The Fabulous Beekman Boys’ 10 Essential Kitchen Items

Interested in spicing up your dishes and bringing more life and freshness into your food? Get inspiration from The Fabulous Beekman Boys and the things they keep in their kitchen that add a little wow to each plate. Check out the top ten culinary necessities Dr. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell can't live without, and learn why they make such a difference.

1. Immersion Blender: We make a lot of soups, many of which need to be pureed. Transferring the mixture to a food processor is not only messy, but can be dangerous if the mixture is still hot. An immersion blender takes care of both of those problems.

2. Lemons, Lemons, Lemons: We make sure we’re never out of lemons. We use the zest to garnish and brighten the flavor of all sorts of dishes. If we don’t need the juice right away, we freeze it in ice cube trays. And we don’t even throw away the juiced carcass; we use them with salt as an easy way to keep our copper polished.

Image via the kitchen

3. Demitasse Saucer: No cup necessary. No, we’re not being precious. For years we would get annoyed by the ground pepper “footprint” left underneath the pepper grinder no matter how well we would shake it after use. Now we set it on a random demitasse saucer we found at a flea market, which is the perfect small size not to take up more counter space but still capture the spilled pepper.

4. Panko: Better than breadcrumbs, and now readily available in most grocery stores.

5. Instant Tapioca: We feel confident enough to settle the flour vs. cornstarch thickener debate once and for all: neither work as well as instant tapioca to thicken fruit for pies and sauces.

6. Corn Meal: We like to add a little corn meal to pie crusts and other cold-weather baked good. It adds a flavor and texture that using 100% flour can lack.

7. Real Cultured Butter: For greasing baking pans and sautéing vegetables, regular grocery store butter is fine. But when baking desserts, real cultured (often European branded) butter adds a much richer flavor. And if you’re taking the time to bake from scratch, make it count. Check your farmer’s market for local sources.

8. Plain Yogurt: When a dessert recipe calls for whole milk, we almost always substitute yogurt or sour cream for a portion of it. If you get the chance to add more flavor to something, why wouldn’t you take it?

9. Beekman 1802 Apron: This might seem self-serving, but we designed our apron to fulfill a need we couldn’t find elsewhere. Our apron has two thermal-resistant pockets sewn into the hem, so there’s no more looking for potholders.

Image via Beekman 1802

10. Nylon Pan Scrapers: Much easier to use and longer-lasting than steel wool pads.

To get more tips for simple cooking that tastes great, and for getting more involved in the farm-to-table movement, make sure to see The Fabulous Beekman Boys at the Deseret News Home Show, October 10-12 at the South Towne Expo Center. This fantastic duo will grace the Kitchen Stage on Friday and Saturday.  

Treat your taste buds and a friend or family member to the show - right now you can get two tickets for the price of one when you like us on Facebook. What are you waiting for? Grab your tickets now. We can't wait to see you at the show!

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