Starting my kitchen over from scratch. Trying to get it to just the best of the essentials. What's your must have pan/blade/ appliance?

After 25+ years I have changed from a baking stone to a baking steel. It does an impressively better job.

One of my first kitchen purchases was a baking stone and I use it several times a week. Amazing homemade pizza, pitas, and baguettes here you come! And I second (or twentysecond...) a good knife and cast iron skillet!

If you're truly starting from scratch, and not just adding and subtracting from your batterie de cuisine: Get a big, big fridge. Walk-in! There's never enough room in there. Get gas burners of at least 12,000 BTU. You'll be happy and quick. Finally, spend over $100 on an electric knife sharpener and learn to love it. Good luck, I've been trying for years to remodel my space.

If you want to get into canning, there is a whole slather of equipment, but so worth the investment. All items can be stored in the large enamel kettle you buy for boiling water baths. Wide mouth funnel, grippers for immersing canning jars, ladle, etc.

Knifes are essential in anything you might do, so pick the one or two you will use the most with great care. I use Wusthoff, but as ChefJune said that is a personal choice. Building a kitchen from scratch can be quite an investment, so you may want to think about what you like to cook and what you cook most of the time. If you bake a lot maybe your appliance investment is a Kitchen Aid mixer. Or Vitamix if you are into soups and smoothies? Personally, I use my Cuisinart food processor a lot. I make a lot of stews and casseroles and find Le Creuset indispensable... I make a lot of stocks and have three stock pots so that I can parallelize. Other than that, several things that make my life easier in the kitchen are a good vegetable peeler, thermapen, digital scale, good garlic press, and a set of stainless steel measuring cups.

A good big clear workspace, 3 feet deep and at least 4 feet wide.

get your sheet pans at a restaurant supply store. They are cheaper and more durable than the ones I see at the fancy stores and can be used in so many applications.

Are you or your insurance company paying for it?

I could write a book on this subject... As one who has taught knifeskills for decades, I would caution buying knives by brand. What is perfect for one may not be that for another. It's important that your chef's knife feel like an extension of your arm. You can only select that in person. I recommend going to a cutlery store where a knowledgeable person can show you the various styles and sizes, and help you make sure the knife you choose "fits."

This is a great time of year to scour yard sales for deals on some of these items - cast iron pans especially.

Immersion blender! I hadn't realized how much I'd avoided making pureed soups until I bought one. The easiest thing ever to clean and so small for storage purposes.

Chef's knife (I like an agile 8"), paring knife, boning knife, bread knife, balloon whisk, microplane (I like the ones without the handle), good heatproof spatula, French-style rolling pin, set of metal mixing bowls (lightweight and more durable than glass; don't pick up flavors like plastic), sturdy wooden spoon, 9 x 5" loaf pan, cake pans (I have 6", 8", 10", 12" at home, but I think a good pair of 8" would do ya, I like them to have 3" sides, just in case), sheet pans (I have three 13 x 18", and they come in handy), 12 count standard-size muffin pan, large and small saucepan, stock pot, 10" nonstick, 12" and 6" stainless skillet.....I know I'm missing so much....

Here are some links to things I use:

http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Natural-Aluminum-Commercial/dp/B000G0KJG4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436892323&sr=8-1&keywords=sheet+pan

http://www.amazon.com/Fat-Daddios-Anodized-Aluminum-8-Inch/dp/B0013374AM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1436892583&sr=8-2&keywords=cake+pan+8+x+3

http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Swiss-Classic-Chefs-Knife/dp/B0061SWV8Y/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1436892615&sr=8-5&keywords=victorinox+knife

http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-Cutlery-9-Inch-Polypropylene-Handle/dp/B0019WZ7EW/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1436892644&sr=8-6&keywords=bread+knife

http://www.amazon.com/ChefLand-Mixing-Standard-Weight-Stainless/dp/B00OLBR750/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436904375&sr=8-1&keywords=stainless+mixing+bowls

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/1983915/?catalogId=78&sku=1983915&cm_ven=Google_PLA&cm_cat=Shopping&cm_pla=default&cm_ite=default&gclid=CKXQ1Ke228YCFcQUHwodCyUCEA&kwid=productads-plaid%5E63150629220-sku%5E1983915-adType%5EPLA-device%5Ec-adid%5E45527543983

http://www.amazon.com/T-fal-Professional-Thermo-Spot-Indicator-Dishwasher/dp/B000GWG0T2

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-MCP-12N-MultiClad-Stainless-12-Piece/dp/B009JXPS6U/ref=sr_1_10?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1436904567&sr=1-10&keywords=cookware+set

When I moved across the country and could only bring what fit in my car, one of the few kitchen items I brought was my cast iron skillet.

Knives: This bread knife is fantastic at slicing through and not smooshing your bread https://food52.com/shop/products/2390-zwilling-j-a-henckels-palisander-bread-knife. If you're looking to upgrade your knives, we're big fans of the Berti Italian knives -- they've been making knives since 1895 and each blade is hand-forged and holds an extremely sharp edge. They're also striking to display in your kitchen: https://food52.com/shop/search?q=berti. If you prefer carbon steel knives, our R. Murphy knives are made by an American company that is been making knives since the 1850s. The set made for Food52 has a beautiful handle made of reclaimed wood from an Ohio Chrysler plant (useful and a good story!) https://food52.com/shop/products/231-r-murphy-reclaimed-wood-carbon-steel-knives

I use my 8" fry pan daily and love a 5QT saute with a lid for big batches of sautéing -- also useful for going stovetop to oven. Heavy base is a must to avoid burning and also helps with easy cleaning. We love this Belgian brand: https://food52.com/shop/search?q=demeyere. Also use my 7QT dutch oven for all my sauces, slow roasting and soup needs. Staub is great because you get the benefit of cast iron on the inside. I'd also recommend their cast iron fry pan for a real kitchen workhorse. https://food52.com/shop/search?q=staub

If you search the hotline (filling in form next to spy glass about one-third down from top right) with terms like "kitchen equipment" "best appliance" "wedding registry" you will find existing threads addressing these questions of what basic and/or best equipment to get for a kitchen.

A good chef's knife or cleaver. Cutting board. Electric kettle. 12" skillet with lid. Medium sized pot with lid.