You might not be able to tell from today's entry, but I am actually trying to strike a balance between yuppie materialist and budget-minded young person who just really wants some decent kitchen stuff. I can't help it if those shiny All-Clad pans send my heart all aflutter, but I can keep my head and not actually buy them.

What are the objects of your kitchen lust? What would you buy if you could afford it? What could you not do without? What's worth splurging on, in your opinion? What's a waste of money?

Do you lust after gadgetry, appliances, and cookware that you'll never use anyway? Or does the whole subject leave you cold? (I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who do like to cook, but don't care about kitchen stuff.)

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

Answers

My lust is for a larger kitchen. Our condo has a one ass kitchen. Only one ass can cook in it comfortably; other asses just get yelled at. So, if we could afford it (and condo rules allowed it) I'd knock out the back wall and sacrifice our parking space to make the kitchen larger. Probably shift it into the dining room some. I'd still want a wall, and I'd add a door too damnit. It's wonderful to be able to close the door on the mess.

I lust after gas stoves, good cast iron cookware, and a dutch oven. I'm pretty happy with our three cheap as hell saucepans.

In our tiny kitchen, the dishwasher is a near necessity, in terms of preserving counter space for more important messes. So that's the necessary splurge for us. Otherwise, my kitchen lust thrashes about so much that I completely lack perspective.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

My lust would have to be for a new kitchen as well. Hopefully our plans to remodel this year will be realized.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

I want my cuisinart back. I had a kitchen fire about 4 years ago and it melted into a sad pile next to the flaming wok. I have one of those *substitute* food slicer things, but it isn't a cuisinart. The only other thing I want is a mixmaster.

Beyond that I'm envying your caphalon. *drool*

Wendy

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

I love to cook, but I don't lust over pans so much - I've bought a bunch of decent used ones over the years at garage sales. I have most of the things I want, and the big three for me are: a bigger kitchen, some counter space, and a dishwasher. After that, I could be very content with what I have. The big ticket items as far as I am concerned are knives. My mother bought me my Henckels 5-star chef knife and I'll give it up when they pry it out of my cold dead fingers.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

I get all hot & bothered over appliances -- I want, I need, I must have a KitchenAid stand mixer, a Cuisinart food processor, at least two coffee grinders (one for actual coffee, the other for fresh-grinding spices -- and the more Food Network shows I watch, the more intense my gadgetlust becomes.

It's enough to make me want to just register at Target (as a non-affianced girl with student loans - do you think they have a designation for that?) and tell family members to look there for birthday present ideas.

I think it's worth it to spend a little extra on some brand-name things if you know that you're going to use them all the time, and can be sure that they're going to last forever. My Mom & Grandma have been sharing the same jumbo-sized Cuisinart for about 15 years, and it has yet to show any sign of wear on the blades or electrical cord. It was quite expensive when they first bought it, but it's a workhorse of an appliance, and is a major time-saver. Stuff like that tends to pay for itself, eventually.

On the more budget-minded side of things, the really good cookbooks and books about food, in general, will tell you how to get fancy-pants results from modest stuff you may already have in your kitchen, or can pick up cheaply at places like Target or the hardware store or whatever.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

I look at it as an investment; we don't buy things that aren't going to last. Plus, it really is more fun to cook with pans that heat evenly and a food processor that does the boring work for you (I have the five cup KitchenAid and I think it's exactly the right size ... I wouldn't use a bigger one, and the little choppers are too small), and the most expensive thing you can do, kitchen-wise, is to just eat out all the time. Believe me on this one: when I was getting paid to do restaurant reviews and other food-related writing, I got to write off most of our dining out, so I totalled it up one year. We could have paid for a stove, some fantastic knives, a whole new set of pots and pans, and all the gadgetry we could carry.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

Having recently moved to an apartment with a bigger kitchen and getting married, I am in kitchen heaven. Our friends and family were extremely good to us: we received all sorts of marvelous things from the 5-quart Kitchenaid mixer, Calphalon Pots and Pans, and 8-piece Wusthof knife set, among other things. Over the course of a couple of years I have gone from struggling with mac and cheese to pulling off a dinner party with Food That Looks Real.

