Anonymous wrote:1. Everyone raves about Le Crueset, but meh, my food is often scorched on the bottom when I use it. I prefer my All-Clad stuff.

Turn down the heat. "Simmer on low for two hours" means "turn the knob to the lowest setting it has without the flame going out."

1. Everyone raves about Le Crueset, but meh, my food is often scorched on the bottom when I use it. I prefer my All-Clad stuff.

2. Wustoff knives. @$300 for 2 knives an main chopper and a paring knife. They are great but I have to sharpen them often, which is probably my fault for chopping on soapstone.

3. Wolf 6 burner Convection Oven. @$6,500.00. Extremely extravagant but it was a 50th birthday gift from DH.
No stove is really worth that much cash, but it does produce beautiful results that rival anything I've had similarly prepared at Komi and other crazy expensive restaurants. With the convection there is an amazing evenness to the baking and roasting process. One thing I hate about it is you can't prop the door open when broiling, which seems so stupid. Wolf has virtually no bells and whistles which is great because I don't like the look of a billion dials and LED panels.

4. Everything else I have is middle level stuff, Cuisinart, etc. And hey, my Sunbeam mixer refuses to die so that I cannot justify a Kitchen Aid to myself.

KA Mixer. It's 9 years old and still going strong. I only use it twice a month generally, except at cookie exchange time, then it gets a massive workout over 3-4 days. I also have the ice cream maker attachment which gets used pretty frequently in the summer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vitamix. Use it every day. Definitely worth it.

What do you make everyday? Smoothies? I'm dying for one but haven't justified the price yet...

New poster and my Vitamix is indispensable. I hardly make smoothies, except the occasional one for the kids.

-Salad Dressings
-Meal replacement shakes (my DH drinks one in the morning, I drink one most evenings)
-Blending soups
-Blending sauces
-Marinades
-Dips
-desserts

I am also not the pp that you asked, but I also use mine everyday for all of the above, plus I make a lot of juices and green smoothies. That is my most frequent use, wth soups being my second. I love cooking broccoli and throwing in with water or broth and making luscious soup. Sometimes I throw in a chunk of cheese, a bit of milk, or some truffle oil, but honestly I think I like the broccoli, water, and dash of salt combo the best.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Vitamix. Use it every day. Definitely worth it.

What do you make everyday? Smoothies? I'm dying for one but haven't justified the price yet...

New poster and my Vitamix is indispensable. I hardly make smoothies, except the occasional one for the kids.

-Salad Dressings
-Meal replacement shakes (my DH drinks one in the morning, I drink one most evenings)
-Blending soups
-Blending sauces
-Marinades
-Dips
-desserts

Anonymous wrote:Huge knife blocks are kind of a let peeve of mine. There are very few essential kitchen knives (and only a few of those knives need to be forged).

Here are the ones I think are essential:

- Chef's knife. Really has to be espensive and forged.

- Paring knife. I have an expensive, forged one. But actually prefer to use Victorinox or Henkel cheap stamped pairing knives set in a plastic handle. They cost under $10, ship with a great blade, and are dishwasher safe. When the blade goes, you replace them.

- Bread knife, preferable offset serrated. Wustof makes a good but not inexpensive stamped one.

Knifes that are not essential but highly useful:

- Semi-rigid boning knife: If you remove meat from bones. Neither a pairing knife nor chef's knife does a suitable job. Plus the name alone is worth it. I prefer forged on these because stamped ones are too flexible.

- Carving knife: A chef's knife can do most things a carving knife does, but a carving knife does some much better, and can also play the role of some specialty knives, like some sushi/sashimi knives. There are decent stamped options.

- Chinese cleaver. Spares your chef's knife from doing some tasks it really shouldn't.

Knives that shouldn't exist:

- "Utility" knives

- Anything serrated that is not a bread knife (an offset serrated bread knife cuts tomatoes better than a tomato knife, if you prefer to cut tomatoes with a serrated edge).

I have a German chef's knife and a beautiful Japanese petty knife. I use them both a lot, but I also have a utility knife that is just practical. Sure, it doesn't work for the proper rocking technique, but I originally learned how to cook from my grandma and mother, doing the "cut veggies in your hand with your paring knife" thing. Utility knives are useful in lots of casual uses. A great knife for me.

Not sure whether the Wusthof knives or the large le Creuset was more expensive. But absolutely everything about being in the kitchen is made better with good knives, and there is no question they get used every day. Absolutely worth the investment.

My wife

Huge knife blocks are kind of a let peeve of mine. There are very few essential kitchen knives (and only a few of those knives need to be forged).

Here are the ones I think are essential:

- Chef's knife. Really has to be espensive and forged.

- Paring knife. I have an expensive, forged one. But actually prefer to use Victorinox or Henkel cheap stamped pairing knives set in a plastic handle. They cost under $10, ship with a great blade, and are dishwasher safe. When the blade goes, you replace them.

- Bread knife, preferable offset serrated. Wustof makes a good but not inexpensive stamped one.

Knifes that are not essential but highly useful:

- Semi-rigid boning knife: If you remove meat from bones. Neither a pairing knife nor chef's knife does a suitable job. Plus the name alone is worth it. I prefer forged on these because stamped ones are too flexible.

- Carving knife: A chef's knife can do most things a carving knife does, but a carving knife does some much better, and can also play the role of some specialty knives, like some sushi/sashimi knives. There are decent stamped options.

- Chinese cleaver. Spares your chef's knife from doing some tasks it really shouldn't.

Knives that shouldn't exist:

- "Utility" knives

- Anything serrated that is not a bread knife (an offset serrated bread knife cuts tomatoes better than a tomato knife, if you prefer to cut tomatoes with a serrated edge).

Anonymous wrote:Vitamix. Use it every day. Definitely worth it.

What do you make everyday? Smoothies? I'm dying for one but haven't justified the price yet...

I have a KA Stand Mixer, a Le Creuset dutch oven that I inherited, and an antique cast iron skillet from DH's Great Grandmother.

Anonymous wrote:I agree you need a bread knife, but I think you don't have to be as picky with them as long as they are forged.

They don't even need to be forged. The Wustof offset serrated is the best bread knife I've used and it is stamped (though it's full tang and made by a great knife company).

$30 pan.

Vitamix. Use it every day. Definitely worth it.

I agree you need a bread knife, but I think you don't have to be as picky with them as long as they are forged.