We don't prescribe buying kitchen tools that do only one task. Like an apple corer. They end up just clogging up your kitchen feng shui, going unused and ending up at a garage sale then the landfill. That's one reason we like this tool for grilling: it's basically a wok, so you can stir fry up stuff when you're car camping or at the...
We've talked about Moroccan Argan oil before (seriously, read the article, this stuff is amazing). A brief recap: has tons of tocopherols (vitamin E) and good oil parts (EFAs for those of you who know what those are). It's harvested by women's cooperatives in the Essaura region of Morocco. Oh, and it's tasty and one of the latest trends of the...
Here's a cool discovery: the espresso maker from Presso. Notice: there is no plug. You boil a little water, fill the espresso handle, then crack your knuckles and bear down on the handles to force the water through. Normal espresso makers use a lot of energy just to idle. So we call this a green machine. Online reviews generally rate it...
Burgers. The ultimate summer food comes in all shapes, sizes and compositions: beef, bison, turkey, veggie, you name it. And ask around, the key to a good burger is simple: the burger-to-bun ratio. Too much bun and you've got a dry meat-flavored bread, too little and you've got a greasy mess. Enter the infamous slider. Why do the call them...
World Cup party idea: soccer ice balls. This is cool: you heat up the mold in warm water, then place ice cubes in it. In 20 seconds, you have an ice soccer ball. They also have a snowflake and a molecule mold. Available in 30mm and gigantic 65mm. $180 BUY Check out this video on how it works: ...
I suspect "meeting" is some kind of lost in translation thing. I don't know what these have to do with meetings (other than that they might provide a handy - if deadly - way to get out of them). Deglon is a French knife maker. This particular set of nesting knives includes four knives: a paring knive, a carving knife, a chef's knife and a...
Make your own flour...freshest is the bestest...with wheat, barley, rye, corn, whatever. Think of how good that bread will taste. Or those tortillas. With whole grain flour hand milled. Mmm. It's pretty cool looking... $500...
Try this out: the Mario Batali Granite Piastra. Heat it up like a cast iron griddle on your BBQ, then throw on some fish or meat or veggies or mussels or - your choice - and watch them sizzle. They conduct heat differently, so you get a nice sear. And it's on the grill, so you get some of that fiery goodness. These piastra have ridges on...
This recycled glassware from Roost is great and environmentally friendly. The beverage server pictured here is great for lemonade (as shown) or ice tea, but we highly recommend inviting a bunch of friends over for a little sangria. If this is too much of a commitment, Roost also makes a smaller carafe ($20). Matching tumblers are...
The materials of a city - glass and concrete - come together in these glasses. Allow your cocktails to relax delightfully in their downtown lofts as you sip lightly and look cool(er). From Yanko design. $18 BUY...
I never used to understand gelato. It always seemed like ice cream for pretentious people. But I've been tasting it to see. To see if I'm pretentious (jury is still out) and to see if I like gelato. I do like gelato. I really really do. I have found it to be less creamy and less sweet with more authentic flavor (generally speaking of...
Good seafood. There's nothing like it. But let's face facts: our oceans are in trouble. Large predator fish are becoming endangered. Farmed fish is always a gamble. And keeping track of what you should eat and what you shouldn't (even with the help of an iPhone application and Web site) is practically a full-time commitment. Enter I Love...
It's getting to be grilling time. I grilled up some veggies and even did some sliders last week on my kick-butt Lodge cast iron mini grill (maybe a post on this later). But now it's time to get serious. Get out the gas (or coal) covered grill and throw down some fish and steaks and roasts and whatever-gets-in-my-way-too-slowly. But one of...
OK. So I've never actually heard of anyone using this, though I'm sure it's been done. Think about it, you can take any food item and evaporate it's essence and have it reconstitute in extract form. What you could do with that would be astounding. Lasagne ice cream. Creme Brulee pasta (served in creme Anglais, of course). Osso Bucco...
This stuff will be the end of me. For sure. Once the seal is cracked, there is no stopping me from eating spoonful after spoonful of rich dark creamy gelato with dark chocolate chips. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. You can get it at Whole Foods, Ralph's or online (though I'm not sure how they ship it...probably like fish,...
Part I in a maybe-never-to-be-continued series about weird food tools: the duck press. Purpose: to smash the remains of a duck carcass to pulp. Usage: You place the duck carcass in the press, crank the wheel, and the top plate compresses the duck, squeezing out whatever liquids (or liquid-y) remains into a bottom pan (not...
I started this site over 100 posts ago because I wanted to show some of the cool stuff I kept finding everywhere. And after a couple months, I got to wondering: what is it about all these things that I liked. Some were green, some were well designed, some were artisanal products, some were ethnic gems. But what did they all have in...
