Coming out of the holiday season and into the New Year, you may find yourself with one (or a few!) new pieces of kitchen gear, thanks to Santa or the Holiday Armadillo. While a new piece of equipment is exciting, you might be scratching your head and wondering where to start with it. If you were gifted an immersion or high-speed blender, you're well equipped to turn out soups, hummus, and or sweet treats like pistachio cream. A sous vide machine is not only essential for cooking juicy meat dishes, but can also excel at other tasks like making vegetables or even a homemade vanilla extract. Stand mixers are good for a variety of tasks, like whipping up desserts and breads. If there's one piece of equipment that truly covers the realm of both sweet and savory dishes, it's the cast iron skillet. A trusty pressure cooker is great for cutting down on cook time for a number of dishes like chili and risotto. And finally, a mortar and pestle will help you on your way to making all the sauces, pastes, and dips your heart desires.
We've rounded up 21 recipes to use if you've found yourself with one of these shiny new pieces of kitchen equipment. Time to get cooking!
Immersion Blender
Homemade Pistachio Cream
An immersion blender makes this nutty, pale green whipped cream thick and stable.
Two-Minute Mayonnaise
Using an immersion blender, you end up with a cup full of creamy, perfectly emulsified, real-deal, better-than-anything-you-can-buy mayonnaise.
Thick and Creamy Tomato Soup
Stella's take on the famous Nordstrom's tomato basil soup uses carrot purée and just a splash of cream to create a thick, hearty, and warming meal.
Sous Vide Machine
Sous Vide Buffalo Chicken Wings
Cooking chicken wings sous vide allows you to get perfectly cooked meat that's supremely juicy.
Sous Vide Glazed Carrots
Sous vide carrots are intensely flavorful and perfectly cooked—every time.
Homemade Vanilla Extract
We tested and found that this homemade vanilla extract is better (and cheaper!) than store-bought.
Stand Mixer
Brioche
This classic brioche is airy and tender, with a deeply rich and buttery flavor thanks to a hands-off cold fermentation.
Creamy Whipped Greek Yogurt
A light and fresh dessert that comes together easily with the help of a stand mixer.
One-Bowl, Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
A lazy-weekend secret weapon that takes only one bowl and can be made in advance.
Cast Iron Skillet
Foolproof Pan Pizza
A pan pizza recipe for those who love a thick and crispy crust that's golden on the bottom, but puffy and soft under the layers of sauce and mozzarella.
Pan-Roasted Chicken With Vegetables and Dijon Jus
A serve-it-in-one-pan wonder that leaves no flavor behind.
Chocolate Skillet Cake With Milk Chocolate Frosting
This chocolate cake topped with milk chocolate frosting couldn't be easier—it's made and baked right in a cast iron skillet.
Pressure Cooker
Pressure Cooker Tomato Sauce
The pressure cooker gives you a red sauce with all-day flavor on a weeknight schedule.
Pressure Cooker Chunky Beef and Bean Chili
Unlike a lot of chili recipes that call for short cooking times but deliver terrible flavor, this classic chunky beef-and-bean recipe saves time the right way: by using a pressure cooker, not by cutting corners.
Pressure Cooker Mushroom Risotto
Creamy, intensely flavored mushroom risotto that's ready to eat in less time.
High-Speed Blender
Nigerian Masa (Fermented Rice Cake Balls)
Crunchy fermented rice cakes—made by blending the batter and then baking—that can be served sweet or savory.
The Best Smooth Hummus
Puréeing garlic in lemon juice and blending chickpeas while they're hot produces hummus that's both smooth and flavorful.
The Best Potato-Leek Soup
An easy potato-leek soup that takes no shortcuts to deliver the best flavor and texture possible.
Mortar and Pestle
The Best Pesto alla Genovese (Classic Basil Pesto Sauce)
Tradition says to use a mortar and pestle when making pesto, and in this case, tradition is right.
Prik Gaeng Khiao Waan (Thai Green Curry Paste)
Fresh green chiles are the key to this bright and balanced curry paste.
Nam Prik Ong (Thai Pork-and-Tomato Chile Dip)
Ground pork, tomatoes, and dried chiles are the stars of this spicy-savory northern Thai dip.