Saturday
Nov142009

A little gift to me.

Newly Wustoffing



Hello, new knife.


Hello, diced onions and chopped pork shoulder and minced garlic. Hello, finely sliced carrots and chunks of winter squash.


Good morning, oranges. Good morning, banana bread. Good morning, peppers and onions in egg-white omelets.


Hello, soup and chili on cold days. Hello, gazpacho and sangria on warm ones.


Hey there, new recipes. Hello, consultations to "How to Cook Everything" and "America's Test Kitchen" and torn-out pages from Food & Wine.


Hi, small nicks to index fingers. Bits of blood and uncomfortable band-aids. Hello again, pitiful calls to Mom.


Hello, white cheddar and aged Gouda. Oh, hello, Manchego!


Goodbye, excuses for buying lame frozen dinners. See ya, visits to the pizza-slice place across the way.


Hello, friends around my table and friends in my kitchen. Hello, wine poured, jokes made, and stories told.


Hey, new knife.


I think you might like it here.





Friday
Nov132009

Dreaming of Lindsey Adelman lighting

Ever since I was little, I've been building my dream house in my mind. Right now, that dream house is a cottage (that I've lovingly renovated) that's small in size, but big in character. And glowing in that dream dining room and/or the dream foyer are a few pieces from the lighting designer of my dreams: Brooklyn's Lindsey Adelman. Meet her here, and check out a few of her installations below.

(SO dreamy, no?)

Lindsey Adelman


Lindsey Adelman


Lindsey Adelman

Lindsey Adelman

Lindsey Adelman

Lindsey Adelman



Photos by Joseph Deleo, Patricia Rubinelli, and Kate Glicksberg for Lindsey Adelman Studio

Thursday
Nov122009

Noticing: This Whole Brooklyn Pickle Craze-thing

pickle


So lately, pickles have really been creeping up on me (which sounds kind of dirty, but let's just go with it). They seem to be surrounding me everywhere I've been poking around (still dirty?)--nearby green markets, quirky organic stores, neighborhood street fairs. I even found a few down in DUMBO over the past weekend. Here are three that caught my eye (yes, yes, and even my stomach--especially when free samples are involved).







McClure's


McClure's Pickles. Their garlic dill pickles were my fave--like crunchy, pickley sunshine in your mouth.


horman2 Horman's Best Pickles. This is the one group I didn't get to try...I think I was a bit intimidated by the fact that the different pickle varieties were in huge open buckets (why am I afraid of big buckets? That is for another blog post, friends). This is the honey mustard bucket. Looks dangerous. And a little bit delish.


rick


Rick's Picks. Fireworks-in-your-mouth good. They even have a pickle blog and were just featured on Martha Stewart's show this week. Go! Brooklyn! Pickles!


Tuesday
Nov102009

Fill ‘er up: Champagne coupes

You could argue that, as one person living in a studio apartment so small that I cannot entertain more than two guests comfortably, I do not have a pressing need to own a set of champagne glasses.

I, however, can argue that, on most days, I do have a pressing need for champagne.

So that said, for the past few of years, I've been keeping an eye out for swanky champagne coupes. And, right, coupes don't hold champagne bubbles are well as flutes do and whatever. But what do I care? They look cool and I look cute holding them. Plus, who ever saw a giant fancy-sexy bathtub fashioned out of an old straight-up champagne flute?

Mami at alessi.com

Mami Coupe

The "Marie Antoinette" Champagne Coupes at napastyle.com

Napa Coupe

Pythagore Clear Champagne Saucer at devinecorp.net

Pythagore

Orrefors Amor Vincit Omnia Champagne Coupe Pair at amazon.com
Coupes

Schott Zwiesel Champagne Bowl (break-resistant) at barkeeperssilverlake.com

Bar Keeper Coupe

(P.S. Heard a rumor that this is where the set decorators from Mad Men get their stash. Maybe a few sips from this one will tide us over until season four?)

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