Help me outfit my kitchen!

A KitchenAid stand mixer. It's durable, and you can get all kinds of attachments to make it more versatile (I love the dough hook and the meat grinder attachments).

Go to a restaurant supply store and get a couple of commercial http://www.restaurantsource.com/advance-tabco--kitchen-supplies/baking-supplies/sheet-pans/ProdDesc-18-8A-13-262.aspx. They will outperform just about any cookie sheets you can find and are dirt cheap. Lots of other good stuff to be found there as well. (I have never used that particular merchant, they were just easy to find with google.)

Nthing Cook's Illustrated. They always have both the "most recommended" and "best value" products, so you can decide how best to spend your money. They also tell you what to avoid, which is almost as important as telling you what to buy. For me, I love my Wustof knives, my KitchenAid food processor (I think it's better than the Cuisinart, and so does Cook's Illustrated), my KitchenAid immersion blender, my KitchenAid stand mixer (unless you're doing serious baking, the base mode, I think it's the Artisan, should be fine), my Le Crueset 5-qt. dutch oven, and my fake-All-Clad-got-it-at-Sam's-Club tri-ply stainless steel-aluminum cookware (seriously, $150 bucks for a 10-piece set, and it looks just like All Clad). Chicago Metallic is a good brand for bakeware (sheet pans and the like) that you can find at BBB (or anywhere) that's reasonably priced. Get at least two jelly roll pans, a couple of 9-inch cake pans, and a muffin pan. BTW, if you're limited in how many knives you can get (probably the case on your budget), I suggest getting at least a small paring knife and either a chef's knife or a Santoku. (I like my Wusthof Santoku a lot and use it 85% of the time, for everything. Henkels is another good German brand. Japanese knives are amazing, but really spendy.) And finally, with respect to sets of cookware, you probably don't need all the stuff in a set, so unless it's a HUGE bargain (see above, my Sam's Club find), get just a few really quality pieces. I also recommend the tri-ply stuff over the anodized stuff. Make sure it's fully clad and not that stuff that just has a tri-ply disk in the base of the pot. Otherwise you'll get a burn ring where the disk ends and the non-clad sides begin.* *And I know you said you didn't need to know what kind of stuff to get, but if you're not getting a set, you need to know which specific items to get, so I hope this isn't the information you don't want: Get a 12-inch saute pan, a 10-inch frypan, and a 3-qt. saucepan. If you get an enameled cast iron dutch oven, you don't need to also get a stockpot; if you want a stockpot, you don't need to get an expensive one because even heating isn't as big an issue when you're boiling water or making stock--get that from the commercial supplier. And a good nonstick is something you should have, too, but you can get a less expensive one. (I also have one from Ikea that is just fine.)

A few things others haven't mentioned yet that I find very useful: Steel bowls. We have about six both 4L and 500mL steel bowls which make great mixing bowls, everyday serving containers, fridge containers etc... They're entirely non-reactive (unlike plastic), easy to clean (better than glass), impossible to break (unlike everything else), go from fridge to double boiler without problems. We still keep a couple glass ones for the microwave, but they've completely replaced everything else. Get them at a restaurant supply or chinese market. And buy more than you think you'll need, 4 at least of each size; they're only a couple of bucks each so go nuts. Measuring spoons and cups. Unlike the bowls, these are items that are really worth spending on. There's nothing worse than cheap-ass spoons bending when you try to measure something out. Likewise, it's frustrating as hell when you can't get the measuring spoon to fit in the jar the damn sugar is in. We have http://www.dominicskitchenstore.com/store/item.asp?DEPARTMENT_ID=51&ITEM_ID=2257&PRINT=Y oval, stainless-steel measurers. They have heavy handles which don't bend, they're easy to clean and the oval shapes get into odd-shaped vessels more easily. You're getting lots of recommendations for All-clad. It's great stuff, but you really don't need to spend that much on cookware. The only place I've found All-clad to be worth the money is in a http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005AL5Q/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/. All-clad does make it easier to do the long simmers and slow poaches with no hotspots that sensitive things like sauces, chocolate and the like want. I could be convinced for a sauté pan as well, if you do a lot of that. Otherwise, something in stainless with a solid metal handle (so it can go in the oven) with do 99% of what you need a pot or pan to do.

Why not get a trial membership to https://www.cooksillustrated.com/cds_auth/signup/default/join_step1.asp?incode=M00CHLA00, and read all their http://www.cooksillustrated.com/equipment/? It's free for two weeks, which should be enough time for you to figure out the brands you need to stock your kitchen.

