For me, its very definitely the hand me down le creuset 8 or 9 inch cast iron skillet I got from my mom. I've slowly been adding nicer items to my kitchen, and still don't have a lot of things such as a real casserole dish, and the cast iron is so versatile I end up using it nearly every meal, either as an oven dish or a skillet or a heat diffuser on the gas range.

I wouldn't part with it for money

A good sharp chefs' knife. It's one of the keys to my universe.

And no, it's not crazy not to want to buy a new cast iron skillet. I have two, one I bought a decade or so ago and one that came from a church rummage sale that's probably 50 years old. The rummage sale one is better in every way.
As ridiculous as it sounds, cast iron was out of fashion for several generations' worth of cooks before now. Old people still consider it "old fashioned" vs. the lighter weight aluminum and ss that replaced it, so anywhere you have a population of old people, you'll usually find good cast iron cast-offs.

- Sharp. Knives.
How many times I've gone over to another persons kitchen and they don't have good sharp knives.
They make life so much easier.

- Sturdy metal tongs.
None of those flimsy things that are just the bent metal loops on the end.

I already have those, but
My number one kitchen wish:
- A counter top dishwasher. Since our apartment didn't come with one, and both of us hate doing dishes.

Chef's knife. I can live without everything else if I have that.

It is definitely not crazy to want an old cast iron skillet! There is so much love and history in them! I bought a new one (Mom wasn't ready to give up our family skillet just yet) so I am just going to have to fill it full of love and history of my own so I can pass it on to someone someday!

My favorite items are my Lodge dutch oven (I couldn't afford Le Creuset just yet) and the cast iron skillet!

Currently, I really want a hand crank food mill. It just seems like it would be little bit more fun than a food processor! And a crock pot!

The workhorse of my kitchen is my 6-qt stainless stock pot. I use it every night. It's good for soups and stews (obviously), but it's also great for sauteing, cooking large quantities of greens, boiling pasta and potatoes, etc.

http://www.amazon.com/All-Clad-5506-Stainless-6-Quart-Stockpot/dp/B00005AL62/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1267474210&sr=8-2

My cast-iron skillet, which my husband and I have named Calcifer (nerd nerd nerd), is the absolute center of my kitchen. It bakes, it fries, it handles everything I throw at it with grace, dignity, and little brown crunchy bits-- it's perfect.

Close to Calcifer are my F.Dick knives (chef's and bread), my ancient Pyrex measuring cup and mixing bowls, and my jelly-roll pan. With these, all things are possible.

I second the stock pot. If you could afford only one pan, this would be it. You can cook ANYTHING in it and it can even double as a mixing bowl. You people who can't part with your cast iron skillets must not eat much soup.

I had my list composed in my head, opened the comments, and... we all pretty much have the same things on our list!

The key to everything? Good, sharp knives. Drives me nuts to try to cook in someone else's high-end kitchen and find that they don't have a single good knife. (of course, a good wooden cutting board is a given)

My cast iron pan.

My OXO tongs, and Williams Sonoma Spoonula.

Heavy duty grill pans, the kind that come with a new oven.

Pyrex glass measuring cups.

Inexpensive graduated stainless steel mixing bowls, a series of 5.

My 4 qt All Clad Stainless sauce pan.

Not a day has gone by without using each of these items at least once, if not 3 or 4 times.

I want 2 amazingly good knives. So I can have one at the sharpener all the time. Of course I don't know where one is near me and I bus so I have 1 knife and it isn't great. :(

I've played a lot with the idea of a mandolin. But there is this little voice in my head telling me "if you just had sharper knives it wouldn't matter".

my 16 qt stock pot, le creuset dutch ovens, and wustof knives can all be replaced (not that i'd want to!), but my late grandma's 60 y.o. cast iron pan can't be. there's something almost magical about vintage, well-used cast iron cookware. i think it's all the love that went into making all those meals that sticks to my grandma's pan... but that's the only thing that sticks to it! :)

my husband is a semi-pro chef and as a result we have just about every kitchen-type item we can find a use for. i second the original post--all four of those items make our list, as well as the good knives. i also could not effectively feed myself for long without the cuisinart griddler and the toaster oven, and the microplane is another frequent flyer. a glass pyrex measuring cup, ramekins, and a silpat/sheet pan combo are my baking go-to's.

Shun 6" chef's knife
Staub 5qt La Cocotte
Lodge 10" cast iron skillet
Olivewood wooden utensils from Crate and Barrel

All things are possible.

