KitchenAid Roaster

We put our roasting pan to work year-round. Besides using it to actually roast things, like Herb Roast Chicken and Roast Pork Loin with Fennel, we use it as a heavy-duty caddy for carrying meat, marinades and seasonings downstairs to the grill IN ONE TRIP. $49.99.

8-Piece Glass Prep Bowl Set

You don’t have to be a chef to appreciate mise en place, having your ingredients measured and ready to go, especially when you’re making something quick, like a stir-fry, or you want to pretend you have you’re own cooking show. This set is microwave and dishwasher safe. Hallelujah. $9.95.

Microplane Grater/Zester

The teeth on this grater are so sharp, it takes seconds to zest citrus fruits and just a little longer to grate cheese, chocolate or a little onion. The tiny walls on either side of the blade contain the zest, so you keep every bit without any mess. Perfect for grating Parmesan over pasta. $11.95.

Silpat Liner

God only knows what I’d be without Silpat. Once you’ve tried this non-stick surface for cookies and pastries, you’ll never go back to parchment paper. I also love to pipe delicate chocolate decorations onto it, because you can peel them right off without any dreaded sticking. $21.99.

Taylor Candy and Deep-Fry Thermometer

If you fear candy thermometers (or deep frying), this will change your life. It has a thick red temperature line that’s easy to read, a metal frame to keep the bulb from touching the bottom of the pan, and a metal clip to attach the tool to the pot. Make marshmallows! Fry chicken! $12.12.

Bench Scraper

This must-have is designed for handling dough, and the ruler on the bottom edge is perfect for measuring unbaked pretzel bites and cinnamon rolls. But I also use my scraper for scooping up chopped vegetables, evening up the frosting on cakes and scraping dried bits off the counters. $8.50.

KitchenAid Food Processor

If you’ve been making due with a small processor, you’ll flip for this monster. Obviously, it chops, slices, shreds and purees, but you can also use it to make a top-notch pie crust and the smoothest pudding. It’s awesomely quiet, and the blades and bowls are dishwasher-safe. $179.19.

Cake Decorating Turntable

This Fat Daddio’s pro turntable puts all others to shame. The base is cast iron with a non-slip pad, so it’s not going anywhere. You can set really large cake layers on top with no worries. But it still rotates with ease. I wouldn’t have made it through all those wedding cakes without it. $66.99.

OXO Silicone Spatula

What’s so special about this spatula? It’s heat resistant up to 600 degrees F, which means it can take a lot of abuse without melting. Plus, the outer layer is thin flexible silicone, but the inner frame is stainless steel, so it can handle fragile eggs or monster burgers with ease. $9.99.

Wusthof 7″ Santoku Knife

My favorite knife, hands-down. It’s a Japanese-style knife that feels good in your hand and has a blade that’s designed to keep food from sticking to it, so you can slice things fantastically thin without shelling out the cash for a mandoline. AND you get to keep your knuckles! $69.95.

Thermapen

Since Jeff’s passion for meat knows no bounds, this Thermapen was a great investment for us. It gives you an accurate reading in THREE SECONDS, turns on and off as you open and close the pen, and there’s no funky cord to keep clean. The luxury! $96.

Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast-Iron 8″ Skillet

Once you’ve cooked in a cast-iron skillet, there’s no turning back. You get a perfect non-stick surface and the most even heating. It not only works for fyring chicken and making cornbread but scrambling eggs, making deep-dish pizza, searing pork chops, baking cakes and pies and defending one’s home. $10.97.

Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven

I keep this pot on the stove, ready for action. It’s cast-iron with a porcelain enamel surface, so you can do almost anything in it (i.e. saute, bake, broil), and it’s dishwasher-safe. Plus, the pot conducts heat more evenly than most saucepans, so there’s less opportunity for burning things you’re trying to caramelize. $209.99.

