MY FAVORITE KITCHEN ITEMS

Since I started doing my Instagram Live videos a few weeks ago, So many of you have been asking me for my favorite kitchen tools and gadgets that I use. I thought it would be better to put it in writing and give you direct links to all my favorite things that I use in my kitchen. If there is anything I missed, please leave a comment and ask away. I will keep this blog live and continue to add things and update them. For most things I will give you the direct tools that I own and use and some will be on the higher end price, but in my opinion worth it, if you take care of them.

WECK JARS: I LOVE my Weck jars and slowly changing out all my mason jars for these cute jars. I have multiple shapes and sizes like these. If you buy them in sets like these, makes it a bit cheaper.

For storing leftovers, dried goods and more : Weck Tulip Jar.
For storing sauces, jelly, spices, salts and more: Weck Jelly Jars.
These are perfect for spices and small things : Weck Mold Jars
These are also perfect for smaller leftovers or lunches : Weck Mold Jar 
I use these for storing sauces, nut milks, milk, juice and such in the fridge : Weck Juice Jar.

SALT SALT SALT: You guys know me and my salt obsessions. I love salt and have an extent collection of it. Here are some of my favorites that i use daily. Most of my salts are by Jacobsen Salts. My daily used Kosher Salt. Favorite Finishing Salt. Cherrywood Salt I use for meats a lot. Black Garlic and Garlic are my most used flavored salts. I also love their Wine flavored salts like the Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc and use them on more desserty foods. You can always get this gift set and try out a small amount of different flavors before you commit to the one you like most.
VANILLA BEAN PASTE : I LOVE having some really good quality vanilla bean paste on hand when I am making anything sweet, perfect to add to waffles and pancakes for sure. Nielsen-Massey Vanillas Pure Vanilla Bean Paste makes the best vanilla bean paste in my book for sure.
INSTANT POT: Let’s start with my newest favorite kitchen item, THE INSTANT POT! Yes, this thing is amazing. It a pressure cooker, rice cooker, slow cooker and it sautés all in one. It makes cooking much faster and efficient. it’s easy to use and easy to clean. You need to get one ASAP, especially while the price lasts

KNIVES: I will give you options for a more expensive version and a more affordable one from two of my favorite companies that I use knives from. My most favorite one that I use every day is made by Shun, it’s the Dual Core Kiritsuke Knife 8-inch or Zwilling chef knife that’s a more affordable version, yes it’s a bit steep in price, but if you want to invest in a few good knives and take good care of them, they will last you forever. You will want to have a pairing knife or Zwilling one, bread knife or this Zwilling one, every day utility knife  or this one and a meat butchering cleaver like this one, if you butcher meat at home. Also this drawer knife organizer is awesome if you’re looking to eliminate space on your counter and are not into having a knife block on your counter like I am. I love these kitchen shears from Zwilling.

CAST IRON SKILLETS: One of my favorite cast iron skillets is made by Finex. Their skillets are made in Portland and I like the fact that I get to support and promote a smaller company that’s local. Their pans are well crafted and I like the fact that they have lids. I own the 12″ with the lid, 10″ with the lid, 8″ Without lid, grill pan, sauce pan and their new Lean Grill Pan. And i love them all and use them often to make my hash dishes, searing steams and much more. Here is Finex’s care instructions.
I also started out with 12″ Lodge cast iron skillets a few years ago and was using it for a while. Then I got these sweet little 6 1/2″ skillets that I like to use if I’m serving individual skillet dishes like pot pies, cookies, brownies and such. I have this brush from Lodge that I use to clean my cast iron skillets and love it. Lodge has great instruction on how to take good care of their skillets here.

LODGE BISCUIT PAN This is a great biscuit pan that I just used in the sweet potato nest egg post on my IG here.

These are my top three brands that I like using and own. So you can choose depending on what your price point is. If you haven’t cooked with cast iron, I would recommend to start with Lodge, learn how to take care of them and then move on to nicer ones.

STOCK POTS: Here are ones I own and like using. I have a large and smaller one by Le Cruset that I’ve had for years and they work great. I really like these two Dansk Kobenstyle pots I own and the fact that you can use the lid as a trivet. I have this 6 Quart and a butter warmer.

