Kitchen Essentials and Holiday Gift Ideas!

This holiday season, get that special home cook in your life, something they won’t just love but use every day. It can be intimidating sifting through catalogues and sites for the best kitchen equipment, so here is a rundown of some of my must-have tools and kitchen essentials.

For the Cook Book Lovers: A true kitchen essential

A cookbook is an incredible tool. Each recipe is tested by multiple people, vetted and perfected. Having a home library full of books and recipes you love is the best way to up your home cooking game. These are a few of my favourite books I’ve come across. Hopefully, you’ll get as much out of them as I have!

1. Joshua Weissman: An Unapologetic Cookbook

2. In Mary’s Kitchen: Stress-Free Recipes for Every Home Cook

3. Sheet Pan Everything: Deliciously Simple One-Pan Recipes

4. What’s for Dessert: Simple Recipes for Dessert People

5. Matty Matheson: A Cookbook

Classic Kitchen Tools I Couldn’t Live Without: 

A great cook is only as good as their tools: you can make great food with anything, but there are some tools I couldn’t cook with out! If you’re looking to up your kitchen toolbox, these few items are a great start!

1. Bamboo Cutting Boards – A large board is key to chopping, cutting and slicing safely! The added groove around the board helps keep your workspace clean and mess-free!

2. Dutch Ovens – A proper dutch oven is a beautiful thing. You can use it for so much more than just soups and stews. Sourdough and other breads bake perfectly in their pans!

3. Microplane – If you’re looking to get more from your citrus, a microplane is what you need. The small teeth scrape away the perfect amount of zest, leaving the bitter pith behind. It’s also great for finely grated cheese!

4. Japanese Mandolins– I use this a lot. If you want the thinnest vegetables, you need a Mandolin; nothing compares.

5. Sheet Trays with racks– Roasting a chicken, cooling cookies or keeping your stations drip-free, a proper rack and wire setup is a must-have!

Upgrading your Kitchen Essentials:  

When it comes to larger or more Dialled in kitchen equipment, it can be hard to discern what’s of value and what’s not. All of this equipment I own and use on the daily, and trust me when I say they work!

1. Digital Kitchen scales– The best way to up your baking game is to use a digital scale! Precision is key, after all!

2. Kitchen aid Blender – A powerful and reliable blender is going to be your best friend when it comes to making sauces and dressings velvety smooth.

3. Kitchen Aid Food Processors – If it’s aioli and cutting down on mincing and chopping you’re looking for, a food processor is going to be your best friend!

4. Air Fryer – I love my air fryer. I use it for so much more than just french fries and tater tots. Vegetables get a deep roasting without drying out, salmon skin becomes crisp and light, and chicken wings are fried up by the dozen!

Helpful small wares to make your kitchen cleaner and more efficient: 

Clean-up and organization are important to me. After a full day of testing and shooting, I want my kitchen to look like no one was ever there. Having the right tools can be a huge help in cutting down clean-up and maximizing relaxation. Keeping your ingredients organized and your tools in tip-top shape is the mark of a great home cook!

1. Cutlery Tray Liners– I spend hours searching for specific tools, spoons, forks, etc. A properly kept drawer is a game changer.

2. Fryer Screens – I love shallow frying chicken, cauliflower and doughnuts; the oil splatter, however, is not my favourite. A good fryer screen is a lifesaver!

3. Knife Sharpeners – If you don’t have the time to get your knives sharpened, don’t worry about it. There are options for easy and safe at-home knife sharpening that work just as well!

4. Fridge Containers -It can be difficult to sift through a sea of half-used, half-opened food containers in your fridge. I love using these because you can see exactly how much of something is left and if it’s ready to get tossed!