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Cast-Iron Grill Pan

For grilling! Nothing can beat it. Unless you have a Weber in your kitchen, which is a really bad idea. So go get a grill pan, they’re cheap! Since you’re on a shopping spree, you might as well get a . . .

Crepe Pan

But only if you’re going to make crepes. And you will make crepes (you just don’t know it yet). See page 77 about our recommendations, but in general stick to steel or cast-iron varieties. Run away from any goofy, infomercial-style gadgets that expect you to dip an electrical object into runny crepe batter.

Casserole Dish

Is it for cooking? Is it for serving? You can have it both ways! You can use a cast-iron skillet instead if it’s all you got, but you’ll love having a deep, enameled, cast-iron casserole dish that you can sauté your ingredients in first, top with some dough, and then shove into the oven to finish. Yeah, you can casserole your heart out with a glass or (gasp!) metal one, but the cast-iron ones are really fun to use and look pretty, too. Also good for lasagne!

The Spray Bottle

Our good friend the spray bottle of oil can help you use less oil when cooking, so he makes a few cameo appearances throughout recipes in the book. We’re not talking about that aerosol stuff that you buy in the supermarket, but an actual bottle that you fill with the oil of your choice. You can buy the pump kind, such as a Misto, where you have to pump the top with air (kind of like how a Super Soaker works), but you can also just buy a plastic spray bottle, usually available in housewares stores in the gardening section.

More Pots and Pans!

Okay, we lied in our introductory paragraph. You can never have enough of these. If you’re getting a food processor on the wedding registry plan, go ahead and throw a set of pots and pans on the list. Or just buy ’em when they go on sale. More is more! Lots of discount stores carry good-quality pots and dishes that will last you the rest of your life with little care. Make sure you get the heavy-bottomed variety—give’em a knock on the bottom to make sure they’re thick and solid. If they sound like a gong and feel thin, skip them. Light-bottomed pans will burn your onions and cook unevenly. We’re big fans of pots that come with a few steamer baskets of assorted sizes.

BAKING TOOLS

You can resist that castle shaped Bundt pan for as long as you like, but if you want cookies and cupcakes, you’ll need a few essentials. Not that castle shaped Bundt cakes aren’t essential for all you Renaissance Fair enthusiasts.

Baking Sheets

The classic, 11 × 17-inch, slightly rimmed jelly-roll pan will serve you well roasting just about any vegetable—just line the bottom with baking parchment or aluminum foil first, or you’ll never get them clean again. You can also use it for baking jelly rolls! Nonrimmed cookie sheets work for roasting, too, but you risk having the juices run off and burn to the bottom of your oven.

Baking Tins

This is where you can go all freestyle with your bakeware collection. Large muffin tins, medium muffin tins, little bitty cutie little muffin tins . . . go crazy! Hate muffins (and don’t have a soul)? Then don’t get muffin tins. But maybe you fancy Bundt cakes, so go get the best Bundt cake pan you can afford. And don’t forget a standard loaf pan, unless you want to live a monklike existence free of banana bread. In general, we don’t care for silicone bakeware, but we understand if all those pretty colors lure you in.

We had to go and bring up baking, didn’t we? Well, then you’ll also need this stuff:

Mixing Bowls

These are for more than just baking—you’ll use them for everything. You might as well buy a set, since it’s nigh-impossible to buy them separately, but you’ll be happy you did. The stainless-steel ones are tops in our book, although plastic will do. Glass or ceramic ones are great as well but your cat will knock them onto the floor and cause disaster, so only get them if you’re allergic to