Basic Equipment

There's about five tools that I use to cook just about everything.  They are:

8" chef's knife.  It's worth spending $100 on this, since they last a long while and get daily use.

I've had my J.A. Henckels Zwillingswerk knife for . . . gosh, 14 years?  I love it.  Wustof and Global are also good choices.  I've used a 6-inch Henckel's chef's knife for a while at my parent's house and might even prefer it to the eight inch; when I get another knife that'll be the one.  A lot of people will tell you that a paring knife is important to have.  I have one, but I only use it when the chef's knife needs to be cleaned and I'm lazy.

Twelve inch stainless steel skillet or sauté pan.  It should be silver, because that's the color that stainless steel is.  Not black or nonstick.  I have an All-Clad; if I was on a budget I'd get the Sur La Table house brand.