Kitchen gear for a newbie cook

[damned_colonial]

This is a hypothetical question -- not for me, but for some theoretical newbie cook. Imagine said person asks you, "What kitchen equipment should I buy to learn to cook?" What would you suggest?

Comments

[boosette.livejournal.com]

+ Chef's knife and honing steel. (They don't need to be expensive - my most expensive one cost $11 and is going strong on its sixth year.) Or two chef's knives and hone one on the back of the other.

+ A 6, a 3 and a 1 quart pot. Lids. (Interchangeable is good.)

+ A 12- and a 6- inch pan. At least one should be nonstick.

+ One wooden cutting board (vegetable matter) and one plastic cutting board (animal matter). Never ever let your knives near ceramic, it ruins the edge. Beware of bamboo; it splinters like nobody's business.

+ A set of wooden spoons.

+ A set of utensils (spatula, slotted spoon, big spoon, ladel, pasta fishing fork/foon)

+ Measuring cups & spoons (plastic is better than cheap bendy metal)

+ A cooling rack and a cookie sheet.

+ A medium casserole dish (if you're baking for one/few) or a large casserole dish (if you're baking for many/doing bulk cooking).

I'd say save the baking pans of all shapes and sizes for when/if you decide you want/need to do a lot of baking.