Unless you plan on serving in them at parties, I recommend Pyrex glass baking dishes (). They're durable, cheap, do a nice job of browning, and the handles are convenient. You want an 8x8 dish. Beyond that, if pies are in your future Pyrex is still a good bet. I also regularly use my 1 cup ramekins to make individual casseroles, desserts, and souffles. My ramekins are Emile Henry, though, not Pyrex.

A step up from Pyrex is Corningware (). And a step up from Corningware is Emile Henry ().

You'll also need a small (~ 9x13) roasting pan with a rack (). I prefer a Teflon-lined roasting pan and don't forget to get a couple of baking sheets.

Appliances

You don't actually "need" any small appliances, but they can make life easier. When I was outfitting myself for my personal chef business I decided to economize and buy a Kitchen Aid hand (immersion) blender with a whisk attachment and a mini-food-processor attachment. The blender attachment is awesome, the whisk attachment is a bit flimsy for something like mixing egg salad or cake batter but works like a charm on whipping cream and egg whites. The only disappointment is the mini-food processor, which works but not as well as my Krups mini-food-processor. Nevertheless, I could be satisfied with this single appliance (which is not to say I'd give up my Kitchen Aid stand mixer or my Cuisinart and Krups food processors).

Gear

Fair warning, I really like Oxo products.

I recommend two large mixing spoons, and yes, I use the Oxo silicone spoons (). They're heat proof, reach into corners well, and I can use them on my non-stick skillets. I've also got an ancient collection of wooden spoons but I seldom use them anymore.

You also need a spatula (turners). I'm got an Oxo silicone spatula with a steel core and a large commercial-grade, no-name stainless steel spatula (I've got a few others, but these are the two I use). I could live without the stainless steel version, although it's size and heft are handy, but the silicone works for both my non-stick and stainless skillets so it's required.

You'll need a good heavy, 12-inch, stainless steel balloon whisk (). Stay away from the flimsy plastic and silicon whisks and funky shapes, they'll just make you work harder for poorer results. And you'll be using that whisk in mixing bowls (and sauce pans). My bowls are stainless steel and have straight sides () that do a better job of keeping the ingredients being whisked in the bowl than slanted sides. I have a dozen or so but the 2-cup, 3-cup, and 2-quart sizes are my most used.

The next issue is how to measure what goes in those bowls, I suggest the Oxo plastic 2-cup liquid measuring cup for liquid ingredients. Its design makes it easy to get accurate measurements while looking down - most measuring cups require that you squat down to look at them from the side. Note, you don't need a liquid measurer smaller than two cups, but an 8 cup measuring cup is handy. But my preference for dry measuring cups (and table/teaspoons) is stainless steel because they're durable and clean up easily ().

Seasoning the Advice

All these recommendations should be taken with a grain of salt. This is a basic kitchen outfit. Although my kitchen is packed with pots and pans; gadgets and gear; bowls, bells, and whistles but I could live with only the items mentioned above whatever their quality. I estimate this collection would cost between $300 and $1000 depending on the quality of the various components. And one last thing. You must invest in an instant-read thermometer - and an oven and regrigerator thermometer would also be a good idea.
If you have specific questions or need particular recommendaions, don't hesitate to send me an email at Cooking for Two.