TIPS: The Basic Kitchen – Part Deux

Once you have outfitted your kitchen with the proper equipment, you are not quite ready to start cooking. When I moved into my apartment, I had to think long and hard about what to buy from the grocery store because I had NOTHING in my cupboards – I’d been used to living with roommates who already had their kitchen staples, or my parents who always had way too much in the pantry (“What am I supposed to use this for?”). After having my own place for the past four years, I have finally compiled a list of what you should have at all times.

Vegetable Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Non-stick cooking spray (canola) – duh.

Salt and Black pepper – if you can, try to get salt & pepper grinders and use sea salt and whole peppercorns.

Vinegar – white, balsamic, and perhaps malt varieties.

Soy sauce – very useful, and keeps for a long time.

Spices – only buy what you need, don’t buy a spice rack unless you’re really planning on using every single spice on there. I like to buy a bunch of containers from Cost Plus World Market and label them, and refill them with spices as needed. My personal staples are basil, oregano, parsley, cinnamon, red chili flakes, and Herbes de Provence. Anything else, I tend to buy it as I need it, like when a recipe calls for it.

Sugar, Flour, Cornstarch – always necessary for some reason or another. Flour can be used to make a roux, cornstarch can be used to thicken sauces and stews, and sugar is always handy.

Red & White Wine – I keep one bottle of red and one bottle of white on hand, not to drink, but in case I need them for cooking. Trader Joe’s Charles Shaw wines are $1.99 and worth every penny.

Other Foodstuffs:

White rice, pasta, can of whole peeled tomatoes, eggs, butter, milk, yogurt, coffee/tea, wine (to drink), garlic, onions, cheese, one box of chicken broth (for when you don’t have time to make your own), condiments (ketchup, mustard, mayo), and for “just in case you have guests” – a bottle of champagne.

TIPS: The Basic Kitchen

When I first moved into my apartment, I was bewildered by the thought of having to buy everything necessary to cook in my own place. My mom always had a crazy amount of cooking supplies in her kitchen, as we did, at one time, have a family restaurant in San Diego. So, in case you are wondering what makes a “basic kitchen”, here are my two cents:

Cookware:
fry pan
sauce pan
saute pan
stock pot

Recommended: Stainless steel or stainless with copper bottom

Cutlery
Chef’s knife
Bread knife
Paring knife

Recommended: High end knives like Henckels or Wusthof, as they have good weight and balance, and can be sharpened back to perfection, or one of the new Santoku knives that are lighter weight and are honed evenly, so no difference between left & right handedness

Cooks’ Tools
Can opener
Vegetable peeler
Wire whisk
Grater
Wooden spoons
Heat resistent spatula (silicone)
Ladle, slotted spoon, pasta fork
Corkscrew
Measuring cups & spoons
Tongs

Other supplies
Pyrex mixing bowls
Colander
Cutting board (I prefer wood)
Oven pans/baking dishes (depends on what you intend on cooking, but get a good roasting pan as a start)
Pot holders

Electrics
Blender/hand blender
Microwave
Toaster/toaster oven

Recommendation: If you’re on a budget, just go to somewhere like Target and buy cheapies. However, if you plan on some serious cooking, you may want to invest in a little more expensive electrics, like a more powerful blender or a microwave with higher wattage, cause really, you get what you pay for.

Getting fancy: The more advanced your cooking is, the more tools you will need (well, actually, you will want). Serious kitchen aficionados will buy electric mixers – I am hoping to get a Kitchen Aid when I have the money and space – and expand your pan collection by getting specialty pans (I have a well seasoned paella pan as well as a brand new crepe pan). I also got myself a George Foreman grill, for quick and easy indoor grilling, when I don’t want to use my grill pan. Once you get into cooking, it’s pretty much guaranteed that you will begin to visit kitchenware stores and work yourself into a frenzy over all the available options out there.

Hope that this is helpful to someone out there! Buon apetito!