Natalie's Kitchen "Must Have's"

My must haves….


A large deep heavy bottom pan

* this pan is my go-to kitchen item. I’ve used it for stir-fry’s, pastas and risottos, a quick week night chili… pretty much anything! It’s large enough that I can make dinner for 4 or more in this one pan. Definitely a must have!

A good chopping knife

* If you are used to dull, poor quality knives (like I was before I got this set) they will take a bit of getting used to (aka I sliced myself a few times before I really got the hang of it) but a great set of knives (and especially a chopping knife) not only makes cooking easier and more enjoyable – slicing and dicing like pro – but its also safer. Accidents can happen with a dull knife because a lot more pressure is required to make it cut!

A garlic press

* Sometimes when cooking with garlic, you want the flavor not actual visible pieces of garlic in your dish (which, unless minced very very small, you are bound to have), a garlic press is a fantastic kitchen tool that basically almost purees your garlic cloves so they can easily mix in with any dish (specifically I do this a lot for pasta sauces)

A wooden cheese board

* This is perfect for entertaining. A very easy (and delicious) way to get some food out before dinner is served is by laying out a variety of cheeses with an assortment of crackers and necessary cheese accoutrements (figs, tapenades, chutneys etc…). A high quality large wooden cheese board and proper cheese knives make the horderve platter visually stunning and obviously its way cooler eating cheese off a wooden board… that’s a given no?

A mini-prep blender

* Perfect when you want to make a quick sauce for something and don’t want to bust out the enormous blender that takes a hundred years to clean all for a tiny drizzle of pesto over a caprese salad.

These are some of my classic kitchen favorites - all of which should have a home in your kitchens as well

Chef natty xo