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It\u2019s no secret that here at The Kitchn, we\u2019re huge fans of Nadia Caterina Munno, a.k.a. the Pasta Queen<\/a>. Whether we\u2019re celebrating the launch of her cookbook<\/a>, recreating her cacio e pepe<\/a>, or scrolling through her hilarious TikTok feed<\/a>, there\u2019s never a dull moment when we interact with her content. And, lucky for us, she\u2019s coming to NYC this weekend to take part in FoodieCon<\/a>, the New York City Food & Wine Festival\u2019s all-day event headlined by all your favorite food influencers. We caught up with the Pasta Queen before the convention to talk about her must-have tools for the kitchen, including gadgets for the pasta-obsessed home chef and small-space-friendly staples for apartment dwellers. You can also shop her picks on her Amazon storefront<\/a>, though not all of the recs she shared with us below have made their way there yet. Whether you\u2019re already on the hunt for quality holiday gifts or looking to upgrade your own cooking arsenal, you\u2019ll find plenty of inspo among them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n 1. First, can you talk about your involvement with FoodieCon and what you\u2019re looking forward to during the convention tomorrow?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Munno:<\/strong> It\u2019s going to be really fun because there are a lot of things that I\u2019ll be hosting, including being a judge on the actual New York City Food & Wine Festival panel. I\u2019m also doing a panel about Italian-American culture and the crossover between authentic Italian versus Italian-American cuisine, so I\u2019m very excited about that. I\u2019m concluding the festival the following day, so the 15th, with a Demo & Dine demonstration, where I\u2019ll be making one of my viral pasta dishes live for 50 people to taste. Of course, at FoodieCon I\u2019m also going to be doing a book signing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n 2. What are the kitchen tools you think every home chef should have, especially if they want to make authentic-tasting pasta?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n A really basic, cost-effective machine that I still use is a manual Marcato pasta maker. It\u2019s a stainless-steel, very basic pasta maker that comes with attachments for different types of pasta. It\u2019s a must to me because you can use it on any surface, whether it\u2019s wood, marble, stainless steel \u2014 you really don\u2019t need to have a pasta board. The pasta machine is useful when you don\u2019t have the time to roll pasta by hand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I have a few basic tools, and that includes the Marcato pasta maker and a very basic rolling pin \u2014 nothing too fancy. I really love a dough cutter<\/a>, but you can use a butter knife or chef\u2019s knife. You don\u2019t have to have all this fancy stuff. But, a rolling pin and pasta maker are the basic things you want to start with.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But those are all examples of accessories that you can collect through the years. You don\u2019t have to start with all of them. But if you\u2019re thinking about gifts for someone who loves pasta, I think that list is key because everybody\u2019s going to love it. And it\u2019s nice because you can spend $20, $30 on each item, and you can give them as gifts to someone who loves to make fresh, homemade pasta.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n 3. Which kitchen products do you recommend for someone moving into a new apartment?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I would totally get a food processor. I use one from Ninja that I really love; I believe it\u2019s a five-in-one. I think it\u2019s awesome. I make the best pestos with it, and you can use it to chop vegetables. If you don\u2019t have a lot of time, you can throw carrots in there, celery, onions, and it chops them up for you. You can also make a great base for a meat sauce.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And, even before that, you should probably get some pots and pans. There\u2019s are brand that I really love from Italy called Agnelli. I\u2019ve used their pans forever, and they\u2019re really easy to clean. They come in stainless steel and aluminum, and they also have a special copper line, but the stainless steel is budget-friendly. They\u2019re light as a feather, so you can toss pasta in the air and not twist your wrist, which I\u2019ve done, by the way, with my copper pots and pans. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n They have a really tiny pan, a medium one, large ones, and you can cook anything in them. You can saut\u00e9, braise, stir fry; you can even deep fry in them because they\u2019re nice and deep, so you can create a nice 2-inch layer of oil. But best of all, you can make amazing sauces and pasta with them. So I would get one stock pot<\/a> and two different-sized frying pans. Those can be used for anything: eggs, meat, vegetables, sauces.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I think you should have a moka pot<\/a>. It\u2019s an Italian coffee pot; they\u2019re like $30 to $40. Instead of having to buy a $400 coffee machine, you can make coffee with a moka pot, which is really great, to be honest, especially if you want the Italian experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I love an electric oven; they\u2019re very useful. I have a Ninja one, and I have a Wolf one that\u2019s a little bit more expensive. The Ninja one is more accessible, and it does a lot of different types of cooking. I think it\u2019s fantastic to have if you don\u2019t have a big kitchen and you can\u2019t afford a big stove or double oven.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I love a basic set of knives. The ones I usually get are from Zwilling<\/a>, and they can range from very basic to high-quality steel. They\u2019re expensive, but I think they\u2019re very good. Wusthof knives are also fantastic. You can just own one knife, like a chef\u2019s knife, and then add a serrated knife, a paring knife; you can add all sorts of different knives later, but a chef\u2019s knife is a must because it\u2019s so versatile.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n 4. You mentioned some gift ideas for aspiring pasta home chefs. What\u2019s on your<\/em> kitchen holiday wishlist?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I would like a Salamander<\/a>, but that\u2019s because I\u2019m a chef. I love the Salamander because I want to grill on it and create specific types of finishes on my foods. I\u2019d like a little blow torch, as well. Not a killer one like the flame thrower in \u201cOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood.\u201d Probably a modest one to create amazing desserts and finishes on my roasted peppers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I always love good wooden spoons \u2014 I can never have enough of them, like I actually collect them. So if someone really loves me, they can go on Etsy<\/a> and get me some vintage wooden spoons, and I would be so happy. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I\u2019m also a collector of rolling pins, of course, because they are just so awesome. I have 100-year-old rolling pins from France, Italy, all over Europe. I think they\u2019re beautiful to collect and also double as art for the kitchen. I love copper accessories<\/a>, like salt and pepper shakers, colanders, or little spice pots, which are really tiny and you can hang on the wall. And of course, wooden cutting boards are my soft spot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n