Useful, beautiful, and tasty finds for the kitchen and table.
• $14.95
• CB2
We can't let Dessert Week go by without looking at a cake plate, right? I have far too many cake plates already, but if I had room for one more, this ultra-modern, matte black piece from CB2 would be it. I love the modern take on what is often an old-fashioned or frilly item for tea parties. This would come in handy at parties, serving tea sandwiches or cupcakes, but it wouldn't be out of place on the weeknight table either. Great price, too.
• $42
• Etsy
Kelly Bernal of Lettered & Lined recently emailed me with her sweet kitchen prints, which look like handwriting on a chalkboard. She says, "My 'Illustrated Guide' kitchen series includes 'Specialty Coffee Drinks', 'Perfectly Steeped Tea', 'Measure Equivalents','Culinary Herbs' and a few other sassy ones just for fun." I think they're all fun too, and rather useful! This tea print, for instance, shows the brewing time for all sorts of teas. Print size is 11x14.
• $68 for pair
• BHLDN
Over the past year, while I was writing my book about pudding and no-bake desserts (it's out May 7!), I always had an eye out for pretty cups for serving pudding and custards. I was good and restrained (who has room for a dozen different custard cups?) but these rosy glasses are still on my window shopping list. I can just see them piled high with creamy chocolate mousse.
• $15
• Canoe
I was in Portland this weekend, and I stopped into the wonderful design shop Canoe, which is always chockfull of interesting, beautiful, and practical things for the home. I have my eye on one of these muddlers, which remind me of chess pieces and are really the best thing for starting a spring cocktail with herbs and fruit.
• $385
• Williams-Sonoma
I was searing beef in this huge pan last week, prepping for my polenta dinner party, and just thinking about what a great pan it is. My husband bought it for me a few years ago, on sale at Cookware 'n' More, I think, for fraction of the price I have listed here. But it would be worth it at either price; it's a huge pan with tons of surface area for searing meat and starting stews. It's nice to have one big, wide pan like this in the arsenal.
• $22
• Heath Ceramics
This is my favorite tea mug. It's thick and beefy, with those lovely handmade, organic lines that Heath makes so distinctive. It's a great mug to cup your hands around.
• $399
• Urban Mercantile
I'm getting excited about setting up an outdoor eating space in our new backyard, and when West Elm sent over the new catalog of the season tonight I immediately lit upon this tiled table. I love the juicy coral color and the glass tiles. It's a little spendy for us right now but you can bet I'll have my eye on the sale page later this spring! 32.25"diam. x 29"h. Indoor/outdoor.
• $39
• Wayfair
I bought this platter on the spur of the moment at West Elm (I think? - anyway, it's no longer there). I felt a little guilty about it because it was an impulse purchase, and who needs another tray? Me, it turns out, because I've used this over and over again. I'm not quite sure why. I think it's the smallish size, and the oval shape that tucks itself in nicely anywhere. It's also fairly light. I like bringing it to the table with little bowls full of olives and cheeses.
• TBD
• Amazon.com
Here's one more product we spotted at the Home + Housewares show a couple weeks ago: a sifter and sieve with a flat bottom and generous handles from Chef'n. This is a simple tool, but really smart and nicely designed. I use sieves all the time but a flat-bottomed one like this makes a lot of sense. It has a nice weight, a strong fine mesh, and it's the kind of thing I would use all the time. It's not out yet in retail - look for it later this spring.
• $4
• Etsy
This card is a print of a painting Anna Rapp made of radishes picked straight from her garden. Like she says, "You can almost smell their spicy scent." I love radishes - both to eat, and for their pretty shape and color, one of the first real goodies of spring.
• $22
• Canvas
Happy Pi Day! 3/14 is the day we celebrate the happy accident of "pi" sounding just like "pie." Any excuse to eat more pie, and a good opportunity to point out this heavy, deep pie dish from Canvas that Sara Kate gifted me last winter. I don't use my pie dishes very often, but this one has actually been pressed into service over and over. I like to serve shrimp in it, as a party snack, or pile roasted vegetables in it. A deep, round dish like this turns out to be very useful in all kinds of ways. I haven't baked a pie in it yet - perhaps today is my chance?
