A serious receiver won’t look at the price, only pompous non-cooks do. A serious cook looks at the question if it’s useful, provides bang for buck, and doesn’t waste space by being a one-trick pony. A serious receiver knows, that above and beyond, water and grind make the perfect coffee, not an expensive machine. I bet you, dimes on dollars, that I can brew a better espresso on my $300 machine than you can on a $2000. Why? Because I have been doing it for years, tapped and pulled more shots in a week than most people in their lifetime. Save the $1700 you’d overspend and get good beans, a water purifier, and a trip to Rome, Italy, to learn from a true master.

so, according to whatshisname, my kitchen should be pretty much incapable of putting out any food, period. hmmm.

i love that you called him out for name-dropping… it’s cute, but he totes could’ve told the story w/ out it.

like you, i completely disagree on his “essential” knife list ~ foodies have enough probs buying too many useless gadgets (alton brown has a word for shit that only does one job, but i can’t recall it right this second), no need to encourage it or make it seem “necessary”. i got sick of digging globals out of my work case everytime i wanted to cook @ home, so i bought an identical 8″ unforged chef’s and a 7″ veg cleaver strictly for home use. that and my cheapy paring knife and i’m good.

i LMAO’d @ his “essential” $20 oil ~ b/c i can eat for a week on that ~ as well as the espresso machine. he was clearly pimping himself out for someone. my $13 french press and $20 stovetop espresso maker do just fine thank you. i seem to also (magically, obv) got on w/ out either a rice cooker or a toaster oven…

UNITASKER ~ just remembered… love alton!

lastly: i have a teensy kitchen, which i love beyond common sense (there are pics somewhere on my blog, but sufficed to stay i can stand at my work station right next to the stove and reach every part of my kitchen w/ out taking one step), so i actually DO own only 3 stovetop pans: a 10″ heavy-bottomed, non-stick, handled, sloped skillet; a 3-qt heavy-guage saucepan w/ a steamer insert & tight lid; and a small one-person skillet which i used before i got the big ikea one but which never leaves my oven anymore. i also have 1 le cruset casserole b/c to me, that IS essential, but i got it as a gift, so…

also, me & morton’s kosher salt sem to get the job done… and again, here’s a multi-tasker ~ he helps me clean pots, i can put him on the bottom of my broiler pan to soak up drips, and i even put him in votive holders to hold incense.

all-in-all, i guess “essential” is too subjective ~ not on knowledge so much as budget ~ but i am kinda disappointed in this one. i am sure “someone” will put out a better one soon. again, sorry for blogjacking: i can be long-winded when i get riled up. :D