Kitchen essentials + spinach & artichoke dip focaccia
a full run down of the tools that make the greatest impact in the kitchen
Collin and I bought a FREAKING HOUSE LAST YEAR!! With that, we’ve upgraded from a small one bedroom apartment with a wonky kitchen to a newly renovated one and the difference is incredible! It’s all very exciting (and frankly, extremely stressful) and we’ve been having so much fun relaxing and cooking in the new place. While the rest of the house is very slowly coming together, the kitchen already feels quite complete.
I didn’t feel particularly moved to make a gift guide for the holidays this year (or any year, frankly), but as I’ve been unpacking all of my many beloved kitchen tools, I’ve been reflecting on some of my favorites. So, I thought that instead of a gift guide, I’d put together a list of my tried and true kitchen essentials. Some are newer additions to the team, but most I’ve had for years and make cooking so much easier. I think the best stocked kitchens are ones that are thoughtfully filled with minimal, high quality items. No clutter. Just shit you actually need that will hold up to years of cooking.
Below I’m linking the brands of everything that I actually own. I’ll note when I think that the brand is important.
A good sized Dutch oven — I cook almost everything in mine. I have one from Le Creuset that I got from Home Goods 6 years ago and it’s maybe the best money I’ve ever spent. It felt like a lot at the time, but it’s hands down my most used piece of cooking equipment. However, there are cheaper options out there like Kitchen Aid, Martha Stewart, and Goldilocks that work great as well.
Stainless steel frying pan — I have ones from Made-in as well as Al-Clad. You mostly want to look for something somewhat heavy and with a metal rather than wooden or plastic handle so that it can go in the oven.
A big pot for boiling pasta — I think a lot of people are missing this in their kitchen and I’m here to tell you that a big pot makes life so much easier and you’ll use it more frequently than you think. From pasta to stock it comes in handy.
Bain for easy access to all your tools — I keep the following in mine:
fish spatula (the only spatula I use)
heatproof rubber spatula (for eggs, sauces, and particularly nonstick pans)
spider (for frying, or lifting things out of boiling water like pasta or blanched veggies. If you live in a small space and have to choose, I would opt for a spider over a collendar.)
small whisk (I find myself using this often with sauces and dressings)
tongs (for flipping proteins, serving, and tossing salad and pasta. preferably all metal)
flat wooden spoon (my #1 kitchen companion. I use this almost every time I make dinner)
microplane (the brand is important and I use this all the time for Parmesan cheese and garlic)
Utensil organizer — I find that it makes cooking so much more enjoyable if all of your tools are organized in a logical way. This one is expandable and a nice quality but there are lots of cheaper options. I would look for something with larger spaces and compartments for more than just your typical forks, knifes, spoons, etc.
In-drawer knife organizer — I got this one recently and really like it but there are lots of good options out there. It helps to protect your knives and keeps them sharper longer. A knife magnet is another great option for organizing.
A big ass salt bowl — In my opinion the salt grinders just don’t give you enough salt. It’s so much easier to season something generously and evenly if you can take a big pinch of it and sprinkle it over the surface. When Collin and I got engaged, one of my clients gifted me an antique aspic mold to use as a salt bowl and I think it’s one of my favorite gifts I’ve ever received. It’s perfect because it’s beautiful but also deep so it holds a lot without taking up a lot of counter space. You can find lots of good ones on etsy.
A thick wooden cutting board — I’ve had this one from JK Adams for 4 years now and I use it every day, multiple times a day and it lives out on my counter. Bose Block also makes a nice one. You can find lots of cheaper options that would likely work well for awhile. But, it’s worth investing in one made with a hard wood because it will last your whole life if you take care of it.
A good chef’s knife — I think that Made-In, Hadley & Bennett, Mac, and Mercer make good ones. I’ve used all both at home and at work and I think they’re sturdy and hold an edge well. I think with a chef’s knife it’s worth investing a little bit of money to get something that’s going to hold up but I don’t think it’s worth spending a ton of money for at home use. If I wanted to get only one chef’s knife, I wouldn’t get an oxo one from Target but I wouldn’t get a Shun either. And for the love of God, please don’t get a ceramic one.
A knife sharpener — In my opinion, it’s better to spend a little less on the knife and invest the extra money on a sharpener. You can use a stone (which takes a little bit of skill but there are lots of video tutorials to guide you), or an electric option. You can often find a hardware store that offers knife sharpening, as well. I love my electric sharpener. It’s expensive, but worth it. Whatever you choose, just get in the habit of using it regularly. My philosophy is that it’s more important to have a sharp knife than a really nice knife.
Pairing knives — No need to spend a lot of money on these. I like to buy these ones.
Bread knife — I have one from Made-in but I don’t think you need to splurge on this.
Y-peeler — A small but mighty kitchen essential. From my own personal experience, I think that most people have a swivel peeler or something more out there like a finger peeler. Respectfully, those are the worst. I’ve never worked in a kitchen where people use anything other than this specific y-peeler. It’s not an investment piece and you will need to replace it. But, it comes in a pack of 3 and will get the job done better than anything else.
Salad spinner — These just get the job done.
Sheet trays — I like this kind with a rim around them. They are all standard sizes. I have a couple 1/2 pans, more 1/4 pans, and a whole lot of 1/8 pans. They’re great for roasting fewer or smaller items, as well as for a breading station.
