A few of my favorite things

Judd and I were very lucky to get so much great stuff for our kitchen from our Williams-Sonoma registry. When my soon-to-be married friend Ciara recently asked for some registry advice, I thought I might make a list of my very favorite cooking and serving pieces that I also use again and again, including things I bought or received well in advance of ever even meeting Judd, in case anyone besides Ciara is shopping for similar items.

Here they are, my favorite cooking accessories, in no particular order:

1) 7 1/4 quart Le Creuset round dutch oven

I use my red dutch oven more than any other pot I own. I will use it even if it is far bigger than the pot required for a particular recipe just because I love it so much. It's bottom is very thick and it's nearly impossible to burn the contents. And it's covered with enamel so it's virtually non-stick and so easy to clean. And it goes in the oven (it's essential for no-knead bread)! The list of good qualities goes on and on. Which is why I have an entire collection of red Le Creuset cookware (i.e., the deep saute pan, braiser, and saucepan), though I rarely use the others, mostly because they're so heavy!

2) Cuisinart Classic 14-cup food processor

I only had a small "mini-prep" before getting this enormous contraption. It is so liberating not to have to puree/chop/mix things in little "mini" batches! I love the feed tube on this model for drizzling olive oil into pesto or salad dressing. I love the promise of all of the things this machine it does besides "processing" food, e.g., grating or slicing things, though I have never tried using it for either of those purposes.

3) All-Clad cookware

Within moments of Judd's proposal, it occurred to me that I might soon own the All-Clad cookware I'd been dreaming about for years. I am pleased to report that they were well worth the wait. While our new pots and pans look a lot like our old pots and pans, they cook food much more evenly. I feel like I'm really in the culinary big leagues with All-Clad cookware. And it feels so good :)

4) My knife, "Ming"

Stash's family gave me this ceramic knife as a graduation gift after they had taken us to an incredible celebratory dinner at Ming Tsai's Blue Ginger restaurant in Wellesley, MA. While Ming's signature is branded on the knife, it was made by Kyocera, not Ming Tsai. I am still in love with it, more than 8 years and many painful and bloody cuts later.

5) Tongs

I use these Cuisipro tongs almost every single time I cook anything (FYI - Cuisipro is not a brand I know and I have no idea where I got these). It's like having a hand that can reach into any temperature. Since the tips are plastic, I don't worry when using them in my non-stick pan.

6) small pairing knife

I use this little guy almost every day to slice berries or fruit or to cut up vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower. It's sharp enough to get the job done and yet I have never seriously hurt myself using it!

7) Commercial aluminized steel jelly roll pans/sheet pans

I use these pans all the time for roasting vegetables like asparagus, brussel sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, broccoli, or buttnernut squash. All you need to do is cut the vegetables and toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper and pop them into a hot oven on one of these pans until they look sufficiently roasted for you. Also, they can go right into the dishwasher afterward.

8) Apilco deep-oval roasters (No. 6 and No. 8) and Pillivuyt rectangular bakers (2 quartt and 3 3/4 quart)

I love these dishes because they are great for the oven, but they also look great on the table. And they are dishwasher-safe. I also use them as serving pieces even if I didn't put them in the oven first.

9) Perfex pepper mill

This is a terrific pepper mill. I know that it doesn't have a matching salt grinder, but I don't grind salt or serve it in a shaker (I keep kosher salt in a little jar near my stove so I can reach in and grab pinches out), so it doesn't matter to me. I love that it has a door that opens up to pour the peppercorns into so you don't have to disassemble the entire thing when you run out. I also like the way you make it grind up the pepper by moving that wand around its top instead of its having a big top to twist, thereby getting your potentially-messy fingers all over the thing.

10) Microplane grater

I don't know what rock you live under if you don't know what I'm talking about. Microplane graters have razor-sharp little teeth that transform anything you're grating into mincemeat -- including your fingers, if you're not careful. I use mine all the time for cheese, garlic, citrus zest, and nutmeg (as you can see, I actually have a separate Microplane nutmeg grater). You might never use a traditional box grater again.

I am sure I will think of more essentials/favorites over time, but that's my current top 10 list.