Following a kitchen remodel, there are 10 products I love to give as gifts for clients to begin cooking in their new favorite space. I even carry some of them in my showroom so I can present a gift, or someone can purchase a favorite tool for their friend.
- Le Creuset Dutch Oven ($330) – I love this entire collection of pots for cooking just about anything. My mom has had a set of this product for 40 years but the Dutch oven is an extremely flexible piece. I use it for chili, pasta, sauces, soups, and you can use it for roasts, baking bread, and more.
- Crate and Barrel Essential White Dishes . While they have many different styles, I prefer this original rounded set. All food looks fabulous when served on a white plate. Restaurants use them for a reason and white dishes are flexible for seasonal entertaining and work in almost every color kitchen.
- All Clad 3 Qt. Essentials Pan ($129) This is only one in the collection in the All Clad pots. It has such a fabulous range of use for sauces, pasta, soups, to rice, quinoa and more. It's just the right size for so many things because it serves as a sauce pan as well as a skillet it's tall rounded sides.
- KitchenAid Stand Mixer ($200) – This is indeed and investment and it's flexibility includes everything from eating bread dough, mixing up cake batter, making whipped cream, and they even have attachments for meat and pasta. With the colors available, this can be left out in any kitchen and look fabulous so it can be used every time it's needed.
- Mason Jars ($18 for 12) – All food that is left over should be stored in glass. I still don't like using BPA free plastics. Mason Jars are great because they don’t stain like plastic and can go from microwave to freezer to refrigerator over and over again. They now have plastic screw tops that I purchase at Amazon.com, which seems to make many clients happier than having the double metal lid.
- Le Creuset Spoonula ($12) – Whenever I find myself reaching for a cooking utensil, it’s usually this one. Great for scraping the sides of bowls or pots and works as a spoon too!
- Krups Coffee Grinder ($20) – While can certainly use this for grinding coffee, I don't drink it. It's a fabulous small appliance for grinding spices (nutmeg, mustard seeds, cumin seeds) and nuts.
- William Sonoma Measuring Cups ($20 a set). Not only do these have a fabulous weight and feel, they look great. I like to leave The most often new size in containers of oatmeal flour and baking products so I can instantly scoop out what I need.
- Microplane Zester . ($12.85) This is ideal for grinding the peels from oranges, limes, and lemons, to create a fabulous zest. It adds flavor to food, you can add salt to your zest to make fabulous seasonings, and using zesty on dessert and certain dishes adds flavor and incredible ambience.
10. J. A. Heckles Pro-S Knife Set ($299) While this is considered a starter set, it has most every knife needed for daily cooking and is always at the top of knife rating lists. There are 8 in the set, plus kitchen shears which I use for more than food (:{ )!