Recommended Cooking Gear page

[Drama]

I'm going to do a little shopping and get some cooking gear. I found a good mixing bowl set and a bread pan. I already have a nice dutch oven and frying pan as well. I don't have the best knives, so that may be a worthwhile investment.

What else do you recommend that is essential or extremely useful?

P.S. I'm looking at food processors too -- already have a blender but want one of these!

[loafingcactus]

Crock pot. I do more than half of my cooking in my crock pot.

[Griffin]

We bought a food processor last week (Canadian Tire Money for the win!). We bought a George Foreman Grill at the same time. They've both been used quite a bit.

[Drama]

I do have a Crock Pot too and it is fantastic. I'll check out the food processor -- wasn't sure on a good brand.

[Owly]

A stick blender is handy if you don't have one, not essential but useful for things like sauces, making soups, and so on. A couple of good cast iron pans (frying pan, deeper skillet) are a must. Of course, you should have some decent knives, and I really want to get a mandoline. I like my mortar and pestle--not vital, but nice to have for crushing spices and such. Decent pie plates, baking sheets, and rectangular baking pans are good to have on hand.

[belinda]

You probably don't need a bread pan! What you will need is a shallow dish to make meatloaf in


And a big 'big ass salad' bowl!

[Darwin17]

I have a good collection of knives.....shun, ceramic, but guess what I go for all the time...the freaking cheapest blade I have!

8 in. kitchen knife...forshner...not expensive and what the pros use

Pairing knife....forshner

Food processor.....I have a med size kitchenAid....great for all things primal and used for so many things not even funny...never shred anything again....make homemade mayo

Add in a crock pot and you should be set for a while.

[peril]

Depends on what you cook. I have no use for bread pans, pie plates, baking sheets etc. I use pots for sauces, curries and casseroles, crock pot for pot roasts and trays for roasting meats and vegetables. Some glass bowls for nuking things. But good knives and chopping boards are most important. Do all my grilling on the bbq

[RitaRose]

I really like my mandolin, but if you get one you have to promise to be VERY careful with them. Either that or only slice foods that are blood-colored...

Love my crockpot, but you already have one, so that's good.

Just bought a stick blender and I'm jonesing to use that (I really need to quit my job so I have more time to cook!), so mayo should be on the way soon. I hear good things about them.

Another cool thing is a small chopper/blender for chopping up nuts and things.

Oh, and get some rolls of parchment paper (right next to the foil and plastic wrap usually). Parchment is great for when you know something you're baking is going to be a huge mess (line the pan with the parchment and the dripping crap doesn't stick to the pan) or for steaming things like fish and chicken by wrapping it up in parchment packets. You can also use foil, but I'm not a fan of mixing aluminum and food.

[spughy]

My most-used kitchen stuff:
- good knife
- ceramic non-stick sautee pan
- good 3-ply saucepans
- grater (just a regular old rectangular cheese grater)
- good bamboo cutting board
- bbq
- parchment paper (I also have parchment loaf-pan liners which are FABULOUS for making meatloaf)
- pressure cooker, for when you have 1 hour to cook something that ought to take 3.