This topic is very timely, as lately my thoughts are consumed with all the wonderful things we can make to eat. Since we rent, I am fortunately spared the very expensive Appliance Lust. Instead, I have to restrain myself from frittering away my money on the small stuff. My biggest weakness is cookbooks. I am always looking for the perfect baking book, or new ideas for dinner, or Crock Pot recipes. I gave serious thought to going out at lunch today to hunt for a fondue book. (must...keep...to...budget)

Anyway, just wanted to say that this topic is near and dear to my heart!

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

The best thing I have ever done in my kitchen is the dishwasher and the set of stainless steel All Clad cookware. I am fortunate to live close to where All Clad is made. They have a factory seconds sale twice a year and you can get really good jpans for as much as 70% off. It is the only way to go.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

As a thirtyish bride-to-be who has lived without a stove of her own for five years, I am a bit on the stumped side when it comes to registering. I thought I could put it off for months (I'm not walking down the aisle until September) but I've been informed by my mother that her friends want me to register NOW so they can do whatever the heck it is that they are planning to do. My boyfriend lives with two housemates who have Williams-Sonoma taste, so any of his undergrad cutlery and/or appliances have been up in the attic for years. I figured I would start from scratch and register for any and everything that someone moving into a house with an empty kitchen/linen closet might need. If even half of it gets purchased, that will mean that we'll only have to get 50% of our things from Wal-Mart (after the house is purchased, Groom and I will be POOR) so I think it will work out in our favor no matter what. I'm not a snob and I can barely cook, so I don't care if we have the "best" of anything, but I would like to entertain once we have our home and a few things to cook with. No one thinks that I know how to put a chicken in the oven or bake a brownie, but I'm sure that I can. At least I *think* that I can.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

First of all, I'd like to point out the irony, here: you've been struggling along on a hot plate and a microwave, you finally get a real oven, you cook your first meal and... burn the steak...

Yeah, yeah, blackened. Right. From a recipe. Okay. Still, burned. Hee.

Anyway.

OOhhh, would I love to have that Kitchenaid. My mom borrowed one years ago to bake a wedding cake and fell in love with it, then bought her own. Dang, but those things are handy.

Better non-stick pots and pans. I've been kind of mentioning to my wife that our non-stick stuff isn't as non- as I'd like it to be, so for Christmas she found a really terrific deal on a whole box of T- fal crap. "But it was really cheap!" she said. Umm... yeah.

We got a full set of Henckels knives for our wedding 14 years ago, and I am unable to use lesser steel for pretty much anything now.

What I'd really like for my kitchen that I'm not likely to ever get is better lighting; there's a strip of track lighting which is always directly behind me, whether I'm at the sink, the prep area, or the stove, so I'm always working in my own shadow.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

I've got a good set of the mid-level stuff, but as I'm also about to be married, this is my Big Chance to upgrade on the essentials. I'm reading you'alls (yes, that's a word!) wish lists and taking notes! I definately want a Cuisinart, and some great knives, and a few decent pans. If you don't bake, is a KitchenAid good for anything other than looking cool?

I had a juicer and a crepe pan, and gave them away. Waste of space.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

I've loved cooking for years and have turned out some pretty gourmet stuff in my time (I used to have sour dough starter growing in my fridge. Yes, on purpose.). Now I just am glad to get the most basic home cooked food into the four year old.

I've never lusted after high end cookware. I am firmly convinced that a well seasoned cast iron pan is all you need for frying, and I have RevereWare for the pots. I use basic cheap enameled stockpots and a small roasting pan. I have basic glass casseroles and baking pans. The one thing I do have is a good wok and tools from an Asian shop. I also got a really nice cleaver there that I could probably hack apart an entire cow with; assuming I could actually catch a cow.

All this stuff has lasted me for many, many years and a couple of husbands so far. I do have a huge antipathy to anything non-stick. Just me, but it makes me crazy. There is just no WAY that stuff can last as long as cast iron and if the cast iron is seasoned properly IT is non-stick.

