Pita bread

Pita bread is quick to make, versatile and most of all delicious. We utilize our no-knead refrigerator dough, but any high-ish moisture dough should work fine. What gives pita it's beloved pocket is steam, it starts out with lots of small bubbles and if you did it right ends up one giant bubble.

Strip steak

A perfectly cooked steak at home isn't as hard as it sounds. In fact it can be a lot easier than trying to get one at a restaurant (especially if you don't want to pay north of $40 for the hunk of cow). We first saw this technique on America's Test Kitchen and have only had success with it. It's not the only way to cook a steak, but if you don't have access to a grill or a restaurant grade broiler it's your best bet.

Salt

Salt is one of the most important ingredients in any kitchen and it's worth some time to talk about. While sodium is a vital nutrient, it's one that is all too often over-consumed by Americans. You'll be happy to know though that most of your sodium intake isn't from home-cooked meals, it's from processed foods. So don't feel bad about salting your pasta water--you'll be getting way less salt that way than from a frozen TV dinner. The FDA notes that adults should consume less than 2.3g of sodium per day, the photo in this article is of the amount of kosher salt that would be (and yes, it's more than you'd think).

Dinner rolls

Light and fluffy, our dinner rolls are a fine accompaniment to a Sunday dinner and make killer sandwiches for Monday. While you can certainly make rolls with our no-knead refrigerator bread dough, this dough makes a lighter roll that is more traditional (no hard crust thanks to the lower baking temperature and fat content in the dough). Since bread can be a little tricky at first, we have meticulously documented the process with photos so you'll know what it should look like at all steps along the way.

Oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are in our minds the perfect American comfort food. Quick to make and hard to beat, our recipe is like what mom used to make (at least if you had a mom that made really good chocolate chip cookies). We use lots of oatmeal and large chocolate chunks which gives the cookies a great texture. Baked until just set, the resulting cookie stays chewy after it's cool. Make these for a party and you'll be a hero.

Digital kitchen scale

It would be cruel to plug Ratio without also mentioning kitchen scales. If you don't yet have a digital kitchen scale, get one. It's that simple. You'll be amazed at how often you use it. We use the Escali Primo Digital Multifunctional Scale [$24.95] and have had no issues. It can handle up to 11 pounds, has options for metric and imperial and has a tare button for easy measuring. It even comes in seven different colors if you're the type that has to have everything match.

Some of our upcoming recipes will feature weight measurements, so be sure you're on the same page.

Ratio, brilliant new cookbook by Michael Ruhlman

Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking [$16.20] by Michael Ruhlman is a new cooking reference book that will be getting a lot of use in our kitchen. Instead of laying out recipes, Ratio deals in the fundamental building blocks--the ratios between main ingredients. Bread is 5 parts flour, 3 parts water. There are lots of other variables (yeast, salt, fats, kneading, cooking temp, etc), but the fundamental essence of bread is the ratio of flour to water. Ruhlman gives you the ratio and an example recipe with measurements, but also ideas for lots of variation.