A very sharp knife and my stainless-steel All Clad. I think if I were forced to pick just one All-Clad piece it would be my 4 Quart Sauté Pan.

my 20 year old panasonic rice cooker. perfect rice every time.

My Wusthof bread knife, big Revere stainless whistling tea kettle and a tiny mezzoluna that some friends brought back - I think as a joke souvenir - from Alaska. It has a perfect little handle (with"Alaska" stamped into the plastic) and has lasted with tons of use for years.

My wish list:
Le Creuset dutch oven (though I'd never snub a Lodge!)
butcher block cutting board
4 cup pyrex measuring cup

My indespensibles:
70's crockpot
4 cup rice cooker
cast iron tortilla griddle
slow but steadily increasing collection of Henkel knives
Glass pyrex tupperware

My Wusthof knives.

I have the same stock pot as Heather (and agree with her completely) but even more important to me is, like marisab, the All Clad saute pan.

I love my Le Creuset dutch oven and my Kitchen Aid mixer.

Microplane grater and silicone tipped tongs immediately came to mind but I also love my WS spoonulas, pyrex measuring cups, sheet pans and Le Creuset dutch oven.

Chef's knife. Hands down, I use my knife every day. All my other utensils, even my wooden spoons, don't get the use my knife does.

The rest of my list:
paring knife
wooden spoon
pyrex measuring cup (learned the hard way after melting a plastic one)
8qt stock pot
stainless steel saute pan
cast iron skillet
tongs
sturdy sheet pan
crock pot
whisk

90% of my meals I could manage to cook with just those utensils. Of course the food processor, stand mixer, etc. makes it all much easier and faster but I could do without them if I have to.

My chef's knife, KitchenAid stand mixer, great cookie sheets and dutch oven.

My immersion blender has really been wonderful to me.

My Le Crueset cookware
Cuisinart food processor
Kitchen Aid mixer
Wustoff knives
pizza stone and peel
microwave
And a vegetable chopper that my dad sent me that was probably $20 at the most, but I use nearly every day. I sob buckets slicing onions, and this little device makes dealing with them nearly pain and tear free.

immersion blender. makes it so easy to do semi-pureed semi-chunky soups.

All clad pots and pans, esp the big one for soups and beans and anything else and the flat bottomed wok for when everything else is dirty or otherwise occupied.

An ancient steamer for vegetables that I bought years ago on sale for almost nothing and is literally falling apart, but is the perfect size. I have a bigger one that I hardly ever use.

Paring knives.

Pyrex microwave containers with handles like these, which I use constantly: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00080XH34/ref=oss_product

I could use some sharp knives.

For me, it's all about a Marie Callendar's pie tin. It's heavy duty, but light weight. I realized that it was the best most used tool in my kitchen when i moved out and didn't take one. As soon as I realized this, I visited my mom and jacked on of hers.
My mom started using the ones we saved if we bought a pie and uses them as lids for pots big and small, to serve food, store food, keep things warm in the oven, spoon holders... the list goes on. They are the best thing if you're making pancakes or quesadillas for a large group, because you can stack to many in them and they don't fall. Don't bother with your pots heavy lids, because a pie tin will probably fit over your pot. It's also light enough that enough steam escapes to avoid boiling over.

Don't worry about the Marie Callendar name, through use the tin gets a patina and the stamped name smooths slightly.

My husband definitely uses our KitchenAid Stand Mixer the most of any kitchen item. Bless that appliance--he makes bread every week.

My #1 kitchen item is my dutch oven. We have a Lodge that I have seriously abused. I love it, but will probably have to replace it eventually because I used it with no limitations (high heat, etc) when I first got it. Maybe someday I'll replace it with a Staub... But meanwhile I use it at least once a week. Love, love, love it.

My grandmother's Wagner Cast-iron Skillet/Roaster with lid that I inherited. I adore it.

It's gotta be my Breville Toaster Oven. I haven't used my regular oven since buying it. Most of my dinners are cooked flawlessly in the Breville-----Never thought I'd consider a toaster oven the most essential piece of kitchen equipment- But, this thing is no ordinary toaster oven. It has become indispensable in my kitchen.

I forgot one item: garlic press

Chef's knife and wooden cutting board. My mother-in-law uses steak knives and a glass cutting board, and I just feel so sorry for her--what a hassle! I'd never chop anything with that setup.

Kitchen aid stand mixer for sure! It's the hardest working thing in my kitchen!

I can understand pining away for a KA Mixer or a Cuisinart Food Processor (in my case I pine for the Magimix food processor that is still actually produced in France, as seen here: http://www.napastyle.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=2192).

