The fiancee and I are really into cooking and expect to dedicate a majority of our wedding registry to kitchen items. If you were building a wish list from scratch, what items are must haves?

I would probably want a nice dutch oven, a good cast iron skillet, and a large stock pot that has a pasta strainer insert, if you don't already have them of course.

Mandolin
Food processor
blender
vacuum sealer
knives
pyrex/corning ware
strainers

lime squeezer
non stick skillet (10 and 12 in)
wine opener
coffee grinder (great for crushing herbs, peppers, cinnamon, etc.)

stay away from Macy's. We registered there. Pots and pans are garbage. Got matching utensils and almost all of them broke at the tang/plastic handle. and then Macy's could have cared less when I complained.

i guess i could suggest like asked:
second the food pro
pots/pans --double boiler and pasta pot are useful
set of whisks
stand mixer--with attachments that you'd use
1 spice grinder and 1 for coffee
meat thermo


[This message has been edited by JFrench (edited 1/10/2013 4:27p).]

A great chef's knife
A great paring knife
A great pair of kitchen sheers
A great food processor
A great stand mixer
A great espresso machine
A great conical burr grinder
A great GAS stove
A great electric oven


A good variable temperature electric kettle (I drink a crap load of tea and coffee.)
A good 12-14 inch cast iron skillet
A good 12 inch saute pan
A good half sheet cooking pan(s)
A good colinder
A good thermometer
A good ice cream scoop


A decent 10-12 inch non-stick pan
A decent whisk
A decent bench scraper
A decent pasta/stock pot
A decent silicone pot scraper/spoon/spatula
A decent collection of wooden spoons/spatulas, etc

I am sure there are others but most of what I am forgetting is fluff.

Great = prosumer level. Big kitchen aid, etc, or the hidden treasures like the victorinox knives.

Good = typical consumer stuff that isn't sold at walmart

Decent = With the exceptions of the whisks, anything will do.

I don't know what kind of money you are expecting your guest to spend but I would rather get the 2 or 3 high dollar items (food processor, stand mixer) from them

and then pick up the smaller stuff as I need it at ace mart

A set of pots and pans is a waste of money and space. So is a knife set. YOu only NEED 2 (chef and paring). You will only use 3 or 4 (bread and carving)ever.

the same for a cheap stand mixer, food processor, and others.

[This message has been edited by Duncan Idaho (edited 1/10/2013 4:42p).]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the advice. We actually plan on registering through Amazon, so pretty much anything is available. Looking to get some nice knives, pots and pans, etc. Rather than a set of $500+ items, we're thinking about breaking it down into individual components to make it reasonable for our guests.

Probably going Calphalon for the cookware, but which line? Which brand of knives? Henckels? Shun? Wusthof?

[This message has been edited by chaseh (edited 1/10/2013 4:49p).]

Register for a good chef's knife, but be prepared to exchange it if you don't go to a store first and try some out to see what you like. You really need to see what fits your hand best and what feels good to use.

When picking a knife, stick with 8". 6" will leave you frustrated. (That's what she said.)

knives (like others have said, all I really want is one GOOD chef's knife)
kitchenaid stand mixer
cast iron skillet
mandolin slicer/veggie chopper
food processor
nice wine glasses
good set of everyday dishes
very large cutting board
gravy boat & butter dish


those are the things I don't have but I would want.

things I have and really like having:
the vegetable chopper thing you hammer
Keurig
metal scoop measuring cups and varying sizes of pyrex measuring cups
one-serving blender/smoothie maker
one huge ceramic or glass mixing bowl

Also, if you plan on entertaining a lot (even just for holidays), good china, silver, candle holders, placemats, cloth napkins, etc etc

I love my immersion blender

I recently got married, and I feel like we put together a nice registry. We registered at Dillards and Bed Bath and Beyond.

Some things to note:
* Many stores have a "completion program", which means you will get 10-20% off of the items on your registry after your wedding. You will get many gift cards that you can use for the items not bought of your registry.
* If your guests are an older crowd/not tech savvy, I'd steer away from an Amazon registry. Also, people like to touch and feel the item they are buying you.
* Most of your guests get coupons in the mail for 20% off at Bed Bath and Beyond and will usually us them on one item...either a small appliance or 1 skillet or a bedding set.
* Many pots & pans come separately or in a set. Register for both. If you get one or two skillets of those you registered for, you can return it, apply that balance to the whole set and then apply your 20% discount if no one purchases the set. Who knows? Someone may buy the set. Same for knives.
* Register for a nice set of pottery and china.
* Register for things that you would like, even if you probably wouldn't spend that kind of money on them for yourself.
* Some companies offer incentives for registered for X amount of dollars of their line of appliances, dishes, etc.

Things we registered for and use frequently:
* Kitchen Aid Mixer
* Cuisinart Food Processor
* 10 piece All Clad cookware
* Every day plates and serving pieces
* Flatware
* Henkels Knives
* Measuring Cups
* Hand Mixer
* Glasses
* Several Casserole dishes
* Mixing bowls
* Gas grill
* Bamboo salad set
* Nice utensils (spatulas, wooden spoons, tongs, etc.)
* Boos Block Cutting Board
* Toaster
* Keurig Coffee Maker
* Waffle Maker
* Crock Pot

Good luck to you and congratulations on your engagement.

[This message has been edited by Jack Klompus (edited 1/11/2013 11:48a).]

Haven't seen these mentioned yet, but may have read too quickly:
Kitchen scale (I like my cuisinart digital one)
Good pepper grinder (I bought my unicorn one after asking a waiter what kind his was, when I was impressed by the amount of pepper that came out with each grind).
Probably my favorite kitchen tool is my thick maple cutting board. I'm tall enough that it feels much more comfortable to use the thick one instead of a thin one. Stays on my counter (too heavy to put it away each use), and looks nice there, too.
A couple of heavy duty sheet pans. This one is 13 gauge aluminum, and is the one that won the Cook's Illustrated test for sheet pans in 2007. I use mine constantly.
Oh, and get a couple of Silpats (or similar) for them.

One thing to keep in mind if you get casual and formal china. Nobody is going to care if your formal china is $50/place setting or $250/place setting. I registered for an inexpensive pattern and got about 90% of my china. My cousin registered for an expensive set and got TWO place settings and a few serving pieces.

It's used so little, I didn't worry about being very expensive, but it still looks really nice. In fact, my everyday china is Fiestaware and when not on sale, it's more expensive than my 'fancy' china.

Ill give this one more bump.

Go to Williams-Sonoma. Take one of everything.

As to knife and cooking sets...

Register for the pieces individually. If you get everything in the set, return the individual pieces, get the credit, and buy the set. Use the savings to get other things missed on your registry.

"Today, we showed the resolve of the United States. Today we made a statement to the world... That you can hit us, you can knock us down, but we're gonna get up. And when we do, we will find you and kick your ass!"
- Robert E Clark II, Cpt USN, Commandant of Midshipmen May 1, 2011