My Favorite Things

Initial disclaimer: I do not think you have to have all the latest gadgets/appliances/equipments to cook and bake successfully. Heaven knows I don’t. My current kitchen wish list is long enough to circle the earth at least three times. I like knowing I can whip up delicious concoctions in the kitchen without having every tool known to man.

However, having said that, I have my fair share of kitchen products that I use so frequently, I feel like I’d be lost without them. In many of my recipes I reference these products and consider them my kitchen essentials. I wanted to set up a place where all of my favorite things were listed so that others could see what I love to use in my kitchen to help make cooking and baking that much more enjoyable.

Some of the products below cost as little as a few dollars whereas other ones might need to go on a wish list (I have a running wish list that is so long it could circle the earth three times…I’m tempted to start sneaking in my kid’s piggy banks to supplement my kitchen addiction!). Either way, these are the products I use and love. I’ll be adding to this list every now and again as another product comes to mind, I am sure!

I hope this list can be a great reference to you as you look for products to supplement your cooking and baking!

{By the way, none of the links below are affiliate links and I’m not related to anyone who owns any of these companies. I’ve tried to link to places where you can buy these products to help you know what to look for but I have absolutely no affiliation with these companies and they have no idea who I am…so if you are serious about one of the products, feel free to search around for the best buy!}

Baking Equipment

	Since I’ve started making all of our own bread, these perfectly-sized Bread Bags have been a lifesaver instead of me trying to stuff a whole loaf of bread in a too-small bag. Love them, love them, love them. I buy them from King Arthur Flour but you may be able to find the equivalent size elsewhere.
	These are my favorite bread pans from Chicago Metallic because they don’t over-darken the crust while baking and the bread slides right out after I lightly grease the pans. The folded metal is a little annoying because I have to make sure I really dry it out so it doesn’t rust, but even with that quirk, I love these babies. I use the 1-pound, 8 1/2-inch by 4 1/2-inch pans.
	My favorite circle and square baking pans come from Wilton. I prefer the 9-inch round pans and the 8-inch square pans. They are durable and great quality and pretty reasonably priced, if you ask me.
	While I am far from a pie expert, I have this silicone pie shield from Norpro and it has saved me from saying many a bad word as I’ve tried to fold foil over the edges of my pie crust to prevent burning. It’s inexpensive and completely worth it in my book.

Cookware

My 12-inch skillet is a lifesaver. I use it for all of my skillet meals as well as general sauteing and browning. It is really the only skillet I use. I have the nonstick Farberware version with a lid.

Food Products

I love this stuff. Immensely. I love it as much as I hate greasing and flouring pans when I need to make sure the cake/brownie/baked good comes out perfectly. Baker’s Joy does the trick. It is cooking spray and flour in one and I have never had my baked goods stick when I use it. I love it. Have I mentioned that?

Utensils

	A bamboo salt box is perfect for filling with kosher salt and keeping right by the stove/prep area to season your foods. I love this box because the lid swings open for easy access to the salt. Pinching a little kosher salt and throwing it in to my dish makes me feel like a pro.
	Butter crocks are amazing. Totally old school and totally awesome. Basically, butter stays at room temperature on your counter and can stay fresh for a few weeks if you replace the water in the crock every 2-3 days. Butter crock = life changing. How nice is it to have spreadable butter at your fingertips?
	I use this citrus reamer all the time. It’s faster and easier than pulling out my juicer. I have this exact one from Crate and Barrel. It’s about $4 but I know you can find these about anywhere.
	A fine mesh strainer is a must, I’d say. From sifting flour and other dry ingredients together and also for straining puddings and custards and frostings to get a satiny smooth product.
	I might get fired for saying this but I don’t know that the brand of knives matter as much as how sharp they are. Sharp knives will make your life in the kitchen lovely! If you can only afford one knife, I’d recommend the Santoku knife pictured to the left (sometimes called a bird beak knife). My knives happen to be from Sam’s Club. I’ve had them for eight years and they are great, but I sharpen them often with this knife sharpener.
	A bench scraper is so handy! I use this for separating my rolls into pieces, bread dough into loaves, for scraping up my counter when I’ve rolled out a pie crust or something and have tons of hard things stuck all over it that the wash rag has no chance of getting.
	Is it wrong to love a spatula so much? I heart my offset spatula. It is unsurpassed for decorating cakes, spreading frosting on sugar cookies, and so many other things. It is much, much easier to use and make things look good than using a flat spatula.
	Used. Often. As in, everytime I make drop cookies, which is embarrassingly often. You can’t go wrong with this.
	A microplane grater/zester is perfect, and some say essential, for grating citrus zest (uh, was I repetitive in that sentence?). I also use it to grate nutmeg. I can safely say I use this, oh, 3.78 times a week.
	I am sure that everyone owns these bowls but I have to give a shout out since I use them.all.the.time. They are the first bowls I look for when I need to mix anything. And I cry when they are dirty. I know, I know, I could wash them, but that takes so much work. I can’t wait until my 6-year old is a proficient dish washer.

Appliances

	Love. Happiness. Love. Happiness. That’s what my Bosch means to me. The cookie paddles are like icing on the cake.
	This is my baby. Well, not really, but you know what I mean. Expensive, but worth it to me (especially since I saved my pennies for a long time). I can leave it on my counter. I use it daily. No exaggeration. It doesn’t get flour everywhere and it grinds all sorts of grains and wheat pretty darn quickly.
	Pancakes, soft wrap bread, french toast, grilled cheese – I use my large griddle constantly.