These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things
We spend a lot of time in the kitchen and over the years we've gathered a collection of items that we love. Here are some of the gadgets, tools, and favorites you'll find in our kitchen. These are quality items, many of which will last you a lifetime. Pay once for quality, or pay over and over for junk. We've supplied links to Amazon pages for our favorite items, so that you can easily find the items we recommend.
Tools and Cookware
Allezola Professional 7.5 Inch Chef's Knife
A great all around chef knife at a great price. Keep it sharp and you will be happy.
Okami Knives Chef Knife 8 Inch, Professional Japanese VG10 Stainless Steel, Extra Sharp Damascus Cutlery
Great all around chef knife. Keeps an edge about twice as long as the Allezelo, and it costs about twice as much.
Victorinox 3.25 Inch Rosewood Paring Knife with Serrated Edge, Spear Point
We use these kitchen knives as our steak-and-everything-you-need-a-small-knife for. We have had the same ones for about 30 years, have added more over the years and the originals are still sharp. The best little knives you will ever own.
Boldall Oyster Knife - Set of 2 Rosewood Handle Shucking Knives
Don't be caught on a cooking show not knowing how to open up an oyster! Buy these, a case of oysters, and become an expert shucker.
Magnetic Wooden Knife Bar Holder Strip
Attractive and well made. We have two of these.
Edge Pro Professional Kit 4 Knife Sharpener System
We like to keep our knives sharp and after many years of trying many different methods, this is the ultimate knife sharpening system.
Maple End Grain Chopping Block 20 x 15 x 3 1/2
We love this chopping block. It is a great, classic, maple end grain butcher's block. End grain blocks are gentle on your knife edges.
Architec Gripperwood Sheesham Cutting Board, Non-Slip Gripper Feet, 10" by 15"
Beautiful, basic cutting board. Also works great as a cheese board/party platter.
All-Clad 401877R Stainless Steel 3-Ply Bonded Cookware Set, 10-Piece
These All-Clad pans are truly our favorite cooking pans. We have had the same set for almost 30 years. Heavy duty, non-toxic, great sizes and shapes. You will have them forever.
All-Clad 7406 Stainless Steel Bi-Ply Bonded Saute Pan with Lid Cookware, 6-Quart
This is a super big pan for when you are cooking a large dish or multiple items that need space like tortillas pancakes. Well-made and non-toxic, we have had ours for about 30 years.
Pyrex Basics Clear Oblong Glass Baking Dishes, 2 Piece Value Plus Pack Set
We could literally own a dozen of these if we had room in our cabinets because we use them all the time. We still use one that Thora's grandmother had more than 50 years ago.
TeamFar Baking Sheet Cookie Sheet Set of 2, Pure Stainless Steel Baking Pan Tray
We avoid cooking on aluminum or on non-stick surfaces, and we do not like flimsy baking sheets. These stainless steel baking sheets are the heaviest that we have found and we love them.
American Metalcraft TSFP10 Tinplate Springform Cake Pan
We like these traditional springform cake pans particularly because they do not have any non-stick coatings. We use ours for making savory cakes (see Ottolenghi Plenty More Cauliflower Cake recipe) as well as sweet cakes.
Le Creuset Shallow Dutch French Oven, 2.75 quart
A Le Creuset must have. It's just so darn sturdy and great for casseroles, curries, stews, etc.
Emile Henry Made In France Flame Tagine, 2.1 quart, Terracotta
Beautiful, well made and durable, this tagine is the perfect size for cooking a 4-6 serving meal.
Le Creuset Stoneware Petite Round Casserole, 8-Ounce
Another Le Creuset must have.These little cocottes are just adorable and so fun for making individual savory dishes or desserts. And we love Le Creuset for their well made and beautiful cookware.
Le Creuset Heritage Caribbean Stoneware .75 Quart Pate Terrine with Press
Le Creuset wins again. If you like making country pâtes or terrines, this size terrine pan is perfect. Not too big and not too small. After all, how much pâte can one reasonably eat?
Victoria 8 inch Cast Iron Tortilla Press and Pataconera
Another of our kitchen favorites. We use this tortilla press constantly making our own cassava flour tortillas. It's well made, easy to clean, fun to use, what more could you ask for? Just don't be one of those people who tries to cook the tortilla on the tortilla press!
Zena Swiss 11002 Rex Vegetable Peeler
Ed's favorite peeler ever. I won't tell you how many we have.
