When I started planning the polenta supper I shared with you earlier this week, I immediately knew I wanted a huge board for serving. My husband and I considered making one ourselves from a sanded piece of lumber, but we didn't have the time or space to work on it. So I turned to Elizabeth Bryant and Andrew Gray of Gray Works Design, whose boards I've long admired. The board they loaned me for this party was the most beautifully crafted, custom-milled slab of silver maple. It was a far cry from the rougher sort of board we would have made; this one had so much more beauty and character. 

It made me think of the role that one beautiful, handcrafted piece can play in a party or in the home; real craftsmanship is always a joy to encounter. To get more of Gray Works' perspective on this, I chatted with Elizabeth a little bit about their approach to sustainability, inspiration, and the tension between the wild and the domestic. 

Flaky garlic scones, radicchio salad, and curried pomegranate pistachio quinoa in today's Delicious Links. More

Item: The Spiegelau IPA Glass 
Price: $24.90 for a set of two
Overall Impression: A fun splurge for hopheads and beer geeks

You know a beer has made the big time when it gets its very own glass. There are slender pilsner glasses, snifters for your quads and barleywines, and now a specially-designed glass to maximize the hop-tastic experience of drinking your favorite IPA. Pint glasses and beer steins are so yesterday, people.

Green pea salad, Asian spiced fish stew, and banoffee parfaits with date caramel in today's Delicious Links. More

We all have our go-to pasta-for-dinner recipe. It's the one you make without thinking twice: you probably have the ingredients in your cupboard right now, at the ready. Ready to punch up that pasta? Read on for the best cheese to boost any back pocket pasta recipes. More

Breadsticks with tomato and kale, a pear walnut crisp, chicken casserole and more in today's Delicious Links. More

Amazing no-bake brownies, plus crispy acorn squash slices and green risotto in today's Delicious Links. More

Skillet lasagna, salmon burgers, and tender dinner rolls in today's Delicious Links... More

In my pantry right now, there among the cans of tomato paste and chicken noodle soup, is a box of rich, decadent sipping chocolate, a bag of dried porcini, and a little tin of handmade candied violets. In my closet, a pair of fancy velvet heels and a gorgeous cashmere sweater mingle with the cotton shirts and clogs. Tucked away in a drawer, a small vial of a favorite, very expensive perfume waits for the special day that I will dab it on my wrists. Besides being wonderful and special, all these things have one other thing in common: I never use them. And lately I've been thinking that this has got to change. More

As we close out Lunch Week we had to point out these sweet lunch bags that just went up at the Food52 Shop. These waxed canvas bags have a special pocket -- want a closer look?