I have an Oster mixer/blender/pasta maker machine, but I should have gotten KitchenAid. The Oster is starting to show its age after 15 years.

I guess the only thing I would lust after (besides a dishwasher, but that's on my list) is nice knives. I have the cleaver, but I could see getting more into cutlery.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

I use my kitchen aid mixer for everything. It makes awesome mashed potatoes, refried beans, hummus, bread dough, pizza dough, merengue for mousse and soufflets, not to mention anything you might bake!

My huge lust is good knives. I got a nice dishwasher for Christmas, for my birthday I want knives!

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

I have a midget fridge. The sucker comes up to my waist, man. You can fit your hand into the freezer, flat, but you can't fit anything else. No, really. The icecube tray barely makes it. Ice cream is not an option in our house.

The fridge is mad and sad that it's a little bitty freak fridge, and so it spoils everything. Everything! I have been really trying hard to eat right and have fresh vegetables and cook every evening instead of ordering out for sesame chicken, but the fridge, it is conspiring against me.

So I guess my dearest kitchen wish, the focus of my lust, would be one of those Giganto Fridges that are 7 feet tall and thirty feet wide and can fit a whole, butchered moose carcass on one shelf.

That's it. The problem is, however, that having one of these MonstroBeasts would open me to a whole new world of cooking and so, a whole new world of lust. It's a vicious cycle.

Anthony, on the other hand, wants to buy a rotisserie, and a kitchen aid mixer and a vegetable steamer and a rice steamer and a bread machine and an ice cream machine and a machine that pats you on the head and sends you out into the living room to wait while it prepares dinner. He's the kitchen-luster in the family.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

When I win Powerball, I will buy Le Creuset pots in Flame and Red. I just love them, though they are incredibly heavy and expensive. Even if you are just boiling water for pasta, it makes it seem substantial. I may get a grill pan anyway.
I will also get a proper stove that doesn't have a stupid broiler right near the floor, so you have to bend or kneel to get your fish out. I want 5 burners too.
I have a bunch of decent, though not perfect knives. I would buy a knife sharpener. And another 5 different coffee makers. Its not enough I have a stovetop espresso maker, an electric one, a coffee maker, and a presspot. and that I drink tea.
and finally, a crepe pan. yeah, I know.
I think the only things cooks really need are good knives, wooden spoons, and the ability to buy spices in bulk. Bakers need other things, but the ability to experiment cheaply and not kill yourself with a slipping knife are the most important thing. And learn that its ok to be lazy...steam up the veggies...

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

I like to cook and I never used a lot of kitchen gear. It was the challenge of making do. I cooked a lot in law school with literally one small moving box of kitchen equipment, plus plates and glasses. I've always had that minimzing tendency with everything except books. Umm, until I had kids, of course.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

I hate to cook. Unless I have the right food and tools. Since receiving a food processor for Christmas and painting my kitchen, I want cookware and gadgets. Really, really badly.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

As my wife and I consider the purchase of a house in the not too distant future we're both talking about the potential of a larger more usable kitchen than our apartment has now. Counter space would be wonderful as would a larger oven.

A full size oven with more than one rack would make me happier than anything else. It's been tough making some meals that require more than one thing to be in the oven at the same time. Plus our current oven has a hot spot in the left back corner that is starting to drive me nuts. Of course, the other benefit would be a full size stove top to go with it. Only if we could continue to have gas burners though. We love having the heat control that gas gives.

We bought a bunch of Calphalon hard anodized cookware at really good prices when they phased out the old style handles. We have one Calphalon non-stick pan that we don't like nearly as much as the hard anodized. I think my wife would like All-Clad cookware in stainless just because it would be lighter.

We clear out our cookbook collection once a year or so. If we haven't used it in more than two years out it goes. We then spend the next year buying more cookbooks.

I'd trade anything for good knives. Friends who cook for a living seem to like the knive made by Global because they work well and they're not incredibly expensive, plus they look cool. Someday...

