Tieghan Gerard’s Favorite Things
The force behind Colorado cooking blog Half Baked Harvest shares her favorite items in the kitchen
We recently caught up with Tieghan Gerard to discuss her new cookbook, Half Baked Harvest Cookbook: Recipes From My Barn in the Mountains. She welcomed us into her storybook barn and workspace back in 2015, and now she’s sharing her favorite things.
Gerard’s kitchen [Photo by Kimberly Gavin]
“Be bright, beautiful and positively cozy.” — Tieghan Gerard
ANTHROPOLOGIE PITCHERS AND BOWLS
I definitely order a lot of dishes from Anthropologie. I have bowls and platters and plates, but I really love their pitchers. The shapes and colors are great. I use them for drinks and as vases for flowers.
YES, MY KITCHENAID AND FOOD PROCESSOR
I’m trying really hard not to say “KitchenAid mixer and food processor” because everyone always says, “I love my KitchenAid and food processor,” but really, I use them every day.
FRENCH CUTTING BOARDS
I’m not sure what makes them French—other than that they are made in France. I found them on Etsy, and the wood is beautiful. I use them for cheese boards or as props for photos. I like to display them along the marble backsplash in my kitchen. I have all marble backsplashes, and the warm wood helps break it up.
STAUB CAST-IRON COOKWARE
I love them. I think they are the best. They go from stove to oven. They hold and conduct heat really well. And I love the looks of them. I have all open cabinets in my kitchen, so it’s nice to have pretty enameled cast iron that works and displays well.
THE FLAVOR BIBLE by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
It’s not really a cookbook; it’s a reference. It includes just about every ingredient you can possibly think of. Plums, for instance: It tells you their peak season, cooking techniques to prepare them, and flavors that pair well with them—allspice, cinnamon, butter, brandy. It’s really helpful when I’m trying to develop a recipe and come up with flavor inspiration for a particular ingredient or dish.
BENCH KNIFE
I did some work with King Arthur Flour over the winter, and they sent me one of their bench knives. My dad helps me clean the kitchen at night when I work on a ton of recipes, and he’s like, “This thing is a life changer!” It’s a metal blade with a wooden handle, and he uses it to scrape the counters when I’ve been rolling out pizza or bread or pie dough. It’s perfect to pick up all the bits and scraps. I use it to lift up giant piles of chopped vegetables to move them from cutting board to stove, and to divide big balls of dough. I think it’s kind of a weird tool, but I use it every day.
