Knives, Pots, Pans

I mentioned a griddle that I was given not long ago.  That's a beautiful thing!  Having been married for 33 plus years to a real "cook" is another "beautiful thing!  She has accumulated all the necessary tools for preparing meals, and is willing to "share."

I thought about going out to the local kitchen supply store (a very well-stocked place with competitive prices) and getting a set of my own cutlery, and am tempted to do so, but it is not really necessary.  So I'm resisting the temptation for now.

There is a video (many of them actually), that talks about the essential knives needed, and this particular individual states that there are 5 "essential" knives:

A) A Chef's knife (10 inch with good depth)
B) A Boning Knife (7 inch, Straight or curved or both)
C) A Paring Knife (3 inch)
D) A Bread Knife (10 inch)
E) A Roast Slicing Knife (10 inch)

Many years ago, I bought my wife a set of knives that came in a wood block, (the typical sets like we all have) that included all but the last two knives listed above, and also came with a pair of meat scissors and one of those long rods that you run your knife over to get rid of burrs with.

(I was amazed that it came with about 8 knives that all appeared to be about the size and construction of a straight boning knife.  Why do we need "8" of these?  For table settings?) 

That set of knives and tools has served us quite well over the years, but I'm sure we could use a replacement set (I'll keep convincing myself of that anyway), and we have the Bread and Roast Knives as well in our drawer of kitchen tools, along with many other gadgets and tools.

All the possible size pots and pans are already in house, so I'm not at a deficit there either.  Different types, from aluminum to stainless; cast iron to non-stick.  There really isn't any reason to think there is nothing I can't get done, with what's already here.

If you are reading this and you have not yet set up your kitchen, you'll probably want to take some time and watch videos about "essential cooking tools" or something like that, to get your shopping list ready, and fill your cabinets.

What have I learned: I'm probably gonna go out and buy myself a set of 5 knives, as an inducement to continue on this quest to learn how to cook, even though I don't need them.  Perhaps I shouldn't give them to myself until I have "graduated" from my wife's cooking classes?!