Thick kitchen towels — I think it’s actually worth spending a little bit of money on kitchen towels. You can always find them at places like Home Goods and some are great and others are clearly meant to be decoration. In the spirit of not cramming my kitchen with a bunch of shit I don’t need, I prefer to have large, thick kitchen towels so that I can use them for drying dishes, as a drying rack, an oven mitt, etc. In particular the waffle ones from William Sonoma are my favorite.
This week I also made one of my favorite focaccia flavors to date (I know I’m always saying that but it’s TRUE!). It was inspired by spinach and artichoke dip topped with artichoke hearts, spinach, gruyere and goat cheese and oh my god! It was the kind of thing where I made it and immediately wondered why I had never thought of it before. We make the dip all the time for Scratch Made but I’ve never thought to make a focaccia inspired by it…anyways, you have to make it!
Spinach and Artichoke Focaccia
Spinach and Artichoke Focaccia
Ingredients:
for the dough:
555 g water (room temperature)
750 g bread flour
7 g active dry yeast (or 4.8 g instant dry yeast)
10 g salt
90 g extra virgin olive oil
for the toppings:
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts (roughly chopped)
5 oz fresh baby spinach
1 cup grated Gruyere (measure with your heart)
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
Step 1:
If using a stand mixer, attach your bread hook. First, add the water to the bowl. Then, add the flour.. Mix on a low setting until the flour and water are just combined. If using your hand, add water and then flour into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Use your hand to pinch the flour and water together until just combined. Your dough is mixed enough once it has a shaggy consistency.
Step 2:
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Allow it to rest for one hour (but you could rest for as little as 30 minutes). This allows the dough to fully hydrate before adding the salt and leads to a better texture.
Step 3:
After the dough has rested, sprinkle the yeast and salt evenly over the dough. If using a stand mixer, mix for 3 minutes on medium speed or until everything is fully incorporated. If using your hand, this will take closer to 5 minutes to thoroughly mix. Make sure that there aren’t pockets of unincorporated salt and yeast. Remove the dough from the bowl with a bowl scraper and drizzle a generous amount of olive oil into the bottom of the bowl. Return the dough to the bowl or an oiled baking dish.
Tip: Proof the dough in a vessel that is the same shape as your baking dish. For example, if you plan to bake in a rectangular baking sheet, you should allow it to proof in a rectangular dish. If you are going to bake the focaccia in a round cast iron pan, you should allow it to proof in a bowl. This will make it easier for the dough to fill the baking vessel.
Step 4:
Fold the dough into thirds like a letter and then flip the dough fold-side down. Cover again and allow it to rest on the counter for 20 minutes.
Step 5:
After 20 minutes, fold into thirds again and turn the dough fold-side down. Cover with a towel and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes. Repeat this two more times, for a total of 60 minutes and 4 folds, before putting the dough in the refrigerator overnight to retard.
The process will go like this:
Fold into thirds and cover
Allow to sit for 20 minutes
Fold into thirds and cover
Allow to sit for 20 minutes
Fold into thirds and cover
Allow to sit for 20 minutes
Fold into thirds a final time and cover. Place dough, completely covered, in the refrigerator overnight. (I find that plastic wrap works best to cover overnight. However, a kitchen will work too!).
Step 6:
The next day, take your dough out of the refrigerator and generously coat a baking dish with olive oil. This amount of dough works well with a half sheet tray (18”x13”) or divided between 2 quarter sheet trays (9.5”x13”). For a half sheet tray, pour about 53 g grams of the oil into the tray and reserve the remaining oil to drizzle on top of the dough. If using 2 quarter sheet trays, drizzle about 26 g in each and reserve the remaining oil for topping the dough. Place the dough in the baking dish and dimple it to spread it out as much as possible before drizzling with the remaining olive oil and covering loosely with plastic wrap. Allow to proof one last time on the counter for 60 to 90 minutes. The amount of time will depend on the temperature of the room. However, you will know it’s ready when the dough puffs up and is roughly doubled in size.
Step 7:
While the dough is proofing, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add spinach. Fully submerge the leaves and allow to cook for about one minute before straining and rinsing under cold water or transferring to an ice bath to fully cool. Squeeze the spinach to remove excess water and then roughly chop. Add the spinach and roughly chopped artichoke hearts to a mixing bowl and lightly toss with olive oil.
Step 8:
Place the oven rack in the center. For a convection oven, preheat to 425°F . If you do not have a convection oven, preheat to 500°F and lower to 425°F right before putting your dough in.
Step 9:
When the dough seems ready to bake, scatter the grated Gruyere evenly over the dough followed by the spinach and artichoke mixture, finishing with crumbled goat cheese. Drizzle again with olive oil and flaky salt.
Step 10:
Dimple the surface by lightly pressing your fingertips into it, spreading your fingers out as you press down. More bubbles should form as you do this. Place on the center rack to bake for 15 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake again for another 15 minutes. Rotate it and bake again for another 15 minutes. The exact amount of time will vary depending on your oven, but it will take roughly 30-45 minutes. Remove when the bread is a deep golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before slicing and serving. For a crispier crust, transfer to a baking rack to cool before enjoying.
Buying this knife sharpener bc I do NOT have time for a stone anymore!