Shop My Kitchen Counter!
After spending almost a year living out of an Airstream, you better believe I’m loving cooking in a full-size kitchen again.
Although if I’m honest, my countertop essentials are the same now as when we were living in 200 square feet!
The other day I posted my kitchen setup on Instagram and I got a flurry of questions! So here are my cooking non-negotiables. They’ve been staples in my kitchen from Nashville to Conway to Death Valley, and some of them have been with me for the last two decades!
Antique Crock
Every kitchen needs a place to store everything that needs “touch access,” which is a term popularized by The Home Edit (remember when they gave our Airstream a makeover?!) Basically, those spatulas and tongs and slotted spoons that you use regularly need to be on the counter where you can see them! And antique crock is the perfect place to store them.
I bought mine for $5 at an antique store when I was 19 years old, and I’ve used it ever since. I found a similar one on Etsy, but if you like a new crisp, white option, I would go with this one.
Salt Cellar
There are so many different styles of salt cellars, but this one is the best because you don’t have to remove a lid to get to the salt. One-handed access is essential in a kitchen! I can be cooking away and grab some salt to season my food. I don’t even have to stop stirring!
I can’t tell you how often we use this. From scrambled eggs in the morning to seasoning a salad at lunch, (PS you need to be seasoning your salads!) this is always right by my stove and it’s great.
Also, Le Crueset is a timeless, french brand you can depend on from anything to dutch ovens to salt crocks.
PepperMate
Ina Garten has used this on her Barefoot Contessa show since the very beginning, and I would know because I watched her show every Saturday morning for years. She told me— and I guess everyone else watching the— how much she loved her PepperMate, so I bought one and have used it ever since. When Brian and I first got married, I went through all of her cookbooks recipe by recipe, and I diligently used my PepperMate with every one.
The great thing about it, and i’ve never seen another like it, is that you can grind fresh pepper into the plastic container on the bottom and then measure what you need with measuring spoon. Anything you don’t need, you leave in there for next time. No waste, and no grinding pepper over a measuring spoon and getting more on your counter than in your recipe.
Butter Crock
Ever gone to butter a piece of bread with cold better straight from the fridge? No fun. It usually leads to clumps of butter on massacred slices of bread.
I’ve had this baby for 15 years, and it keeps butter fresh and soft always. From buttering the bread to prepping a pan for scrambled eggs to having softened butter already available for baking, a butter crock is a must-have.
Red Chili Pepper Grinder
Sometimes, you just need a little spice. It’s amazing how a little red pepper can wake up simple, everyday dishes. This is great on eggs, pizza, pasta.
I eat half an avocado in the afternoon and I love to put fresh ground red pepper on it. This is also good if you like to make a spicy margarita, which is my go-to drink!
Marble Tray
It is a simple fact that things look better when organized in a group. All these items on a counter individually? It’s a mess! But grouped on a sleek, simple marble tray and suddenly it looks like art. Especially when you use a material that’s so easy to clean!
I want all these things on my counter because I use them very often. They don’t do many any good up in a cabinet! But I also want my counter to look streamlined and clean and organized. Containing all these smaller objects in a tray does the job perfectly. I love a marble tray for both kitchen and bathroom objects.
Click around to shop my kitchen counter! And happy eating.
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