I said in another thread that I can't cook without Tony Chachere's or Ro-Tel. What's indispensable in your kitchen?

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

Answers

The Tony's, no doubt. Cayenne pepper, fresh garlic, canned plum tomatoes, olive oil. I use one or more of those in everything I cook.

Also: cast iron skillet, the George, my fabulous Wusthof knives, and kitchen tongs. Love all of them. Love.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

Canned tomatoes, for sure. We substitute tomatoes in place of ground beef. Chili, spagetti, hamburger helper, stuffed green peppers, just about anything you'd make with ground beef. Use half the normal amount of haburger and add diced tomatoes. Yummy and much better for you than the beef. And since you're using a smaller amount, buy the leanest meat you can get. We also use an insane amount of Texmati rice. And garlic. As far as non-food items go, I love my Farber (read:cheap)Everything Pan. Love it.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

Olive oil, lemons, garlic, and ginger. Pretty much everything flows from there in the way of savoury dishes. In terms of non-food items, my housemate's awesome apple corer/slicer is a gadget sent from heaven. And I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a good set of knives.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

Wait, did I forget to mention the most important kitchen product? I did, didn't I?

Booze, people. For drinking while you cook. That way, everything tastes good! With big glass of chardonnay, you become best cook in land!

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

Can't live without mushrooms, vine-ripe tomatoes, squash, and balsamic vinegar. (Not together, usually) Most indispensible ingredient? Lime. 'Specially after I gave myself scurvy.

-- Anonymous, February 27, 2002

Oh, god, my knives - hands down. We have a cavalcade of Wusthof at our house, but all you really need is a good 8-inch chef's knife and a good paring knife. Watch Williams-Sonoma - they often have good deals on a chef's knife/paring knife set for around $80. A tomato (Wusthof calls it a "sausage knife") knife is a good thing to have for cutting soft things.

Seriously, once you prep with a good knife, it will make tears come to your eyes when you have to use a crappy knife. And if you can, take a knife skills class - that's the best cooking class I've ever taken, and was more worthwhile than some things I spent a semester learning in college.

What else? My food processor, my $7 Denman cutting board from Publix (it's wood! and it's dishwasher safe!), my subscription to Cook's Illustrated, garlic, lemons, a non-stick skillet, PAM (no kidding), kosher salt, a pepper mill, and onions.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

Okay, y'all have taken me to the breaking point...got to get me some Tony Chachere's! I am on the website and don't know what I am supposed to be getting...is it the Tony's in the Can?

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

Dawn, where do you live? I have never seen a grocery store that doesn't have Tony Chachere's in the green can.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

I am in Maryland, outside of Baltimore. Trust me, the grocery in my area has a two shelf international food section. Old Bay we have coming out the ying-yang but no Tony's.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

You can even get Tony's in the ghetteaux, which surprises me. Although for some reason the Ghetteaux Ralph's sells it in the diet food section, alongside the Pritikin Dressings.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

It looks like I can order it straight from their website but I want to make sure that I get the right type. They have a lot to chose from, anywhere from creole seasoning to gumbo file' to gravy mixes. So much to chose from, so few dollars...

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

Tony's in the can- the Creole Seasoning.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

Thanks! Can't wait to try it! I'm thinking it may make my boyfriend's already awesome grilled Buffalo wings even yummier!

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

Garlic (Christopher Ranch, minced, in the jar), onion, a decent set of pots and pans, pressure cooker, chicken and beef broth, lemon, lime, Olive oil, Pace picante sauce and way too many other things.

Wish list: a really good set of knives and a dutch oven.

-- Anonymous, February 28, 2002

Music. I need to have music playing. I dont really cook, anyway. I just prepare the same kinds of food I would get if I ate out but spend 1/3 the money.

-- Anonymous, March 04, 2002

Happened to be flipping past QVC this weekend and saw that they were having a whole hour devoted to Kitchenaid. They were selling everything for practically 50 percent off. The MOC and I had some serious struggles not to reach for the phone and become QVC shoppers. I mean, we NEED a food processor! And there it was! For much less than usual!

But, we refrained.

-- Anonymous, March 04, 2002