The Basic Kitchen

Male or female, married or single, with kids or without... At some point in your life you've lived in a home with a kitchen. I know, I know, its a crazy notion, but follow me.

A kitchen is, for me, the heart of the home. It is where coffee is brewed (a must in my household), food is cooked and memories are made. This room should have the bare basics for cooking, which will include a refrigerator, a stove top, an oven, and counter space for preparation (note the absence of a microwave.. I'll get into that later). There are ranges on the quality, expense, size, and usefulness of each item. Those facts are of little importance right now though. It doesn't matter if you rent or own, just moved in, or have lived there for years... For this first post, all I want to do is tell you the basic things other than your big ticket items that you MUST have in a properly functioning kitchen. And your kitchen doesn't have to look like above (wouldn't that be nice though?) to be perfect either!
So you have your big tickets needs, right? RIGHT? If you don't, just bookmark this page, grab the credit card, and do some shopping. You won't get far without those babies. Oh, you do have them? GREAT! So I'm sure now you're wondering what comes next? For the basic cook, this list will save you lot of time, money, and space if you stick to it. Unless you are going for awards, you don't need the super fancy things like pastry mats, 15 or 20 piece cookware sets, or gobs of gadgets... These simple things will help immensely.

Pots, Pans, and Baking Dishes:

• 10 or 12 inch nonstick skillet with lid-this is a highly versatile piece of cookware. It is called for in simple box preparation meals all the time. In my opinion, this is one of the few things you'll want to sink some real money in (I'm not saying spend $100 on it, just that you shouldn't buy one for $5 or $10 from the local drugstore). Trust me, you'll get lots of use out of this bad boy.
• 2qt saucepan with lid-Bonus if this comes with a steamer basket. This is another super versatile piece of kitchen basics. From boiling your Mac N Cheese, to steaming your broccoli, this thing is handy.
• 4 qt pot with lid-Good for making soups, stews, and meals for a crowd. **NOTE**-You WILL want this to be something that is both stove-top and oven approved. Like your skillet, you will get lots of use out of this for things like slow cooking or braising. (It is sometimes called a Dutch oven. If you have the space and the funds, I recommend getting both a stove-top only and stove-top/oven version.)
• Broiler Pan-Usually a metal 9x14 (approx) pan that is about 2in deep. It will have a removable slotted or holey insert that does not go flush with the bottom. Great alternative to grilling.
• Set of Pyrex rectangular baking dishes-Most casseroles do really well in dishes like these. Great for One Dish Meatloaf meals, where the loaf is in the center and you have cut veggies around it.
• Set of Corning Ware-Perfect for deeper casseroles, or if you're like me, serving you steamed veggies. After steaming, just put in the dish, then top with a rounded spoonful of butter and cover. The heat will melt the butter and keep your veggies warm for serving.

Utensils:

• Large Slotted Spoon-For stirring or serving dryer or thicker meals.
• Large Solid Spoon-For stirring or serving meals with a little bit more moisture. Can sometimes be useful for soups or gravies.
• Ladle-For soups or gravies. The deeper bowl of the spoon makes it so you can catch more nom nom goodness, like the food that keeps sinking to the bottom of the pot, or dredge off the liquids on top if you want more juice in your bowl.
• Solid Spatula-Pancakes, crepes, omelets, anything that needs solid support for flipping or turning.
• Slotted Spatula-Not a NEED, but very useful. Same uses as your solid spatula, but usually has a little bit more flexibility to it. (Great if you want to attempt the niffty mid air flips of the above mentioned pancakes, crepes, or omelets)
• Whisk-Beating eggs, mixing soups, setting gravy, mixing batters... Infinite uses.
• Pasta Spoon-Spaghetti anyone?
• Tongs-I have no preference. I've tried the metal triangle ones, the plastic ones, the stainless steel ones, and the silicone ones. Silicone or stainless steel will give you the most versatility and usefulness, but the choice is yours.
• Basic knife set-MUST have a 4in paring knife, 6in utility, and 8in chef knife. These are a must for a starter kitchen
• Glass cutting board-There is some debate on materials, but I prefer glass. Its less porous than your usual materials of wood and plastic, which means less likely to harbor bacteria. Its sturdy, so you can usually go to town dicing on it without an issue. And, if you're like me and shop discount overstock retailers, they have loads of styles to choose from! My favorite one actually has a kitchen conversion chart on it, which is highly useful if you want to know how many tablespoons go into 1cup.
• *edit*Meat Thermometer-After posting this right before bed, I was kicking myself for leaving off this little gadget. The reason why is my mother in law and I once got into a huge argument over the doneness of a pork loin because of a lack of this little thing. Save yourself the grief I endured, and make sure you have one. You'll never go wrong. (On a side note, even though it was horrible when it happened, it is now a long standing joke in the family about pork. I promise, there are no hard feeling on the matter with us.)

