As far as needing 5 knives, personally I believe you need more than that. I believe you need a paring knife, utility knife, chefs knife, steak knives, bread slicer, carving knive, and butcher knife.

Finally, I firmly believe the worst thing you can do is buy a serrated edge. Cutco has a special edge on most of their knives that is so much better. Go to http://www.cutco.com to see why Cutco are the only knives you will ever have to buy for your life, your kids, grandkids, great grandkids… (forever gaurantee)

Saucepan (with lid)
Frying pan (deep sides, with lid)
Stock pot (big enough to brine a chicken in)
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Manual can opener
Cutting/paring knife (serrated or regular)
Cookie sheet
Baking/roasting pan (deep sides)
Your “all purpose utensil” (Mine is a wooden “spatula” with an angled, beveled edge)

Of course, I have other things I like quite a bit, like a crock pot, toaster, baking pans, mixer, etc. Would love to learn how to really rock a pressure cooker, too.

But buying expensive equipment doesn’t make you a better cook. It’s not about what you have. It’s how you use it.

Also, cutting open your meat to use the infrared is a horrible idea. An incision big enough to read will also let out the meat’s juices and will quickly dry out said meat. Remember that it’s important to rest meat before cutting, and it’s even worse if your meat is not ready and has to go back on the heat. The small hole from an instant read will not be anywhere near as disastrous.

I love my infraread thermometer, but an instant-read is much more “essential.” Thermapen is the best, or the aforementioned Taylor 9842 is a great, cheaper alternative (note that most others can be finicky, slow, imprecise, and not dishwasher-safe).

Also, a bread machine in the top 15? I understand that it’s important to you, but it’s certainly not “minimalist.”

On a related note, Alton Brown’s Gear for the Kitchen is a must read.

You do need an instant-read thermometer, like the Taylor 9842 Commercial Waterproof Digital Thermometer. Try to find a chef that does not carry an instant read thermometer.

Tongs and a good knife can work miracles.

I canned U-pick produce over a Coleman stove, stored it behind the front seat and under the clothes, and cooked anything I wanted except homemade bread on this setup–curry to beans to meat loaf. I’ve replaced the grater with a food processor and the percolator with a mass-market drip, but the only serious addition to the setup was–you guessed it–a Lodge skillet, for good ol’ Southern cornbread.

I’m considering the silicone oven mitts but hate the expense.

I bought a large pack of long wooden chopsticks for $3 at an Asian grocery store. They are very handy for cooking stir fry, potstickers, ravioli, and pretty much anything else that has to be sort of handled. If you use a bunch at once they sort of function as a whisk. Additionally, they do not scratch Teflon. (My Teflon pans all look and work like brand new.) Yes, yes I know cast-iron is great, but sometimes I don’t feel like cooking with oil, so there you go.

My kitchen:
1 wok-shaped skillet/fryingpan/omelet pan/stirfry thing.
1 pasta-sized pot (medium)
1 saucepan
1 tea kettle and teapot
1 set measuring cups
Utensils: “food lifter”, rubber spatula, big spoon, big knife, little pointy knife, can opener, corkscrew, measuring spoons, full set of silverware
Some dishes and cups
1 half-sized baking sheet, 1 half-sized baking cake pan thing, 1 half-sized glass baking pan (I used to live somewhere with a small oven)
Little metal drip-coffee filters that sit over individual cups
Some Glad-ware for storing leftovers

Things I don’t have but wish I did:
Cutting board
Big salad/mixing bowl

That’s about it. It makes cleanup and organization really easy. As convenient as all the other stuff is, I find that most of the functions of a range of knives can be done with a big one or a little one, and most of the functions of a range of pans can be done with a glass pan or a metal pan. Then again, I’m mostly concerned with preparing meals for myself or my friends (or inviting my friends over to prepare meals) so I have no need for a gourmet kitchen at the moment.

My list:

2 chopping boards (1 plastic for meat; wooden for the rest)
kitchen knife (~6-8 inches long will do most stuff)
4-sided Grater
large frying pan with lid (=skillet in USA I think?)
large stockpot (can also use to cook most other things)
casserole dish (this&stockpot can be used as mixingbowl)
cake tin
baking tray
Long-handled ladle
2-3 long wooden spoons
whisk
fish slice/spatula
oven gloves
ice-cream scoop
corkscrew
scales
bread (serrated) knife

Things I don’t need: microwave, meat thermometer, foodprocessor/kitchenaid/blender, latex gloves…

Things that aren’t essential but I personally like to have: garlic press, toaster, ice-cream maker (I use it every week, honest!), teapot, cafetiere, crockpot, extra pans/baking trays, loaf tins…

I find the smaller knives much more useful than those larger ones in the Gourmet set would be for me. The petite chef is the largest knife I need.