Spending spree!!!!!!

-BA- said:
Gladly :-)

There might be more inventive recipes from others but mine was nothing more than smoked salmon pieces, 3-4 sprigs of Dill, black pepper, rock salt and lemon juice to taste. Last but not least was 2-3 dessert spoonfuls of crème fraiche. Whizz it all up in the mini-processor then into the fridge to firm up. Too much crème fraiche will make it more of a dip though. :-)
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Great thanks :D
 
Decent set of scales
Good mini chopping board - I have an ace A7 sized one good for chillis & garlic
Sharp, comfortable veg peeler - like the OXO Good Grips one.
Some nice stainless mixing bowls
 
-BA- said:
Gladly :-)

There might be more inventive recipes from others but mine was nothing more than smoked salmon pieces, 3-4 sprigs of Dill, black pepper, rock salt and lemon juice to taste. Last but not least was 2-3 dessert spoonfuls of crème fraiche. Whizz it all up in the mini-processor then into the fridge to firm up. Too much crème fraiche will make it more of a dip though. :-)
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créme fraiche!

Does your OH have a Shakeweight? ;)
 
arknor said:
sounds like BS
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If you can't do prep neatly and to unform size, and your pans are improperly sized, thin bottomed rubbish with no concept of heat distribution, your food is just going to suffer, simple as.

You can cook with the wrong gear but it's essentially a bodge, either aim for perfection or you might as well not even bother.
You should get the basics right before you start buying time saving gadgetry in my opinion.
 
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Decent knives and a set of chopping boards. Outside of that scales and I also wouldn't be without my set of cup measures
 
pitchfork said:
If you can't do prep neatly and to unform size, and your pans are improperly sized, thin bottomed rubbish with no concept of heat distribution, your food is just going to suffer, simple as.

You can cook with the wrong gear but it's essentially a bodge, either aim for perfection or you might as well not even bother.
You should get the basics right before you start buying time saving gadgetry in my opinion.
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I've cooked with the 'wrong gear' for years and made some perfectly good meals. I use gear that some would say is wrong, i.e. I make linguini carbonara in a wok and make rice in a medium stock pot but it works for me and IMO tastes great.

Just because a top chef cooks in X way doesn't mean others have to - the joy of cooking is putting your own flare on things and sometimes that means making do with what you have.

Some people out there have all the gear and no idea - just because someone has the same ££££ cooker James Martin uses, a Magimix processor or a KitchenAid Artisan mixer with all the extras doesn't make them a good cook. Yes they can be really handy but for some having the basis can mean different things.

A good friend of mine is worth mega money and kitted his new house out with all the top gadgets and gizmos - his kitchen is something else. I went around to his house for tea as he was cooking a curry... Uncle Bens rice in the microwave..... I couldn't believe it!

For me I would be lost without my Range but I wouldn’t dream of telling anyone that using a cheapo cooker you are basically wasting your time and only bodging a meal.
 
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pitchfork said:
If you can't do prep neatly and to unform size, and your pans are improperly sized, thin bottomed rubbish with no concept of heat distribution, your food is just going to suffer, simple as.

You can cook with the wrong gear but it's essentially a bodge, either aim for perfection or you might as well not even bother.
You should get the basics right before you start buying time saving gadgetry in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Sure - if you're a Michelin starred chef. For most people - having equipment that does the job is more than sufficient. You don't need to have the best equipment to make a decent good quality meal. And as for trimming all your veg to precisely the same shape, you clearly have too much time on your hands. Seriously, we're not all professional chefs, we're enthusiasts for sure, but I don't pretend to be a great cook - I like good old basic cooking, and in particular, nutritious and tasty cooking - I can do this without all the ridiculous and unnecessary elitist gear.

If you can't manage even with the basics then you've got issues :p Oh well, I'll keep to my bodged cooking which has got me to where I am today ;)
 
The best ingredients make the best meals, cutting veg up into perfect divisions doesn't make it taste any better, the only piece of quality you need is one large knife and even that I have a pretty basic one but its easy to sharpen, all these poncy knives that no one can sharpen properly or have to treat with kid gloves are just showing off, I use mine chuck it in the dishwasher and go over it with a steel each week and a stone now and again.

