While I was searching for an apartment in New York City, I knew one thing for sure: I was going to be able to tell which apartment I wanted by the kitchen. When I saw this apartment with a two sided galley kitchen, storage up to the ceiling, a gas stove and white subway tile, I knew that it was the one. I could immediately envision waking up on a Saturday morning cooking breakfast with my French press coffee, meal prepping while watching it snow on a Sunday afternoon, and coming home from work excited to make dinner.

Note: This is not my new apartment. Maybe one day :)

I’ve been settling in the for the last month and slowly outfitting my kitchen essentials. Before I left Indianapolis, I sold everything I owned except my clothes and valuable items. Starting from scratch in the city has been liberating! I’ve decided to shop smart for this new chapter of my life. While it means spending a little more money upfront, I’m going to buy the right things once and hopefully stick with them for a while. Here is what I’ve invested in thus far.

Cutting Boards

I knew that when I got a legit cutting board, it had to be a Boos board. I decided on my massive 20″ by 15″ board because I always wish I had more space to lay things out and cut. Like a cast-iron skillet, the key to these boards is care. I am going to be religious about properly cleaning and oiling my board monthly so it lasts for a long time.

In addition to the butcher block, I got a plastic OXO utility board to use for meats because you are not supposed to put them on the wooden cutting board. I love how this board has grips and a divot for juices.

Knives

These were so beyond important! I have been reading about knives and heard this Mercer 8-Inch Forged Chef’s Knife is amazing for it’s price. Instead of purchasing a big block of a knife set, I decided to just start with one good chef’s knife and one pairing knife. I will eventually get a serrated knife and other sizes as needed, but for now I’m happy! This Victorinox 4-Inch Swiss Classic Paring Knife has been beyond amazing. At less than $8 it is such a steal and everyone should have at least one in their kitchen.

Glass Mixing Bowls

I have seen these Anchor Hocking Splashproof bowls on Food Network for years and years and wanted to invest because they also double as beautiful serving bowls. I will admit that I loved this nesting set almost equally, I just didn’t need that many time bowls anymore!

Food Storage Containers

If you haven’t invested in glass storage containers, I highly recommend it. They have changed my experience with leftovers and also make cleanup so much faster. I actually enjoy eating out of them (less dishes to clean) and they don’t hold smells and oils as much as plastic containers do. I previously used and loved my Snapware glass storage containers, but wanted something more sleek because they tend to take up so much room. I went with the 26-piece set from Anchor Hocking and have been very happy. So far the seal on the containers has been good, but I’m still cautious so they don’t leak.

Kitchen Gadgets

The theme of my life in New York is minimalism so I can do more with less. I didn’t want to go crazy buying a million utensils (have you seen that wall of options at Bed Bath and Beyond?) so instead, I’m starting with these staples: a great wooden spoon, GIR rubber spatula and silicone ultimate spoon, fish spatula, can opener and wine opener. I saved my stainless steel measuring cups (old from Williams Sonoma, but these are great too), French press, salt cellar and cookbooks from my last kitchen so those are also some little things that make my kitchen feel like home.

Cookware

One thing I didn’t go crazy with is pots and pans. I had a really great experience with my basic Calphalon essentials cookware set in my last kitchen, so I bought a simple set again. One day I will 100% invest in a more sophisticated set, but because I already had my Le Creuset French (Dutch) oven and cast-iron skillet, I knew I would use those as well without needing an additional super-fancy set of pots and pans.

What items can you not live without? I’d love to hear in the comments below.

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela

Photography by the incredible husband and wife duo, The Siners Photography.

Note: You can shop all the links in this post from Amazon. Through the affiliate links, I’ll get a teeny tiny percentage from any item you buy.