Check out these cool new oven dishes designed by Christian Bjoern. If you are looking to purchase some kitchen ware for family and friends this season, you need not search anymore.
STACKABLE OVEN DISHES BY BJOERN
These dishes are made from a combination of porcelain and silicone. Not only are they (obviously) oven-safe and compact, they also feature fire-resistant bottoms. That means you’ll also have ready-to-assemble chafing dishes on hand for holiday entertaining!
Today begins Thomas Keller’s book tour promoting his latest release: ad hoc at home (complete with lower-case lettering to make it more effortless and chic). There are only nine stops in the next four weeks, most of them either on the northeast coast or in California (with one stop in Illinois and two in Texas along the way).
With the highly anticipated opening of Bouchon in Beverly Hills this month, Keller will be a very busy man. Lucky for local fans, he will be coming to Williams-Sonoma at South Coast Plaza to introduce and sign ad hoc.
The South Coast Plaza signing will occur on Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 11:00AM (3333 South Bristol Street Costa Mesa, CA 92626). Williams-Sonoma South Coast Plaza is located in the main mall between Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s. This event will be free and open to the public, but will likely fill up fast.
For your convenience, the California appearances are listed below:
Williams-Sonoma Santa Monica
Monday, November 9, 2009 at 12:00pm
1600 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 586-1018
Williams-Sonoma South Coast Plaza
Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 11:00am
3333 South Bristol St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 751-1166
Williams-Sonoma Palo Alto
Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 11:30am
180 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94304
(650) 321-3486
*Please note that Thomas will only be signing copies of ad hoc at home purchased at Williams-Sonoma (ie proofs of purchase will be required)! =0/
*Click here for more information and a full schedule of the Williams-Sonoma ad hoc tour
Gourmet Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Ruth Reichl, will be in Santa Monica tonight promoting the publication’s newest book, Gourmet Today. Those of you who subscribe to the magazine may remember that last month’s issue was a cover to cover “tasting” of the book. Well, it is on shelves now and is looking as beautiful as ever.
Reichl will be meeting readers and signing copies tonight at Williams Sonoma (1600 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA) from 6 to 8pm. Check her out if you are in the area. The book, I believe, deserves at least a few minutes of your time – talk about eye candy ga-lore!
For more of an idea of what Gourmet Today is about, check out the video below of Executive Editor, John “Doc” Willoughby, demonstrating one of the book’s 1,000 recipes – Lemon Pudding Cake. Yum!
*For more information on Ruth Reichl’s Gourmet Today book tour, click here
*Click here to purchase Gourmet Today online
I’ve recently discovered Gizmodo’s weekly Taste Test section, and it is so much fun! Check out this great video of Wylie Dufresne illustrating how his pastry team whips up frozen bon-bons using the power of liquid nitrogen. Dufresne, for those who don’t yet know, is Executive Chef of wd~50 in Lower East Side Manhattan.
COOKIE COVERED ICE CREAM BON-BONS
Experimental chefs all across the States are using this gas to add an extra bonus for your senses when you dine (Chicago’s Alinea, for instance, is among the ranks of urban restaurants sitting at the forefront of this method).
The audio is poor, so before you watch, click here to read the transcript of what Dufresne is saying. Terribly fun stuff… the kind of stuff school science fair winners wish they were made of.
Remember awhile back when I posted about the first crop of heart-shaped watermelons cultivated in Japan? Well, it seems as if that country’s love of puffy shapes knows no bounds. Check out these latest heart and star shaped cucumbers!
Magically delicious stir-fry
From what I understand, the molds for these cucumbers – as well as the subsequent harvests – come from the Yamagata Prefecture located in the Tohoku region of Japan. Weird Asian News reports that they are being bought in bulk for festive occasions like weddings at about $2.50 a pop (or 300 yen).
For those of us who live too far away or who simply don’t have the means to ship cucumbers over from Japan, molds and starter kits are available for purchase online. The only things needed are a credit card and a green thumb. $80 bucks may sound steep, but seriously, this would be an ingenious way to trick kids into liking their vegetables.
They’re not even on the market yet, but I am just smitten with these new measuring cups designed by Fred & Friends! I’ve had my eye on them for some months now. In two weeks time, they should be made available to the public!
M A T R Y O S H K A S M A D E T O M E A S U R E
Design: Carl Mitsch, Fred Studio
From Fred & Friends: “This set of 6 dry-measure cups nests neatly just like traditional Russian matryoshkas. They accurately measure 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 3/4 and 1 full cup, and they’re built from heavy-duty, food-safe, long-life engineering plastics. M-Cups are useful, easy to store, and quite charming…so why not doll up YOUR kitchen with a little Russian folklore? Each set is packaged in a full-color printed gift box.”
Why not, indeed. Each set of 6 will be priced affordably at $11.99. Click here to receive notification as soon as they are made available!
This last week has been all about trying to create some awesome ice cream recipes. But before we get into that, take a look at this beauty of a machine.
Welcome home, little ice cream maker!
First sight
Original packaging
“Lift here for additional parts”
Finally a peek!
The actual ice cream maker itself
Unveiling the sexy
Don’t be shy
Side view
Front view
THE FULL MONTY!!
Perhaps now you realize my appreciation for this ice cream maker borders on the erotic. What can I say? It is pretty great! Ridiculously easy to use – if you can turn a dial, you’ve more or less mastered it. The Cuisinart ICE-50BC also freezes your ice cream for you! Just pour your chilled custard into the little 1 – 1/2 quart bucket, and it literally does the rest.
The entire machine consists of 5 large pieces, which are all pretty easy to identify and keep clean. You’ve got the: freezer, bucket, paddle, lid, and arm. I cover the whole thing in a large plastic bag or tarp when it is not in use; This keeps unwanted particles from settling into the small crevices. Just a wise precaution to take in the interest of long-term care.
*To watch a Williams-Sonoma video of how to use the Cuisinart ICE-50BC Supreme Ice Cream Maker, click here!