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

Got bit by the Fiestaware bug. Luckily, I'd rather have new stuff than the expensive, chipped, and scratched stuff at antique malls. Problem is, you can never have enough. Too many colors. Too many accessories. So far I have six disk pitchers, ten glasses, and salt & pepper shakers. It's a start. . . .

Starting to thirst for Lu Ray, too, since I come across it at reasonable prices in antique stores here in the midwest. But I must be strong.

Resist the mirror-finish stainless cookware. It's a bitch to keep it shining. Wish I'd gotten matte-finish Calphalon instead. Well, maybe for my second marriage.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

Greg: it's an odd size and you'll have to have the right kitchen for it, but damn, I love my stove with the two ovens. Not only can you have multiple things in the oven at once, they can be at different temperatures. It's very cool. (And I'm also liking the electric oven/gas cooktop thing.)

Another option for a second oven is to get a microwave/convection combo; ours isn't as good as the convection oven on our stove, but it's better than any crappy rental oven I've ever used.

And you should make sure your wife hefts some of that All Clad before she decides it's lighter. I'm not sure, but I think it's a little heavier than Calphalon. It's pretty substantial.

Kathy, say no to the Lu-Ray. You'll only hate yourself later. (Says the girl with service for ten ...)

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

We've been satisfying our kitchen lust quite a bit lately. We have the six-quart KitchenAid stand mixer ("Darth Mixer"), which we use for making soap, making cookies, and just generally looking impressive in the kitchen. We got a nutmeg grinder for Christmas, and Keith got me a popcorn maker. I have a French press for making hot tea, we have a pasta maker, Keith has had a Cuisinart for years, and we have two frosty mugs (the type filled with water, that you keep in the freezer). We bought a complete set of brand new silverware last year, and Keith's sister gave us a set of table linens also for Christmas.

I guess the only stuff I still really lust for is a set of really good pans. The ones we have are all hand-me-down from various places. And a gas stove. And, of course, more counter space.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

Mainly I lust for more space. I have a really small galley kitchen, adn the reason I don't have more appliances or gadgets is there is nowhere to put them. If I had a bigger kitchen, though, I'd think seriously about a Kitchen Aid (I have a small portable mixer now), maybe one of those immersible blenders (to join my blender, big Cuisinart, and mini-prep), and a mandoline. I'm pretty happy with my one or two good knives and a sharpener, and with my extremely eclectic and largely cheap pot and pan collection. I'm not crazy about my stove, but I rent, so I'm stuck with it. At least its gas. But basically, more counter space is number one on my list.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

I cook a lot, but I'm not a big kitchen gadget geek. I do have a few good quality things, but most of my kitchen stuff came from Target and some of it came from garage sales.

Expensive things that I have that are worth the money: Henckels knives. A 3" thick butcherblock chopping block that makes my counter tall enough for me. Le Creuset enameled cast iron skillets with the "Glissemail" nonstick interior (TJ Maxx finds!). Kitchen Aid food processor. Oster blender with a glass container. Le Creuset magic unmeltable rubber spatulas. Stainless steel mesh colanders and stainless steel utensils.

Expensive and not worth it: Chantal stockpot. Bread machine (fortunately, it was a gift). I think most single-purpose electric appliances are not worth it, with the exception of rice cookers (I like perfect rice) and waffle makers (because there's no other way to make waffles).

Things that are cheap and work just fine: Revere Ware, Black & Decker hand mixer (I don't make bread so I see no need for the Kitchen Aid), Baker's Secret cookie sheets, muffin tins, bread pans, etc, generic Pyrex baking dishes. $15 generic carbon steel stirfry pan. Everyday stoneware dishes. The newish electric stove, cheap fridge, and cheap dishwasher in my apartment treat me just fine, too.

Now that I have the Kitchen Aid food processor, I don't really lust after much in the way of cookware. Except a 5-cup Zojirushi rice cooker.

