Obviously, eating high-quality yet inexpensive food is going to require a fair amount of home cooking. And while you can probably get away with not owning many of the items on this list, just know that everything here will seriously cut down on the time it takes to prepare food, make it easier for you to accomplish your goal and, thus, increase the chances that you’ll continue the behavior.
Let’s just get the most obvious items out of the way first…
At least one really good knife: I’m not suggesting that you spend $1,000 on whatever fancy set Sur la Table is featuring, or even necessarily investing in an entire set, but you should splurge (more than $25, but less than $100) on at least one knife you can trust to nicely slice a tomato. If you are going to buy a whole set, do yourself the favor of buying one that at least CAN be sharpened, meaning don’t bother buying anything that has a plastic handle.
Multiple cutting boards: If Alton Brown teaches us anything it should be that cross-contamination is the enemy. You should have at least one cutting board for veggies, another for raw meat and one more for cooked meat. I actually prefer having separate ones for different kinds of raw meats, but assuming you aren’t using more than one meat in a given dish, you should be able to clean it sufficiently to avoid danger before its next use. If you can’t spare that much space, there’s no shame in using plastic slips.
A set of stainless steal pots and pans (but probably just one nonstick pan): For whatever reason, most people feel the need to buy nonstick everything. I guess they clean up easier and are a little cheaper, but they really aren’t practical for everyday use. I suggest buying one nonstick pan — for things like over-easy eggs or fish — but buying a set of stainless steal. They’re far superior for sauces (deglaze, deglaze, deglaze!), you can put them in the oven, they’re easier to maintain and generally last longer. The extra money is worth it. This is probably your biggest investment, be prepared to spend at least $200-$300.
As for the less obvious stuff…
A dutch oven: I’m not sure what this means in the culinary world, but for these purposes, I’m talking about any pot that is safe to put in the oven. That could be regular-old cast iron (you can find one for less than $30) or an enamel version (pictured). Le Creuset is the gold-standard of the enamels, but they’re also extremely expensive. I’ve been very happy with my Martha Stewart brand dutch ovens, and spent a fraction of what it would have cost to buy Le Creuset. They’re especially nice for soups and roasts. Of course, the reason to use a dutch oven is because you’re planning on cooking for a long time. If you don’t envision yourself being able to do that, I would whole-heartedly recommend a slow cooker, which serves as an adequate facsimile, but can be left unwatched.
A food processor: I’m using a miniature version (pictured) that attaches to our immersion blender (another handy tool, especially for soups and sauces). While I certainly can’t do some of the bigger projects (like making dough or mincing meat), it takes up significantly less space and is great for stuff like salsas. Ours cost about $30.
A toaster oven (as opposed to a toaster): This was one of the bigger disagreements my wife and I had over what we should keep and what we could do without after moving into our smaller apartment. I voted for the toaster oven … and actually won! While a toaster is, admittedly, better at making … toast, that’s really all it’s good for. A toaster oven will set you back a little more (maybe $30 on the low end or $100 for a really nice one), it is far more versatile. I often use it as a broiler or to reheat anything you don’t really want to put in the microwave, like pizza. A full-sized oven is such a pain to preheat and is not a lot of fun to use during the summer.
A set of glass bowls with covers: Every home cook needs mixing bowls. What is often forgotten is having a good way to store food you’re not planning to eat it immediately. Sure, you could use the knock-off tupperware you bought at Ikea, if taste really matters to you, I highly suggest buying something nonpourous — like glass. While most food will keep fine in plastic, soups and sauces (sense a theme?) do a lot better in glass. Glass is also a lot easier to clean and keep clean.
If you have can’t-live-without kitchen items I failed to mention, please feel free to share.
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