Your Top 5 Galley "must-haves"

[Globie64]

We just came back from camping. One (AllClad) skillet did a lot, wine opener and glasses, insulated stainless mugs, press pot for coffee, pretty minimal actually. I made a tomato basil goat cheese tart the first night, and a zucchini, tomato and basil fritata the second night. All pretty easy and excellent. Cowgirl Creamery was just down the road, so we awesome cheese too.

[DIR1]

a tip for easy cleaning of the grill...I read this somewhere and it works... close a wet paper towel in the still warm grill after you've finished cooking, turned off of coarse, and go eat... the towel steams and loosens the stuck on stuff... also, I spray them with oil just before putting the food on... and if you turn the steak over in the other direction during cooking you get nice hashmarks!!! hahaha..ok, keep having fun!!! gail... Globie...any chance that fritata or tart could be at the potluck in JRRV??? sounds yummy!!!!

[Hittenstiehl]

We read that tip also and are using it at home on g forman and cuisenart panini press. Works great. I wad my paper towel slightly not laying it real flat and put it on while its still plugged in.WATCHING IT CLOSELY OF COURSE. Just those few minutes loosen enough tio wipe the rest off with the warm (careful its hot) towel.
Hittenstiehl

[cptfish]

We love our soda stream carbonater. We splurged and got the gray and silver Penguin model from William-Sonoma (only place to get this model) so it would match the AS interior and also because it is the only model with glass bottles rather than plastic. No more cans to return and a big variety of beverages (Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond etc. for supplies). Bubbly water like Perrier, tonic water (diet or reg), coke etc.
Also love our Bodum double wall thermal French press for coffee.

[daveswenson]

Originally Posted by uluwene

#1 Melita Cone coffee maker with filters and a tea kettle
#2 colander, measuring cup, cutting board.
#3 set of 3 sauce pans and a skillet
#4 small "cookie sheet" and 8" X 8" cake pan, maybe a muffin tin but I skipped that last winter.
#5 nested stainless steel bowls.

Other than the usual pancake turner, forks, slotted spoon etc. we cary a set of stainless steel flat ware and Coffee mugs. But we use paper plates and bowls.

We use the propane fired stove and oven in the trailer and NEVER fry anything to keep the cooking odors down. I burn a candle sometimes to help with that. We gave up taking a propane fired camp stove long ago as too much trouble, and almost never have camp fires because we are camping in areas where the fire danger is usually extremely high.

That's like forty things. I thought we were going for five!

[janeinthemtns]

Yes, we need 40 top favorites, not 5. It's best not to eat that kind of beef the guy in the video is cooking on the G Foreman grill. If you ever worked around cattle ranching, you would never buy another piece of beef from a supermarket!

[uluwene]

Originally Posted by daveswenson

That's like forty things. I thought we were going for five!

Sorry about that, could not make it just 5.

So now I guess I will give you my first rule when choosing "stuff" to take

No Electricity required!

[DaveFL]

After reading all these posts, and the last one with no electric, had to add if you want easy outdoor cooking it has to be gas or electric, over the open flame not happening in a lot of places.
Pack a heavy duty electric cord, you can plug into the AS system or plug directly into the pedestal, g forman and electric skillets usually have very short cords for safety reasons, for all the mentioned reasons for not cooking inside, camping doesn't have to be hotdog on a stick over the campfire, electric cooking does work outside when its dry.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by SilverGate

This corkscrew has a nice size and feel....

DW LOVES her Rabbit.....

Bob

[Lily&Me]

I have become increasingly fond of all things silicone in our small, galley kitchen.

I have a set of relatively deep, silicone mixing bowls in a lovely red which serve for mixing, serving, storing and reheating foods. Their "squishable" factor is critical in the limited space of cabinets and fridge.

I have also picked up a few small silicone bowls and a number of sturdy silicone spatulas, which mix as well as cook.

Lovely colors, no staining.....what's not to love?


Maggie

[PharmGeek]

I literally have nothing in my new AS for cooking right now...totally bare..

It will be paper/plastic, a few basic pots from the house...

I have gleaned some good ideas though from this thread.

My wife and I are pretty inexperienced cooks...we do ok, make pretty basic stuff...we both work full time and with 2 kids we have not really tackled various cooking learning curves as much as we would like...we kind of plan on making our camping experience one with a small focus on cooking and such as well...should be fun.

[Foiled Again]

I use my NuWave Induction cooktop every day except when boondocking. (The Volcano Cooker is my "go to" for boondocking.)

It serves two purposes:

1. heat water for coffee
2. alarm clock

Yep, The thing can run on a timer! I set it on medium high with an 8 hour delay, put the teapot on it and go to sleep. The screech of the teapot wakes me up. All I have to do is pour the water into the French press and have my morning coffee.

