having been here in japan for about 20 years now, i hope to eventually move back to the states someday. so here's a list of what will definitely be coming back with me.
- my knives & steel: i worked in restaurants from the age of 16 to 35 and eventually built up a nice collection, not for their intrinsic value, but because of the memories associated with old friends and amusing incidents(like the time i sliced open a knuckle with a cleaver while juggling during some free time at work)
- the battered pastry cutter with the red handle i inherited from 1 of my grandmothers
- the rolling pin from my other grandmother
- the fanny farmer cook book of 1927 (i think) from the same grandmother with her handwritten plum pudding and mincemeat recipes
- my little blue falling-apart notebook of recipes collected from one chef or another over the years. 20 years down the line, i wish i had been a bit less cryptic when writing some of them down.
- cast-iron skillet, again from a grandmother
- little box of cake decorating tips (not that i use very many of them anymore)
- a few of my steel sauteé pans
- a few of my stainless sauce pans
- couple of bread pans i've had forever
- ditto for 2 quiche pans
- what's left of a number of ceramic bowls, cups, etc. i made while in college. a lot of nice pieces were broken during the big kobe earthquake here about 15 yeqrs ago.
- the mismatched collection of leftover silverware from various ancestors
- a handful of little tools
- possibly my set of deep mixing bowls
as for everything else, it would probably be cheaper to buy new than ship