CHOW: CHOW Pick

New Finds: Chic Black Platter

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:43:00 -0700

I’m always looking for platters this size and shape, with a flat bottom. They’re good for serving deviled eggs, canapés, and any other cocktail party nibble you can think of. I’ve accepted that the melamine trend ain’t going anywhere, and so I’m fully ready to get behind this beautiful plastic tray with a birdcage on it.

Aviary Melamine Platter, $15.99

New Finds: Interesting Wedding Place Card Idea

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:47:00 -0700

Recycled paper place mats from Greenergrassdesign were inspired by children’s pop-up books. Part of the place mat can be punched out and folded up, functioning as a spot where you can write somebody’s name.

The wedding-cake-themed ones would be great for (duh) a wedding. Maybe not so much for a “Congratulations on Your Divorce” party.

Publique Living Popmat Paper Placemats, $26 for a set of 10

New Finds: Eclectic Cocktail Glasses on Sale

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:29:00 -0700

The MoMA store has the cutest tumblers on sale right now; they would make great summer cocktail glasses. Each one is cut glass with a different pattern. Since they’re all clear, they match nicely, but since each has a different pattern, perhaps your guests will be able to tell their drinks apart.

Distinct Patterned Glasses, $64.95 for a set of six

New Finds: Adjustable Measuring Cup

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:30:00 -0700

The Nuscüp Adjustable Measuring Cup and Scoop makes all other measuring cups obsolete. You need 2/3 cup of flour, 1/8 cup of milk, 6 ounces of syrup? No problem! Simply point the rubber thumb slider at the measurement you need, fill, and dump. The Nuscüp measures both dry and liquid ingredients, cups and tablespoons, English and metric systems. There’s even a magnet on the back so you can hang it on the fridge instead of sticking it in a drawer, and the whole thing comes apart for easy cleaning.

Nuscüp Adjustable Measuring Cup and Scoop, $13.95

New Finds: Hook and Go Shopping Cart

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:04:00 -0700

Lugging home groceries isn’t easy for the car-free urban shopper. Either you confine yourself to what can be carried on the bus, or you have to drag a large, unwieldy granny cart to the store with you. But wait! You don’t anymore.

The Hook and Go Shopping Cart is a svelte alternative, folding up into a much-more-draggable size than the granny cart, and expanding into a sturdy rolling conveyance with hooks to hold your shopping bags (reusable, of course). Roll it through the market and then roll it right back home. Maybe you can even roll it right next to your bed and eat out of the bags with your fingers.

Hook and Go Shopping Cart, $70 ($75 with two reusable polyester shopping bags)

New Finds: Pizza Boss 3000

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:54:00 -0700

When you’ve gone to all the trouble of making your own pizza, you don’t want to be standing over it as your guests watch, hacking it into slices with your chef’s knife. The classic rolling pizza cutter doesn’t really work either: You have to press firmly on a typically hard, uncomfortable handle while you’re rolling, huffing and puffing like a big fat idiot who should have ordered delivery.

The Pizza Boss 3000 Pizza Slicer, which looks like a tiny circular saw, is smarter. You push down on a short, sturdy piece of plastic, making it easier to provide the leverage needed to cut through your blistery, chewy crust. It’s manual, not electric, so you’ll have to provide the “Zzzzz!” sound yourself.

Pizza Boss 3000 Pizza Slicer, $14.99

New Finds: Ritzy Hostess Gift for Your Hamptons Trip

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:31:00 -0700

In an alternate universe—maybe yours—people get invited to fancy rich people’s houses in the Hamptons, and need to find a unique-and-classy hostess gift. Why gosh darn it, this porcelain flower, one of a kind, made to replicate table decorations used by the Bavarian monarchy in 1765, is just the ticket! These “fantasy flowers,” each one a different flower and one-of-a-kind, were made by craftsmen in Nymphenburg, Germany. Pricey, yes, but in this alternate universe, it’s a mere bagatelle.

Fertile Garden: Table Flower, $330

New Finds: Dancing Timer

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:53:00 -0700

It can be very disconcerting to have a kitchen timer DING loudly when you’re trying to concentrate on fluting your pie crust or what have you. But the “Boy” Time Out Timer does not buzz, ring, chime, or clang: Instead, the robot guy moves his head and plays a samba tune. That sounds nice.

The timer ’bot is made by French company Pylones, which manufactures other whimsical kitchen gear such as a Russian doll pepper grinder I’ve got my eye on. I’m just a little worried it would make me look like the kind of gal who has a row of stuffed animals on her bed, know what I mean?

“Boy” Time Out Timer, $35

New Finds: Enlightenment Through Pudding

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:44:00 -0700

When you’re going to make pudding, mousse, or Jell-O, why not chill your guests out by making the desserts in the likeness of Buddha? Each of the four molds in this set comes in a different color. Hey, that sounds like a koan.

Il Buddino, $44

New Finds: Condiment Gun

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:30:00 -0700

As Lisa tells Homer during the classic Simpsons moment when Homer invents the makeup gun, women don’t like being shot in the face. Yes, but do they like getting a mustardy slug right in the ol’ hot dog?

The Condiment Gun comes with two reusable cartridges that pistol-packing grillers can fill with any squeezable sauce. Just Heinz for you, or would you prefer a shot from the aioli gun?

I just wish I knew more about the gun’s firing range. Imagine doctoring your guests’ meals from across the back porch. Now there’s an unforgettable evening.

Condiment Gun, $30

New Finds: An Apron That'll Make You Feel Frisky

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:36:00 -0700

Something tells me the aprons designed by Carolyn’s Kitchen aren’t exactly intended for cooking. For one thing, the young female models on the website are wearing super-high heels, aprons, and, it appears, not much else. For another, there are gloves and garters to match many of the aprons. Do the garters perform a specific culinary function? Place to wipe your wooden spoon, maybe?

