Ok, I'm totally excited about these new Adventure Kitchen aprons! But seriously, everyone needs an apron. And these aprons in particular feel good inside and out.
They're sturdy and made with love at every stage, from the little girls who created the ADVENTURE bubble-letter artwork, to the made-in-the-USA good working conditions that produced the aprons.
Each apron can be personalized with your name, and free gift-wrapping is available!
$30 for small / $35 for large / +$10 for personalization