Gourmet Meals in Crappy Little Kitchens (2 page)

• You may have the Crappiest Little Kitchen in your group of friends, but with my simple advice you'll be the best cook of the bunch.

• Fashions change, economies crash, people come and go, but you're Crappy Little Kitchen has survived the test of time. With its original subway tile, wobbly stove, and non-defrosting refrigerator that didn't start out “eggshell,” your CLK will provide pleasure and gourmet meals for generations to come.

Where most people go awry in their CLK is in buying space-wasting gadgets. I'm here to tell you: never bother with a tool that only has one function! The kitchen gear I recommend not only does an excellent job at the function for which it is intended, it also can perform additional tasks making each item an invaluable tool for the gourmet cook confined to a small space. Invest in these CLK-friendly must-haves that will give you the most bang for your buck:

Pots and pans

You only need a few utilitarian pots and pans to do the job in your CLK. Make sure these are durable, heavy bottom pots preferably with matching lids (but foil makes a perfect crappy little lid). I prefer stainless steal (strong, resists rust, inexpensive, around $40, and usually dishwasher safe) with a copper or aluminum coil buried in the base for even heating. You don't need to buy the most expensive, but make sure they are able to go in the oven without warping the handles (it will say “oven safe” somewhere on the packaging, but if the entire thing is stainless steal you'll know it's oven safe).

12-quart stockpot with strainer and steamer basket

You can boil a box of spaghetti or steam large lobsters in this monster pot. You only need one large stockpot for all size jobs. Because it comes with its own steamer and strainer basket, which nestle inside for easy storage, you can also use this same pot for steaming vegetables as well as to strain the pasta or lobsters without the need for a separate colander. Use this pot to make any of the soup or sauce recipes found in this cookbook. You can prepare small or large quantities in this same pot.

12-inch stainless steel sauté pan

This generous sauté pan will work for jobs both large and small. You can fry two pieces of bacon, or make a monster party-size portion of paella in this magical pan. I use this pan more than any other pan in my kitchen, because I sauté, caramelize, or sweat onions and garlic, which is how I begin most of the meals in my kitchen.

8-inch nonstick sauté pan

Most chefs swear by stainless steel and refuse to use anything else. It's true that proteins like chicken or beef won't brown as well in a nonstick pan (mainly because you really shouldn't get nonstick pans that hot). If you don't scratch its surface or overheat it, nonstick is a spectacular invention. Eggs over easy are heaven on buttered toast, and fish get a crispy crust before sliding out of the pan with the greatest of ease.

1-quart stainless steel saucepot

This pot is the perfect size when making delicate sauces or reheating small amounts of soup. A larger surface area will retain heat better, and therefore cook much faster. When working butter into a sauce or reheating a velvety cream soup, this is the opposite of what you want. You need slow and low heat to prevent overheating or breaking your sauce or soup. It doesn't require much space and takes the place of a meat mallet when pounding out cutlets!

Dutch oven

A Dutch oven is a large pot or kettle with a tight fitting lid. You can choose from cast iron, ceramic, or even stainless steel, but what you need is something slightly smaller than a roasting pan. It should have a heavy bottom to go on the stovetop for baked beans, but also go in the oven for braised rabbit or pot roast. Now if you have a small roasting pan or braising pan, don't throw it away and buy a Dutch oven. This is a great example of using what you have. Make the Lamb Shank Sheppard's Pie in your braising pan and use a piece of foil as your lid.

Pot rack

This is very easy to make with a wire rack from an old barbeque grill, four strong ceiling hooks, four chains of equal length, and some “S” hooks. The look will add a bit of shabby chic to your Crappy Little Kitchen. The grill rack itself becomes the body of the pot rack. First, you must anchor the hooks into the ceiling. Just explain the project to the hardware store employee, and they'll steer you in the right direction for the items that you need. Once you've properly installed the hooks into the ceiling, hang the chains from the hooks, then hang the four “S” hooks from the bottom of each chain, and attach the grill rack. Hang the rest of the “S” hooks from the grill rack, arranging them equal distances apart. Start looking for stuff to hang from those hooks!

If you're not a do-it-yourselfer, you can also find reasonably priced pot racks in any store that boasts a kitchen section. With this nifty gadget, you can suspend pots and pans right above your head for easy reach, but most important, your lack of storage becomes a non-issue. Make the best use of your limited space by hanging all sorts of things from the ceiling, walls, or counters. Buy inexpensive under-the-counter wineglass holders and hanging wire baskets for your fruits and vegetables.

Utensils

You no longer need a meat mallet, since whacking the meat with your saucepan will serve that purpose, but having a few double-duty utensils can eliminate all sorts of unnecessary space-wasting gadgets. Keep all your thin handled utensils (spatula, spider, etc.) together in a decorative jar next to your stovetop for easy access, and you won't have to use up your limited drawer space.

Heat-resistant spatula

Usually made of silicone, a heat resistant spatula won't scratch your pans, melt, or catch fire. It takes the place of the wooden spoon and the metal spatula. A heat-resistant spatula flips eggs and burgers beautifully, and it will scrape every last drop from mixing bowls.

Whisk

One 12- to 16-inch, thin wire whisk is the only whisk you'll ever need. Whipping cream, working butter into a sauce, creaming eggs and sugar, sifting dry ingredients, and even whipping up mashed potatoes are all utilities of the whisk, so I do recommend owning one.

Tongs

In a professional kitchen, this is the most used utensil. You can turn meat, stir, move pots with hot handles around the stovetop, pick out food from poaching liquid, and you can even juice a lime with it. It's a great serving utensil for salad or asparagus, too! A nice lightweight aluminum pair of tongs is a great piece of equipment, and if there's no room left on the pot rack, you can hang it from a nail on the wall.