Stone (Granite) Mortar and Pestle, 7 in, 2+ cup capacity
This, I could not live without. I guess I like to mash things, but this mortar and pestle sits right on my counter next to the stove so I can mash spices, garlic or make guacamole. It's beautiful and functional, as they say. And SO easy to clean. I know that is important to you.
Cuisinart DLC-10SY Pro Classic 7-Cup Food Processor
Classic for sure. We have had ours for years and years and we use it all the time.
Cuisinart DLC-1SS Mini-Prep Processor
Love this mini. We make our own batches of nut butter, herb butter, dressings, etc. and this is a nice size for those smaller batches.
KitchenAid KHM512IC 5-Speed Ultra Power Hand Mixer
This mixer reminds me of cooking with my grandmother. It's nice when you just have some eggs or a batter to whisk up and you don't want to haul out the KitchenAide stand mixer. Also great for making homemade lotions and potions.
KRUPS F203 Electric Spice and Coffee Grinder with Stainless Steel Blades
Our favorite coffee grinder which can also be used for grinding small amounts of spices or seeds (this is what we use for our test batches for new blends). Be sure to get the stainless steel blade version, NOT the grinding burr version which has a habit of frying on people.
Pyrex Smart Essentials Mixing Bowl Set Including Locking Lids
We love these. Heavy duty glass, stackable, a variety of sizes and nice to have lids for storing leftovers.
Anchor Hocking 85695L11 Bake 'N Keep Storage Container
We have had these glass food storage containers for years and years. Both this one and the 2-Cup size are really space efficient in the fridge and we love to store our food in glass instead of plastic. They are very durable.
Bake 'N' Store 2 cup
Best little food storage container around. Ditch the plastic!
Bee's Wrap Sustainable Reusable Food Storage
Okay, we admit that we do not use any plastic wrap and these have been a God send. You can literally wrap anything in these - pieces of cheese, vegetables like peppers, cucumbers, carrots that you have cut but not used all of, etc. You can cover bowls with them and they seal when you warm the edges slightly with your hands. Each one lasts a very long time and they are easy to clean and reuse. Ditch the plastic!
Zebra brand , Stainless steel food carrier 14cm x 2 tier
We bought these for our son for Christmas so that he can take his own elaborate lunches to the firehouse when he goes to work. His fireman co-workers are envious not only of his food (They say, "Hey Nick, did your personal chef make your lunch again?"), but also of his containers. They seal well, stack well, clean easily and guess what - no plastic! We like that.
Bodum Insulated Stainless-Steel Vacuum Travel Mug, 0.45-Liter, 15-Ounce
Our favorite insulated travel mugs that really do keep hot beverages hot for hours and the lids don't leak. Super durable....our only loss to damage has been one that Ed drove over with the skid steer!
Frieling USA Double Wall Stainless Steel French Press Coffee Maker, Polished, 44-Ounce
Our favorite coffee pot. This French Press is very well insulated and makes the best coffee ever. Okay, I make the best coffee ever. But this helps.
Terrasoul Superfoods Organic Cassava Flour (Gluten-Free), 2 lbs
Cassava flour has changed our gluten free cooking in the best of ways, and we like this brand because it is organic. You can use cassava flour in place of all purpose flour in the same ratio and it has a texture the most similar to all purpose flour of any gluten free flour that we know of.Books
Ottolenghi: The Cookbook
We have had this cookbook for years and we consider it a classic. Amazing recipes and beautiful photos.
Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi
Another Ottolenghi favorite of ours. You just can't go wrong.
Plenty More: Vibrant Vegetable Cooking from London's Ottolenghi
This is our newest Ottelenghi cookbook and oh my! Just when you thought he could not get any better.
Jerusalem: A Cookbook
Another Ottolenghi love.
The Real Meal Revolution: The Radical, Sustainable Approach to Healthy Eating
A fantastic cookbook for anyone interested in low carb/high fat cooking and for anyone interested in making delicious food.
My Paleo Patisserie: An Artisan Approach to Grain Free Baking
This is just a gorgeous cookbook all around for anyone interested in gluten free baking. We have made several of her recipes for parties and the response is always "wow."
Healing Spices: How to Use 50 Everyday and Exotic Spices to Boost Health and Beat Disease
Meat: A Kitchen Education
If you are new or old to cooking, James Peterson's books are great resources. This book provides you with different cooking methods and recipes for a given cut of meat. Don't know how to cook a tough cut to make it tender and delicious? This is your book.
This is a vegetable cooking primer that teaches how the relationship between vegetable, knife skills and cooking techniques are used to create the dishes that you want.
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