A lot of people have asked me what they really need in their kitchen in order to cook. Some are moving into a new apartment, and some are moving into a new place in their life where they simply want to start cooking.
There are a few simple tools you need to get started, and why not do it this month, when inviting people in from the cold for a home-cooked meal is a ducky thing to do?
Knives
Your first assignment is to look through any knives you have. If you have some good-quality knives, they’re probably dull – get them sharpened. Most kitchenware stores will do this for a small fee. Make sure the person sharpening your knives knows what they’re doing. Many shoe-shine/key-making type joints offer knife-sharpening. Be very careful. Many a knife has been ruined this way.
Pots & Pans
Next, go through your pots and pans and get rid of any cheap aluminum pans that make you feel like you’re camping, you know the ones.
If you’re starting from scratch, or want to start over, this is what you need:
1) Knives
Newsflash: you don’t need all the knives that come in those silly knife-blocks they try to sell you at Bed Bath & Beyond and Macy’s. Don’t fall for it! It’s clutter. All you really need to get started is an 8”-10” chef’s knife and a good sharp paring knife. But don’t skimp – your knife should last many years.
I like Henckels’ Four-Star series because the handle is a little soft and it fits my hand well. Most professional Japanese knives are also good. Trust me, you want a sharp knife. And that means two things: buying a sharp knife, and keeping it sharp.
2) Cookware
Do yourself a favor and buy a nice 10” sauté pan and a good 3 or 4-quart saucepan.
Just start there, and see how you like it.
I use All-Clad’s Master Chef line, which has the brushed aluminum exterior. It’s not fussy, it’s heavy-duty, and it’s relatively inexpensive for a good-quality professional-grade piece of cookware. The best prices I’ve seen are at Cookware & More – if you don’t mind very minor blemishes on the pans. Prices are deeply discounted. A Master-Chef 10” frypan (skillet) is $57 - retail is $85.
If you don’t want to buy your pans online, and you live in NYC, go to:
Broadway Panhandler at 477 Broome Street in Soho
Bridge Kitchenware at 214 E. 52nd Street.
I avoid places like Williams-Sonoma and Crate & Barrel; why not support the little guy? – it’s in line with cooking at home, buying organic, and eating slowly. Both Broadway Panhandler and Bridge Kitchenware are family-owned businesses that have been in the city for years. Their staffs are knowledgeable.
Support them.
Both stores also have great knife departments, and the Broadway Panhandler offers inexpensive knife-sharpening.
Get ready… you’re set… it’s time to start cooking.
What can you cook with two knives and two pans? Write us! It’s that time of year! skgr
Wait a sec... you need a cutting board for knife use...
Well, you could try cooking Irish oatmeal each morning... 1/4 cup dry for a single serving, in a small pan, with just under a pint of fresh water. Add a piece of crystalized ginger you diced with your chef's knife, some raisins or currants, and peel an apple (just beacause it's seasonal) with your paring knife, dice once again with the chef's knife and toss it in at the end... it'll cook too much if you add it at the start. YUM. Now get to the subway quick, because Irish oatmeal takes 30 minutes to cook!
BTW... you can cool it down real fast by throwing in frozen blueberries rather than raisins and apples.
Obviously there are loads of things for oatmeal...
toasted nuts, any fresh or dried fruit, spices, milk, butter, chocolate chips, cider... A few years ago the times published a recipe for spiced Irish oatmeal with pumpkin, banana and toasted walnuts. Holy Mother of God, talk about good.
Whoops... If you have a can of pumpkin in your new kitchen you will need a can opener in addition to the knives, pots, and cutting board.
So look at that, you're cookin' in the morning. Now you need coffee to wash it all down.
P.S.>>> KEY thing is to soak the oatmeal pot before you run to the subway or the oatmeal residue in the pot turns to cement while you're at work and it's a nightmare to clean.
I'm not sure a chef's knife and paring knife are *all* you need. A bread knife is a must (if you eat bread), and some steak knives if you don't want to cut your tougher foods with your paring knife.
Master Chef, while great, is the only non-dishwasher safe All-Clad. The stainless steel line is a bit more, but you can put it in the dishwasher after dinner.
Knife Man (best around but takes 3-5 days)
Henry Westpfal & Co.
105 West 30th Street
+1(212)563-5990
does anyone have any knife-sharpener recommendations for brooklyn? i've got the gorgeous knives, but, man, have they dulled! it's hard to get your cooking bearings when your knives blow, as y'all no doubt already know.
Thanks for the knife man recommendation. Does anyone know how to contact the mobile knife man on the Upper West Side?
I got a great old chef's knife at a thrift store a decade ago, and it IS all you need. It's carbon steel, and not exactly pretty, but it holds its edge like a dream and is well balanced for everything. I get a lot of ribbing from friends for having only a small machete for a cooking knife, but the size and weight are really critical.
Oh, and bread knives really aren't necessary. A good, sharp knife will slice through the bread without compressing it.
I have a paring knife somewhere...
There was a mobile knife man who would drive around Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill/B. Heights too, sort of like an ice-cream truck, with a loud bell. I wonder if its the same person as on the UWS? He used a grinding wheel rather than a stone, which made me a little nervous, but it was so nice to just run outside with the knife you were cooking with and return with it sharpened. He also did ice skates and lawnmowers.
Why would anyone put their pots and pans in the dishwasher?!?!?! My stepmother has put her *very* expensive Sabatier knife set in the dishwasher for the last couple of years, despite my loud protests, and now of course all their handles are falling off.....jeez.
You guys need to learn how to sharpen your knives yourselves, seriously. It is VERY easy. There ARE books at the public library, ya know.
Anyone who has dabbled in fine woodworking knows that tool sharpening is an elusive art that takes a lifetime to master (I think the Japanese have laws about this). Often forgetting that a nice vegetable is way more forgiving than a nice piece of wood, we leave the pursuit of the Perfect Edge to the pros...
As any surgeon can tell you, a pair of scissors is often handier than a knife for many settings (and safer), including the kitchen. Arista Surgical Supply on Lexington (near 26th) has display bins of good instruments where you can find a good stainless scissors for about $10-12. I frequently buy them as gifts for friends, and they end up using them all the time in the kitchen.