Here are our kitchen essentials, poorly rendered in cartoon form. Most things are self explanatory, but we will elaborate on our intense love for cast iron cookware, our sole use for our slow cooker, and our seemingly frivolous appliances. (Most of the equipment can be bought at your local Ikea - sans the cast iron)
The prospect of owning a cast iron pan first crossed our minds last Christmas. Justin (Emily's older brother) raved about the mind-blowing properties of cast iron: its non-stick wonders, ability to sit in an oven over 400 degrees fahrenheit, and its more than fair price. A few weeks later, we were back at our Providence apartment and sat at our doorstep waiting for our 12-inch cast iron to be delivered. It's likely we will be in the honeymoon phase until these pans are rusty and unusable. Meaning, we will be in this phase forever.
10.25" pre-seasoned combo cooker
After perusing the web regarding cast iron care, we realized that cast irons face a stigma of being hard to clean. They're really not. We'd say they are even easier if you have paper towels, oil, and a sink at hand.
With water and NO soap, scrub out the remaining food bits
Place skillet back on the stove
Turn stove up to high (so the water dries)
Turn stove off and use a paper towel to rub the pan with the oil of your choice
Cast iron cookware is the heart of all kitchens.
Pros: Durable, easy to clean, cheap ($20 for a skillet), non-stick, a good source of iron in your diet, bake-able, and overall reliable
Cons: Cleaning stigma, heavy-ish
Hopefully, there are a few things that can get you started and experimenting with the wonders of Nouvelle Nom's kitchen essentials. Check in for more tidbits later!