Spider

No, not an arachnid, but a nifty Asian-style utensil that looks like a shallow wire basket with a long handle and is great for lifting vegetables and pasta out of boiling water in fairly large batches. It keeps you from having to pull out broccoli one by one from blanching liquid or pouring out all your boiling water into a colander and starting over. If you need to strain the fat from a few pieces of meat or gently lift poached eggs, this is the tool to use.

Pastry brush

These guys are incredibly cheap, and I haven't found an acceptable substitute for brushing on butter, egg wash, and sauces. I can't think of a better way to apply glaze to a duck breast. You can also use it to spread herbs and spices, pesto, or condiments like whole grain mustard over your culinary creations. It's a great tool for spreading oil on your sheet tray, too.

Vegetable peeler

A vegetable peeler is great for peeling cucumbers, apples, and potatoes.

It's also an excellent tool for shaving hard cheeses and slicing carrots into ribbons for a colorful salad display.

Knives

You only need three basic knives to perform every slicing and dicing task you can imagine as a gourmet chef. This discovery liberated me because knives can be one of the most costly items in your kitchen. Everything else the knife guy tries to sell you is either a glorified steak knife that belongs in the silverware drawer, or unnecessary equipment that will be perfectly happy taking up needed space in someone else's kitchen.

I keep my knives on a magnetic strip on the wall where I can easily grab them. This storage method is not only more hygienic than the old school butcher's block (knives may drip dry naturally rather than sit in a puddle inside the storage block) but also, a huge space saver. Imagine the great big chunk of counter space you'll save by not having that ugly block of wood on the counter. This way, the knives don't take up space, and you don't have to worry about getting grazed by a sharp blade or point as you would if you stored them in a drawer with other utensils. Look for the magnetic strip in a kitchen goods store. It's a snap to install and is a handy item you'll use every day.

6- to 8-inch chef's knife

This is the perfect utility knife, with a distinctive shape made famous by movie serial killers like Michael Meyers. Besides cutting, chopping, and slicing, you can use it to crush and peel garlic, carve meat, and even fillet a fish. When choosing a knife, hold it in your hand to see if it feels comfortable. If you have very small hands, a Santoku-style chef's knife will be perfect, because it has a shorter blade and a slightly curved and smaller handle. Always go with a stainless steel knife because it won't rust, and it holds a sharp edge very well, is relatively inexpensive and easy to sharpen if it does go dull. I use a very inexpensive handheld knife sharpener that has guards to prevent accidents, but if you don't own a knife sharpener it's not a necessity, since most places that sell knives can either sharpen them for you or refer you to someone who can. For cooking at home, I do not buy expensive knives. Shop for a comfortable, stainless steal knife priced around $40–$50, and you'll be pleased with your purchase.

Bread knife

Because it has a serrated edge, a bread knife can cut up a whole rib eye or carve a turkey, not to mention slice bread. Plus you'll need this tool for slicing cake layers whenever you can't find the dental floss (more on that later).

Paring knife

A paring knife, with its compact blade, is perfect for cutting small vegetables like radishes or for deveining shrimp.

Cutting board

For years, wood cutting boards received a bad rap because they were believed to harbor bacteria. As the proud owner of an heirloom wooden cutting board, I reserved its use for cutting vegetables, while using a plastic one for meat. New research refutes the old notion that wood is bad, and now scientists claim that wood, especially bamboo, actually has antibacterial properties. Cleaning a wooden cutting board is a breeze, just wipe it down with a soapy rag and give it a quick rinse with cool water. Very Crappy Little Cleanup friendly! Buy one good-size bamboo cutting board, and base that on how much counter space you have to lay it out on when in use. Mine is one by two feet, but if you don't have enough counter space for something that big, you can set it over two burners of your stove to chop and have very easy access to the pot next to you. If you have too many burners working, just place the board on a towel draped over your sink (the towel is to keep the board from slipping while you chop).

Bowls

I recommend buying one nestling set of three or four stainless steel mixing bowls. The very largest is for whipping cream, tossing vegetables in marinade, dressing a salad, or mixing a cake. The smallest is for stirring together the cornstarch and water for thickening your soup or whisking a couple of eggs for a small frittata. I like to have two in-between sizes, because I use them frequently and often need them both at the same time.

Glass bowls can go in the microwave and work well as double boilers but can also break and send glass shards all over your CLK. Ceramic bowls chip and break easily, are very heavy, and take up more room because of their thickness. Plastic can go in the microwave but can't go on or in the stove, and looks cheap and can stain. However, stainless steel is best because it won't break, can be used on the stove, and it takes up the least room when stacked together. A stainless steel bowl gets a good chill in the freezer, which makes it perfect for whipping cream, and if you don't beat them up too badly, they look very nice as serving bowls. Check out the next section to see what you need for melting chocolate in the microwave.

Measuring cups

One four-cup measuring cup set will take care of all your wet ingredient measuring needs. Make sure to buy a non-breakable, heat resistant one. Because of its high tolerance to heat, this measuring cup can go in the microwave for melting butter or chocolate, and you don't need to worry about glass chipping into any of your recipes. The packaging will let you know if it is resistant to heat and chipping. In addition, you'll need a set of multisize, fitted, round measuring cups (the material of these isn't that important), which are usually connected on a ring. You can level off dry ingredients and use these to portion out crab cakes or cookie dough. If they're on a ring, you can hang them from your pot rack or a nail in the wall.

Measuring spoons

They all hang out together on a ring and work out well for precise measurements of baking powder, spices, etc. Make sure to purchase metal ones because you can use them in place of a melon baller, and to hollow out tomatoes for stuffing. The plastic ones will probably snap under the pressure of either of these jobs.