A Bachelor's Weblog to Urban Cooking

Guest author Cathy Nobriga Kim shared her special recipe for Ice Cream Pie!  This is definitely something you’ll want to get the kids involved in!

Image: Roselani

Share This

An old-fashioned tool for an old-fashioned job: making sure that your food doesn’t curl up on the griddle!  This rectangular grill press is heavy cast iron, so it will heat up quickly and retain heat well.

Image: J.C. Penney

Share This

The holidays are cookie time. This cookie press could make baking all those cookies a little easier. It has a soft-grip trigger and a non-slip bottom to keep the press on the pan. The press comes with 16 decorative disks.

At Wilton Cookie Press Pro Ultra 2

It’s that special time of year again when people begin planning for holiday celebrations. In addition to the frantic search for the right gift or decoration, many shoppers are looking for ways to be more environmentally friendly during the holiday season.  Here’s one idea that will warm your heart and help you focus on really being a citizen of the whole world!

The World Vision Gift Catalog offers items that benefit children and families living
in poverty here in the United States and around the world. The catalog offers more than 100 poverty-fighting gifts ranging in price from $20 to $39,000 that can be purchased in the name of a friend, colleague or loved one. The gift recipient in turn receives a special card describing the gift that was purchased and the impact it will have in the life of a person in need.
Eco-friendly gifts include:
• Help bring clean, safe water to African families by donations to dig new wells.
• Animals such as goats, alpacas and chickens that will provide families with milk,
wool and eggs
• Seeds, fertilizer, equipment and training to assist farmers grow food to feed
their families.

Share This

Even though you’d only use this a couple of times a year, it’s still pretty cute!  You can bake the pie right in this pumpkin pie pan…it’s not merely a serving piece.

As irresistible as fresh-baked pie. A whimsical, domed pumpkin lid with charming vine handle covers a pie-crust fluted plate for autumn baking and serving. Durable cast stoneware is glazed a delicious baked-pumpkin hue.

Image: Crate & Barrel

Share This

What's not to like here? Just fill your favourite blend of tea and put the tea egg into the hot water of your teacup. Tea egg? We love the name, and we love the fact it floats. The tea-egg always stays on the surface of the water: Dry, cool and ready to be taken out cleanly and safely instead of leaving a burning trail of hot water on your trousers. Once your tea is ready, just put your tea-egg back on the supplied stand.

Via Gizmodiva.com at Pro-Idee

Whether you decide to cook your turkey in the oven or on the grill, Cameron’s Cookware has the turkey kit that will have you covered. Inexplicably, there is also a microwave bacon rack included in this package. Hmmm…I seem to be missing something!

Image: Cameron’s Cookware

Share This

Okay - so maybe you aren't cooking with LED, but you are dialing up the heat with a 12-position LED heat indicator embedded within the cook surface. Each burner (and yes there are only 3) has Aero technology so they heat perfectly with every little turn of the dial. What we really like is the look, and are putting this on our list of cooktops for when the kids finally leave the nest.

Via DVICE at CookSurface

The House of Harriet offers these great mugs, painted according to the picture you supply. Looks like Harriet will do pets too!

Under the brand name “The House of Harriet” Harriet Damave produces hand painted ceramics in her studio in Amsterdam. Years of experience as an illustrator are obvious in brush-stroke decorations. Both handmade and industrial earthenware, stoneware and porcelain form the canvas for her art work. The graphic style in combination with today’s ceramics result in products that could be seen as today’s translation of the Dutch Majolica and Delftware tradition.
Most of Harriet’s products are designed for everyday use and are dishwasher proof and food safe.

Image: House of Harriet

Share This

If you’re a chocoholic like I’m a chocoholic, this dedicated chocolate mill doesn’t seem like that much of an extravegence!

Quickly and safely create paper-thin chocolate shavings for making truffles, topping desserts or stirring into hot beverages. Simply load this mill with chocolate chunks, hold it over the food or beverage, and turn the hand crank. Hand-wash. 4 1/2″ high.