Some of the best food I have tasted comes of a BBQ which is a pretty basic form of cooking or a pile of logs on a beach and fresh caught mackerel.
 
Freefaller said:
Sure - if you're a Michelin starred chef. For most people - having equipment that does the job is more than sufficient. You don't need to have the best equipment to make a decent good quality meal. And as for trimming all your veg to precisely the same shape, you clearly have too much time on your hands. Seriously, we're not all professional chefs, we're enthusiasts for sure, but I don't pretend to be a great cook - I like good old basic cooking, and in particular, nutritious and tasty cooking - I can do this without all the ridiculous and unnecessary elitist gear.

If you can't manage even with the basics then you've got issues :p Oh well, I'll keep to my bodged cooking which has got me to where I am today ;)
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I'm not talking top of the line, but decent kit.
If your kitchen is full of cheap pans and blunt knives those are the first things which want replacing with decent things which are going to last you.

The point here is the guy asked what is the most important thing in your kitchen.

Also, uneven prep results in uneven cooking, this is why prep is so important. Other than it being good practise in any kitchen, why settle for less?
 
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Freefaller said:
Sure - if you're a Michelin starred chef. For most people - having equipment that does the job is more than sufficient. You don't need to have the best equipment to make a decent good quality meal. And as for trimming all your veg to precisely the same shape, you clearly have too much time on your hands. Seriously, we're not all professional chefs, we're enthusiasts for sure, but I don't pretend to be a great cook - I like good old basic cooking, and in particular, nutritious and tasty cooking - I can do this without all the ridiculous and unnecessary elitist gear.

If you can't manage even with the basics then you've got issues :p Oh well, I'll keep to my bodged cooking which has got me to where I am today ;)
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I agree to a certain extent, but a good set of knives is paramount, and a good set of pans - I'm not talking top of the line or what have you, but they do need to be good.
 
pitchfork said:
If you can't do prep neatly and to unform size, and your pans are improperly sized, thin bottomed rubbish with no concept of heat distribution, your food is just going to suffer, simple as.

You can cook with the wrong gear but it's essentially a bodge, either aim for perfection or you might as well not even bother.
You should get the basics right before you start buying time saving gadgetry in my opinion.
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right...

a chef could make 2 seperate meals
one using budgetknives/pans
one using expensive crap.

you wont tell the difference
 
I think pitchfork perhaps overstated his view, I do agree that a decent couple of knives and set of pans will make a huge difference to your cooking. But I mean more in the way of you'll be able to chop things faster and more finely, and food will cook faster and more evenly in a good pan. Flavour wise it won't make any difference but will make your life a lot easier in the kitchen. I hate having to cook in other people's kitchens as they usually have crap knives, my girlfriends mothers knives are the worst, they're all the serrated "never need sharpening" type.
 
You don't have to spend thousands to have some good sharp knives or a decent pan that will boil or a frying pan that will fry. Even some of the masterchefs with michelin stars will happily tell you that as long as they're knives are sharp and they have a decent enough quality pan/frying pan they'll be happy. I don't buy into this elitist nonsense.

I understand the point he was making, and I agree, a good knife and a decent pan are absolutely a wise investment, however, the snotty antagonising attitude behind the post did get my back up.
 
Okay let's not get the pitchforks out and lynch pitchfork ;)

I agree with Ganesh in that they are valid points but maybe not as important as some other things e.g. knowing not to crowd a pan when browning meat.

There was some really interesting science to come out of the Modernist Cuisine lab on pans and how thickness and burner size was way more important than any material used (also a cheat way to make any pan top end using an aluminium block):

http://www.chow.com/videos/show/all/128378/the-science-y-way-to-shop-for-pans
 
pitchfork cani have some of your money your obviously loaded? :) FYI I got some nice knives a couple of chopping boards and a non stick saucepan all for £65 so :p :)
 
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