We're ready to throw down our top four predictions for what will be happening in our home kitchens in 2008. We've come up with this list based on conversations and product requests from you our readers, what we've seen in stores and at trade shows.
Here's what we'll be ready for in the new year:
4. See Ya, Stainless After a long reign (including our own kitchens) we think stainless steel will be dethroned in 2008. Stainless still will no longer be the mega-material going into just about every kitchen re-do. Instead, we're see more recycled glass, less granite and lots more Earth-friendly composite counters.
3. Crafty Cooking Tools Cooks are sick of silicone everything. We're looking for something warmer and more personal. After so many silly silicone gadgets that just don't work as well as the stand-bys, cooks are up for hand made, one of a kind kitchen tools from sources like Etsy. We like KHPhillips hand-thrown pots and dishes made in Asheville, NC and this Chamba Ware from VivaTerra.
1. Casserole 2.0 Cooks have scorned the casserole for too long. Canned soup plus canned vegetables equal ugh, but we say a new kind of cook is ready for a new kind of casserole. We're ready to predict that 2008 will be the year of the Casserole 2.0. We're imagining hand-thrown pots filled with tender bits of braised sustainable meats, slow roasted local vegetables, and beans from heirloom hot spots like 
So I'm totally laughing at myself right now because I saw that first picture (coasters? counter material samplers?) and really REALLY thought it was something edible and possibly containing nougat. I re-read the post at least three times thinking, "There's GOT to be a recipe for that delicious-looking edible in here SOMEwhere!" until I...figured it out. Ha ha ha ha ha!
P.S. I think the casserole prediction is spot-on. I'm still a sucker for stainless steel, though. So shiny!
view EmmaC's profile
We can only hope that that there will be a cultural shift toward healthy choices.
We are about to visit our local bookstore, to purchase Pollan's new book, In Defense of Food. Having read a few advance reviews of the book, I am reminded onf the advice that was given by... was it Adele Davis? Frances Moore Lappe?... in the 1960s and 1970s, to limit one's purchases at the grocery store, to only unpackaged, unprocessed foods, and no meat. My husband and I subscribed to this practice in 1978, and in short order, lost weight and saved quite a bit of money on our groceries....the average cost per grocery bag dropped from over $20 per bag... to less than $5 per bag. That was our first ( intentional adventure in frugality, and while we haven't alway adhered strictly to the formula, (exotic and "organic" ingredients have skewed the cost of our groceries a bit over time!!) we do continue to avoid processed foods ( even the so-called vegetarian kind). We have pretty much maintained our college-period weight, and have been free from major illness. Unfortunately, we are viewed by family and friends as the throw back, nutty hippies. Not clear why our vigor and health does not speak for itself. Bad habits ( fast food), apparently, die hard.
view haironfire's profile
casseroles went out of style?!?!? Just kidding, but I think they are already back in vogue, along with crock pot cooking here in SF.
Looking forward to lots of one-pot recipes in 2008!
view Sassy in SF's profile
I absolutely love my kitchen re-do with granite countertop and shiny stainless steel appliances... it's classic, not trendy and therefore can't ever really go out of style. I'm feeling defensive here!
view SMM's profile
I saw Italian nougat candy too . . .
: )
Happy New Year everyone!
view guido's profile
I hope your "end of silicone" prediction is spot-on. You're right - it feels cold. I think that's why I never really "warmed up" to it.
view quercus's profile
I, too, thought that first pic was of homemade nougat! How funny! Which reminds me, does anyone have a recipe for nougat? I'd love to try it sometime.
I, too, think that stainless steel is on its way out. It's so ubiquitous that I predict a major backlash in the future. People will decide that it's too hard to clean &/or it makes the room look cold. Basically, it was a trend that was pushed too hard by decorating magazines, HGTV, and house flippers. Sorry to say it, but the look is not timeless. It is merely this generation's version of "harvest gold" and "avocado".
I never understood the silicone cooking pans. Their rubbery texture always felt kinda pervy to me & I just couldn't imagine cooking with them.
I'm intrigued by the rebirth of the casserole! I'd love to recreate some of my mother's old recipes without condensed soups. I look forward to the experiments to come!
view Nougat's profile
I have only one silicone baking pan - for scones - which I took on when it was rejected by my son. (We'd given it to him with some King Arthur mix while he was in a "kitchenette" situation at college.) It has gunk on it that two dishwashings by machine and several attempts at detailed wiping by hand can't quite get out of the corners. I am still debating whether I want to use it. Hummm... So. Not. so. Much.
view EllieA's profile