Holiday Kitchen Essentials

Photos by Hillary Ehlen

The holiday season is almost upon us, and soon we will gather around the dining room table to celebrate. What better way to prepare than to stock up on these oft-overlooked holiday kitchen essentials? This month, we came together with experts at locally-owned, independent kitchen supply store, Creative Kitchen, to find out what most of us are currently missing in our cupboards.

Meet the Experts

Mari McCullough is a senior buyer at Creative Kitchen. “I’ve actually been working for over six years, but cooking has been a passion for a long time. It’s fun for me— it’s creative,” she laughed.

Kay Arthur is a store manager at Creative Kitchen. Arthur has a passion for organizing displays and making sure that all of the products are easy to find in the store.

Mark Sinner is the owner of Creative Kitchen, an independent specialty kitchen supply store in Fargo. Creative Kitchen was founded in 1976 when he and a former business partner opened a store in the Black Building of Downtown Fargo. However, the store has been located inside of West Acres for the past 40 years. “We got the nerve to make the leap to West Acres in 1978,” Sinner explained. Creative Kitchen has been in its current space near the north entrance of West Acres since 2001.

Baking

1. Tovolo Pastry Mat

– Non-stick surface
– Includes measurements on the mat

“These make life so much easier. You put it on your counter, and when your recipe tells you to roll out a 10-inch circle, the pastry mat has a 10-inch circle right on it.” – Mari McCullough

2. French Rolling Pin

– Made of stainless steel
– Dishwasher safe

3. Sanding Sugar

– Ultra-fine sprinkles
– Easily give your pastries a festive feel

4. USA Bakeware

– Nonstick
– Commercial-grade
– Locally exclusive to Creative Kitchen

Cooking

1. Granny Fork

– Modeled after the Foley Fork from the 1940s and 1950s
– A great, multipurpose kitchen tool
– Made for cutting fat into flour

2. Wusthof Knives

– Forged
– Lifetime warranty
– Easy to maintain
– An 8-inch chef’s knife works for everything
– At holiday time, you need a slicer for carving meat

“The most important tools in the kitchen are cutlery.” – Mari McCullough

3. Le Creuset Cast Iron Dutch Oven

– Cooks food evenly
– Can go in the oven, on the stove or on the table
– Any utensils can be used on the cast iron and enamel
– Lasts multiple generations

“I always say that the grandkids fight over this because of the memories associated with it. They are an investment, but they are beautiful.” – Mari McCullough

4. Fargo Shake & Other Spices

– Regional goods made in Wayzata, MN
– Fargo shake, only available at Creative Kitchen

“The owners of Wayzata Bay worked with the owner here and they came up with it [the Fargo Shake recipe] years ago.” – Mari McCullough

5. Gravy Separator

– Used to separate fat from gravy
– Doubles as a liquid measuring cup

Drinkware

1. Lucaris Wine Glasses

– Durable
– Made with titanium
– Lightweight
– High-end appearance
– Dishwasher-safe

2. Stumbeano’s Coffee & Le Cruset Mug

– Regional coffee brand
– High-end mug, available in an assortment of colors

“Whenever you’re entertaining, you want to offer a nice cup of coffee.” – Mari McCullough

Creative Kitchen

CreativeKitchenFargo.com

 
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