Blue Gartr Meal Time: Bacon optional? Bacon required.

[dasva]

Exactly that.

Best possible choices for that price range.

As you get more expensive you get some copper stuff and the high end All-Clad stuff but unless you are a chef you don't need it.

You can get some decent deals sometimes though. Like one day the JCP near me was having a 1 day sale. Picked up a cast iron skillet and a copper wok for around $60-70.

[Coren]

If you're looking for countertop appliances, follow Coren's advice and get a rice cooker. Also get a sous vide.

Usually when I see "I'm trying to start my own kitchen" people think stovetop pots/pans only and neglect the other essentials. Like a rice cooker, cookie sheet, or crockpot, or a decent knife or two, etc.

[Greatguardian]

Usually when I see "I'm trying to start my own kitchen" people think stovetop pots/pans only and neglect the other essentials. Like a rice cooker, cookie sheet, or crockpot, or a decent knife or two, etc.

These things I actually have already (besides the sous vide). I've just been rolling with the set of super cheap nonstick pots/pans I got handed down from my sister nearly a decade ago since they were free. Now that the handles are dangerously close to falling off on some of the pieces, I figured I'd replace them with something worthwhile.

[Byrthnoth]

I don't know where you live right now, but I know you used to live in Pittsburgh and All Clad has biannual factory sales (they put the wrong handle on a pot, etc.) at pretty reduced prices. I think one is coming up in June.


If I have this stuff, I can make almost everything I want to make on a day to day basis:
* 8" aluminum nonstick skillet
* 12" stainless oven safe skillet
* 4qt rondeau with a lid
* 2qt pot with a tight fitting lid

* 1 plastic spatula like this
* 1 plastic spatula like this
* 1 slotted metal spatula like this
* 1 medium sized metal whisk
* 5" chef's knife
* 7" chef's knife
* paring knife
* bread knife

* 13x11 aluminum pan
* 2 insulated cookie sheets
* 1 cooling rack (that doubles as a bacon baking rack because it fits in my 13x11 pan)
* 1 breadboard with crumb catcher (that doubles as a second cooling rack)
* Crepe pan, the right tool for all the most difficult relationship problems
* 2 large mixing bowls (~3qt?)
* 1 small mixing bowl (~1qt?) - If I need more, I use salad bowls.
* Dry measuring cup set (1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 3/4, 1 cup) - I resisted 3/4 for so long but this set has it
* Wet measuring cup (2 cups)
* Measuring spoon set (1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1 tsp, 1 tbsp) - I prefer metal and they're threaded together by a ring so it's impossible to lose one

* Pepper grinder (with peppercorns) for salads and finishing dishes (I use boxed pepper if it's going to be exposed to heat for any amount of time)
* Manual can opener
* Potato peeler
* 1 large (13x11?) plastic cutting board with a groove mostly for meat
* 1 smaller (9x11?) wooden cutting board for pretty much everything else


Things that I like the idea of but find nonessential:
* Slowcooker/crockpot/sous vide/pressure cooker/bread machine - These save you effort but rarely put out a product superior to what you can make without them (with the potential exception of sous vide).
* Loaf/springform/bundt/etc. pan/cupcake tin - For their respective baking purposes
* Blender/food processor/etc. - If I tolerated smoothies or was dedicated to homemade salsa, I'd probably feel differently. Also, I always cut my fingers when washing their blades.
* Waffle maker/Griddler/panini press - Has someone combined all these things yet? They take up too much counter space individually and are all essentially the same thing.
* Aebelskiver pan - If the crepe pan can't fix your relationship, you should end your relationship. If the crepe pan is doing pretty well but you'd like a little more action, spherical pancakes are the answer.
* Small little prep bowls with sealable lids - These double as storage containers for half onions and such. They pack tight and you can just dishwasher them. It's nice.


Kitchen things I actively dislike:
* Toaster ovens - Do these exist only to burn down the homes of idiots? I've never wanted to use one.
* Salt grinders - Worse portion control than a salt shaker, no taste advantage, and you have to buy special salt for it. Don't give me that texture bullshit because they make flaky salt that you don't have to grind.
* Fat separator - Look, density! Beyond that, I've never wanted broth so desperately that I've used one of these and yet we still have two and what am I doing with my life?

[SamanosukeShiva]

Dunno if a lot people use wooden spatula or not, but it's god tier especially ones made out of good quality wood. I only use rubber spatulas for eggs.

Something like this http://www.amazon.com/Joyce-Chen-33-...X8M4XWMQBP618S but this is bamboo, the real good shit made from real wood w/ mineral oil I bought is from chinatown.

[Zetanio]

I use rubber for most stuff, bought a 4 pack awhile ago. I have one really sweet wooden spoon for stews and that sort of thing that my mom passed down to me from my grandma. I'm convinced it makes everything taste better.

[Tokitoki]

It's all the butter/oil/fats that get stuck in the wood.

[Zetanio]

Yep. It's magic.

[dasva]

Time more food thru a shitty cellphone cam...



Buns are actually portabellas I coated in oil and soy and baked until they started to get a little crispy. Burger is ground beef, fresh ground parmesan, cayenne pepper, Worcestershire, and garlic salt. Fried in a pan cause no grill and I like to say all the goods. Then deglazed the pan with some balsamic and reduced it a bit and mixed all those yummy bits, fat, balsamic in with the ketchup which is why it looks dark and chunky.

[Tokitoki]

I've got another burger suggestion for you's guys. Made it the other day, but didn't take pictures.

Ground pork burgers with cheddar, avocado, grilled pineapple, pickled jalapenos, and a mustard based BBQ sauce. I suggest Lillie Q's Carolina Gold sauce if you can find it, but I've only seen it two places ever.

I prefer potato buns because they are superior.

[BerenTebogo]

No to avocado and no to mustard sauce but other than that I might give that a shot.

[Tokitoki]

Then you're not allowed to make it.

[Zetanio]

Ground pork burgers aren't burgers. They are sausage. Delicious, delicious sausage. That recipe is great.

[Tokitoki]

I dunno about that. You can make beef sausages, venison sausage, boar sausage... Just cause it's pork doesn't make it sausage; I think the shape matters in this case.

Also, the jalapenos matter. I took them out of a jalapeno pickle brine rather than the shitty ones from a jar at a grocery store. Divine Brine was the company; they have a stall at a farmers market that's near me on the weekends. Probably based out of NYC somewhere.

[Zetanio]

It's pork ground with fat. That's sausage! Technically all burger meat is sausage as well.

[Tokitoki]

I dunno man, Google disagrees.

sau·sage
ˈsôsij
noun
a cylindrical length of minced and seasoned pork, beef, or other meat encased in a skin, typically sold raw to be grilled, boiled, or fried before eating.

Since we're on the subject, though, has anyone ever made their own sausage? Looking for recipes. One of my sister in laws got me grinder and sausage stuffer attachments for our Kitchenaid that I've been meaning to try out.

[Zetanio]

Going by breakfast sausage for example. It's a patty of meat with spices. There are tons of sausages, usually fresh, that aren't in a casing.

[Tokitoki]

I knew someone was going to come back with "but breakfast sausage/sausage patties."

I don't really care if you say they're burgers or sausages, I'm just bored during lunch.

What I really want to know is what sausage recipes are delicious.

[dasva]

I thought it more had to do with the seasoning....

[Zetanio]

I thought it more had to do with the seasoning....

idk I season the fuck outta my burgers.

I wasn't being combative. I just want all the food right now.

I don't have a good sausage recipe though. I don't have a grinder or anything.