Where my kitchen geekery does come in is when I buy food. I spend money on good-quality food, and I don't mind spending a little time cooking dinner. Of course I eat some convenience stuff too, but I try to avoid anything that has ingredients that I can't identify without an organic chemistry textbook. That cuts out about 3/4 of the supermarket.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

i lust after another henkel 8" chef's knife. i do have one, but the stupid side of me broke the tip trying to separate one frozen chicken breast from another. flesh broke a knife. i can't bring myself to spend bucks on a knife i already have. it still works, and all you see is the handle (which looks beautiful in my minimal "european chic" kitchen, subzero, etc.....) after i slip it in my wall mounted knife holder.

-- Anonymous, January 23, 2001

We bought a fair assortment of Henkels when we lived in Germany (one of those synchronous things, where I bought a few for my husband for Christmas, and he did the same for me, and between us we wound up with a set without either of us knowing what the other was up to). They're 13 years old now, and still among my favorite kitchen goodies.

Our chefs knife also lost its tip - about a month after we bought them. Husband thought it'd be great to pry apart frozen hamburger patties. Worked great on the patties, forgot the cutting board underneath. heh.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

Um, I hope Jeremy doesn't read this thread, but I almost did the same thing to the new chef's knife last night, prying apart frozen sausages. I bent the tip, but didn't break it. I felt like such a ninny -- especially since we keep a set of old table knives around for that express purpose (so's we don't bend the good ones).

I realize that this wasn't a fair topic for me to start, because I really did luck out and get an awesome kitchen. A lot of things that people are lusting over are things I already have -- a dishwasher, counter space (well, you can really never have enough of that).

If you want to see me cry like a little girl, just start talking about bathrooms. Just say the words "bathroom countertop" and I'll start sobbing uncontrollably. You really don't get countertops in the bathrooms of old Craftsman bungalows ... there is generally room for a tub, and a toilet, and a corner sink, and that's it. If I use a curling iron, I have to set it on the toilet seat.

Or just tell me that people who visit your house can use your toilet even if they're more than a foot and a half wide, and no one has to hold their left arm at an awkward position to avoid mashing the toilet paper in the dispenser. Just talk about that, and then we'll be even.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

Kitchen lust...lots of gadgets. Stoves don't move me because they're not little and cute and they do involve actual cooking. But cute little appliances that do exactly one thing and take up cupboard space, that's what I like.

Okay, so I'm the opposite of what you wanted to hear from.

Stainless steel appliances. New cabinets that aren't dingey. A dreamworld where glass-fronted cabinets wouldn't get all greasy. I wouldn't mind a hood over the cooktop as we currently have no ventilation, which is why we didn't cook all summer. Any countertop that's not tile, which looks grotty and is impossible to clean. Those sexy little cupboards with vertical slats for cookie sheets. Drawer organizers (a possible dream) to segregate the cookie cutters from, say, the spatula, which gets a lot more use. A piece of furniture for the microwave so we can keep it in the sunroom instead of its hulking in one whole corner. Refrigerator letters.

I just like looking at kitchens, not using them.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

I created the ultimate space saver and back saver. I bought one of these metal shelves and some chain and hung the thing up on the ceiling and bought metal s hooks and I hang my pots and pans on it. It doubles as art, and at the same time, it doesn't involve getting on all fours to look into the deep pit that is my cupboard for some odd-shaped pan that is wedged behind the bag of onions.

Oh, and I really really want a good set of knives. You guys start talking Henckel and I get all teary-eyed.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

Someone told me once that when ex-Yugoslavian refugees left their homes, they would take one piece of kitchen equipment: the coffeepot (you know, one of those little ones with the waist, for making espresso). Because if you can invite people for coffee, you have the basis for a social existence.

I'm also caffeine-fixated in my kitchen priorities. I have a stainless steel kettle, a coffee grinder, and several Bodum presses in different sizes. (All simple and modern. No flowered china!) And when I'm in department stores I look at more of the same. And yes, they get used.

