| This is a guide to having the very best cookware for the least amount of money. All-Clad and Calphalon both sell non-standard sized pots as a loss leader, hoping to entice you into buying the rest of the line. A clever home cook can put these pieces together one piece at a time to come up with a premium quality kitchen for the same price as a set of lower quality cookware. Sure, this claims to be "budget" but it runs a couple hundred dollars. I'm a college student, and I afforded it. The thing is, it's taken me two years of not eating out (and eating better) to accumulate all this equipment. Meanwhile, I used whatever else I had left around in the kitchen that I could steal from my parents (most of which has been returned by now). Just remember, you don't ever need a set--they always include one or more pots you'll never use, or already have. The trick is to extend the uses of what you have. That, after all is the mark of a true chef--being able to make a lot out of a little. 'Calphalon Traditional Cutlery 8-Inch Chef's Knife' A good chef's knife is absolutely essential. Forget knife sets. Almost anything can be accomplished with a good chef's knife and a little practice. A good chef's knife will be forged, come with a comfortable handle, and with a bolster. The basic chopping technique is hold the knife with your thumb and forefinger in front of the bolster, with your other three fingers around the handle. Do it this way, and you'll notice you have a lot more control over the knife. If you're just beginning, I wouldn't bother with 10 inches of German steel. They're a bit unweildy at first, and too expensive. 'James Beard's American Cookery' You'll need a good guide book on how to cook. James Beard is the godfather of American cuisine. You can't go wrong with one of his books. They tend to cover everything, all with ingredients you can get at your local grocery store. It's also much cheaper than any cookbook with the same kind of comprehensive coverage. Of course, the best way to learn how to cook is to appretice yourself to a chef. Go to nice restaurants in your area, the ones you wish you could eat out at more often (or at all), and ask for a job. I've discovered that chefs are genuinely nice, down to earth people, who absolutely love to share food. You'll learn a lot, all without culinary school tuition. 'Calphalon Commercial Hard-Anodized 2-1/2-Quart Shallow Saucepan with Lid' For the now two years since I got this pot, it has been very rare indeed when I cook a meal without it. Not quite a saute pan, not quite a saucepan, it fulfills the role of both. It is equally at home with flame-bursting saute as it is slow-cooking barely at a simmer. The important thing to remeber about this pot is to make sure it's been preheated on a low heat for five minutes before adding oil or food. When using oil, allow that to heat up too. Drop the food into the pot just as soon as the oil begins to smoke. If you do that, deglazing some pan-sauce is a sinch. Just pour some cold water or wine in the pot after you remove the food, and let it reduce a bit. This pot will also make decent pasta in a pinch, just not very much of it. Fill the pot three quarters with water, bring that to a rolling boil, add salt and olive oil, dump in the pasta, and reduce to a low heat, watching carefully so that it doesn't boil over. Potatoes au gratin come out perfectly when this pot is thrown into an oven. Because it doesn't have a nonstick coatingthis pot takes all sorts of abuse and still last a lifetime. You just have to clean it. A lot. 'All-Clad Stainless 1-Quart Saucepan' This little pot is a perfect complement to the calphalon. With it, you can gently simmer some tomatoes or some other sauce while cooking the big part of your meal in the big pot you have. Works perfectly, see? You may just want to splurge on a 1.5 qt pot with a lid, though. You'll fall in love with this little pot, and wish it were bigger. Wishing won't make it so. So: 'All-Clad Master Chef 2 1-1/2-Quart Saucepan' 'All-Clad Master Chef 2 10-Inch Fry Pan' You'll want a really good frypan. You want it to be All-Clad and not cast iron because that way you can flip food with a flick of the wrist. You'll need some practice at it, but once you get it, you've got it. Sure, this piece is a little expensive, but worth every penny. You'll come back to this pot again and again. The two more expensive pieces are MC2, which gives you the same (or better) conductivity as Stainless. The catch is that if you want to keep the bottoms clean, you'll have to spend a lot of time scouring them by hand. You don't want to use steel wool, it's just too harsh. A heavy duty scouring pad (the kind without a sponge) is perfect. In my opinion, it's worth it to keep the shine on these pots. It's a good feeling, getting your hands on your pots. At the very least, you'll be in a better mood when you cook with clean equipment. 'OXO Good Grips 39681 16-Inch Locking Tongs' These are great. They don't puncture food like forks, and if you're careful, won't damage food at all. Don't let 16 inches intimidate you. Just grab them a little forward at first. You'll get used to them. 'Stainless Steel Strainer (8") You need this too. Remeber the pan sauce you deglazed on your saute pan? Pour it through this into a bowl before putting it on your food. It makes a much better presentation than just letting whatever solids from the deglaze make it onto the plate. Soon, almost any liquid in the kitchen will be passing though this. 'Hamilton Beach Turbo-Twister 2-Speed Hand Blender' If you don't already have a food processor or a blender, get one of these. Though it's not perfect, it's much cheaper, and can be used as either in a pinch. Those delicious puree soups you get in restaurants? They use one of these. They just plunge the thing into a pot until it's all puree. If you want a finer consistency, run it through that strainer you bought just above. For another neat trick, you can turn just about any berry or juicy fruit into syrup by pureeing with (or a blender you already have) and passing it through a sieve. Match an equal volume of sugar to the puree, and using that small saucepan you got, heat until the sugar dissovles. You can dilute the syrup (to a half or a third--to taste), warm it a bit, scoop in a bit of vanilla ice cream and serve it as dessert soup. 'Weber 10020 Smokey Joe Silver Charcoal Grill, Black' For some outdoor cooking. Ignore the reviews that say it's too small. I managed to throw a BBQ for 20 people on this. The important thing is to plan ahead. e.g., Serve a lot of potato salad first. (Make with yukon gold or baby red potatoes, chopped fresh chives, and a gentle balsamic vinaigrette, salt and pepper.) Also, you'll also want to cook sweet corn on the cob, trimmed and split into 2 or 3 pieces each. Just bring this to a boil, and they're done. Cut chicken into thin strips. Marinade them, skewer them. They'll cook on the grill in a few minutes. Repeat until everyone starts getting a bit full. Add some charcoal, serve the sweet corn. Meanwhile, you've already started precooking a couple racks of ribs in the oven for about 25 minutes. Throw some presoaked woodchips on the grill and finish the ribs, slathered on both sides with BBQ sauce and finish for 5 minutes on each side. Serve the ribs. Everyone loves you now, and you bring on the dessert. See? |
