Welcome to my Kitchen Favorites.
These are my honest kitchen product reviews — one thing at a time, every week, and every one of them already lives in my kitchen. I cook for a family of seven, so nothing here is theoretical. If a pan cannot take a double batch or a seasoning does not earn its spot on the counter, it never makes it onto this page.
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How I pick these
I buy these things myself, the same way you would. No brand hands me a product and asks for a nice review, and when a program does pay a commission I say so right in the post. If the item I link is the closest match to mine rather than the exact one, I tell you that too.
I also only write about things I actually use. That is why this page grows one item a week instead of thirty at once.
Start Here
If you are new here, these four are the ones other cooks come back to most:
- Bambusi Bamboo Cutting Boards — the tool my hands touch most when I cook.
- Pyrex 9×13 With a Lid — if I could keep one dish in the whole kitchen, this is the one.
- My 5 Kitchen Essentials — what I would grab first if I had to start my kitchen over from scratch.
- Gifts for Someone Who Loves to Cook — ten things I cook with, not ten things I researched.
Newest Kitchen Favorites
- Kitchen Favorites: KitchenAid Stand Mixer
- Kitchen Favorites: MerryNine Glass Drink Dispensers
- Holiday Hosting Essentials — Everything I Use to Feed 25
- Kitchen Favorites: Large Serving Platters
Every Kitchen Favorite, by What It Does
Pots, Pans and Bakeware
- Lodge Dutch Oven — the one pot I would grab on my way out the door, browned on the bottom from week after week of sourdough.
- Pyrex 9×13 With a Lid — the deep one with the sage lid that never makes it back into the cabinet.
- SENSARTE Nonstick Skillet — the pan that lives on my stovetop and gets used every single day.
- Ultra Cuisine Wire Rack and Sheet Pan — a rack that nests in its own half sheet pan — bought with my own money long before the brand ran a campaign.
- 9×13 Disposable Aluminum Pans — not fancy, not cute, not even cheap — and I cannot run a crowd-sized kitchen without them.
Tools I Reach For Every Day
- Topfeel Knives — the heavy little cleaver I keep grabbing when there is a mountain of chopping to do.
- Bambusi Bamboo Cutting Boards — the boards I love enough to leave out on the counter like decoration.
- A Plain Box Grater — I bought the fancy one first. Twice. Then I came right back to the cheap simple box.
- Marble Rolling Pin — my mama handed it to me thirty years ago and it still looks the same.
- Large Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl — 10.75 quarts — the big gun for when baking season shows up.
Appliances That Do the Work for Me
- Crock-Pot 7-Quart Slow Cooker — the turquoise one I love so much it comes on vacation with us.
- Aroma Professional Plus Rice Cooker — a Mother’s Day gift from my family, and I have not ruined a pot of rice since.
- KitchenAid Stand Mixer — older than all my children, dropped on the floor mid-beating more than once, and still my partner for every holiday baking day.
Seasonings and Oils
- Kinder’s The Blend — salt, pepper and garlic in one shaker. That is the whole thing, and it is exactly enough.
- Kinder’s Garlic and Herb — the one that made me wonder why nobody told me sooner.
- Chosen Foods Avocado Oil — bottle and spray both — it quietly replaced vegetable oil in nearly everything I make.
Getting It to the Table
- Large Serving Bowls — my old pieces were chipped and dingy, so this is the year I invested again, and these two nest right inside each other in the pantry.
- Large Serving Platters — the set of two I bought after ten years of chipped ones; the big one holds a ham, and they go right in the oven.
- Holiday Hosting Essentials — everything I use to feed 25 on a holiday, from the roaster to the paper plates and the table runners.
- MerryNine Glass Drink Dispensers — glass this time instead of plastic, on a little wooden stand, and one batch of my punch fills one exactly.
Keeping It All Going
- Glad Take-Aways — the only containers I am genuinely happy to lose when the kids head back out the door.
- Kate Naturals Mineral Oil — what brought my dried-out cutting boards back from the edge of cracking.
- DII It’s Fall Y’all Apron — it got here before fall did and I could not wait to put it on.
- Depuley Flush Mount Ceiling Fan — not a kitchen thing at all, and one of the best buys of our whole room addition.
🛒 Ready to shop instead of read?
Everything I cook with lives in one place, sorted like a real kitchen.
Shop My Kitchen →Honest Kitchen Product Reviews — Your Questions
Does any brand pay you for these reviews?
No brand pays me to write one. I buy these things with my own money, and every review says so plainly. Some items are part of Amazon programs that pay a commission when you shop through my link, and when that is the case I tell you inside that post — the Ultra Cuisine rack is the clearest example.
How do you decide what makes the list?
It has to already be in my kitchen, and it has to hold up to cooking for seven people. Some of these are thirty years old, like my mama’s marble rolling pin. Some cost a few dollars, like the plain box grater I went back to after trying the fancy one twice.
What if the exact item is sold out or discontinued?
Amazon changes listings constantly. When the item I own is no longer available, I link the closest match I can find and say so in the post rather than pretending it is identical.
Do you ever write about something you did not like?
I would, but it would be a short page. I would rather spend the week telling you about something that works than something that does not. What I do tell you is when the cheap version beat the expensive one, because that happens more than you would think.
How often do new kitchen favorites go up?
About once a week, usually with a short video. My Saturday newsletter is where they land first, along with the week’s meal plan.
You can also browse every kitchen favorite newest first if you would rather read them in order.
📬 Come to the table on Saturday
Every Saturday morning I send a printable meal plan and full grocery list — the whole week, formatted for the fridge and the grocery run — plus new recipes, the newest kitchen favorite, and whatever’s happening at the Longstreth house. Drop your email below and I’ll save you a seat.
Honest Kitchen Product Reviews — About Stephanie Longstreth
Stephanie Longstreth is the home cook, mom, and storyteller behind StephanieCooksForACrowd.com. She cooks for a family of seven in Florida — five kids, two cats, and one husband who appreciates a good meal. Four of her children came home through adoption, and family stories are woven into everything she makes and shares. Find her crowd-friendly recipes, weekly meal plans, and real family life on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest @stephaniecooksforacrowd.