Side Order of Ham - A Feeding Friendzy

Liftmatic Redux

Tuesday, July 17, 2007, 10:51 AM - Tools, Posts: Steen

Forever ago, I scored this great one bedroom apartment in West Hollywood. It was big, airy, and rent-controlled. I loved the place and lived there for several years and when I moved, I passed it down to Ian who still lives there.

One of the things that made it so great was the sweet vintage O'Keefe and Merritt stove, fresh out of the 50s, all shiny white with a built-in griddle and the cool GRILLEVATOR broiler.

Gaggenau has clearly been studying old-timey classics, as evidenced by the introduction of their new Liftmatic oven. It's retro-meets-Jetsons and the power to amaze your friends and confuse whoever is house-sitting for you.

-steen

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Love, Caribbean Style

Tuesday, June 5, 2007, 02:25 PM - Tools, Posts: Steen

I'm in love. Just yesterday, I was doing dishes, washing my old orange Le Creuset dutch oven. It's ancient. Chipped and prone to rust. I was thinking that it's probably time to invest in a new one. And just LOOK!!!

It's positively dreamy! Is it wrong to lust after cookware?

-steen

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I'll see your spork...

Sunday, March 18, 2007, 06:22 AM - Libations, Tools, Posts: Christian

and raise you some rocks.

I was in Sweden last summer for the Singlespeed World Championships. It was a disaster from the word go, but one good thing came out of it. We were in Gamla Stan (Old Town) and we were doing some late night wandering and bar hopping, when I came across these.
Talk about going all-out retro. Forget Titanium go-fasters, Caveman is where it's at. Drop these in the freezer for a day, then use them to keep your drink ice cold, without diluting said beverage. They are a booze-hounds dream.

The box reads:
"Hot and Cold Stone.
The purpose of these stones are
to keep your drink cool and heat.

Just cool them down in the freezer
and use them in your whiskey
or heat them up in the oven
and use them in your the or glühwein.
After use, clean the stones in water."

(I assume they mean Tea.)

In any case, since it was St. Patty's last night, I decided to give them a proper go. I cooled them, and dropped a few in my glass. Ice cold scotch was my reward, with no dilution as one would expect.
The biggest gripe if I have to have one, is that if you are caught unawares, you could easily chip a tooth when it slides down to your lips as you finish your beverage. That and I'm a consummate ice-chewer.

A nice way to start off St. Patty's.

All in all a great idea that can give you the 'Coolest Host' award in your tiny circle of drinking buddies. And, yes, they are by no means restricted to just booze. Drop a few in your carbonated leisure beverage of choice, juice, whatever. Heat them up and drop them in your morning coffee to keep it warm. Whatever.

—Christian

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For Fizzle

Friday, March 9, 2007, 03:01 AM - Tools, Posts: Steen

Growing up, my parents always had those cool retro bottles of seltzer in the fridge. There's a local company that delivers them right to your door. I tried that too, but I'd always forget to re-order or I wouldn't be ready for a pre-scheduled delivery.

When Bob moved in, we started buying 2 liters of club soda on a regular basis. Lemme tell you, the shit adds up. At $1.25 to $1.50 a bottle for plain old bubbly water, we were paying a mint.

That's when I hatched my dream plan. I wanted a permanent bar-style soda nozzle in my kitchen. You shoulda seen my eyes bulge when I started doing research and learned that it'd cost me around $1500 for the privelege. I settled on Soda Club, and I've been really happy with it. In fact, it's probably my favorite kitchen purchase of 2006. For less than a hundred bucks, you get a nice little starter package, that essentially pays for itself in a few months.

I bought the Edition One Home Soda Maker with two reusable bottles, one C02 canister, and a 12-pack of flavors (those went right in the trash). You fill the bottles with filtered water, screw them into the machine and depress a large button at the top. You control the amount of fizz by how many times you press. Easy peasy.

My only complaint is that the store I purchased it at, just down the street from me, has since closed. The nearest authorized dealer is now about 30 miles away, though we can order online.

If you're a fan of bubbly water, you could do much worse than to invest in Soda Club. I, for one, am a big fan.

-steen

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Ice Balls

Saturday, March 3, 2007, 06:05 PM - Tools, Posts: Steen

Ok, so, posting about my love of Japanese merch reminded me of a little shopping trip Christian and I took in Munich last year.

I was visiting C and his wife and they were just wonderful hosts. Christian poured me a soda one day and, knowing how much I love iced beverages, he plunked this baseball of an ice cube into my glass. I was totally dazzled. (I'm a cheap date, folks...)

The ice ball was made by pouring water into an ingenious silicone mold and then freezing the bad boy. Once it's solid, you just slip the two parts of the mold apart and peel the bottom from the ice ball. Because of its size, it melts more slowly than small cubes, and looks super sexy while it's doing it.

I oohed and ahhed and interrogated him about where he acquired such a fancy product and he gave up the intel pretty immediately. The next day, we were off to Muji where I purchased two of the molds.

They now reside in my freezer, ready to wow whomever needs impressing.

In keeping with the theme, Bob and I had a lovely lunch in Little Tokyo today. I stopped in a cute little discount store and bought a few things, including some origami paper that made the perfect addition to my photo styling. If this site somehow becomes a money maker, I've kept my receipt so I can deduct the buck fitty.

-steen

Technorati tags: kitchen+tools

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Titanium-colored with envy

Saturday, March 3, 2007, 12:06 AM - Tools, Posts: Steen

That ChubbyPanda is a lucky so-and-so. And, clearly he's got some excellent friends.

<cough cough>

The internet, she is a cruel mistress. Some days I feel like all I do is travel from one website to another, coveting, coveting, coveting. I was over at ChubbyPanda's blog today and got a big old double-whammy to the face.

Witness the titanium spork: A) It's a wonderously ridiculous, completely unnecessary Japanese novelty item camouflaging as something useful (it goes without saying - though I'm saying it - that I'm a sucker for just this type of thing), and B) It's a SPORK for god's sake!!! Come on! I can't be expected to resist.

Go buy me one. Or better yet, I'm thinking titanium spork service for 8. It's gonna be haute for oh seven. Just you watch!

-steen

Technorati tags: spork, dining, Japanese+gadgets

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My Cup Runneth Over

Tuesday, December 26, 2006, 10:52 AM - General Yumminess, Tools, Posts: Steen

I am one lucky so-and-so, and I'm so, so lucky. For lots of reasons. But I'll get specific... This December Gift Exchange was incredible! My wonderful boyfriend and incredible friends were so generous. I am beside myself. Many food-related gifts were received this year and I'm planning to shower all my pals with some serious deliciousness in 2007. Cannot wait to get started!

By the looks of things, I've got a lot of reading to do, and new tools to master. I've had an Amazon wishlist in place for several years, in fact, we all do. It sure does save on receiving ill-suited gifts, and it's awfully helpful when shopping for friends, too. I like to use it as a starting point sometimes, to get an idea of what people are interested in, then go from there. I love getting people gifts, though for selfish reasons. Sorta... I love to see the looks on friends' faces when they are genuinely happily surprised.

But, enough about that. Back to my presents! LOL