Small Appliances:

• Microwave-Very useful. I don't count this as a big ticket item, because honestly, a basic set up doesn't need a large one, or one with all the bells and whistles. Something to reheat foods, warm liquids (like the last dregs of the coffee pot), do a quick sanitation of plastic bottles or utensils, dry a pair of socks. You know, the usual stuff.
• Toaster Oven-Having small children, I will tell you this thing is a LIFE SAVER. I could do a whole post on the pluses of having this little piece of kitchen heaven. In fact, I just might. But let me just say for now, if you want a toaster (and don't want to do it the old fashioned way of sticking it in the oven) then this is a must.
• Hand Mixer-Yes yes yes, I know, you want the pretty stand mixer. But trust me, unless you are going to be making breads, cakes, cookies, and all sorts of delicious baking goodies for a living, you don't need it. Its heavy, it takes up a lot of space, AND, the good ones are over $200. No thank you. Just use a hand mixer and a mixing bowl. Pocket your $200 for something else.

Misc:

• Can Opener-Rest assured, it doesn't matter if you spend $4 for a manual or $50 for the deluxe counter top one. They all do the same thing. (However, you will want one that either doesn't have the blade come in contact with the can's contents or can come apart for cleaning.)
• Kitchen Shears-Whether its opening a bag, cutting your raw chicken, or snipping the ends off your asparagus, these things are super useful. MAKE SURE it comes apart. If bacteria can get between the blades and you can't clean it out, you're just wasting your money, and risking all sorts of nasty food borne illnesses.
• Nesting Measuring cup set, with spoons-to me, this is far easier for dry goods than the glass 2cup measuring cup
• Glass 2cup measuring cup
• Colander-For rinsing or draining foods.
• Grater-I'm all about the multi-purpose, so if you can find a mandolin, that is in my opinion superior to just your standard boxy table top version because it grates, slices, dices, juliennes and just looks AWESOME. **NOTE-From my personal experience, USE THE GUARD. I was slicing cucumbers on my mandolin over a year and a half ago and opted not to use it. I STILL have a pencil eraser void in my thumb where I sliced past my thumb print forming layer in the dermis. It bled for over an hour, and being on my thumb it took forever to heal. Not to mention, it just plain HURT.
• Mixing bowls-Unless you are making something big or intensive, the largest bowl you should need is slightly larger than your saucepan. One or two is really all you'd need. It can be used for batters, sauces, glazes, doughs... The list is endless.
• Empty Spice Jars-I know, the pre-made spice racks that rotate and are already labeled look so pretty. But, in my experience, they are a waste. They spend so long on the shelves at the store that when you open your dried spices they aren't good for much else than sitting in the jars. They are usually a dark green (meaning OLD), lacking in the flavor department, and if you're anything like me, you'll use about 3 of the 20 you get in the set. Then you're left with 17 other spices that you'll never use (Mustard Seed?! Minced Bay Leaves?!) and will keep simply so your other 3 pretty jars still have a nice home. 

I'll go into this one more later in my next posting about the basic needs for a pantry. For now though, happy shopping!