DUTCH OVENS: Dutch ovens are the perfect pots to make stews, soups, bake bread in and sear meats. I own a few and some of my favorites are made by Lodge, Staub and Emile Henry brazier pot.

POT & PAN SETS: So i have two brands that I own and like using. If you’re looking for a few non stick pan to add to your collection, this Copper Halo skillets are my new faves, I have the 12″ and the 8″ ones. I also have Wolf Gourmet set, if you prefer to go the stainless steel versions. Calpahlon makes great non stick pans set and if you are looking for a set, I had them for a while and liked them since they were affordable and easy to clean.

COPPER COOKWARE & BAKEWARE: I LOVE copper anything lately and these are the pieces I have from Mauviel and LOVE them. I love how versatile this pot is, I have baked lasagna in it, made soup, sautéed things in it… it’s awesome. This smaller pot is great for heating things up or making smaller portions of dinners like I did here for my Tortilla soup. Then I love this Roasting pan to make a whole chicken, turkey or roasting pork. And the last piece from the coppper collection is this tarte tatin, which you can use to make tarts, bake eggs in and so much more.

PLATES & BOWLS: My ultimate favorite dinner and salad plates are the Mercer plates from Crate & Barrel. I also have these bowls in the same style. I have 16 of them and I have never had any issues with breaking, only once I noticed a crack, took it back to the store and they exchanged it with no questions asked. I also have these bowls that I use for french onion soups and smaller portion for soups.
FLATWARE: I love my gold flatware from West Elm. But I searched for a few more a like flatware for you to check out as well like these or I would take this pretty black set. This one looks like a great deal for a very similar one to the West Elm set. I am about to add this black and gold set and white and gold set to my collection one day.
GLASSWARE: I love my little Italian water glasses that I have and use daily. They are durable and dishwasher safe. Love these modern wine glasses, I have a few sets of these for a more special occasion. And these white wine glasses for more of an every day use. Also these red wine glasses.
COUNTERTOP CONVECTION OVEN: I LOVE my Wolf Gourmet Countertop Oven with Convection. It bakes, roasts, toasts, broils, proofs every time. It’s an amazing secondary oven, especially for holidays if you need that extra baking area and makes the perfect toast every time.
BLENDER: I love my Wolf Gourmet Blender. It’s powerful, esthetically pleasing and works great on creating so many dishes.

