By Amanda Laird of Mise En Place

With fancy kitchen supply shops in every shopping mall and new gadgets launching every week it’s hard to decipher what we really need to have on hand to make a great, home-cooked meal.

Now that your pantry is in order, clear out the clutter and make sure you have only the essential equipment on hand in the kitchen.  It will save you space, time and most importantly, a little sanity.  When clearing out kitchen clutter the best advice comes from Laurie Colwin, who said, “there is no point at all in anything that does only one job.”

A good knife

As long as you’ve got at least one good knife you’ll be able to get around in the kitchen.  Keep it sharp and you’ll always be ready to go.  Once you’ve mastered the basic knife skills, you might consider a smaller knife, like a paring knife or perhaps a serrated bread knife (which are great for tomatoes).

Wooden spoons and rubber spatulas

When it comes to every-day tools, you might want to double up so you’ll always have at least one clean when dinnertime arrives.  Wooden spoons are the jack-of-all-trades utensil and are great for stirring, mixing, sautéing, etc.  And rubber can bend when wood cannot.

Pans

A frying pan and a sauté pan are essential.  What’s the difference?  A sauté pan has higher, straight sides and has a lid, whereas frying pans usually do not.  Ensure that your pans have ovenproof handles to increase their versatility.

Pots

One small, one large, with lids.  With these you’ll be ready to make sauces, boil pasta, melt chocolate, you name it.  A stockpot is also a good idea to have on hand for when you double a batch of pasta, chili or stew.

Roasting pan

Perfection in home cooking is a roast chicken.  A medium-sized roasting pan can also double up as a gratin.

A baking sheet

Four words: homemade chocolate chip cookies.  Muffin tins and various-sized and shaped cake pans are also handy to have on hand if you’re inclined to bake.

Mixing and prep bowls

You can usually find a set of 5-10 bowls in varying sizes made of stainless steel, glass or ceramic, for a decent price.  Mixing bowls don’t have to match, but if they nest it makes them easier to store.  Here the rule of them is the more the better.

Instant-read thermometer

Overcooked meat is unappetizing and undercooked meat can be hazardous to your health.  An instant-read thermometer is essential in every kitchen.

Two cutting boards

If you’re really diligent at cleaning your cutting boards well one is enough, but I prefer having two: one for meat and one for everything else.  Try wooden butcher’s blocks.  One that is made of a beautiful end wood can even stay on your counter, if you have room.

That one thing you just can’t live without in the kitchen

Maybe it’s your wok or a spring-form pan or an electric mixer, but we all have that one tool or gadget we just can’t live without.  For me, it’s a pair of tongs; hardly a meal is cooked in our home without them.

What can’t you live without in the kitchen?