Shipping & Handling is a bit of a ripoff especially on all of the add-on skillets, etc. I spent $130 for two burners the first time I bought them. I gave one to my sister - who re-gifted it to my niece. The one I kept survived the wreck I had last June, but some little plastic piece or screw was loose inside. I continued to use it almost daily but noticed that the fan was getting noisier and sounded out of balance so I ordered two new ones just in time. The fan died just before the new ones arrived.

The reason I think the NuWave is so good? It's as fast as the propane stovetop and never irritates me because it's hard to light. The temperature control IS as accurate as the commercial says it is, so I don't need to worry about burning stuff - or not having the flame high enough to STAY on when I'm simmering or keeping food warm. It took me a while to read the directions - but once I started using the timer feature I became a true believer. We all worry about moisture formation inside our RV's and cooking odors (or more accurately burning odors!) Timer/temperature control... NO HASSLE, I can even set the thing to cook for 3 minutes, then just stay warm for 20. Great for re-heating soup, spaghetti sauce, whatever. Being single I make 5 servings, freeze four, and reheat them. Reheating over the induction burner just preserves the texture and taste better - and I don't have cold spots and burned spots in the food you get with a microwave.

Paula

[Fly at Night]

A waffle maker....and I never make waffles!

I use it to grill protein, veggies, and bread (and it comes out with cute little squares on it).

The bread is Dukan bread (lo carb). Whisk together 2 T. Greek yogurt, 2 1/2 T. oat bran, 1/4 cup egg white, and some spice to jazz it up (ground pepper, salt, onion or garlic powder, dill, etc.) Pour into Pan-sprayed waffle maker, close cover, and you will have fresh, healthy, waist-friendly, gluten-free "bread" in about three minutes.

On-the-road tuna sandwich with Dukan cheese/dill "bread."

[PharmGeek]

thats brilliant...I have a combo waffle or quesadilla maker...that is going in my camper....kids love quesadillas too and easy to make.

[urnmor]

Just about anything you cook at home you can cook in the AS or on an open fire. Before you buy kitchen stuff take what you use at home on your next trip. I have my favorite pots and pans an usually take one or two with me. I also take items I have extra of and just leave it on the AS like knives. mixing bowls etc. Be careful you don't buy to much for instance I have three coffee makers on board, one lespresso machine, one electic and one percolator.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by urnmor

Just about anything you cook at home you can cook in the AS or on an open fire. Before you buy kitchen stuff take what you use at home on your next trip. I have my favorite pots and pans an usually take one or two with me. I also take items I have extra of and just leave it on the AS like knives. mixing bowls etc. Be careful you don't buy to much for instance I have three coffee makers on board, one lespresso machine, one electic and one percolator.

I completely fail to see how having only 3 coffee-making devices in your Airstream qualifies as "too much."

[Remax gal]

We use the Weber (120 I believe) and absolutely love it. Purchased the griddle top and some other type of device for cooking fish. So with the one item, we can cook steaks, hamburgers, pancakes, bacon, fish, etc. Easy to clean, light weight and we have been extremely happy with it! I also agree that wine GLASSES are important as are the Tervis Tumblers! Cast iron skillet and Tassimo Coffee Pot - we are good to go!!

[PharmGeek]

Lurking now for a portable grill - noted Weber 120 - cyber monday I how delivers a deal for me

[Globie64]

We make pizza on our bbq on a pizza stone, and I'm thinking of dragging one along camping, to use on a camp fire. I did this for a bff's 50th and we made pizzas in the oven- made the crust at home and pre baked it.

[kswelsh]

I too have a NuWave Induction cooktop and it is my favorite item in both my Airstream and home kitchens. I also bought a set of Magma stacking cookware which works well with the induction burner and saves on space - plus can be used to store items in fridge too. I have a long extension cord and I can use the NuWave right at the picnic table. I also have a 12 inch ceramic tile in the oven on the tray above the heating element to disperse the heat in the oven - works great! I use a small Silpat with small perforated tray for baking and easy clean-up. I've even roasted veggies on the silpat with great results. A good pair of kitchen scissors are invaluable! I love someone's idea of putting rice in the spices to keep from clumping. I have a stacking bowl set that has a colander as well as measuring cups and spoons that is another great space saving idea. I have a crock pot in the Airstream and I keep a box of crock pot liners in the camper for easy clean-up. We just got back from a trip to Texas visiting my daughter and I made the Thanksgiving dinner in the Airstream and all I had to bring from home was an electric roaster, electric knife and lots of aluminum small baking pans that I could switch in and out of oven. It all works great! Happy cooking and Happy camping.