Why can't I be rich?

[kakaze]

Okay, so, I've always had a passing interest in cooking. Since starting work at the Mall things have kind of taken off again because I have to schlepp past William's Sonoma every single bloody day and I just want to buy every single thing in that damnable store

Comments

[xv]

I can make a dutch oven for you. All I need is a bed and a big, airtight blanket.

Seriously though, WillSon is a rip. Google for a restaurant supply shop, they're everywhere but not advertised (they don't have to). They all sell to the public and they all will have everything you need for next to nothing.

[kakaze]

What else is involved with this bed and blanket?

Anyway, the Wusthof knives and Le Creuset stuff look like they're the same price at WS and Amazon...which is unusual because Amazon is always pretty cheap.

My cousin is the head chef at a big restaurant downtown; I should talk to him about where and what to buy.

[icyempire]

Oooooh he beat me to it! I was giggling when I saw Dutch oven.

[kakaze]

Dutch Oven must also have some sexual connotation which I am unaware of if two people have come up with the same idea.

Would someone care to enlighten me?

[gifa]

You want a good knife? Buy a Henckel... in the Four Star series preferrably. Aside from bread knives, don't buy knives with a serrated edge, not even if it's a henckel... they're garbage.

I recommend this knife.

http://www.amazon.com/Henckels-8-Inch-Carbon-Stainless-Steel-Chefs/dp/B00004RFKS/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1223245772&sr=1-24

[kakaze]

Oh...I have a serrated bread knife that I love. Actually it's the second one...the first had been in the family for longer than I've been alive and we finally had to trash it because the handle broke. My dad found another one-same make and model-at a garage sale and it's just as awesome as the first one.

Looking at other Henckels on Amazon shows they do seem to have good reviews though they don't seem as well known as the Wusthofs.

Strangely enough, Furi has a line of knives out branded for Rachel Ray and they get really good reviews and they're cheap. I've been tempted to try one of them.

[tony_m]

When it comes to knives ... you really have to get them in your hand before buying. The "best" knife in the world will be next to useless if it doesn't feel right to you. Once you have a good knife, learn how to keep it SHARP! I'll take a $10 knife that is sharp over a $250 dull one any day of the week.

As for the pots, check out TJ Maxx. I've found some great cookware there at very reasonable prices. They often have Le Creuset, but I bought an "Authentic Kitchen" dutch oven that I have been very happy with. It's my most used pot both on the stove and in the oven.

However, if you have a restaurant supply near you, that's the first place I'd go. You'll likely find the highest quality cookware and the lowest prices there.

[kakaze]

I hate TJ Maxx...the one by us is just so yecch. I don't know what they're like up there but the one by me is just pathetic. Things are just thrown in there and to find anything you have to spend hours looking through everything with a fine toothed comb. I might have to go take a look next time I'm down at Waterford, however.

If I buy a knife at Williams Sonoma I have 30 days to bring it back if I don't likee it, but as I'm still weighing options I don't know if I'll get one there if I get one at all.

I'm going to have to talk to my cousin and ask him if he knows any good places to get stuff.

[kakaze]

Cock au Vin...that's sooooooo funny! hur hur hur

:-p

I hate being poor. I hate making do. I want to be Martha Stewart, damnit...I want to have every single little kitchen item possible and know how to use them even if I never will. And I want to be able to put raw food into one oven and turn around and take cooked food out of another one...she can do it why can't I?!

:cries:

I think everyone knows how to make cock sauce (hur hur :-p) though I'd be interested in seeing your recipes for Indian and Spanish food even though I don't know if I'd be able to make them-everything is contingent on whether or not they'll have anything in them my brother will not like because if I cook for the family I have to cook for him and, you know, gods forbid we make something he doesn't like.

[kakaze]

I love Alton Brown.

I still want a Dutch oven.