10 items or less

VP's query about the must-have equipment to keep in a small kitchen prompted lots of conversation. J and I have really thought about it and we're finally prepared to share our MUST-HAVE list.

1. Le Creuset 5 QT+ Dutch Oven. On low heat in the oven, this turns into a crock pot. And you can bake incredibly good no-knead bread in it. So, this is pretty much my desert island cookware. (Incidentally, Cook's Illustrated just rated the Tramontina pot here as a good budget alternative to LC, but, seriously, fraus, a LC dutch oven is something you owe yourself).

2. Ideally, you'd want saute pan AND a cast-iron skillet.  If you were really pressed for space, I'd say you should go with the saute alone. Get a Lodge cast iron skillet and just season that thing well enough to cook eggs in. (Not hard to do as we've discussed).The saute pan is perfect for pasta dinners for two as well as any kind of roast or braise you might want to make.

3. Obviously, unless you really ARE on a desert island, you'd want some sauce pots. We have a variety of stainless steel and copper pots. As you weed out your collection, keep in mind these three requirements: 1) make sure they nest for easy storage; 2) make sure the lids exist and fit properly; 3) make they don't have burn spots that you can't get off no matter how much elbow grease and steel wool you use.

4. Knives. I can hardly keep this list to 10 items if I include knives, but I'll try. You absolutely MUST HAVE GOOD QUALITY KNIVES if you really want to be frau. I tried, for years, to avoid spending $$$ on knives and it was all folly. Now, that I've dropped a few hundred bucks on a coupld of excellent knives and now that someone in my house keeps them sharp, I am happier, shinier, thinner, and have tons more energy! So, which ones do you need to invest in: 1) chef's knife or santoku; 2) serrated bread knife; 3) paring knife. These are the knives I simply could not live without. We have a GORGEOUS Mac chef's knife (what a gift, thank you, Tom!!!!), a relatively good serrated knife whose brand I can't remember, a Wustof santoku, and a Sabatier paring knife. Here is the best knife store on the web. Of these, here is my favorite. I use this little guy so often, he is so perfectly suited to my hand, we love each other, etc. Here is an excellent guide to knives from Cook's Illustrated, for those who need a little advice on what knife does what in the kitchen. The big thing with knives is 1) use your sharpening steel often (every couple of uses); and, 2) take high-quality knives to a professional sharpener at least once a year if not twice a year. We have someone here in Lawrence who does this for $2 a knife. Brilliant. If you have trouble finding someone, you can generally ask the manager at your local Williams & Sonoma or somesuch for advice. But dull knives are useless and dangerous. A bad combination.

5. Assorted utensils. Again, keeping this meta-list to 10 items is obviously impossible so I'm collapsing utensils into one category. I'd say, a strong wooden spoon, a fish turner (great for flipping eggs and anything else delicate--this is my favorite utensil), a silicone spatula, and a whisk are pretty essential in my book. The whisk can, in a pinch, be replaced by a fork. Just like this:

can be replaced with this:

In short, find a place to put a damn whisk.


6. Bowls. You need bowls. One big one that you can use for salad and for baking. And, a few smaller ones. Buy stainless steel. It isn't pretty but in terms of versatility, you cannot go wrong. For example, a stainless steel bowl put over a simmering pot of water is a double-boiler. You could technically do that with pyrex but stainless steel is lighter, easier, and won't ever break.

7. A pizza stone. I know. This is thinking outside the box. But, if you are doing any serious baking at all, you want a pizza stone. Hands down.  And they are cheap. Here is ours.

8. Jelly roll pan. This is the most important pan in your cupboard. Obviously, you can use it for cookies. You can also use it to make delicious Sicilian style pizza (recipe on frau from last year). But, flip it over, toss some cornmeal on top, and you have yourself a pizza peel, which you will need if you ever want to bake naan, thin crust pizza, pita breads, etc.

9. Food processor. Get a good one. Don't fuck around with a mini-food processor just because you have a small kitchen. Seriously, if you own a mini-food processor, you are that:

The mighty food processor is the kitchen device that most separates the fraus from the rest. You can do almost anything in it. It will take up space but it's worth it. This thing can stand in for a mixer, a blender, a grater, a salad shooter, whatever. It will mix bread dough, pasta dough, cookie dough, etc. Get it with all the blades. Buy yourself a plastic tub with a lid. Put the accessories in the tub. Wipe the machine down with a moist sponge after each use. Love it. Care for it. You need this. Really, you do.

10. Finally, we could not live without our kitchen scale. Michael Ruhlman is an evangelist about this and if you have read his new book "Ratio," you will understand why. Here is his rationale. We believe it. We have a scale and use it for everything from baking to portion control.

And that rounds out the list. I am sure I left things out and this really is painful because my kitchen is the best-furnished room in my house. I have pretty much everything you could need to start a five-star restaurant on that desert island. I do have a few rules though, and perhaps these can guide you even if you inch up past the 10 essentials...

The first rule is: don't buy something that only has one use unless you really do a lot of that thing. Our ice cream maker, for example.

The second rule is: don't buy anything sold through an infomercial. No matter how useful it may seem, believe me, it won't be. You do not need a pan full of edge brownies. That's not how God intended brownies to be and deep down in your heart, you know that.

The third rule is: don't buy cheap shit. Buy things that you intend to care for and keep well into the future.

With that, dear fraulets, I bid you adieu for another week. Next time: reader questions.