Le Creuset Skillet Grill

This pan comes in handy for grilling year-round . The cast-iron gives you even heat, and the ribbed surface gives you killer grill marks, as well as trapping the fat for healthier cooking. $119.99.

OXO Good Grips Food Scale

I’ve gone through several food scales, but this is The One. The display has big numbers and measures in 1 gram and 1/8-ounce increments, the stainless steel top can be removed for cleaning, and you can detach and pull out the display to measure really big items. $46.25.

KitchenAid Professional 600 6-Quart Mixer

Be warned, this makes a regular mixer feel like a toy. It has a 575-watt motor designed to mash up to eight pounds of potatoes, but I use it to make over a pound of buttercream at a time. Or whip cream in less than a minute. Or pummel some pizza dough. If you overload it, it shuts off automatically, so no worries. $323.99.

Canon Digital Rebel XSi Camera

This is an updated version of my beloved camera. I don’t want to gush over it, so just turn around while we make out. $569.99.

Umbrella Lighting Kit

If you like to shoot photos of your dinner, too, you’ll love these lights. They can give you the look of natural light from the natural sun, EVEN WHEN THE SUN ISN’T OUT. $32.99.

Best Food Writing 2009

I love these collections. This year’s edition includes pieces by Calvin Trillin, Kathleen Purvis, Frank Bruni, Monica Bhide, Marcella Hazan, Ruth Reichl, Robb Walsh, John T. Edge and Molly Wizenberg. $10.85.

CakeLove: How to Bake Cakes from Scratch

You’ve got to admire Warren Brown for questioning all of our assumptions about cake, from the ingredients we use to mixing methods and flavors. And his enthusiasm is infectious. $18.15.

The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook: 350 Essential Recipes for Inspired Everyday Eating

This book is full of delicious meatless recipes that rely on simple ingredients prepared well rather than meat substitutes. Plus, it gives you suggestions for what to serve with each recipe to complete the meal, which can be tricky for a beginning vegetarian. $24.75.

Emeril at the Grill: A Cookbook for All Seasons

My absolute favorite grilling cookbook. Source of this Grilled Marinated Flank Steak with Chimichurri, Caribbean Pork Tenderloin and these Rib-Eye, New Potato and Portobello Kebabs. I have so many Post-Its in this book. $16.49.

The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America’s Most Imaginative Chefs

If you’re interested in creating your own recipes, you’ll love this reference book. An alphabetical index of ingredients and their complimentary flavors. How many things go with chickpeas? More than 70. $23.10.

The Gift of Southern Cooking: Recipes and Revelations from Two Great American Cooks

This classic, written by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock, is a must for any cookbook collection. Full of Southern classics, as well as twists like Silken Turnip Soup. Homey, friendly and conversational but also undeniably authoritative. $21.45.

The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook: Stories and Recipes for Southerners and Would-be Southerners

A new classic. Great writing, great information, killer cheese straws. $23.10.

Moosewood Restaurant New Classics

Packed with healthy vegan, vegetarian and fish-eatin’ recipes with an ethnic twist, like Instant Tamale Pie and Roasted Vegetable Quesadillas. $17.13.

Pie: 300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie

This is a hefty book. You expect it to have plenty of recipes and tips for making pie crust – and it does – but it’s also loaded with helpful, entertaining sidebars on how to choose the right fruits and equipment, how to tie a knot in a cherry stem with your tongue and more. $18.45.

The River Cottage Meat Book

When Jeff picked up this book, I assumed it’d be full of offal and wild game and brontosaurus ribs, but then he made me the Herb Roast Chicken, and I was hooked. Expert information delivered with passion and humor. $26.40.

The Pastry Queen: Royally Good Recipes from the Texas Hill Country’s Rather Sweet Bakery and Cafe

Oh, this book has a hallowed place on my shelf, because it contains the holy recipe for All-Sold-Out Chicken Pot Pie. And Field Greens with Spiced Pecans and Goat Cheese. And so many amazing cakes, pies, cookies. You need it in your life. $21.45.