Other than that, I don't think I'd live without Teflon anymore. Thank god for the space program.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

Kitchen lust doesn't even describe my feelings. I live in a old house (built in 1898) and have a kitchen that was added at around 40's or so. To make sure that it would look nice and odd when it was added on, the ceilings from my dining room are 11 feet high but the ceiling in my kitchen are only 8 feet high. It is a very small space and have very little counterspace with a very odd sink that is inset in the wall (hard to explain) and very little storage. My budget would not allow a serious remodel and honestly I don't know if my nerves would either, so I guess I will make due. I do however lust away for more space...

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

I don't like to cook and I have almost no kitchen lust. It helps that our kitchen was remodelled fairly recently, before we bought it, so it's not dark or small or anything. It has nice wood cabinets.

I'd like to replace the tile counters with Corian - I think the grout lines are ugly. I'd also like to replace the windows, which are the aluminum type with cranks, with double paned sliding ones, but I'd like to do that all over the house. One of the kitchen windows idiotically opens onto the front porch so you can't open it wide if anyone wants to use the front door.

I kind of like to bake and it would be nice to have a top o'the line Kitchen Aid. But my old Sunbeam stand mixer works okay.

My husband would like to get a new refridgerator but that's mostly so the old one could become the garage fridge, stocked with beer.

We have friends who have the Wolf stove, miele dishwasher, etc. They really are becoming a caricature of disgusting yuppieness, complete with SUV and cel phones. I can barely stand to go to their house any more.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

What I lust after is an entire new kitchen. It is presently a galley type, with one design of cabinet and counter on one side, another on the other side, and something completely different for the overheads. The lighting is not what you woiuld require for most tasks, and the stove is so close to the front door I feel that I am cooking in the driveway. I already have a good set of stainless steel pots and pans, Wilkinson knives from my Gran, but I am a sucker for any type of gadget going. Star Frit is my crack. I have things that peel my potatoes, another to peel apples, painless cheese and garlic shredding, at least 3 different kind of can openers, bagel slicers, bread cutters so your homemade bread can look store bought, and the list goes on and on. Late night infomercials about cooking gadgets are a dread dark secret I keep from my family.

What I really need is some specific site, limited arson to take care of the kitchen while leaving the rest of the house alone.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

I have two words for this discussion. Michael Graves. They look kind of funny at first, but than you look at them again, and think that they're kind of cute, and than again, and by that point, you have to have them. I'm well passed the "but I need those" part, and have started contemplating selling body parts to get them.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

Yick! Those weird bulbous Gravesian pieces do nothing for me. I do however, adore my Melmac, so statements of taste may modified accordingly. I seem to recall reading somewhere that that whole line has severe ergonomic/use problems: you may want to check into it before you hack off anything valuable. My kitchen is stocked with crap castoffs from my mother (that I mostly adore despite their frequent lameness), a stockpot from Target, a few lovely pieces from Ikea (hint: stick to the kitchenwares; avoid furniture), and a pineapple-shaped cutting board that I got for a dollar. I lust after a larger soup pot. I vote against nonstick. I've never broken a knife. I want Beth's ovens. Either one.

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

I am a wicked, wicked thing. This morning I received happy news from the U.K. gourmet supplier that is sending me my brand- new, 2+1 Combi Dualit toaster in stainless -- you know, the one Jamie Oliver has. The one that goes for $319 at Williams- Sonoma. That one.

I can't explain to you why it was so necessary that I have it. I only know that I've been eyeing them with the most knee-tremblingly weak lust at W-S for the past year or so, and once I saw Jamie Oliver with one, knew that I was going to buy one -- somehow.

It makes cheese toasties, you know. Just like the ones they talk about on "EastEnders." Is that enough of a reason?