And the Le Creuset Dutch Oven...okay, I get it. It's certainly a great, beautiful product and an illustrious name. But this is one I can't really agree with. Per the CI recommendation, I bought the Tramontina dutch oven and replaced its lid with a metal Le Creuset one, so now it's totally oven and broil-safe. Even the Le Creuset oven you linked to is only good to 450 unless you replace the knob that comes with it. I think of the Le Creuset dutch ovens as a kitchen status symbol more than a necessary item anymore.

As someone who 1) is just out of college $$$ and 2) has very little cabinet space, I find a lot of these entries superfluous. Would I love to have a KitchenAid mixer and an immersion blender...yes...but I'm quite the cook without. I think there is a lot to be said for keeping it simple. I love my Le Creuset spatulas and my always sharp Calphalon Santoku knife.

Ah, good knifes are a must, smaller bamboo spatula, cast iron dutch oven thats actually 2 skillets one is just much deeper and perfect for frying. Mixing bowls and a baking mat from pampered chef that I use for EVERYTHING from tamales to dolmas to pie, cookies and candy. My wish list is steak knifes and.....a super big fryer pan.

A nice knife is probably the most important must have. You can cook on a lot of surfaces, but a great knife is a universal need.

I use these constantly:

Good chef's knife (my favorite is a Global santoku) and parer (also Global)
Cast iron skillet (I have a big one and a little one)
Cast iron dutch oven
Microplane grater
Citrus reamer
Fine mesh strainer
Colander
Rice cooker
Immersion blender (mine has a small food processor attachment and a milkshake cup, so I'm going to get rid of my food processor)
Stock pot
Electric kettle (mine goes different temperatures for green tea)
Several wooden cutting boards, with grooves, please
Let us not forget the humble wooden spoon

Before I got the rice cooker I preferred enameled saucepans for cooking my rice; they made the rice come out right even when we had cruddy electric stoves. Call my crazy but my only Le Creuset purchase was to replace my aged rice pot where the enamel had chipped beyond use. (Luckily it's a multi-tasker.) The Lodge enameled dutch oven is very good, but the plain cast iron one sees more use because it's great for searing at the beginning of the cooking process. If I had to pick, I'd take the plain cast iron one over my pretty blue Lodge or even my Le Creuset saucepan.

What I want: a carbon steel wok, a high quality medium-sized utility knife, a higher quality stock pot (mine is okay but the thin metal doesn't deal well with my good gas cooktop) and an all-glass teapot to replace my Bodum with the plastic strainer insert. And a good roasting pan.

Things I use constantly: Wusthof Classic santoku, Microplane, Circulon dutch oven, Chef'n Switchit spatula, Mighty OJ juicer, KitchenAid stand mixer.

Things I want: immersion blender and a saucier.

@powwlita, last week I found an old pie tin with our last name imprinted in a thrift shop. I'm already happy with my pie plates but it sure was a fun find.

I love my Nesco 6 quart roasting pan. I use it indoors, when it's hot I put it out on the deck, I take it camping, etc.

I'd also have to say I love my Zac happy spoons.

It's really delightful to see all you folks who are declaring love for the dutch oven.
I got a cast iron lodge dutch oven from my husband for Christmas a few years ago. I swear I use it almost every day. It's heavy, it's clunky, it's large... and I love it and care for it with love every time I use it. Best kitchen item I have ever gotten.

Also, must give love to my Soda Club bubbly water maker. I adore carbonated water - and now can make my 2 bottles a day without guilt. Love it.

That's so strange, my housemates and I had this conversation just yesterday, and I chose my Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven - partially because it was my uncle's then my dad's then my mum adopted it and replaced the knob for me... so whilst I love my food processor and whisk and marble rolling pin and enormous cookie cutter collection, none of those things are as irreplaceable as something that I love in its own right, but for sentimental reasons too.
(That said, I have some crockery that I couldn't bear to part with).

Decent knives - we have fab global ones that I love. We have had to give these as christmas presents to my MIL and brother just so that we can use them in their kitchens too since they have no decent knives :-)

Also a huge non-stick heavy-based pan for cooking stews, chillie, soups, bolognaise and anything like that. It's the thing we use every weekend for making large pots of whatever this week's choice is.

For what it's worth, my mother-in-law gave me the Le Creuset Round Dutch Oven knock-off from Martha Stewart at Macy's and I love it. I've never used LC so I cannot compare the two and I have only used this pot for 2.5 months at this point, but it's fantastic for us. She found it on sale for around $70, I think.