FOOD PROCESSOR: I really like my Cuisineart food processor, it’s the 11 cup one and comes with blades that can chop and slice as well, perfect for prepping.
WAFFLE IRON: We make waffles in our household quite often and I love how simple and easy to use this one is and it’s very affordable as well. This recipe is my kids favorite waffles for sure.
STAND MIXER: I have had my Kitchen Aid Mixer for about 6 years and it’s awesome for baking cakes, cookies, bread, making pasta and more. If you are a baker, you need one of these babies if you don’t have one yet.
IMMERSION BLENDER: I have had mine for so long and use if often to make dressings, homemade mayo, smoothies and even ice cream and it works great. They don’t sell the exact one that I have any more, that’s how old it is heheh but this one has great reviews and a great price.
ICE CREAM MAKER: Yes I own one and use it a lot during the summer time and love it. If you like to make your ice cream this one is great and easy to use.
COFFEE MAKER: I have a few things to make coffee. My every day coffee maker is by Bella, it works great for every day coffee making. I also have the Pour over Chemex Coffee Maker with this Hario Pouring Kettle.
TEA KETTLE: I love my ceramic Tea Kettle and use it pretty much daily. It’s a beautiful piece that hangs out on my counter to boil water for me quickly.
SILICONE ICE CUBE TRAY: I have this large one and this small one. Perfect to make ice cubes for cocktails and also use them to make your own  stock and freeze it. This round ice cube maker looks cool too.
LABEL MAKER: I can’t wait to get this label maker in the mail and be able to label all of my jars when I have leftovers in the fridge so you don’t need to guess when it was made or what it is.
KITCHEN TOWELS: I can’t live without these kitchen towels from Ikea. They are very affordable and absorbent, make sure to wash them first though. I always pick up 10 when I go and change them out often.
SPONGES: My new favorite sponges to use are the Scrub Daddy sponges. I found a deal on Amazon for 9 of them, get them and you will never look back at using a different sponge.
CHOPPING BOARDS: I have had my bamboo cutting board for a few years and it’s amazing, I love how it has a lip to hold it from moving around when I use it. I also have a plastic ones for meats and fish.
STYLING WOODEN & MARBLE BOARDS: I love to use wooden boards with a mix of plates for styling charcuterie boards for parties or even sometimes for dinner. Check out some of my favorites. Love the color of this beautiful board. I am obsessed with J.K. Adams boards and can’t wait to add a few to my collection. I am crushing on this round board for sure. Two great affortable options for round boards like this one and this one. Love the length of this one, you can fit more things on it for sure. This one has a rustic charm to it that I love. Great bread board from J.K. Adams collection. Lets get on the combo of Marble and Wood… yes please and always. I love the combo of the cold and warm together for a board like a few of these, this round one is so sweet, then you have the classic rectangle and longer version that are equally good. I have this board and love using it with darker foods to pop on the board. Couldn’t not add this marble and copper round board and oval shaped one, so cute right?
SPIRALIZER OR ZOODLE MAKER: Also known as the zoodle maker. I love mine and today on IG live I made daikon noodles with it. It’s awesome to make noodles out of veggies.
PEELER: This is my ultimate favorite peeler. You need one ASAP, it will change your life how amazing this thing works.
BAR WARE: My friends over in Bull In China make some great barware products to add to your bar cart. Check out some of the great items they carry. I have this awesome Stirred Cocktail Set.
MANDOLIN: I own this mandolin and love that it comes with different attachments and it’s easy to use.
PASTA MAKER & ATTACHMENT: I have this authentic pasta maker and love it for making homemade pasta. I just ordered my KitchenAid attachments and can’t wait to cook some pasta up. So if you have a KitchenAid and want to add an attachment and make homemade pasta you should get this one. I can’t wait to make some fresh pasta on live with you guys. You will also need this drying rack to dry your pasta perfectly.
COOKBOOKS: Here is a list of my favorite cookbooks that I use for inspiration or cook from. My first ever cookbook was by Jamie Oliver called Jamie’s Kitchen, I love his Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life cookbook, I have this one on my wish list and want to add this one and this one to my library. Of course the second one I will mention is Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, great classic recipes from France and I love her so I love making some of the recipes from her book. I love the Spanish recipes from Toro Bravo cookbook. My friend Eva came out with this great Chicken cookbook, 150 recipes in this cookbook, all about chicken. Another friend Molly Yeh came out with a cookbook about living on the farm life… plus she’s the sweetest girl ever, so you have to check out her great book. Barefoot Contessa is another favorite of mine and I love her cookbook called Cooking for Jeffrey, relationship goals for sure, they are so sweet together. For vibrant and delicious flavors of Israel check out Jerusalem. If you are doing Whole30, you need to get the Whole30 cookbook for sure. Great ideas and recipes and if you have questions about the program, you will have answers here. The Love and Lemons Apple to Zucchini cookbook is great because she organizes the recipes by ingredients.The Smitten Kitchen cookbook is one I have on my wish list for sure, I have been following Deb Perelman’s blog for years and looking forward to adding this to my cookbook collection.
HANDMADE GOODS: I have a few favorite ceramic artist who I buy handmade pieces from. Aron from Facture Goods has my heart in prop land, I own quite a bit of this pieces and love them all. Hand & Fire is owned by Sage, a local ceramic artist who makes beautiful pieces as well. Gold Heart Supply has gorgeous wooden pieces.
CAMERA & LENS: I have had a few of you ask me what camera I use, so I figured I will just add it on here as well for you, for easy reference. I have the Sony A6000 camera, it came with a lens, but I would recommend just getting the body only from here. The reason I say to just get the body is because you will want to upgrade to a different lens any way and I don’t ever use the lens it came with. So I got this 50mm lens and I love it. It has made my photos so much better. Also this is my camera bag and I love that it’s a purse, but still stylish and holds my camera and an extra lens… or you can just use it as a purse too.

Ok I think for now I have a good list going. If there is anything else you guys want me to add, leave a comment below and I will add it in if I missed something. I hope this helps and you guys are able to get some things that I like to use. If there are any questions about any of the items let me know. Have fun shopping.

Enjoy!
xoxo,
LENA

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