I have the Henckels knives-in-block, with kitchen shears; the KitchenAid mixer in white; a ten-year-plus Zojirushi rice cooker; Zojirushi bread maker; Calphalon cookware (although it's the cheaper, "Pots 'n' Pans" stuff); a steamer; a pasta pot w/ insert; crepe pan; kitchen torch for creme brulees; imported French ramekins for the brulees; Emile Henri pie plates; a baking stone; asparagus peeler; citrus trumpet; cherry pitter; springform pans for cheesecake; a Cuisinart with juicer-attachment; a deep-fat fryer with removable pot; Krups waffle iron; Krups "Crystal Arome" programmable coffee maker; Pottery Barn dinnerware; two All-Clad 8" fry pans; a DeLonghi toaster/convection oven. The king of it all is my La Pavoni espresso maker, purchased via an Italian web site, retailing for well over $500.00 but which I scored for a little under $300.00.

All this, and still I had to have the Dualit. Now you've all got me thinking about Sabatier knives. --Sei

-- Anonymous, January 24, 2001

As long as we all have such clear lusts/opinions....should I lust for stainless steel appliances, or black? I've heard both gather fingerprints and grease. And should I lust for granite countertops, or corian? Which is prettier, and less high maintenance?

If I'm going to be lusting, I want to lust properly.

-- Anonymous, January 25, 2001

I've heard the same things about black and stainless steel appliances, but I wonder what those people think happens to white appliances? I suppose almond or bisque would show dirt slightly less, but I hate almond and bisque.

Kitchen appliances get dirty. It's the nature of a kitchen to be filled with grease and dirt and ick. I'm not finding my stainless steel stove with the black glass top any more difficult to keep clean than the white stoves I've had in the past (or my white cabinets, for that matter, which are generally disgusting), and the stainless fridge usually looks better than the old off-white one. It does show fingerprints, but don't kid yourself, so does a white one.

I will never again have a white coffeemaker ... they are always nasty-looking. Black is the only way to go with coffeemakers.

Speaking of small appliances, does anyone here have a Waring bar blender? Are they supposed to suck? Because I just got one, and it does. It won't crush ice. What kind of bar needs a blender that won't crush ice?

-- Anonymous, January 25, 2001

I used to use any old crap in the kitchen till I met my husband. He turned me into a kitchen snob by taking me to Williams Sonoma.

He's bought me Henkels knives, a Kitchen Aid mixer, and most recently All Clad Pots and pans. All of which kick ass over any other item. And then he remodelled my kitchen so I have tons of counter space and a pan drawer for all my good stuff.

Back off ladies, he's mine!!

The All Clad are very heavy and very expensive, but we got some of them as weddding gifts and the rest we bought at a Williams Sonoma outlet. We had a gift certificate for some of it and they had a great deal. First off, they were marked down off regular price but there was nothing wrong with them. And then if you bought 5 you got 30% off them all. I banished all our old stuff to the give away pile the minute the All Clad entered my kitchen.

Then Dave christened the new All Clad pan by making kraft macaroni and cheese. I know -- the horror! -- but they heat so evenly and and water boils fast!

I love the pan drawer the most. It's basically two extra deep extra wide drawers that you can stack the pots and pans in. I never have to reach around to the back to find something.

I got a new stove when we moved to this house. I previously really loved gas stoves but we could not have one in this house because gas is no where to be found in my area. So we went to Sears and bought a fancy flat topped electric stove and I really love it. It's not as great as gas, but if I have to have electric it's pretty great. What I like most is that the oven is controlled electronically and I just set the digital display on 350 and it tells me when it's preheated. And it's pretty fast.

Anyway, I love kitchen gadgets and I love Williams Sonomal Especially the outlet.

Colleen

-- Anonymous, January 25, 2001

For a long time I had one of the old Waring blenders, the ones that were the model for the new fancy ones. It was great, could grind up anything. We also used to use them in the lab to grind up...uh, never mind.

Don't know about the new ones though. One of my friends got one of the new Kitchen Aid blenders and loves it for making margaritas.

-- Anonymous, January 25, 2001

I bought this one, the one that's specifically supposed to blend bar drinks. But it won't crush ice. What kind of bar drinks need to be mixed in a blender but don't involve ice? Jeez.

It was used and significantly cheaper than this, but the problem doesn't seem to be the specific machine -- it's not broken, and the motor is fine. The blades just aren't well-suited for crushing ice. How annoying!

