Whatchamacallit in the Kitchen: What You Need To Get Cookin’

By Sarah Klenakis

Your first kitchen can be daunting—especially if you’ve spent the last four years eating out of the dining hall or pizza box. Or maybe you’re anxious to master the kitchen, but you’ve encountered one problem: you only have about two feet of counter space. Well, here are a few tips and items to help get you started:

What You Need Vs. What You’ll Want

Odds are you’ve probably already inherited your grandmother/mom/great aunt’s dishes. Before filling your cart with crockpots and gravy boats, think about what it is you need. Know your lifestyle—and if you don’t know it, give yourself a chance to get to know it. Will you realistically wake up early to make your lunch or just go out? Are you going to follow-through on those bimonthly dinners with friends? Are you a tea drinker or coffee fiend? You don’t want to find yourself with eight appliances you’ll never use and that take up precious counter space.

Get Yourself a Guide

Whether you use it every day or have it just for emergencies, having a good, basic cookbook can come in handy for all the terms you may not know (the difference between mincing and julienning). If you’re not ready to commit to a book, luckily there are plenty of online resources to help you out.

Recommendations: The Joy of Cooking, Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

Websites: foodtv.com, epicurious.com

Try Things Out

You know that spice rack your mother got you that you only use the cinnamon out of? Give the rest a try! Don’t be afraid to try the recipe you saw on Rachael Ray last night either. Even if it takes you ninety minutes instead of thirty, you can be proud of your effort and know that as you will get better in the kitchen, and next time, it probably won’t take so long next time.

The Essentials: Shopping List

No matter your lifestyle, here’s a list of items you’ll likely use every week:

Colander: For draining pasta and veges.

Cutting Boards: You should have at least two cutting boards handy, since when you cook, you don’t want your raw meat to have contact with your vegetables.

Knives: You don’t need a set of fifteen, just a few good ones. Again, know your lifestyle (if you’re a vegetarian, it’s unlikely you’ll need six steak knives). You’ll want a good paring knife, a serrated knife for bread and tomatoes, and a larger Chef’s Knife for meat.

Pots and Pans: No longer for the banging of your childhood parades. At least two pots and two fry pans (two larger of each, two smaller of each) should be good to get you started. They often come in sets of ten or twelve.

Measuring Tools: Try these fun, colorful, and collapsible cups for your dry ingredients.

This Pyrex Measuring cup is great for exact measurements and to add liquids to your recipes.

Cork Screw: No explanation needed on why you need this!

Mixing Bowls: They usually come in sets of three or more. But you want at least two, since most baking recipes will want you to separate out wet and dry ingredients. These ones can also act as serving bowls.

Baking Pans: These will change with your baking habits. Cookies, cakes, pies, or breads, oh my!

Spatulas: These are always good for getting the last sauce out of the jar or for licking the brownie batter! I highly recommend the Williams-Sonoma Spoonula which you can find online or at most of their outlet stores.

Also will want a flat one for flipping pancakes and burgers.

Apron and Pot Holder: These are to save you from burning yourself and exorbitant dry cleaning bills for splatters.

Guilty Temptations

These are items you (probably) do not need! (But boy, do they look like fun!) If you find yourself spending more time in the kitchen, you might want to splurge on one of these—but remember to be practical. There are a lot of fun kitchen toys out there, but if you live in North Dakota and have never seen a mango, you don’t need a tool to specifically chop it.

Professional Multi Chopper

Garlic Press-Slicer—a nice addition to a practical item.

Pizza Chopper—when a knife just won’t do the job.

Vases—for when your boyfriend finally buys you flowers .

Pineapple Easy Slicer—this is just cool.

Espresso Machine—This is pretty extravagant, but if you are spending a lot of money at Starbucks, it might be worth the investment .

Waffle Maker—This is totally fun, but probably unnecessary.

Punch Fountain—For the party giver.

Storage Containers—These are great to keep food fresh and so you know what is where and what you have.

Pitcher—Good for entertaining…or just as an everyday water pitcher.