Laugh if you must, but these items will make your culinary arts possible.

1. A Melon Baller - Not just for melons, I use mine for making truffles and garnishes of all varieties.
2. Apple Slicer - Perfect for pies, snacks for the kids, saves tons of time and they are cheap to boot.
3. Flour Sifter - Some pastries just don't work without one
4. Copper Skillet -Spendy, but worth the bucks. Fantastic because of the heat transfer ability. They make meat and tricky sauces a work of art.  If you want to properly cook any of the professional recipes like the ones at Chef Pablo's Restaurant Recipes
5. Double Boiler - Simply put, can't do chocolate without one.

6. A Radio - Cooking without good tunes is no fun.

7. Pie Crust Sheet - These are handy for any kind of dough you might have to man handle.

8. Cake Leveler - Please don't even try a 2 tier anything without one.

9. Kitchen Aid - I love mine and they save so much time, and you won't get tendinitis in a few years from all that hand mixing.

10. Zip Lock Bags - These get overlooked, but no kitchen should ever be without them. Gallon and pint sizes are required.

I have found these invaluable resources, you can achieve most everything from culinary arts school to family dinner with these simple preparations.