Does anyone have one like this? I’m just cooking for myself usually and don’t want to spend much money
And BTW, do I really need a Ducth oven? Is is really any better than a big pot?
I’m really getting into having a complete kitchen. I’ve got the Instant Pot, got a couple of cast irons (one little one just big enough for fried eggs). I used to want to cook but I would look up recipes and they would call for ingredients that I didn’t have, let’s say rice wine vinegar, and I didn’t want to spend the money for something I might not use again.
Now I have rice wine vinegar, and regular vinegar, and balsamic, and soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, and hoison sauce, and liquid smoke, and corn starch, and brown sugar (what is the difference from white?) and every spice known including garam masala and other Indian spices, and little bottels of red and white wine (although I drank the red today), and little bottles of minched garlic and ginger (I know, purists would say I need fresh).
I use my Dutch oven for all soups, stews, chili, carne asada, etc. If you buy one, get a good one, like Le Crueset (which is enameled cast iron). I’d recommend a decent non-stick for eggs. I have an 8" and a 10" that work great for that. I wouldn’t spend a lot of money on them, as they will eventually get scratched or degrade and have to be discarded. A good set of knives is critical, of course.
If you hate chopping veggies, get a small food processor. A large one will chop veggies, shred cheese and potatoes, and juice your oranges.
If you’re into baking, a KitchenAid mixer is a must.
I’d add fish sauce to your bottles. A jolt of that in a stew adds umami. Also get a small bottle of apple cider vinegar. Does wonders for deviled eggs and potato salad, or if you have a problem with fruit flies.
Vanilla extract for cookies, pancakes, waffles. Don’t go cheap on this. A lot of the cheap stuff that says it’s Mexican vanilla has been cut. I’d stick with Madagascar.
Got a non-stick, just replaced one because, as stated, mine got degraded. Fish sauce and apple cider vinegar sounds good, I used the latter in one recipe. It will keep over time once opened? Already got vanilla extract.
Got a good knife and a sharpener and a honer. Just recently found out the difference.
Oh and I have real olive oil, I’ve learned that a lot of the stuff on the shelf is not, it’s got other stuff in it.
Yeah, don’t buy anything that doesn’t say “extra virgin”. The really cheap stuff has got all kinds of nasty things in it and may not even be edible. Costco has good olive oil, as does Trader Joe’s, and it won’t cost you your paycheck. Cider vinegar will basically last forever on the shelf.
I use a lot of wooden utensils like rice paddles, large spoons and the like. Rice paddles are good for a variety of things, especially if you have a nonstick cooking pot or pans that need stirring.
You probably don’t want to get into small hand utensils like peelers, etc., but I will recommend two:
Microplane graters: get a medium or coarse size which will zest citrus fruits, grate hard cheeses like Parmesan, and make short work out of garlic cloves. You might also want a box grater for things like potatoes.
A bench scraper: This will become one of your favorite tools. Got a chopped onion on the cutting board? Scoop it up with this tool and dump it into your pot, or just scrape it off into said pot. Making biscuits and the dough has stuck to the board? Scrape it off and add some flour.
Thanks for the bench scraper suggestion. No more dumping veggies on the floor trying to scrape them off the board into the pan or pot. My brother got one to use making rolls.
I cook for only two and I use my air fryer a lot more than the Instant Pot. Even if you don’t want to bread and “fry” stuff, which is nice, it generally does meats very well and conveniently. Meats come out like they were grilled- I especially like how pork tenderloin, boneless chicken thighs & london broil has turned out. Never dry, always very flavorful.
La cruset is nice but hella expensive. I’ve followed this for a long time and the consensus seems to be Cuisinart enameled cast iron is the best value for money. Lodge works as well but isn’t as nice as the Cuisinart. Although today I say a Lodge enameled dutch oven at Costco that looked great for about $30 (the La Crueset would be at least $300)
Absolutely love our air fryer - found a killer good recipe for steak tips, marinate for 30 minutes in minimal olive oil, smidge salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and they call for cayenne powder but we use paprika in its place. Like 5 minutes per batch flipping in the middle per serving.
Yeah, it can be expensive. I got mine on sale for $99 because they had discontinued the color, of all things. I bought a Le Crueset stainless saute pan early this year from the outlet store. Love this thing to death. Steel clad copper all the way up the sides, so none of that burned fat or sugars to try to get off. Works beautifully for searing meats or shellfish.
As for Cuisinart, I still have my old set of stainless. The pots work just fine, but the pans are just not best quality. I have a Cuisinart non-stick pan that I use on nearly a daily basis for bacon, omelets, etc. The pan is two years old now and is still holding up very well. But I don’t overheat it and only use non-metal utensils.
I’ve been making burgers for 40 years and I still screw them up some time. No more. 1/3 lb, patted out to be just wider than the bun, indentation in the middle, 15 mintutes in the air fryer at 350. Set it, and forget it.
Looks like your kit is good to me. I do like the Dutch ‘oven’. It’s great to make a big soup. It is just my Wife and I but we will make a soup or stew to keep us going for the week. We love left overs of favorite dishes, so YMMV.
Flexible plastic cutting mats. I have several of these and use them for different tasks throughout the day. There is always one down beside the range when I’m cooking to put down a spatula or whatever. You can put them in the dishwasher.
Kitchen shears. Constantly reach for these to trim meat, snip herbs, or cut up things.
Parchment paper. I buy the precut sheets from King Arthur flour. I would not even attempt to bake cookies without them, and I line baking sheets for all kinds of things, like making biscuits or quesadillas.
Other things to think about keeping on hand are things that keep a long time that you can use to make dishes more interesting. Examples are julienne sun dried tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, smoked red peppers ( pour a little olive oil in the top of the jar and refrigerate to use a little at a time), and French fried onions. Makes a lot of veggie dishes or bland casseroles like Mac and cheese better.
If you’re cooking lots of meat (or making lots of custard or other fiddly sauces), get a thermometer. No more guessing if the roast /chicken/steak is done.
I have the deluxe Thermapen and love it, but you can start with more basic models.
