While we are big fans of Emile Henry's French pottery dishes and baking pans, we were never quite as interested in their bright Provençal colors; we prefer more muted colors in our own kitchens. But the newer Urban line of colors is much more to our taste: These are beautiful dishes!

The Sand, Nougat, Sky, and Slate colors in this Emile Henry Urban line remind us a little of Heath Ceramics' lovely (and much more expensive) dishes. We love how they can all go from the freezer to the oven to the table, too.

We are especially fans of the oil cruets, that old-fashioned-looking pitcher, and the wide, shallow serving bowl. That is pretty much the perfect shape and size of serving bowl, in our opinion, for serving everything from salad to pasta to ragu.

Here are a few of these pieces at Amazon:

• Large Serving Bowl, $40 at Amazon
• Oil Cruet in Sand, $36 at Amazon
• 16-Piece Urban Dinnerware Set, Service for 4, $260 at Amazon

Related: The Well-Stocked Kitchen: Our Essential Serving Dishes

(Images: Emile Henry)