Keeping herbs fresh is a challenge. Some do well in the refrigerator, others (like basil) wilt and go black. The best way is to - as best one can - keep them alive. This handy acacia rack (that matches the spice holder we featured earlier) by Roost may just hold a functional, as well as decorative, solution: keep them alive in water just...
Shabu Shabu is the Japanese word for these hot pots, the Chinese hot pot is called shuan yang rou. It is also known as Mongolian Hot Pot. Whatever you call it, it's a delicious, fun and social meal. For all the whiteys out there (like myself): think Asian fondue. The Chinese have been cooking in this way for a dozen centuries....
These glasses are modeled after the seven deadly sins. Each has a unique design, each is handmade. Sloth is a large decanter that has to be held over the drinker. Lust has a glass ball valve at the bottom that requires pressing with one's tongue to move the liquid. Wrath is, well, dangerous. And greed has lots of Chihuly-esque blobs (that...
Let's face it, the Brita (and others of it's ilk) are ugly. And plastic. But we still want good water and bottled water is so 1990's. Enter the Hario Glass Iousen Pot. It contains Binchotan, or white, charcoal which (like activated charcoal) adsorbs ions and other impurities (ideally chlorine and lead) in water. It should render the water...
I remember back in the day when I was learning video and web by day and bartending by night. I had friends who were chefs and friends who were sommeliers. And we did a lot of tastings. Cheese tastings, wine tastings, charcuterie tastings. Everything - we were so hungry to learn about all these foods and wines that we were discovering and we...
I've always wanted one of these. Kind of a malt counter @ home type of thing. But you need to have a good one, like this Waring. And, they're usually $200 - too rich for my blood. But...Sur La Table has them on sale now for only $70. It might be hard to think about ice cream with all this incliment weather going 'round. But come summer,...
It's hard to believe that I'm writing a review of corn tortilla chips. BUT, these Cabo Chips are awesome. Why? Because they have a great crispy texture and aren't just salted, but are coated with a mixture of sea salt, lemon juice and soy sauce, which gives them their delicious umami flavor with a hint of sour. Oddly they are almost...
I don't know what to think about this thing. It's clearly some kind of subconscious nightmare of eroticiscm and homo-eroticism by comic book artist and designer Massimo Giacon. Spiritsona it is called. Apparently it was originally designed for a liquor company who decided not to use it (can't imagine why). Frankly, I'm at a loss for...
There are any myriad ways of opening wine. I like the Samurai sword style: just one sweep of a razor-sharpened katana across the neck and let the pinot noir flow. But for those who like a slightly less dramatic method, try this "Hinged Wondler" from True Fabrications. It's design is taken from Victorian era (thus the steampunk aesthetic)...
It's so easy to grow your own sprouts year round. And that earthy, crunchy delicious flavor they add to salads is unbeatable. Also, cooking with hydrated beans, like garbanzos and black-eyed peas, is a snap. They hydrate much faster than their un-sprouted peers, making it easier to whip up bean dishes without having to resort to...
We think we know what the answer is...but we are still seriously considering purchasing these onion goggles from RSVP. Foam padding around the glasses creates a seal that protects even the most sensitive eyes from harmful onion rays (o-rays in science speak). Anti-fog lenses insure you can see, helping you get those finely diced shallots for...
This little set is a classic, yet modern way to mix up some drinks. Includes a stainless steel mixing cup for mixing drinks, a cherry wood reamer (yes, unfortunate name) for juicing citrus, and a muddler (much more fortunate name) for muddling. The muddler has a little cutout on the bottom to ensure you get proper mash from your muddled fruit...
When I stayed in a Paris a year or so ago, I loved how they always provided you with a carafe of water at your table. I thought it so civilized on one hand and so reductive on the other. Now, more and more I'm seeing this at restaurants around Los Angeles, including our new favorite local breakfast/lunch place, Thyme. Then we noticed they...
Fennel pollen is, simply put, golden goodness. Because it is the harvested pollen from dried fennel flowers, it is potent stuff, offering a lightly floral, honeyed, heady, herbaceous aroma (and flavor) that is akin to fennel, but yet different. It is extremely versatile and a little dash goes a long way to making the simplest of dishes more...
Personally, I almost never follow recipes. Yeah, sure, you have to when you're baking a cake. But I don't bake cakes, so there. That said, I love cookbooks. I love the ideas I get and I love learning about different ingredients and mixing and matching them and coming up with new menu ideas, new techniques and wicked combinations. The...
Studies have shown that Teflon is, well, maybe not so good. Not for you and not for the environment. Stainless steel is good, but can be tricky to maneuver and requires more fat to cook without sticking. Cast iron is good (and may even be good for you), but is even more tricky than stainless. The other alternative, enameled pots, can be...
The oil of the mustard seed (black, brown and white) is used all over India (though primarily in the Northern parts) for cooking. It is used for frying fritters as well as traditionally for all kinds of cooking. It's spicy flavor has that piquant in-your-throat hit like wasabi or, perhaps not so strangely, hot mustard. While this can be good...