Carolyn’s Kitchen Aprons, $29.95–$42

New Finds: Groovy Italian Beer Retreat

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:13:00 -0700

Vacation scheme idea! Teo Musso, Italy’s most talented craft brewer, has a little hotel in the Piedmont region that looks like the perfect exotic getaway for beer-lovers. Attached to the Baladin brewery, which produces interesting ales like Nora (brewed with kamut grain), Casa Baladin has its own Turkish bath, restaurant, and live world-music shows, and each room is decorated in a different theme (psychedelic, Zen, Moroccan). Musso, who has been called the Jim Morrison of brewing because of his rugged good looks and eccentric brewing practices (he puts headphones on his fermenting vessels so the yeast can rock out), furnished Casa Baladin with antiques he collected in North Africa.

Besides making delicious beers—which are just beginning to be recognized here in the States by beer bars and beer-focused restaurants like Beer Table in Brooklyn—Musso also makes chocolate and beer jellies, and has a huge collection of teas. Hookah on premises unconfirmed.

Image source: Casa Baladin

New Finds: Cult Mole Bitters, Now Available

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:56:00 -0700

Bittermens has been making its signature Xocolatl Mole Bitters (classic bitter base flavors with deep chocolate and spice notes) for a while, but hasn’t been selling them at retail. It has been putting them in the hands of fancy bartenders. Cocktail recipes on the Bittermens site include stuff like The Right hand by Michael McIlroy of Milk and Honey, which is made with aged rum, Carpano Antica, mole bitters, and Campari. But now the company has teamed up with the German small-batch bitter maker the Bitter Truth to start selling them. You can preorder now, with shipping due to start at the end of June.

Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters, about $15

New Finds: Garlic-Destroying Bowl

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:20:00 -0700

Just rub peeled garlic cloves along the ridges in the bottom of this bowl to make a super-fine paste. You can then add oil (or butter), lemon juice, and seasoning to create a bread dip. The bowl is pretty enough to bring straight to the table, and can go in the microwave if you want to heat up your dippin’ sauce. It’s also good for making salad dressings, and there is a larger size for marinating.

Garlic Grating Bowl, $16

New Finds: Chocolate from an Obsessed Midwesterner

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:23:00 -0700

Colin Gasko of Minneapolis is one of the only American chocolate makers who makes his chocolate from scratch—like, from the actual beans. “I source the finest cacao and clean, roast, winnow, grind, refine, conche, temper, mold, and package it myself,” he says. The bars are minimalist in their appearance, with unusual savory flavors. (One sample was described as, “Mushroomy, in a good way,” by a CHOW staffer.) Only available at select retailers, but soon to blow up.

Rogue Chocolatier Chocolate Bars, $6.99 each

New Finds: Thomas Keller Pimps Out His Fried Chicken Secrets

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:35:00 -0700

A special dash of Thomas Keller’s mojo went into every one of these fried chicken kits being sold through Williams-Sonoma. Each linen bag contains lemon-herb brine mix, so you can make your fried chicken really extra moist, and dredging mix for crunchy double coating. If you’re confused about why Mr. Fancy French Laundry dude is selling ingredients for fried chicken, note that Keller also has a casual, family style restaurant called Ad Hoc that is famous for its chicken (read the Chowhound reports here). How cool would this be for a hostess gift?

Ad Hoc Fried Chicken Kit, $14.95

New Finds: Chai Shortbread Cookie Mix

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:21:00 -0700

This chai shortbread mix from Minnesota cake company Celebration Generation is fail-safe. I got home really late and kind of drunk, and didn’t have quite enough butter (you have to add butter), and didn’t chill the dough the way it told me to (cookie mix should be all about instant gratification), and the cookies still came out great: spicy, not too sweet, crunchy. The tag line for the company is pretty weird though: “Absolutely Hardcore Sugar Art.” Duuuude.

Celebration Generation Chai Shortbread Mix, $12

New Finds: Mead That's a Cut Above the Renaissance Faire

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:49:00 -0700

Mead is experiencing a boomlet among the artisanal brewing community. This naturally sparkling treat from Heidrun, a Meadery in Arcata, California, is made using carrot blossom honey from Madras, Oregon. It’s wonderfully effervescent and crisp, with none of the clumsy sweetness I expected from mead, and a wonderfully woodsy almost chestnut-honey-esque funk on the finish.

Heidrun Madras Carrot Blossom Mead, $18

New Finds: Place Mats for Techie Cooks

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:09:00 -0700

Etsy shop girlscantell sells place mats with original, hand-drawn diagrams printed on them. This set of four is machine washable and includes two printed with kitchen tools and two with a stand mixer.

Joy of Cooking Diagram Placemat Set, $24

New Finds: Pork Cracklin' Americana

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:29:00 -0700

Chef Ryan Farr is popular in San Francisco for his chicharrones (a.k.a. pork cracklings): spicy, crunchy, melt-in-your-molars fatty goodness, made from rendered pig skin. They’re sold at bars and shops around town. Outside SF you can’t get them yet, but you can get one of his limited-edition letterpress posters celebrating chicharrones as a pop-culture phenomenon. They’re produced by the venerable Nashville-based Americana poster shop Hatch Show Print (in biz since 1879!). The poster shown here, titled “Porkalicious,” is the first in a three-poster chicharrones series, each hand-printed on heavy paper suitable for framing, numbered, and signed by Farr. They are also individually marked by Farr’s thumbprint, in lard, which just adds to the, well, unique nature of this product.

Porkalicious Poster (email to purchase), $26 plus shipping and handling