What's In Your Kitchen?

This pandemic has given me a greater appreciation for my little kitchen and the gadgets i've acquired to have fun and experiment with recipes and cooking techniques. I thought this thread could be a good place for people to post their favorite kitchen gear, culinary accomplishments, and kitchen recommendations.

I'll start off first, with the qualification that all of my kitchen gear is fairly cheap and pedestrian:


1. Ninja BL685 Pro Kitchen System Blender/Processor/Smoothie Maker: $100 on black Friday to replace my blender and processor, works like a dream, micronizes veggies and easily shaves ice, but it is loud as hell. I used to have a Cuisinart processor that had an open hole for the spinning mechanism - was a bitch to clean. I hated that thing.



2. Ninja Foodi Air Fryer Oven - $180 on Black Friday: Replaced my toaster and air fryer. We do nearly all our baking and reheating in this now. It's super efficient, easy to clean, and it folds up to save counter space.


3. Chicago Cutlery 18pc Knife Block with built in sharpener - $90 on Black Friday: Not high quality, but full tang, easy to clean, and the built in sharpener means they need to be professional sharpened less often.


4. Progressive Prep Steamer Sleeve - $5 at Walmart: We use it all the time, big enough for 3 cups of vegetables


5. Brava Aluminum Griddle Skillet - $30 from Marshalls: Heats very evenly, I probably use it as often as my large flat skillet.


6. Cuisinart 20" Cutting Board with Colander - $17 from Amazon: Extra wide to bridge my sink, and the colander is high quality and easy to remove and clean

We got TONS of kitchen stuff for our wedding which worked out well since we had just moved into our house. A few of our go-to things:

-Vitamix Pro Series blender. Seriously powerful.
-Wusthof Classic Ikon knife block set and steak knife set. The steak knives are awesome.
-Air fryer. I fought this one but my wife was adamant and we’ve used it a lot. Recently we have been making homemade French fries to go with burgers on the grill.
-Breville toaster oven. This thing is like a real oven in miniature form. You can make pizza in it.

Mostly we’re stocking up on beans and rice.


But as far as gadgets etc...we’ve been experimenting with an instant pot for a little while now. Pretty cool device.

ConnorEl said:

Mostly we’re stocking up on beans and rice.


But as far as gadgets etc...we’ve been experimenting with an instant pot for a little while now. Pretty cool device.

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InstaPot is great. With busy schedules it has been amazing (more so pre-quarantine).


Re: the Ninja - we have one, but it's annoying for a lot of substances because with the square shape, things get trapped in the corner, so it chops unevenly.

Kitchen aid mixer plus a solid good quality cookie scoop have been game changers for cookie baking.

BeachBumDeac said:

Kitchen aid mixer plus a solid good quality cookie scoop have been game changers for cookie baking.

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Great call on the cookie scoop. We got one of those as well and used it a ton making cookies this winter. Awesome for larger batches.

I got the Presto 5900 electric wok for my birthday and use it all the time. Just toss it in the dishwasher to clean.

I love my Breville immersion blender.



For Christmas, I got one of these guys. I’m not 100% of the sous vide train. It’s great for pork, chicken and beef short ribs. But I still like my steaks roasted in the oven or on the grill.

Other thing that has been a fucking game changer is an electric flat top griddle. I can churn out so many pancakes so quickly right now. And I don’t have to worry about fiddling with the burner to keep the pan at the right temperature.

This is the one I got, only $40 and so dope.


The controller just unplugs from the back and the rest of the griddle can be cleaned with soap and water.

Love love love my immersion blender. Used mine to make some homemade ketchup yesterday from a can of tomato paste I had leftover

BeachBumDeac said:

Kitchen aid mixer plus a solid good quality cookie scoop have been game changers for cookie baking.

Click to expand...

I actually have a Red KitchenAid Stand Mixer that I'm looking to sell. We got it for our wedding, but we just prefer using a hand mixer. I really wish we had requested a Vitamix instead

Too lazy to look up the pictures, but off the top of my head, in order of usage?

- Henckels knife set I've had for almost 20 years. I use a three-grit triangular sharpener to keep them in shape. One diamond, and two stones.
- Lodge cast iron pans. 12' and 15'
- Calphalon double thick steel bottomed pots
- Two different sized nonstick egg pans
- 10+ year old George Foreman grill. Great for grilling off quick meals for two, or chicken for the week
- Basic 3 button Hamilton Beach food processor. On, Off, and Pulse. All you need.
- Folding two-zone Oester flat griddle. Four pancakes at a time.
- Hamilton Beach waffle iron. It's one that you pour, close, flip, and wait for the light to come on.

Main thing I care about are my wusthof classics. I keep them super sharp by using a Japanese water stone a couple times a year, hone before each use, only hand wash and immediately dry and back in the block.

Pots and pans are some dependable stainless cuisinarts, nothing super fancy or multi clad but they heat pretty well, have riveted handles and metal lids (not glass) so they’ll last forever as long as I hand wash. Also a big le creuset Dutch oven and a cheap nonstick skillet for eggs and such. And a crock pot I got for $5 at a yard sale.

Wife uses that same ninja blender as mdmh every day for smoothies, it is a workhorse still at it after like 6 years which has surprised me.

There are other kitchen gadgets but I don’t use them much. Almost every dinner I make comes off those knives and cookware. I do have a sous vide I am excited to use but I need to find a big plastic tub for it.

I’ll tell you what I never use that we registered for:

Molcajete
Soup terrine
Ice bucket
Sugar/cream set
Cheese knives

Ah the essentials

Although it is nice to have the appropriate implement for each type of cheese on the platter.

I spend a lot of time In the kitchen so it’s pretty well stocked.

KitchenAid Mixer with a bunch of attachments
Anova Sous Vide
Griddler
Breadmaker
Vitamix
Immersion Blender
Cuisinart Deep Fryer

The things we have bought during the pandemic are a Breville Espresso Maker and a Wusthof sharpening stone.

So With the Sous Vide thing do you finish off a steak in a pan or grill to give it some texture and color? Doesn't it come out unappetizingly grey if not?

GoDeacsGo said:

So With the Sous Vide thing do you finish off a steak in a pan or grill to give it some texture and color? Doesn't it come out unappetizingly grey if not?

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Yes. You should finish almost everything you sous vide in a pan. I’ve found for steaks that the best way is to finish it over a chimney full of charcoal.

GoDeacsGo said:

So With the Sous Vide thing do you finish off a steak in a pan or grill to give it some texture and color? Doesn't it come out unappetizingly grey if not?

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I use my cast iron on the stove with melted butter to sear.