I also love my Kitchenaid stand mixer. I'd wanted one for years then a friend purchased one for herself and loved it. A few months later, this friend unexpectedly inherited money and she purchased one for me as a gift, sort of aa a way to pass on her good fortune. It was extremely generous and I've used it well and often with much pleasure.

French Presse and/or Stovetop Espresso maker.

My pastry scraper also comes in handy for lots of clean-up things.

Yep, she loved me more. I wrote her letters. When my hubby's "auntie" died, I got two pieces of cast iron. A dutch oven and a 12 inch skillet were given to me. Other family members grouched that they had not received such wonders and I just kept quiet.

With this, I have several other pieces that round them out on the stove and one is a Lae Creuset knock off, but I fix oatmeal in the real thing.

My father purchased the Kitchen Aide stand mixer for me from his work/prize catalog and every time I use it, I think of him.

Could not do without my Kitchen Aid Food Processor or stand mixer. Just this weekend finally took the plunge and bought a Le Cruset Dutch Oven and the first thing made in it was a batch of oxtail stew....had the final bit of leftovers for lunch at work today.....

I have an old butchers table.Its a must for me!!! And the one other must is an old cast iron fry pan...does it all!!!! I have a very small kitchen, and NO I do not have granite counters or a wonderful layout.....But my kitchen gets used 3 times a day at least.......Do have a new toy and that is my new 3 in one crock pot.its great!! Has 3 pots and It makes life happy here.LOL

Microplane zester and Kitchen Aid stand mixer.

*My 10", perfectly seasoned, OLD cast iron skillet. (I love what elise_the_great named hers-- I'm tempted to borrow that-- "Howl's Moving Castle" character. lol.)

*My 8" professional chef's knife & steel. I take them with me when I cook at other people's houses.

*kosher salt. MUST have. Scours cast iron like a dream.

*an OXO Good Grips vegetable peeler. I've had mine for 15 years and it's still just as sharp as it ever was. Handwash, only, and dry blade well, right away. Store carefully so it doesn't get dinged in the drawer.

I have several other faves, but it'll sound like everyone else's lists.

Hands down - my Global chef's knife.

Best $100 I ever spent.

I recently bought myself a enameled cast iron dutch oven and it pretty much changed the way I cook. I'm a dad who loves to cook. My wife bakes and I cook, so it's a great tradeoff. My dutch over has been put into frequent weekly rotation with awesome results. If you don't have one, you can get one for less than $50 at most big retailers (that's what I did). I would have loved to drop a wad of cash on a Le Creuset but I can replace this one 4 times before I reach the price of one of those, even though they are amazing.

I dare you to buy one and cook short ribs and see if you don't feel the same way about a dutch oven. Life changing, I tell you.

Definitely use the cast iron skillets constantly. I bought mine new (Lodge) and they're perfectly good.

I inherited an ancient, beat-up Le Creuset dutch oven. The enamel is in really rough shape and I'd love to get it fixed, but it works just fine and I use it constantly.

Other than that, I'd say my couldn't-live-without list includes my fine mesh strainer (in a tiny kitchen it's more versatile than my big collander), my knives (Victorinox - very lightweight but surprisingly effective, my food processor, and my set of Pyrex bakeware.

I want to replace my saucepan - it's truly gross, ancient Revere ware that's just been battered to death and has some charred on stuff I can't get off.

I just bought a much desired dutch oven (Fontignac, not LeCreuset...) So that's been making me happy as of late.

I couldn't live without my good Global chefs knife or my Kitchenaid mixer.

As far as what I'm pining after in my kitchen (short of getting out of our apartment and into a real kitchen?) A barbecue. I desperately want a grill and my husband keeps swearing as soon as we get a house I can get one! I want real, grilled steaks and shrimp and all the yummy summer grilling I miss not having one.

Alas, my favorite item was a Spanish terracotta cazuela that I've used as my go to casserole or veggie roaster or pie dish or for anything bound for the oven, for nearly 10 years. Until I broke it. Just two days ago. *very sad face*

I'll go out on a limb here and say...an 8 inch off brand non stick skilet, and a 7 quart off brand stock pot/dutch oven (? says so at the bottom, who knows), and a Mini Santoku Knife.

if someone's looking for an affordable good knife

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=746&f=32051

this little guy will keep you more than happy. It actually came to me from my friend's mother, who used it for a while before...and it's still extremely sharp. Bought another one this last week ^_^