Jane Lear

Getty ImagesMiso ramen soup with broccoli and carrot manages to be quick, light, and sustaining all at once. Yet you couldn't make it without a saucepan, one of the most essential -- and versatile -- pieces of kitchen equipment you'll ever own. Just like a wider, shallower saute pan, a ... Read More

Ray KachatorianWhat ingredient is never listed in recipes? Air. And that is why you need a whisk (sometimes called a whip), or two or three, because even though they serve different purposes, they all have one thing in common: They capture pockets of air inside a mixture to ... Read More

Jeff StultzHow many of you want to: a.) Save money b.) Lose those excess pounds you are lugging around (If airlines would only start charging for those! Talk about added incentive.) c.) Get your family to eat more vegetables without making the dinner table a battlefield. ... Read More

Amazon.comI know plenty of people who swear by their food processor for shredding cheese and vegetables, but I prefer an old-fashioned box grater. Perhaps it's simply a matter of kitchen real estate: I can whip out the box grater and shred a small mountain of potatoes in the time it would take ... Read More

Ray KachatorianI must admit I tend to prefer sautéed vegetables because of the flavor and richness that butter imparts. But lately, the vegetables I've been getting -- carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, for instance -- are so delicious I don't want to obscure their flavor with fat, even ... Read More

Chefscatalog.comJust curious: Who decided it was a good idea to sex up the mixing bowl? Sleek, curvaceous and available in a range of come-hither colors, it's been transformed from a no-nonsense basic to the counter-top equivalent of a push-up bra.There is even something called a batter ... Read More

Amazon.comThe resurgence of the slow cooker makes perfect sense in a world that is reminiscent of the early 1970s, when Rival introduced the Crock-Pot. Then, as now, there was a pressing need to eat more economically, and home cooks -- in particular, working wives -- were looking for ... Read More

Getty ImagesIf I had to outfit a kitchen in no time flat -- that is, if I were in one of those contests where you have to race around a housewares store and fill a shopping buggy with stuff in an impossible amount of time (hey, I can dream, can't I?), one of the first things I'd grab would be ... Read More

Amazon.comTops on my list of great gifts for just-starting out cooks is a real, honest-to-god saute pan (a sautoir), a piece of kitchen equipment I didn't stumble across until cooking school. Although it's far from cheap, it is stunningly versatile: In addition to sauteing vegetables, ... Read More

AlamyLike any other spice, freshly ground pepper is much more flavorful and aromatic than the ground powder in a tin, and once you've had freshly ground black peppercorns from a pepper mill, there is no turning back. That's why the right pepper mill -- one that is durable and easily adjusts ... Read More