Your dream kitchen tools and cookware

[Megaroo]

Everyone in my family has been nagging my fiancé and I to register for gifts for our upcoming wedding. Although I feel bad about asking people to buy me something specifically, our families have encouraged and convinced us to do this in order to "make it easier" for those who choose to buy us something.

So, I'm looking for the best tools, gadgets, utensils, cookware... anything kitchen related. Since I'm somewhat of a foodie and we already have some basic stuff, I'm looking for some of the fun stuff, but also the practical never-leave-home-without-it ones you've found as well. For instance I know that I WOULD use a butane torch, so we're going to register for that.... what else would you recommend?

[Toliver]

My "pie-in-the-sky" suggestion:

Le Creuset cookware, something that can be handed down to your kids and your kids' kids.

[fifi]

I totally agree with your family. Please register everything you can think of. When I am faced with buying a wedding present, I really hate it if the couple has not done that. As a gift giver, I really want my money to go for something that the couple really wants and I am not a mind reader, nor do I usually have any inkling of their individual taste. Most places now have on-line registeries and that really makes my day.

I second the Le Creuset. My favorite pieces are the dutch (oops, I mean French) ovens and the gratin pans (cast iron, not pottery). In the absence of a relative's heirloom, a Lodge cast iron skillet wouldn't hurt. The preseasoned ones got rave reviews here.

Microplane graters.

Those heavy bottomed stainless steel Chefsmate stock pots from Target. The combo pot that has the pasta and steamer insert is terrific. And the glass lids have a steam hole so the lid doesn't bump up and down.

A nice and heavy Boos cutting board.

For a couple of pricier appliances that I cannot live without, I recommend a DeLonghi convection toaster oven and a fuzzy logic rice cooker. The toaster oven is fabulous for cooking for one or two.

That highly rated pepper grinder. I think it is a Magnum. (I don't have one ... YET.)

Don't dismiss the lowly crockpot. There are actually some out there now that aren't disgustingly ugly. Check this one out.

That is all I can think of off the top of my head. Congratulations!

edit to add: How could I have forgotten these. and they can get the $7 toaster while they are at Target getting the stockpots.

Edited November 13, 2003 by fifi (log)

[tsquare]

KitchenAid Stand Mixer (or other favored brand). I still haven't bought one.

[MatthewB]

I'd like to register for some of this stuff.

[Richard Kilgore]

All great ideas. I would add Emile Henry pottery -- gratin and baking pieces, a casserole (fait tout ), pie plates (large, small and mini), and tart pan are some of my favorites. The EH tableware also is worth checking out. Sur La Table and Williams-Sonoma both carry different versions in different colors of the EH cooking and baking pieces. Dinnerware is harder to find at a brick & mortar, but check the eGullet Amazon link.

Also Pillivyut French porcelain for baking pieces, serving pieces and table ware. This stuff is white and luminous, sets off any food well, and is nearly indestructible.

Both Emile Henry and Pillivyut can go from freezer to oven, broiler, or stovetop and to the table. Great stuff.

[snowangel]

MICROPLANE. Great knives. Gift certicificates to specialty food shops.

[jat]

All the above! Do you have a fondue set? Beautiful crystal wine glasses and

goblets. Cuisinart (I go through them alot!). A large clay pot, my favorite chinois!

Knives, a set of steake knives, with stainless butt that you can monogram. The

right pan for risotto, special whisks- I have one for my grill cast iron pan. Also

Sur la Table had a nice cherry wood salade bowl serving set with tongs, with a

wood stand included for $99. I'm getting it as a gift for someone.

I'll leave room for others..

[marie-louise]

My name is Marie and I have a problem with dishes.

With that disclaimer, I'd suggest registering for a set of dishes. We didn't register when we got married (it was 1979, and people our my circle rarely even got married, let alone owned CHINA.) My Grandma died a few years later, and my Mom divided up her china among the grandchildren. Looking at her dishes brought back a of flood of memories from holidays past, and I decided that we really did need our own set of "family china." After several painful episodes in the china department-picking china is probably as good a premarital screening test as any-we agreed on a wonderful pattern that's nice, but not so fancy that we can't use it on a regular basis. Over the years, it has come to represent as many wonderful holiday and special dinner party memories as my Grandma's.

My latest obsession is Luna Garcia. It costs more than most china, so receiving it as a wedding present would be PERFECT. For the rest of us, they are having a 25% off sale this weekend-call them for details before Friday.

[ExtraMSG]

I've been getting rid of my useless cookware and utensils lately. My suggestion is to register somewhere that you can easily take your stuff back. I like Bed, Bath, and Beyond, eg. Then you can group returns to get the bigger items:

KitchenAid Stand Mixer: I suggest the 5 qt (Artisan). I have the 6 qt (Professional), but it's often a little too big.

Le Creuset: I suggest about a 7 to 9 qt oval or round.

