The Glade 4.0

It is required for all cooking.. what kind of cooking hardware do you all use? Specific brands for pots and pans, specific utensils you would recommend? Links to specific vendors you use regularly? Got an awesome set of mixing bowls that is better than the WalMart $5.00 special? Post gorram it!

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Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

It is not the tools grasshopper.

Although I did steal the most kick *** knife ever when I was in Hatteras

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Not entirely true. You don't need a million gadgets, but you do need a sharp knife good utensils, and heavy pans.

You can have my Henckels knives when you pry them from my cold, dead hands.

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Holy shitsnacks!

okay.. so we have Henckels knives... it is a start. Is Tfal still a good brand for pots and pans?

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Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

Tfal's ok. I have a set of kitchenaid atuff that's not bad. I use mom's stainless cuisinart stuff as well.

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Holy shitsnacks!

Henckel's knives (hubby is related on his mother's side to the Henckels), Revere Wear sauce pans (a gift from my parents and still going strong after ~35 years), and cast iron fry pans. Hubby has bought a few nonstick fry pans over the years, usually the cheap ones found in the grocery store, but I prefer my cast iron to nonstick any day!

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"Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use one!"~ Matthew Quigley

"nothing like a little meow in bed at night" ~ Bruskey

"I gotta float my stick same as you" Hondo Lane

"Fill your hand you son of a *****!"

For cookware, we use Calphalon Anodized pots/pans:




For all other kitchen gadgets I recommend Oxo - Good Grips items. This includes their knives.

We bought a set of the knives (Oxo , Professional, with soft rubber grips) along with the (Calphalon) pots/pans ten years ago for out fifth anniversary and we still use them constantly today.

The nice thing about both of these brands is that they have lifetime warranties. We got our first Oxo can-opener when we got married and it is one of the few that my wife has no problems using (it has the same soft rubber, no-slip grip and a large easy to turn crank handle). We have replaced it two times in the last 15 years, simply by calling. One of our professional knives (the paring knife) developed a discoloration on the blade right after we purchased it, they let us keep it and sent a new one to replace it.


Please look into the Oxo kitchen items. They make everything you use and the make them easy to use. Off the top of my head, we have / use: the professional knives, can-opener, vegetable peeler, jar opener, corn on the cob holders and strainer.


We also like a number of items from The Pampered Chef including their oven mits and rubber spatulas.

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Gorse

I have several Henkels knives, but I want to eventually upgrade to Shun. Been drooling over them for years.

I have 2 Lodge cast iron skillets, 10" and 12", as well as a flat skillet (10" as well). Most of the pots and pans we have are Paderno, which is a Canadian manufacturer, similar to AllClad. I need a good saucier or the like though, probably will be going allclad for that. I also have a Mario Batelli dutch oven, I wanted La Creuset but they are just too damn pricey, and the Batelli is actually made well. Finally got rid of all the non-stick pans, now that my wife is no longer afraid of the cast iron. "No, seriously, if you completely mess it up I'll clean it up with steel wool and re-season it, it's all good".

We've got several different Oxo utensils, but mostly for cooking I use wooden spoons or silicon spatulas, depending on what I'm making.

Sheet pans and such are from a local restaurant supply company (half sheet pans for the win, cheaper and more durable than about anything else), a variety of baking pans my wife got from Sur la Table.

Then there's the mechanical toys: Kitchen Aid stand mixer. Cuisanart Food Processor. Ice cream maker (think it's Cuisinart). One of those vacuum seal systems that we got at Costco. And a waffle iron.

If I had to choose 5 items or less, the 10" cast iron skillet and the 8" chef's knife would definitely be on the list. I use those more than anything else...

My top 10 kitchen items:

1. Calphalon Katana 8" chef knife
I love this knife. A lot of other people love this knife. You may not. Find a knife this is a joy to use. Check out Henckles, Wusthoff, Sabatier, Shun, Global. Don't get one of the ones that in a plastic clamshell next to the locking display, those are much lower quality and mostly there to capitalize on the manufacturers name. Don't get a set, you need an 8" chef to start, and then a paring knife.

2. Staub grill pan
New purchase, but I love it. This one is huge and heavy, enameled cast iron. You could get a good non-stick one for lots less, but it will warp and need replacing. This one will last forever.

3. OXO peeler
Cheap peelers shred your food. This one feels great in the hand and the blade is removable and replaceable.

4. Microplane
Fantastic stuff. Grate hard cheese, zest citrus, and pulp garlic.

5. RSVP measuring cups and AMCO measuring spoons
it's really worth getting the heavy stainless measuring cups and spoons, the labels wash off the plastic ones, leaving you wondering 'is this a half cup or a third?'. It's also worth getting the expanded set with the 2/3 and 3/4 cup measures.

6. Emeril Non-stick Skillet
Eggs need non-stick. Nothing else does.

7. Calphalon 8qt stockpot
This is what I was talking about with the heavy pans. I had a cheap stock pot and kept scorching my chili, this one never has.

8. Tramontina 12" Saute
Another heavy pan, note this this isn't non-stick. You can get a non-stick one, but you'll need to replace it about every 2 years.

9. Zyliss can opener
No sharp edges on can lids! Yay!

10. Flippers, turners, stirers, and grabbers
Pick the ones you like best, these are: Chef'n SwitchIt, Williams Sonoma silicone, old fashioned wooded spoon, CuisPro silicone locking tongs, OXO silicone flipper


Obviously there are some names that you can look for. OXO, Zyliss, and Calphalon are heavily represented in my kitchen. Easily 90% of my cooking could be done with just the items on this list. Other stuff to add would be a cutting board (not textured glass; plastic or wood is fine) a box or rotary grater, a sauce pan, a wisk, cake pans and sheet pans, hand and stand mizers, bowls, and storage. I also really love my salt and pepper grinder. Whatever you get, remember that the good stuff lasts longer than the cheap stuff and is more enjoyable to use.

More:

Luminarc bowl set
Found cheap at Costco

GlassLock storage
Also at Costco

Microplane rotary grater

Pot scraper for easier cleanup.

Butter bell
This keeps your butter fresh at room temp so you don't have to choose between rancid and rock hard.

Peugeot salt and pepper mills
These were my valentines gift last year.

Honey dripper
This one is great if you use a lot of honey. Otherwise it's just a neat gadget.

Kitchen Scale
A lot of my recipes are by weight not volume. Also useful for spliting bulk purchases into smaller parts.

My eggs do quite well on my cast iron, regardless of preparation type

Cast iron = non-stick. Sadly I've never found a cast iron 8" slope-side omelette pan.