What are 5 food items no serious cook should be without???

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being in south florida i have access to more than i know how to use but as far as the very exotic items, i have no idea yet how to marry some of those flavors, but soon... soon i'm going to kick butt because im a red head and im stubborn lol... thanks so much everyone, for taking the time to chat some and i'll be adding a few things to my kitchen :)
My list would include;
Garlic
A good pot
A good skillet
A wooden spoon
An imagination

What part of south Florida?
I am in the Lee County area on the west coast.:cool:
 
Low, heading toward nonexistent.:ohmy:

Katie, if you plan ahead, you should be able to do very well at sites like igourmet.com or salumeriaitaliana.com or fromage.com or dartagnan.com

There's so much available on line for delivery no matter where you live, especially in the continental US.

The above list is just the tip of the iceberg. I use a lot of mail order for the convenience of not having to run around from store to store, even tho I'm in the "Center of Plentitude!"
 
5 items eh....
well in No particular order:

1, potatoes
2, onions
3, meat of some sort
4, salt
5, a Grain (any as long as it can make a flour)

I assume Water is a given?
 
essentials by category:

oil (evoo, butter, lard)
arromatics (onion garlic celery carrot parsnip grn pepper)
seasonings (salt pepper smoked paprika chili flakes)
liquids (water, stock, wine, beer)
BACON
 
I believe I was the 1`st one to mention it, but took it as read that Water was a given as you can get that for free if you know what you`re doing ;)
 
I think that there's a difference here between a serious home cook and just any home cook. Most of the things here listed ANY cook will have, even one that might only cook once a week.

However, if you're a serious home cook, and by serious I mean that you really want to put out great food and not just good to decent food on a budget, then these five are a must have:

Good homemade stocks
Fleur de Sel or some other finishing salt
Truffle Oil
Aged (12+ years) Balsamic vinegar
San Marzano tomatoes
 
I think that there's a difference here between a serious home cook and just any home cook. Most of the things here listed ANY cook will have, even one that might only cook once a week.

However, if you're a serious home cook, and by serious I mean that you really want to put out great food and not just good to decent food on a budget, then these five are a must have:

Good homemade stocks
Fleur de Sel or some other finishing salt
Truffle Oil
Aged (12+ years) Balsamic vinegar
San Marzano tomatoes


I find that Offensive to say the least!

I am on a budget and Also a serious home cook (as I suspect many others here are Also).
ya see the Difference is we CAN turn out Excellent food without all that la-de-da fancy rubbish, almost begs the question if the Main users of that overpriced nonsense can do what WE do on a budget and make it so good!???
 
Salt/ Pepper/Olive Oil
Herbs
Onions/ garlic
Stock powder
Slow Cooker
 
Ok, I gave this some measured thought. And I came up with my five (although my answer might be different tomorrow:rolleyes:):

Salt - what can you say?
Garlic - incomparable richness, can make it mellow, can make it in your face.
Lemon juice - buncha ways to impart acidity, and not to diss the various vinegars, but lemon juice has the citrus quality.
Bacon - again, what can you say? Fattiness, with the pork component. Works in salads, soups, and anything else.
Smoked paprika - OK, this one is a bit trendy, but I am totally enamored with it. Easy way to impart a smokiness and depth of flavor without effort. Magnificent.

Those five can generate spectacular results in any dish. HOWEVER, six ingredients would have added the ONION! Cheese of all sorts is next.
 
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I believe I was the 1`st one to mention it, but took it as read that Water was a given as you can get that for free if you know what you`re doing ;)


oops, sorry yt. i didn't see the bottom line in your post.

i always revcert back to basic survival training whenver someone mentions what is essential.

lol, i guess you'd also need a kitchen (shelter), and a heating source (fire).
 
As i make a lot of curries, i always need onions and tomato tins, to make my base!

I also would be dead without my spices!

And... pasta and cheese. They save me when theres nothing else to eat.
 
doesn't that get, umm, kinda drafty, csalt? ;)


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Ooooh Eeeerrrrr hadn't thought of that!
 
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