Every day on television and in advertising, we receive messages about the tools we “need” to have available in our kitchen to make delicious dishes.  But the truth is that very few of these newfangled items are actually necessary.

When you’re outfitting your kitchen, there are only a few tools that should actually be must haves on your list.  And this list rarely changes over time.  The tools that were used regularly in your mother’s kitchen will likely be similar to what you should have available, as well.

This week, we wanted to highlight the appliances that we recommend you have available in your kitchen.  While nothing can replace a strong set of good cooking techniques, these devices will help you in achieving consistent, quality results.

Of course, when choosing which appliances work best for your kitchen specifically, always consider your lifestyle first.  As an example, a coffee grinder may not make the most sense for your home if you don’t drink coffee.

However, whether you drink coffee or not, we highly recommend considering bringing these tried and true basics into your home.

THE LIST – COUNTERTOP APPLIANCES

As always, we’ve created two lists for you to reference.  The first list includes basic appliances that almost everyone should have in their home.  The second list includes appliances that you might want to consider if you are creating more advanced dishes.

THE BASICS – FOR WHEN YOU’RE JUST STARTING OUT…

• Food Processer, any size

• Blender

• Toaster Oven (perfect for small oven jobs)

• Optional: Toaster

While many homes have a toaster instead of a toaster oven, we actually recommend the opposite if you’re only going to pick one.  This is honestly more just a matter of preference, but we lean towards owning a toaster oven as it can fit many shapes and sizes of food (compared to only bread-similar foods) and you can be more specific about how you want your food to be cooked.

THE SECOND TIER – FOR THE ADVANCED CHEF…

• Stand Mixer, 4 to 6 Quart

• Pasta Roller

• Electric Non-stick Griddle

• Electric Juicer

• Rice Cooker

• Coffee Grinder

• Spice Grinder

• Immersion Blender

• Tea Pot

• Bread Maker

Stick with these tried and true countertop appliances so that you have exactly what you need on hand when you decide to create a delicious home-cooked meal.

UPCOMING CLASS HIGHLIGHT

Have you noticed that baking at altitude can be quite the challenge?  It’s a completely different ball-game (pardon the baseball playoff pun) than baking at sea-level.

Luckily, we’re here to help you out!

Join Pastry Chef and the Sweet Genius of the Food Network, Samm Sherman, as she leads a class making enticing desserts that highlight a variety of festive ingredients, and will delight and amaze your family and friends this holiday season!

In this class, Chef Samm will instruct on the techniques needed to create restaurant-quality sweets and treats that are just right for your Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert table, and just sing with the flavors of this celebratory time of the year! With new-found confidence in the kitchen, you’ll learn techniques that will help you in making a selection of baked goods which will turn out truly delicious – every time!

Our next Sensational Sweets class is coming up quickly.  Sign up here so that you don’t miss out!