What Is and What Should Never Be - A Three Part Series

I remember a made-for-TV movie about the rise and fall of Martha Stewart, in which Martha, played by Cybil Shepard, gave an associate a copper pot with the explanation that no decent cook should ever be without one.

I’ve read at length on the sterling qualities and uncontested superiority of copper pots, but I have yet to ever use one, and, while I would hesitate to assume the designation of “decent cook” I have thoroughly enjoyed cooking and entertaining for many years without one. While we would all likely outfit our kitchens with the highest-quality (read: most expensive) cookware and tools if cost and space were not considerations, they unfortunately are. My Beacon Hill galley kitchen and budget can barely house the necessities, let alone an avocado pitter or asparagus pot, and thus, I have had to make selections based on size and price to outfit my kitchen for years of successful cooking. The following is a list of items to shirk. Series II & III will cover the items to save money on and those on which you can justifiably splurge.

Shirk:

Anything with a singular purpose – I would include asparagus pots, avocado pitters, tomato knife or slicer, or similar. If its name contains the singular item on which you can use it, it’s likely more of a marketing ploy than useful cook’s tool (“Now I know where my guacamole has been going wrong, I didn’t have the avocado masher.”) A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself if something in your kitchen would do as good a job, then you likely don’t need the specialty piece.

Specialty Pans – This is a tough one for me to advise against, because, of course, I have my own moony fantasies of serving individual paninis to a roomful of expectant and subsequently overjoyed guests. However, this list is about making the tough decisions, and, unless you’re a panini-fanatic or cannot bear to eat meat that doesn’t have the tell-tale grill trademarks and no use of a grill, then I’m afraid that the expense and space occupancy is for naught. I myself have toyed with succumbing to the indoor grill pan, and, if you or I do so, we should select the most generic (of good quality) so as to avoid the necessity of buying the square, then circular, oval, and then trapezoidal indoor grill pan. But, my inner New Englander still feels that a piece of cookware that does little more than add grill marks to a piece of meat or veggies isn’t worth the cost or space.

Holiday-themed plates, stemware, muffin-tins, etc. – Everyone needs seasonal items and servings dishes appropriate to what is frequently served (i.e. margarita glasses, large salad bowl, chip & dip tray, etc.) What one likely doesn’t need is cornbread molds in the shape of Tom the Turkey. Again, if space and budget are not a consideration, deck out each holiday with heart-shaped cookies, Easter bunny napkin-holders, and Flag-shaped waffles to your heart’s content, but, in my single-state experience, I know that the angst at squeezing a piece of cookware, glassware, or tableware into my bulging cabinets would dwarf the pleasure my guests would derive from pumpkin-shaped pancakes. The solution is to either pick one holiday to go gangbusters for, or keep those brilliant entertaining ideas tucked away until budgets and cabinet-space become more reasonable.

Next post will cover how to save on the items that you need without sacrificing quality or performance.