Fun Gourmet, Part II

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Fun Gourmet, Part II

Planning Your Kitchen for Fun Gourmet, PART II

Guest Columnist: Kerry Smith of The Cook's Revenge

The concept of Fun Gourmet is all about creating a relaxing and enjoyable cooking environment – not to mention cooking a good meal.

Often, cooking at home can seem overwhelming, simply because we don’t have the appropriate tools, the required skills, the right recipes or the necessary ingredients at our fingertips.

We’ve already talked about some of the basic equipment that can make life better in your kitchen: basic appliances, small appliances, and cookware. In this article, we’ll round out our perfect and practical kitchen with cutlery, knives and cooking utensils.

Good cutlery is essential.

Cutlery, essentially knives, should be made of fine carbon stainless steel and forged. (Avoid stamped-out stainless steel.) Good knives will sharpen easily, keep an edge and last a long time. There are many good brands of cutlery on the market at this time. Among the best are Global, Shun, Zwilling J.A. Henckels, Wüsthof and Ergo Chef.

Whenever you buy a kitchen knife, hold it in your hand, mimicking the motions of cutting, slicing and peeling. One of the primary criteria in selecting cutlery should be how it feels in your hand; it should be comfortable and easy to manipulate.

Your supply of knives should include:
a 6 to 8-inch chef’s knife
a 5 to 7-inch hollow ground Santoku knife
a 5 to 6-inch utility knife
a 5 to 6-inch serrated utility knife
a serrated bread knife
a 2 to 4-inch paring knife
And a diamond or carbon sharpening steel to keep your knife blades properly aligned.
Specialty cutting products can make your time in the kitchen easier, too, depending on the kind of prep and cooking you do. Consider ceramic knives (a little more fragile, but 10 times sharper than steel knives), boning knives, filleting knives, cleavers, butcher knives, and mezzaluna knives (for chopping).

Kitchen utensils. Here are some of the basics as well as some handy additions:

Measuring, time and temperature-taking:
a scale
a portable timer
1-cup and 4-cup measuring cups
a set of stainless steel measuring spoons
meat thermometer
a quick read thermometer
a deep frying thermometer
Other thermometers such as candy thermometers, oven thermometers and freezer thermometers are available as you may need them.
For grating and grinding:
a zester
a box grater
a cheese grater (Microplane makes the best graters)
a juicer
a meat tenderizer
a garlic press
A large variety of graters are available for special needs as well as a mortar and pestle for grinding herbs and spices.

For stirring, lifting, and serving:
a variety of spatulas (metal and non-metal depending on whether you use non-stick pans)
slotted and solid serving spoons
deep bowled ladles with handles at least 12 inches long
a heavy-duty carving and cooking fork
a variety of wooden spoons of various sizes
a variety of wooden and metal tongs (you will need silicone-coated tongs if you use non-stick pans)
and of course, a good ice cream scoop
For mixing:
a set of stainless steel mixing bowls ranging from 1-qt. to 8-qt.
a variety of different sized stainless steel whisks

For baking:
a sifter
a rolling pin
a variety of biscuit cutters
rubber or silicone spatulas
a pastry brush (the new silicone brushes are the most sanitary)
a dough scraper
both round and square cooling racks
narrow metal spatulas
a dredger
Depending on the types of baking you plan on doing, you may need pastry bags, pastry tubes, a pastry cutter and specialized cutters for cookies and other pastries.

Oven baking and roasting require a special set of pans and tools
a 16” (or 17”) x 12” stainless steel roasting pan with a roasting rack
an 11” x 7” x 1” glass or ceramic baking dish
a variety of casseroles ranging from 4 qts. to 9 qts.
a variety of oval ceramic gratin dishes
a baking sheet
a jelly roll pan
a pizza pan
a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie plate
a square cake pan
two round spring form cake pans
a loaf pan
a tube cake pan with a removable tube insert
a cupcake pan

There are many products currently available that are tremendously non-stick, without using Teflon, which can make your baking much more rewarding. These include the new silicone baking pans and Meyer Corporation’s Anolon line of baking pans.

That’s almost it…Round out your essential kitchen utensils with a bulb baster, some funnels, some skewers and a corkscrew and you’re on your way toward enjoying Fun Gourmet!

Comments? Questions? Stop by and see me at The Cooks’ Revenge located at 197 Main Street in Annapolis, or e-mail me at www.thecooksrevenge@aol.com.

Kerry Smith