Image: Williams-Sonoma

Share This

If you are serious about your wine, this contraption allows you to chill, pour, and preserve wine. You can keep three bottles of wine chilled and ready to serve at their ideal temperature. There are nine preset temperatures, so you can easily set each bottle's temperature. When you are ready for a drink, Skybar will pour the wine for you at the press of a button. In addition, bottles are preserved for up to ten days.

At Skybar Wine System

How cute is this? By Wilton, the cupcake people, the 2 Feet of Treats is the perfect little stand to get your guests smiling. The Wilton site has lots of cake and cupcake decorating ideas, and recipes too!  Individual Silly Feet cups are also available.

Even the simplest cupcakes become a fun treat in 2-Feet of Treats. The Silly-Feet! Cake Stand provides a fun display for delicious cupcakes topped with sprinkles and a sour cherry ball.

Image: Wilton

Share This

S'mores are delicious. Who wants to wait for a campfire in order to make them? This S'mores maker allows you to make S'mores in the microwave. The water reservoir ensures that the graham crackers, marshmellows, and chocolate all heat at the same time. And arms hold the S'mores in place so they don't slide apart.

At S'mores Maker

“Mottled” almost sounds like “motley,” doesn’t it? These ball-shaped candles are far from motley though! They are another beautiful tabletop offering from Crate & Barrel. They’d go really nicely with those Kumi placemats and napkins, I think!

These are unscented (good for dinner tables!), and are supposed to burn for 18 hours. That’s even long enough for dinner at our house!

Image: Crate & Barrel

Share This

Beautiful autumn colors for your Thanksgiving table, or really for anytime during the fall. These Kumi placemats are just under $5 each, and the napkins are just under $3. They are a Crate & Barrel exclusive.

Inspired by the intricate patterns and texture of traditional African baskets, this vibrant placemat is elaborately striped in a bold mix of orange, magenta and brown. Hand-dyed cotton is handwoven in interlocking matchstick stripes, with textural ribbing for a three-dimensional effect. Cotton napkin contrasts beautifully in a coordinating woven multistripe.

Image: Crate & Barrel

Share This

50 Cute and Tasty Christmas Cookie Ideas
It’s not too early to start baking for the holidays. Here are some Christmas cookie ideas and recipes to get you started.

March of the Penguins Cheese Ball
There will be smiles all around when your guests glimpse these cute little penguins marching around the cheese ball igloo.

Walking Can Reduce Chocolate Cravings
But why on earth would you want to?

Cookie Pops Are Fun To Create With Your Kids
and they make wonderful Christmas gifts.

Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
These mashed potatoes are creamy, fluffy and garlicky — everything good mashed potatoes should be. And they’re perfect for holiday entertaining.

Share This

Different meats call for different types of basting. This baster has two attachments. It has an open-mouthed sshower head attachment that releases a wide stream of sauce or juice. It also has an injector that sends a precise stream of goodness directly into a desired location. The body of the baster gives measurements in both ounces and milliliters.

At Cuisipro Dual Baster

This implement is both a fork and spatula in one. You can use the fork to lift meat out of the pain. Then slide the nylon sheaths over the fork to turn the tool into scoops. The nylon scrappers are heat resistant and won't scrape the bottom of the pan.

At Meat Lifters/Roaster Spoons

Risotto is one of my favorite fall meals, and this particular recipe, with red peppers and sausage, happens to be one of my favorite risottos!  Pull out your heavy duty pots and pans, and give this a whirl.

Red Pepper Risotto with Italian Sausage

Image: Cyndi Lavin

Share This

When I was a kid, the cornucopia that my mother got out each Thanksgiving was one of my very favorite decorations. For quite a while, I thought that the Pilgrims stored their fruits and vegetables in a horn, and that was why we now used it as a decoration. Dumb kid!

Anyway, Williams Sonoma has a gorgeous cornucopia in case yours is looking a bit scruffy these days. Or in case you’ve never gotten one! This one has flowers, herbs, and grains instead of plastic fruits and veggies ;-)

Share This