A couple of things: - KitchenAid stand mixers These are great if you do a lot of baking. I have it do a lot of other things too - whip up cream, make butter or frosting, bread, and pasta (I have the pasta attachments). I use a hand mixer for box-mix cake, though. - KitchenAid immersion blender Great for any chopping/mixing liquids and very versatile. I've almost stopped using my normal blender since I got this. The KHB100 series has been rated the best immersion blender. - Pyrex Everything of theirs is awesome. Their measuring cups are sturdy and accurate, their baking dishes heat well, and I love being able to use the same items between freezer, fridge, and stove (not immediately!). I use them as food storage containers because they don't stain or smell (and if I drop them, they don't break!). They also sell little shot-glass-style measuring cups for up to 2Tbsp with a bunch of different unit types marked. - Microplane zester/grater A fantastic little tool. Much more useful than plane or box-style graters. - Lodge cast iron A well-known name. As much as I love my pots and pans (KitchenAid stainless steel), this thing is so versatile. With a little care, it can make everything from pizza to steaks, to simmering things on the grill. I haven't found something I can't cook on it and they're dirt cheap. My mom god All-Clad and my dad's found it overpriced for what it is (too easy to scratch, so expensive you want to keep it pretty). Their old Farberware set lasted >20 years (they still have it and he uses that instead). You're mainly paying for the brand at that point.

All Clad stuff is great, but it's not worth it to buy the Teflon coated ones, because the coating will wear off after a few years.

Consensus stuff every kitchen needs: Wustof 8" chef's knife, All-Clad 12" frying pan, All-Clad 6-quart sauté pan. Microplane graters. Go to a restaurant-supply store and get three or four pairs of cheap tongs; not the hinged kind which are a pain in the ass, but http://www.webstaurantstore.com/10-stainless-steel-black-coated-handle-tong-scalloped/4075511BK.html that are just springy bent steel, with heat-proof rubberized coating on the bent part. You shouldn't pay more than $3 each. You'll use these constantly. While you're there, get a bunch of the cheap stainless prep bowls — maybe five of the 5-quart and ten of the 1½ quart. They nest very compactly and you can't have too many. Trick: invert them over stuff in pans that you want to speed-cook a little if the oven's busy or cold. Get a couple of http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/(abdsnlqhg0xw4h452gdnmv3z)/productDetails.aspx?SKU=6130520 in your local Chinatown and use them for stirring everything; the pointy end gets into the corners of pots nicely. http://www.olvidacookware.com/, not cheap, but also not a pain in the ass that you have to season and keep dry. All the utility of cast iron but you can scrub it, soak it, it's great. Get an extra plastic chopping board, take a Sharpie and write "POULTRY" on both sides to remind you not to use it for anything else. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000G2SU5Y/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/, they seem to break a lot but they're cheap and awfully handy, and Polder is nice about mailing you a new probe. The http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001HIGAMQ/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/, I know they sell it on TV but it really is great for grabbing seriously hot stuff like cast iron from the oven. If you get a KitchenAid mixer (and you should), http://www.frutproductsstore.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=KTH%2D1 is pretty nice — it continuously scrapes the sides of the bowl so you don't have to stop the mixer and do it.

I have a Calphalon 14" frying pan that's one of their lower end anodized nonstick and it's the best thing I've ever cooked with. Everything browns to perfection in this pan, every time. I will never saute in anything else, and it can also go in the oven up to medium-high temps (this is very useful for applications which require browning/saute first then baking second). I have a T-Fal plain stainless for when I want that instead of nonstick, and it's one of those tri-ply cores only on the bottom. It overheats easily if you don't watch it, but the responsiveness is good for some things and it gets up to temp more quickly on an electric range. Has a glass cover, good for stew-like dishes. I have a plain, cheap Cuisinart nonstick skillet (supposedly a proprietary nonstick coating of titanium, but I'm skeptical) that is almost exclusively for eggs and crepes and other things that stick to even the "nonstick" Calphalon. My soup pot is also some sort of anodized aluminum thing by Cuisinart. Zyliss makes a great salad spinner and other little "gadgety" kitchen items. I think these are fine to have for the things you use alot. We eat alot of salad so we have a salad spinner. YMMV. Pyrex ftw for anything made of glass - bowls, storage containers, measuring, whatever.