We keep hearing about this little device: the AeroPress. Imagine what would happen if a French press pot mated with an espresso maker, but then the result was re-tooled by the makers of ShamWow and the SlapChop. Now you're getting the idea. Everyone loves this little coffee maker (on Amazon, with 411 reviews, it has a 4 1/2 star - out of 5 -...
We were discussing an article on green tea that had popped up recently. We had forgotten what a super healthy super food this is. The article (which of course we can't find any longer, though a bunch of data is on wikipedia) discussed numerous health benefits and studies that had turn them up. One of the great things about studying tea is that...
The Japanese Santoku knife, roughly translated, means three uses (or virtues): slicing, dicing and mincing. We received a new one this year, and have found it the perfect compliment to a heavy chef's knife. Its smaller size and thinner blade make it perfect for finely cutting vegetables. We were very happy at how nicely it was to handle and...
These glasses are featured in the permanent collection of MOMA New York. You can see the original bottle behind these designs (this particular one is a covered carafe - covered with a tumbler). Designs by Studio Tord Boontje and Emma Woffenden. Available polished or satin finished. They are a part of Artecnica's Design With Conscience...
On a recent trip to New York City, I had dinner at a restaurant called WD50. If you're not familiar with it, it is the flagship of chef Wylie Dufresne and is renowned for the style of cooking he uses: molecular gastronomy. That is, using science in the kitchen (we have written about this before). At any rate, the meal was fantastic and one...
We've always had difficulty maintaining our spices. A look into any of our spice cupboard or drawers reveals a mess of spices from Tellicherry black pepper to organic cinnamon (the real kind, of course) recovered on a visit to Goa, India to home dried oregano from our backyard gardens. But one thing is consistent: none of us have ever found -...
This teapot warmer designed by Christopher Matthias, called Keep 'Ot, is made from either unfinished maple or oiled walnut slats held together by stainless steel. A small holder holds a tea light so you can keep it warm. This warmer has a rustic yet modern look and feels like your teapot is resting on an Andy Goldsworthy-esque pile of...
It's time. You know you (or your loved one) has wanted to do this for a long time coming. That's right, make your own beer. Unlike distilling which is actually illegal, it is perfectly legal to make and drink your own beer (provided you are 21). It may not be easy, per se, but it's not that hard. You boil some water, stir in some malt and add...
The donabe pot is an earthenware pot that's used for the clay pot style of cooking in Japan. Think tagine in Morocco or cazuela in Spain (or "hot dish" in Minnesota...). You get the idea: one pot cooking, Japanese style. In Japan, this style is called Nabemono and is usually don in a donabe pot over a flame, or even an induction burner (the...
Pressure cookers are an old school (well, from, like, the 80s) technique used to cook things...quickly. Which is precisely why we're giving it (though we have no authorization to do so) the green thumbs up award. Shorter cook times = less energy = less CO2...you get the idea. Did we mention quickly? Yeah, that's nice. Cook beans in half the...
Himalayan salt is over 250 million years old. There was some crazy Shasta going on at that time. It has a number of minerals in it (though it is 98% Sodium Chloride) that can give it a pink hue. What we like about these blocks is that it is the pure crystal form of the salt carved into blocks that can be used for cooking (salt actually...
Ah the distiller. Where would we be without it? Imagine a world with no whiskey or vodka or tequila. Less violent? Maybe. Less sex? For sure. But for certain, the sets for Frankenstein and other science movies would be less interesting, for it is the destiller with it's intertwining glass coils and beakers and bulbs that really has that...
We've mentioned recycled wine staves before (and we explain the where's and why's of it all) Here's another good use: as a cheese board. Of course you probably don't want to use recycled cheese. What's nice about these is that they are long, so you have space for a nice spread of cheese. And yes, they are made from recycled and local (at...
A salt pig is a good example of one of those things you didn't think you needed ... until you had one. What is it? Well, it's just an earthenware (at least it should be) holder, usually shaped like a giant macaroni, designed to hold (surprise) salt. Why? What's wrong with a salt shaker or a bowl. Truthfully, nothing. However, when you...
Roasting meets well - whether it's turkeys, chickens or roasts - is all a matter of getting a nice brown coating and a juicy inside. Usually the former is a piece of cake - the oven (or a quick braise) will take care of that - but the latter is always a challenge. The oven wants to dry out meat. Anyone who has ever attempted the Thanksgiving...
I was driving down the highway. Once. A long time ago. And from out of nowhere, CRACK! A rock torqued into my windshield from a passing semi. Fortunately, I had thrown down for the full coverage in my auto insurance and someone actually came out to my office to swap out the windshield. No sweat off my back. But I hate when that stuff...
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