Skip to main content

Must-Haves

Must-Have Cookbooks

Here are a few of the cookbooks in my arsenal that I constantly find myself referring to:

 Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 1 & 2 by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck


 Barefoot in Paris by Ina Garten

 The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond

 Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller


***************

Must-Have Kitchen Tools

These tools make my time in the kitchen even more enjoyable!

Le Creuset Dutch Oven



KitchenAid Stand Mixer



 Kitchen Accessories & Aprons from Anthropologie.com.  This is my favorite store, and they have the most adorable kitchen goodies I've ever seen.


Silpat Silicon Mats
Kitchen Tongs


A Food Processor is great for everything from pastry dough to chopping pecans.  My processor has saved me many hours in the kitchen!


 Cuisinart ICE-21 Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker


**************

Pantry Must-Haves

Here's a list of items that I always try to keep stocked in my pantry.  Some of them are obvious staples, while others may surprise you.

All Purpose Flour + Whole Wheat Flour
Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
PAM for Baking
Pine Nuts
Pecans
Good Olive Oil & Grape Seed Oil
Local Honey
Balsamic Vinegar
Red Wine Vinegar
Brown Rice
Old-Fashioned Oats
A Jar of Pinto Beans (a great substitute for pie weights!)
Lentils
Sea Salt
 Whole Black Peppercorns
Baking Powder
Active Dry Yeast
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Granulated Sugar
Powdered Sugar
Brown Sugar
Cardamom
Vanilla Beans & Extract
Assorted Dried Pastas
Diced Tomatoes (Canned)
Dried Parsley, Thyme, Bay Leaves and Basil
Mustard Seeds

Popular posts from this blog

Absolutely Sinful Cinnamon Rolls

***Alrighty, here are the cinnamon rolls that I mentioned in my previous post. I put these together on Christmas Eve, and then baked them on Christmas morning. Let me just tell you...there's nothing quite like the smell of yummy cinnamon rolls wafting through the house on Christmas morning...ahhhhh...so wonderful! This is going to be a new tradition for us...fresh, homemade rolls on Christmas. I thought that I might try this recipe, and then maybe try a new one next year...until I found one that I really loved. However, I hit the jackpot on the first try! This is THE recipe that I'll always use. UPDATE:   Since originally writing this post in 2008, I've  made these cinnamon rolls every year for Christmas!  They are a holiday tradition that my family looks forward to all year!  You can see my other posts here, with lots more photos of these sinful cinnamon rolls: CHRISTMAS 2009 CHIRSTMAS 2010 CHRISTMAS 2011 The great thing was that I could prepare them on Christmas

My Favorite Quiche!

***It's not often that a recipe is worthy of re-posting.  I think I've only done that once or twice in the entire time I've written this blog.  However, this is one of those rare occasions.  Back in 2009 when Brad and I went to Europe, we had the most amazing Quiche Lorraine at the incredible Les Deux Magots cafe in Paris.  It was delicious and was served alongside a yummy salad of fresh greens (Quiche Lorraine sur Salade Verte).  Oh, it was heaven on a plate!  It also didn't hurt that we were sitting on the patio of one of the most famous cafes in Paris, after all...haha.  The atmosphere and people-watching in that particular area are hard to beat. I'll never forget the elderly lady that was sitting at the table right next to us (the tables were situated pretty close together).  She was dressed to-the-nines, was all by herself, and was just the quintessential, classy Parisian lady.  I wish more than anything that I had tried to strike up a conversation with her

Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread - Southern Living

***There seriously aren't very many things that smell better than Banana Nut Bread baking in the oven.   Don't you agree?  This recipe for Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread from Southern Living magazine was one of the very first recipes that I added to this blog...back in November 2007!  In fact, I came across it when I worked for the magazine as a Marketing Intern.  Back then, I didn't have a photo for every recipe, and the blog post was simply the recipe and nothing else.  Because this is my go-to recipe for Banana Nut Bread (and because it is so amazing!), I thought that it deserved a little more attention.  This is quite honestly some of the best Banana Nut Bread that I've ever had.  An entire 8oz. package of cream cheese is added right to the batter, along with 4 mashed bananas.  The cream cheese adds so much to this recipe, with an incredibly moist texture being the main component.  Plus, the roasted pecans are the perfect addition.  Roasting the nuts brings out