Kitchen/Cooking Must-haves

So I've been thinking about my ever growing collection of cooking gear. I made a pilgrimage to my favorite Restaurant Supply store in NYC a few months ago (CHEF Restaurant Supply on the corner of Bowery and Houston). I picked up one of my new favorite utensils that I can't stop using. It's a slotted fish spatula.



And I really love it. I don't just use it on fish. It has a thin blade and is flexible yet strong to hold items. It just makes me happy.

Everyone should also have a great knife. There are a lot of brands out there. I'm currently using Henckel's. German, trusty. I desperately need to get a sharpening stone for a couple of my knifes, but the edges have really held up nice. Global is also a good brand. A good chef's knife must feel good in your hand (I like heavier knives), and the sharper the better. I also don't technically have a chef's knife in my arsenal. I think that has to change. The Santoku is a good knife but it doesn't quite rock the right way on my cutting board. So to julienne and chiffonade are a little cumbersome. Maybe I'll rectify that this weekend.

Tongs are another absolute must. A good heavy cutting board too. Good towels also help in so many ways. So I use these along with my standard pots and pans all the time. The rest is gravy. Although I do enjoy the fun ones (i.e., the Mandoline or knuckle slicer).