I’m not big on kitchen gadgets or tools. First time guests at our house are always shocked to find that I don’t even have a food processor. Food just doesn’t taste as good to me when unless it’s chopped by hand. And quite frankly, I know a lot of Italian nonas who can cook as well as the top chef at any five star restaurant in their tiny 3x3 apartment kitchen without any fancy appliances!
Okay, so what do you need?
Let’s start off with good sharp knives. You can get the whole set if you really want to. But if you’re just starting out, or you don’t want to spend a ton of money on the whole line, all you really need are three knives: a chef’s knife, a paring knife and a bread knife.
CHEF'S KNIFE: This is your basic knife that you’ll probably use for 90 per cent of your chopping and cutting.
PARING KNIFE: This is a smaller knife that you’ll use when you’re holding the food in your hands, not on the cutting board. Ideal for peeling, coring and trimming.
A GOOD CUTTING BOARD: I like to use thick large surfaced cutting boards. I find the thicker the wood the less likely it will bend and become unbalanced when you’re cutting your ingredients, which can be dangerous. I also like very large boards so that I can work with more than one ingredient at a time.
POTS AND PANS: A good stockpot and a heavy sauté pan will take a new cook far. Add to that a small pot that you can use to make your sauces and you’re on your way. Look for pans that have thick, heavy bottoms. The pans will heat better and give you a more consistent temperature allowing for better browning, hotter frying and faster reducing.
ACCESSORIES: Get yourself lots of wooden spoons. They’re inexpensive and if you have several things on the stove you want a few extra so you don’t have to keep washing.
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