Lucky Kevin Sharkey. He is Martha Stewart Living decorating editor and he’s remodeling his apartment. Each month, a piece about it will appear in the magazine (and clearly MSLO is footing the bill, sigh). In November Living, Martha redos his kitchen. Who wouldn’t want Martha redoing their kitchen? Lucky, lucky man. Many of the ideas are terrific – and are things I did when we remodeled (vertical dividers for baking sheets, under-shelf baskets, towel rod, wire basket organizer, and drawer dividers). Some I find annoying. For example, she stored all of his flower decorating items above the fridge, then put the folding ladder he needs to get to them in a drawer on the floor, under the sink cabinet. If that was my kitchen, I would not want to have to crawl on the floor to get that stool out every time I needed to get to that cupboard – however I understand there are space constraints in this project.

The part of the project that got me giddy though, is the Kitchen Must-Have Checklist. It’s almost like a quiz (and who doesn’t love a quiz?). I was so excited to get a pen out and check off everything I have. Items I own are in regular black. Items I do not own are in bold.

Cooking Basics
1 1/2 qt saucepan w/ lid
4 qt saucepan w/ lid
10 or 12 inch cast iron skillet (I know people like these, but I don’t – somehow they always seem sticky and greasy to me, not to mention so darn heavy)
medium saute pan
steamer insert
medium Dutch oven
2 qt baking dish
nonstick frying pan
stockpot
shallow stainless steel roasting pan
instant-read thermometer
pepper mill

Preparation Utensils
stainless steel mixing bowls
bowl scrapers
whisk
wooden spoons
stainless steel ladle (on my Xmas list – I have an old plastic one that needs to go)
colander
cutting boards
silicone spatulas
cookie spatula
stainless steel box grater
stainless steel tongs
vegetable peeler
fine sieve
slotted spoon
cooking spoon
long-handled fork
kitchen shears
kitchen timer
vegetable brush (I don’t get why this is necessary when I have a regular scrub brush)
can opener
vegetable slicer (mandoline) (yes, I need one, but frankly they scare me! I’m always sure I’ll shave a hunk off my finger. I do have a slicing blade for my Cuisinart.)
garlic press (I’ve never seen Martha use one – she always chops her garlic and so do I)
citrus reamer
basting brush (silicone)
salad spinner (I had one but got rid of it when we moved since it took up too much cupboard space. Now I rinse my lettuce in a colander, give it a good shake after it has sat for a while, then dump it into a towel where I pat it dry)
microplane zester
wire skimmer
potato masher (I’ve never seen a need for one of these – I mash potatoes with a mixer)

Measuring and Baking
measuring spoons
dry measuring cups
liquid measuring cups
oven thermometer
9 inch round baking pan (just one Martha? You’ve got to have 2 I think)
springform pan
baking sheets
nonstick baking mats
cooling racks
9 inch pie plates (glass and metal)
muffin tin
loaf pan
flour sifter (I never sift! And if I ever needed to, I would use my fine sieve)
parchment paper
rolling pin
kitchen scale
pastry brush
dough scraper
biscuit cutters (I use a glass to do this)

Basic Knives
3 1/2 inch paring knife
8 inch heavy chef’s knife
8 inch bread knife

Small Appliances
food processor
blender (I never use)
coffee/spice grinder
coffeemaker (we don’t drink coffee!)
stand mixer (I never use)
toaster/toaster oven
microwave

There are only 12 items I don’t have (so I have 85%). And honestly, I’m not really about to run out and buy them since I’ve never really felt a need for them. I would never buy baking pans, loaf pans, muffins pans, etc that are not silicone.  So I would change that. Items my must-have list would also include:

cookie dough scoop

ice cream scoop with antifreeze in the handle

8×12 glass baking dish

potholders!

trivet

square glass baking pan for brownies

Christmas cookie cutters

knife sharpener

offset spatula (impossible to frost a cake without one IMHO)

pizza cutter (pizza is BIG in this house)

hand mixer (I never use my stand mixer since it’s so heavy and I don’t have room to leave it out. I also find it awkward to use. It’s hard to get ingredients in and hard to scrape down the sides)

hand held stick blender (Emeril calls this a boat motor. It’s absolutely the best for sauces and soups)

large microwave-safe plastic lid (I use this when I heat things up in the microwave that spatter, like spaghetti sauce)

I also love my bread machine and my electric steamer (I use this for making rice and for steaming veggies), but I could survive without them.

How many items on Martha’s list are you missing? What would you add to the list? Please share!

Lucky Kevin Sharkey. He is Martha Stewart Living decorating editor and he’s remodeling his apartment. Each month, a piece about it will appear in the magazine (and clearly MSLO is footing the bill, sigh). In November Living, Martha redos his kitchen. Who wouldn’t want Martha redoing their kitchen? Lucky, lucky man. Many of the ideas … Read more →