-- Anonymous, January 26, 2001

Well, I used to lust for things like more pans and better knives, and a kick ass stove like a Viking. Then we moved to Paris. Our current kitchen is very French, in the sense that you imagine French people storming in, saying, "Why cook when we have restaurants?" and immediately retreating to a cafe to smoke and talk about politics and philosophy. We can walk into our kitchen and turn around. The sink can hold one plate and one glass. We have two burners, and a mini- fridge, and the remaining counterspace is filled completely with a microwave. We have no stove. We have no freezer.

We'll be moving in less than a month, and my ambitions have sunk drastically. I would like an oven, even if it is just a toaster oven. I would like a freezer. I would kill for a way to wash our clothes that does not require walking one mile to the nearest laundromat (do the French never wash their clothes?) Though it is not directly related to the kitchen, I would also like to have a shower. I like to cook, but the materials at hand, and the lack of space, have driven me to drink. Booze is cheap, fortunately.

-- Anonymous, January 30, 2001

Beth, I was a bartender for years when I was in school - no blender I ever saw crushes ice. Bars have crushed ice machines, or their bartenders do it the old fashioned way, with a bag, a hammer, and some hidden rage issues.

-- Anonymous, January 30, 2001

Kristin, according to Consumer Reports, two blenders will crush ice without even requiring you to add more liquid: the basic $40 Krups model, and a Braun model which has been discontinued. Tragically, the Krups is too goddamn ugly to sit on my counter. I am a very shallow person.

-- Anonymous, January 30, 2001

Oh, yes, and I've decided I like my blender after all, because it's pretty and it makes excellent smoothies.

-- Anonymous, January 30, 2001

I just wanted to let those of you lusting for kitchen re-makes, who also own your home, that Cooking Light is having a contest which awards a $35,000 kitchen remodel. I'm pretty sure you can get details at CookingLight.com, and I think the deadline isn't until late May. This had me wishing wishing I had a horrible kitchen in my own home rather than a horrible kitchen in my apartment. Apparently the odds aren't too bad compared to most contests (they say they got 5,000 entries last year, but of course by saying that the entries will probably go up this year).

-- Anonymous, February 23, 2001

If you want a fabulous ice crusher that not only works a treat but looks great in your kitchen, try one of the se babies I bought mine for the aesthetics alone but I now use it for it's intended purpose.

(Excuse the bad photo quality, I pinched if from ebay!)

-- Anonymous, February 24, 2001

You 'pinched' it from Ebay, or it is *your* auction on Ebay? Way to troll the boards for sales!

-- Anonymous, February 24, 2001

No no no! It's not my sale. I just needed a image for demonstration purposes.

-- Anonymous, February 25, 2001

Speaking of eBay, I got some good deals on a few Wusthof Classic knives on eBay. That's the only kitchen lust I can afford at the moment. I'm trying to decide whether to invest in some All Clad pieces now or after I finish paying off my student loans in five years ...

-- Anonymous, March 04, 2001

Beth,

I'm a total, utter idiot for not thinking to post this here earlier.

Over the past few weeks, I've been delighted -- giddy, even -- watching the prices go down at very-probably-soon-to-be-fucked-dotcom Tavolo.com. Reductions started at something 10%...but are now at 75% - - everything, every last thing in "clearance."

I've made three separate orders so far and have bought (have practically stolen would be more like it) a fresh nutmeg grater, a base for my Pavoni espresso maker, fine German-crafted fish (salmon bones) tweezers, an oversized apron, a Zojirushi "airpot" reboiler, steamed pudding tins, spatulas, dinner plates...oh, I can't remember what else.

Of course the clearance has been going on a while now, but there's still plenty of loot to look over. There are particularly nice deals on some lovely, lovely dinnerware (the "paprika" plates are my favorites), as well as flatware.

Go give 'em a look...and let me know what you end up walking out with!

Sei

-- Anonymous, March 10, 2001

Cool, Sei! Thanks for the hot tip!

-- Anonymous, March 11, 2001