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If the knives are the biggest problem, I'd suggest bringing a cheap knife sharpener. I wouldn't want to bring any of my own knives for fear that I'd leave one behind, or that someone would pack it into my carryon luggage and it would get confiscated at the airport.

Honestly, though, on vacation I don't really want to be doing a lot of cooking. I want to wander around and sample the local cuisine. If I did do any cooking it would be simple stuff. If a grill was available, I might do burgers or something like that, but the complicated cooking I'd prefer to do at home where I have all the tools and spices that I need.

I'd decide to bring my favorite chef's knife, then a saute' pan, and before I know it, I've packed everything including the kitchen sink and a week's worth of groceries and staples. I'm so bad! Ohhh - I'd better take some sea salt and my pepper grinder, too. Ice bucket? Hmmm, maybe I could skip that. Nah, I can fit it in the lobster pot.

I like the idea of a nonstick pan if there isn't one present. But I would also say this: it's vacation. Try not to overthink it. Make do with what you've got. I think I"d have the same problem--I'd want to pack everything. If I were in your shoes, I would take my small wire whisk, which I bought from Nigella's Living Kitchen collection. It is great for whisking salad dressings, pancake mix, scrambled eggs, or other things. It's small--it could fit in a pocket or a purse--but super useful. And don't forgo the wine bottle opener, whatever you do!

I'm heading off to my Mazatlan timeshare Wednesday and I love to cook there. I do love to go out for shrimp for dinner and fish tacos at the pool for lunch, but we always cook breakfast, usually eat BLTs with avocado or salad for lunch, and cook or go out for dinner. If I could on take one thing (it has to be 2) it would be the santoku and the thin plastic cutting boards. But I do quite well with all this: I always take my Swiss Army Knife, good paring knife, a good santoku, a couple of thin plastic cutting boards, recipe cards (substantial salad dressings, Cowboy Caviar, enchiladas), cheap plastic meas. cup and spoons, a square flexible microwave pan for the enchiladas (you never have a pan for the microwave), Saran (you cant imagine how worthless the plastic wrap in MZT is), fresh ground Starbucks, personal french press coffee cups (take down to the pool in the am),cooler cups for beer/Coke), frozen bacon in zip top freezer bags (more big freezer bags too), extra Sharp White Tillamook cheese, and blue cheese. Most of this doesnt take up much space or weight in the checked baggage. We get in late, so first thing in the am the next day we head to Gigante supermercado to buy bags of avocados and limes, wonderful fruits and veg (unless we go all the way downtown to the traditional market and pick up all the veg, fruit, and lots of fresh shrimp!), lime flavored Sabritas potato chops, chillied peanuts, olive oil, veg oil, vinegars, eggs, chicken breasts, chorizo, salami, fresh tortillas, beans, Bimbo balloon bread, sour cream, milk, beer, diet Coke, and maybe a bit of rum. You could skip toting the cheese, bacon, and salami but between the salads and sandwiches we use a lot and I dont want to experiment with new brands. Bell boys at the hotel laugh and drag out a huge wooden box to get all the food bags out of the pulmonia (Mazatlan's golf cart taxi) and up to the room. I always ask the maid a day or two before we leave if she would like anything, she always does, so I clear out the rejects, leave the good food for her, and a healthy tip.

@izatryt - why only one item? Is this a backpacking vacation? :D

We brought a whole bunch of equipment but we knew the owner of the condo very well. I grabbed a cutting board and a couple of sharp knives which I keep in my knife roll so they're corraled. I brought a large-ish saute pan but didn't need to use it because there was a good selection of pans at the condo. I brought some home-made scone mixes because we were going to be away for a while and I didn't want to have to rush out to eat breakfast every day.

Other equipment:

Instant Read Thermometer

Unbreakable measuring cups and spoons. (Lightweight and expendable!)

Metal French Press contraption (Sbux sells these) plus coffee beans. Depending on how long you'll be away, I'd just go ahead and grind a few days' coffee and put it in a ziplock with the air all sucked out. If you don't know what kind of coffeemaker you'll have, filters could be problematic. If you have a non-breakable French press, water, ground coffee and a saucepan, you've got coffee.

I brought a couple of dishcloths because I didn't know if there'd be any at the condo. I used these to wrap some items so they didn't "clank" together.

I also brought a whisk because it's one of the most overlooked pieces of equipment by those who don't cook (and might have equipped your kitchen). It's also lightweight.

Two words: Rubber Spatula. 'Nuff said.

For some reason, there never seems to be a shortage of service pieces so you could use a big pasta bowl or salad bowl to mix anything.

If I had to narrow down the knife selections, I'd go with a Santoku and a parer. As mentioned above, I would not take my favorite knives unless I was absolutely sure I could be disciplined enough to know their whereabouts at all times. I used my knife roll which was laid out on the counter at all times. It was a good way to keep track of my equipment vs. the condo's and made for easy wrap up when our vacation was over.

Another thing to consider is to make as much of the equipment you bring "expendable" as you can so if the kitchen is sorely lacking, you can leave those items (like a whisk, rubber spat or plastic measures, etc.). It also frees up suitcase space for any goodies you find abroad.

Have a wonderful time! (Travel safe.) I can't wait to hear about the dishes you made and how you McGyver'd any equipment needs!