• $79
• Williams-Sonoma
I have been looking at this new line of French stoneware online for a while now, but last night I was in Williams-Sonoma and it really caught my eye. The pieces come off much better in person. They are clearly handmade, with the softness and tiny imperfections that brings. The colors were vibrant - with a subtle crackling that adds sheen. Really beautiful, especially the oval platter (I like the lip that runs around the edge). This stuff is really gorgeous. I would compare it to Heath Ceramics for both price and quality.
• $48
• Etsy
Are bottle openers the newest status symbols? I feel like I have seen a lot of swanky, interesting, well-made bottle openers on the design front. Perhaps they are the calling card du jour for young designers showing their style and skills? Take this one for instance, which sort of begs to be held. It weighs 5 ounces and was milled from solid bar cold formed steel. There's a handsome leather strap so you can hang it up in the kitchen. Pricey, solid - a great gift or little splurge.
• $39.95
• Crate and Barrel
We showed you all of the new colors this year for the reissued Dansk Kobenstyle cookware. I have to say, my favorite of all the Dansk cookware is the chubby little butter warmer, a tiny pot with a pouring spout. This kind of little pot is surprisingly useful for many things: making a small amount of roux or custard, heating soup for one, brewing tea or hot chocolate, warming milk for a child, and - yes - melting butter.
• $16.99
• OXO
I'm in the market for a new steamer basket (my old stainless steel collapsing basket was inexplicably lost in my recent move). I spotted this relatively new OXO model at the Housewares show this week and I really liked it. I'm not always drawn to silicone, but I like how it those long handles would stay cooler and be easily drawn up out of a hot pot without the aid of tongs. The whole basket also rolls up nice and tight for easy storage. A winner!
• $199.99
• Amazon.com
I'm something of an electric kettle connoisseur. I'm always looking for a kettle that is more accurate and heats faster. KitchenAid is introducing a potential heavy hitter this spring in their Pro Line Series. This kettle has rather retro styling, with a smoothly moving lever on the base that adjusts the temperature, and an analog dial that shows just how hot the water is. It's a big, hefty kettle with serious presence. The colors will include Candy Apple Red, Frosted Pearl White, Onyx Black, Silver Medallion and Sugar Pearl.
• $8
• Le Creuset
Somehow I had never seen the Le Creuset pie birds until this year's Home + Housewares show, where they brought out birds in new colors, like the cheery Soleil. Pie birds are really charming and old-fashioned, but they're perennially practical. Placed in the center of a pie they help vent steam and make your crust sog-free.
• $28
• Etsy
I just ran across these textiles from designer Jenna Fenwick and kind of fell in love. Her designs are are all hand drawn and printed using non-toxic water-based pigments on organic fabrics. Her printing business isn't the only industrious enterprise on the farm where she works with her husband Jeff. They also run a cheese business - Back Forty Artisan Cheese. Cheese and textiles - how charming!
• $375
• Lost and Found
I really like the simple lines of this bar chair, and the woven seat and back. It feels like the kind of bar chair I'd choose for a beach house, somewhere warm and balmy, with a bar well-stocked for cheery tropical drinks. 42 x 21 x 18
• $24.99
• iGourmet
We often think of the best olive oil as coming from Italy, but southern France also produces some really fantastic oils. My husband bought me a bottle of this French oil for my birthday, and we've been enjoying it in salad dressings and for dipping bread. It's a very mellow oil, low acidity, golden and quite fruity. A really nice special oil for salad and tossing with roasted vegetables. I have to give a shoutout to the ceramic bottle, too, which is gorgeous and also super practical since it protects the oil from light and heat.
Recipe: Spring Fruit and Nut Tabouli
Soda Recipe: Homemade Ginger Ale
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