Knives:

- Top Quality chef and paring knife

- Global flexible boning knife

- Wustoff's Santuko

Pots and Pans: I prefer All-Clad, but Calphalon is a better value

- 12 inch non-stick skillet

- 6 qt saute pan (stainless interior)

- 3 qt saucier (stainless interior)

- Stock Pot, as big as you can get, I suggest no less than 16 qt

Grill Pan

- Lodge pre-seasoned dual burner stovetop grill/griddle

Cuisinart: I suggest a 7 cup capacity so you can cut in fat to pie dough and the like

Stick Blender: Has become one of my most used items (it's cheap, but I think many people overlook it).

Silpat and a nice heavy sheet pan

Other items you may want to consider, but aren't as broadly useful:

Marble slab

Nice non-stick rice cooker

Ice cream maker

Pasta roller attachment for KitchenAid

Meat grinder attachment for KitchenAid

[misgabi]

You really do need to register. We did not, thinking that "everyone knows what we have and we don't want to look greedy". This resulted in either doubling up or things we really do not want in our house (either through sheer impracticality or dubious quality).

However, those who actually pinned us down and made us say what "fun toys" we might want actually ended up getting us exactly what we would have wanted and we love.

[bloviatrix]

In regard to your fear of looking greedy - select items in a wide variety of price categories. This way people will have flexibility. I agree about choosing a store that will allow returns. Additionally, if you have people coming in from all over, you might want to choose a store fairly national in scope like Bloomingdales.

Remember, people might buy things you have registered for from other places. Make sure you can access the registry and mark those items off as you receive them to avoid duplication.

[Malawry]

I don't think anybody has suggested a mandoline. I wish we'd registered for one back when we got married.

We registered for a lot of little tools, for people who might not want to spend so much. Stuff like potato ricer, pastry blender, bench scraper, and heatproof Rubbermaid spatulas are useful and inexpensive. Of course one of my relatives put together a big box of 75% of those items as her wedding gift, which amused and thrilled us but sorta defeated some of the purpose of registering for little things.

We also designated two charities, the Alternatives to Marriage Project and the Sierra Club, for those who might not want to give material gifts. A few people donated to ATMP in our honor which meant just as much to us as that beautiful knife set.

[tryska]

if it were me?

le creuset

a hot pink Kitchen-Aid

a marble cutting board

and a large marble mortar and pestle.

[Cusina]

In addition I'd suggest a mortar and pestle and I LOVE my cherry pitter. Fruity fun.

How about barware? A martini or a margarita set? Wine related things like a nice wine rack, good corkscrew, vacuum sealer etc...

You could even register for spices. One of the most successful wedding presents I've ever bought was a grouping of Indian spices. They loved it. He was practically giddy.

Also, I'd ask for lots of serving utensils. Vegetable spoons, jelly servers, asparagus tongs, gravy and soup ladles, spreaders, etc... Think about the grandest table you ever hope to set and make a list of the things on it. Don't forget the linens.

Congratulations! Hope you get to use this stuff for many happy years!

[Cleo]

In regard to your fear of looking greedy - select items in a wide variety of price categories.  This way people will have flexibility.

I totally agree. Definitely register for items in different price ranges. We got married last year and registered for things like Oxo gadgets, to china, to expensive crystal and kitchen appliances. I kept thinking that nobody would buy us either the really cheap stuff or the really expensive stuff. In the end, we got about 99% of the stuff that we registered for.

One of my favorite gifts was the Wusthof knives.

If you like to travel, another thing that you might consider (although not kitchen or food-related) is registering for luggage (if you register at a department store). My husband and I love to travel and we always borrowed my parents' luggage. This past September, we were going on a trip to Italy and we finally made the investment in our own good luggage. As we were buying it from a store that we had registered at last year, we said to each other "why didn't we just register for this?".

[Carolyn Tillie]

KitchenAid Stand Mixer (or other favored brand). I still haven't bought one.

Run, don't walk, and buy one. You will wonder how you lived without and kick yourself for not getting one sooner.

As well as Le Creuset, I'd ask for All-Clad. I like Le Creuset for the BIG pots, but All-Clad for everything else.

[alkonin]

bed bath & beyond is a great place to register. i wish we had. apparently they will give you cash for returns (there are always returns). we stupidly registered at bloomingdales and williams-sonoma and received only a few items. if it's inconvenient for people to get to where you registered, forget it. they'll pick something out on their own. i cannot tell you how many pieces of lenox (i hate lenox) i wound up with. and cookbooks. lots of them. no pots or dishes, but plenty of cookbooks. also, decorative towels. as a general rule, i don't like decorative anything. we got a trash can. and a matching towel hagar thing. trivets.

returns can be tough. i had to get real mad in order to unload my lenox shit. i convinced the manager at tj maxx to take back items that were not purchased at his store (the decorative towels and trash can--totally came from a tj maxx somewhere).

if you already have most of the stuff you need, register for stuff you want. a friend of mine registered for lots of dvds and a computer moniter. if i had to register now, i would do so in the form of a vacation fund.

congrats on the impending nuptuals!

