Inside a Food & Wine Editor’s Real Kitchen: 17 Essential Tools to Make Your Kitchen Your “Happy Place”

Julia Heffelfinger, Food & Wine's Associate Food Editor:

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My kitchen is my happy place—a place I only fill with things that I truly love. I’m not one for high-tech gadgets or trendy kitchen tools, but I do have a handful of pieces that I use constantly. Here, my favorite tools, books and appliances that are always in heavy rotation."

If you’re going to splurge on anything in your kitchen, it should be a chef’s knife. This gorgeous Japanese-made knife from Shun has a dual-core stainless steel blade that stays sharper longer and a sleek birch handle that isn’t too heavy and feels good in your hand. The Hikari model is easy to handle; I would not suggest going bigger than 8-inches for a chef knife. Bonus: the $375 knife is now on sale for $199. Williams-sonoma.com

On the other end of the spectrum, there are plenty of great utility knives that don’t cost much at all. Chef/writer Jane Coxwell gave me one of these little serrated knives saying that it was her favorite and I have to agree. I use it to slice everything from bread to heirloom tomatoes. $49 for 4 knives, surlatable.com

After spending hours in a NYC restaurant kitchen peeling pounds and pounds of carrots, I will never use another vegetable peeler in my life. The “Y” head has a dual rotating blade that allows you to peel vegetables twice as fast (and when your chef is yelling at you to “Hurry the f*#k up,” that’s very useful). $9 for a set of 3, amazon.com

Every serious cook needs to have one of these super-sharp Microplane graters. Bonus: it now comes in this amazing dusty blue color. Move over Millennial Pink. $15, amazon.com

I’m not a believer in those trendy kitchen gadgets that only do one thing (I’m looking at you avocado slicer), but these retro citrus squeezers really get the job done. After you’ve made a pitcher of fresh margaritas with the help of this thing, you’ll thank me. $10.99, amazon.com

Every cook should have an enameled cast-iron casserole for braises, stews or no-knead bread, but not everyone wants to spend a couple hundred dollars on it. I love this deep blue casserole: It’s sturdy, the perfect size and only cost me $115. amazon.com

6 years ago I got a pair of Wustof kitchen shears in culinary school and they are probably my most used piece of equipment (and they’re still insanely sharp). I use them to snip herbs, cut pizza, trim flowers, open boxes - you name it. I’m now eyeing this stylish stainless steel pair. $20,amazon.com

After 4 years at Food & Wine, my cookbook collection has taken over almost every cupboard and shelf in my apartment. Some books are giant tomes leftover from culinary school, some are pretty coffee table pieces and a select few are the ones I cook out of routinely. Right now, that’s Joshua McFadden’s new cookbook Six Seasons. While working on a story together for our June 2017 issue, I realized how clever (and accessible) his hyper-seasonal cooking philosophy is. It’s truly amazing what flavor he can pull out of vegetables just by adding a splash of good vinegar, a handful of fresh herbs or a touch of heat from chiles. $22, amazon.com

I don’t like to have too much clutter on my countertop, so I only leave out the things I reach for constantly. This 8-cup food processor is the perfect size because it doesn’t take up too much space, but is also big enough to accomplish everything from making pie dough to pimento cheese. Mine is a dinky old machine from the 90’s that I bought on ebay (which still works perfectly, by the way), but this newer model will be my next upgrade. $78, amazon.com

I love this sleek, yet durable, ceramic pitcher. I use it for flowers or a pitcher of mimosas when I have guests over. I have the new flint grey color (which is coming out in June – one of the perks of the job!), but the white is a classic. $60, emilehenryusa.com

You need the proper cups for this summer cocktail. I love the simplicity of these copper mugs and I think they look better with each use (My Mom would disagree – she just sent me a “care-package” with copper polish). $46 for 2 mugs, mouth.com

After snapping a few too many plastic ice cube trays in half, these silicone ice cube molds become key. I also believe that they give you a cleaner ice cube shape, which is great for fancy cocktails. $7.99 for 2 trays, amazon.com

If you’ve ever spent more than 30 seconds talking to me, you’d know that I’m from Minnesota. Naturally, I need to rep my state pride in the kitchen. I have a growing collection of cheesy dish towels, but this is definitely my favorite. $20, uncommongoods.com

I always have two olive oils on hand: a less expensive one for cooking and a second, more flavorful, one for drizzling or simple 2-ingredient vinaigrettes. My current obsession is this super-green, peppery olive oil from Long Meadow Ranch.

I love the clean flavor of the kosher salt from Jacobsen’s up in Netarts Bay, Oregon. Just a heads up that the salt flakes are slightly larger than most kosher salts, but it also adds nice texture when sprinkled over the top of your food. $12/1 lb., amazon.com

I love these little cocottes and the pop of color they add to an (often bland-looking) apartment kitchen. I’ll break them out for brunch and make individual shakshukas or use them as a garlic cellar. $20, surlatable.com

Ok, so this is a bit of an unnecessary gadget, but it’s so shiny! This little bottle opener adds a nice sense of occasion during cocktail parties and is a little sexier than busting out your car keys for your guests to open a beer. $23, opensky.com