Here is a listing of cooking supplies that I recommend. There are a bunch of places to purchase them. I find on-line is a great start. I use Amazon.Com. They search the web for the item and tell you where the best price is. If I find the price a bit out of a "teachers budget", I usually place the item in my "Wish List". Amazon will email me when the price changes or the item goes on sale.
Penzey's Spices- I was at a Holiday Party the other day and Penzey Spices was a Yankee Swap gift. I was surprised people were not arm wrestling over them. They are far superior in quality and variety. If you are cooking in order to make great tasting food you should use great tasting spices. You would not think there is a difference until you tasted the best.
Oxo V-Blade Mandoline Slicer - A mandoline assures even uniform slices of vegetables. It is not for everyone and the same effect can be achieved with good knife skills. But if you have neither the knife skills or patience (like me) this is the piece of equipment for you. It is the secret to the Cod and Fennel recipe in this site and excellent potato dishes.
Tramontina 6.5-Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven - It is a slow cooker for the oven and an excellent deep fryer. The secret to my brisket and Puerto Rican Pernil is the low slow cooking process created in this container.
Oxo Good Grips Food Scale with Pull-Out Display- A food scale makes it easy to measure ingredients directly on the stainless-steel platform, in a large bowl, or on a plate. The scale’s unique pull-out display prevents shadowing from oversized containers. Great for baking but my belt's best friend in terms of portion control.
TermoWorks The Original Cooking Thermometer Christmas this year was spent at my sisters. Time came for the cooking of the 16-pound-prime rib. At first I found the task a bit intimadating. But I covered the outside of meat with lots of salt, peper and Maille mustard. Stuck the thermoWorks probe in the center of the beef. 500 degrees for 20 minutes and droped the tempature to 300 degrees until the external-oven digital reader read 125 degrees (about 20 minutes for each pound) and we had a perfectly cooked peice of beef. Great kitchen tools equal great food everytime.