[bloviatrix]

i cannot tell you how many pieces of lenox (i hate lenox) i wound up with.

You're bringing back memories. We got glass bowls by dozens. We got so many bowls, that one day while making returns at Tiffany, my husband ran into my Aunt, who had given us, what else, a bowl for our engagement. Fortunately, the sales woman had already taken it into the back. We also received many vases, including a three foot tall Kosta Boda one that cost a fortune (I bought my stemware with the proceeds).

And yet, not single pitcher.

This is why you must register.

[Megaroo]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! It's really helped us narrow down what we need and want.

Another quick question though: Everyone keeps suggesting that we register for a Kitchen-Aid. I have always wanted one, but this last year, my grandmother moved from her large townhouse into a small apartment and gave me her Bosch mixer. It's from the early 80's and has all sorts of attachments (whisk, paddle, dough hook...) as well as a blender that fits on it as well. My mother has one (they bought them at the same time) and it has been through the war and back (including my rather harsh usage of it while I was a teenager). So I know this thing will last a lot longer, since my grandmother babied the dear thing. Should I register for a Kitchen-Aid anyways?

[tsquare]

KitchenAid Stand Mixer (or other favored brand). I still haven't bought one.

Run, don't walk, and buy one. You will wonder how you lived without and kick yourself for not getting one sooner.

As well as Le Creuset, I'd ask for All-Clad. I like Le Creuset for the BIG pots, but All-Clad for everything else.

Megaroo,

I think if you have a good work horse, keep it or pass it on to someone, if you don't get the KitchenAid. I love having my parents Waring Blender from when they were married in the late 1940's. It still whirls with the best of them.

If you register for it anyway, be specific as to color and size. The $199 won't do what the $249 will do, entirely. But you might not need more than that. I think there is a long thread on these - but right in this one, it is recommended to get the 5 qt. rather than the 6 qt. Probably good advice.

Thanks Carolyn. I walk by and caress them anytime I go into a cookware store! How can I attempt to make Nightscotsman's marshmallows without one? I've managed to bake pretty well all these years without. What is the primary use you have for one?

[Toliver]

Should I register for a Kitchen-Aid anyways?

Yes.

You can always put it on a shrine in the living room until the day comes when the Bosch dies.

[fifi]

I just thought of something... A couple of years ago, my pseudo-nephew got married. The invitation contained a separate card with information on where they were registered, including web site links where that applied. (Actually, they all had one.) I don't know where that falls in the "etiquette" program but I found it extremely helpful, not a "greedy grab for gifts". Come on... Everyone knows that invitees buy gifts. Why try to hise the fact under a bucket. Anything that makes the "guest's" life easier seems to meet the requirements of etiquette to me. Given the web based registration services, this makes your choice of stores broader. You don't have to worry that Aunt Lydia doesn't have a Williams Sonoma down the street. She can just click away, and a wrapped gift arrives at your door and she doesn't have to get out of her fuzzy slippers. What is better than that.

[Malawry]

All of the places we registered had web sites where you could access the registry, but in my family it would have been considered incredibly rude to enclose a card about registries with any invitation. We simply told our attendants and our folks where we registered, and then we put links on our wedding web site (which we did mention in the invitation, as a repository for directions to events, directory of who was who, information about menus for those who kept Kosher or were vegetarian, etc). Some people just asked us directly. The information can be easy to get for those who want it, and you don't risk offending your more traditional Aunt Sally with the cards.

The people you register with will offer you the cards and make it sound like everybody mails them out. Don't believe them. It's ok in some families but definitely not ok in others. Ask a few close relatives if you think it's a good idea, and listen to them if they tell you not to send them.

I'm sure they are helpful for many guests, but people are so easily offended over these things, I felt an obligation to say something. Sorry Fifi.

[fifi]

The people you register with will offer you the cards and make it sound like everybody mails them out. Don't believe them. It's ok in some families but definitely not ok in others. Ask a few close relatives if you think it's a good idea, and listen to them if they tell you not to send them.

I'm sure they are helpful for many guests, but people are so easily offended over these things, I felt an obligation to say something. Sorry Fifi.

I totally agree with you on this.

I think this is one of those cases where "traditional etiquette" has not caught up with modern reality. In the case I sited, the group of invitees were "into" the modern way of doing things and it was very well received. I agree that an audience that would be heavily weighted with the more traditional folk, this might not be well received. That is kind of a shame. The original ultimate purpose of etiquette was to make things as easy as possible for the guest and to help them feel comfortable. Unfortunately, at various times in history, etiquette came to mean adhearance to rules that no longer make any sense but are the perview of the elite and become a meaningless dance of propriety, forever divorced from the premise of the comfort of the guest. The Victorian era in England was famous for this phenomenon. Also unfortunately, the "rules" don't change as fast as the times and you end up with these absurd "work arounds" such as... you tell this attendant, they tell their family and friends, etc. etc. etc. ad nauseum.