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!