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Gourmet News Archives
March 2005
3.28.05
Must-Haves For Your Home. To judge by the dazzling display of wares at the International Housewares Show, this fall we’ll be tempted to toss the most recent color kitchen palette—sophisticated red, black, and deep blue, e.g.—for pastels. Baby pink, yellow, powder blue, and and mint green were everywhere, from pots and pans to spatulas, measuring spoons and corkscrews. Amid all of the presentations of new merch from big companies with celebrity chef endorsements, our award for “best find” goes to a simple-but- brilliant kitchen gadget invented by an entrepreneur, the Blender Bottle™. A perfectly-designed plastic cup and pour spout top with a stainless steel mixing ball, it is extremely low tech. Yet it mixes anything with two shakes of the wrist—no electric mixer, egg beater, or whisk needed—better than any electric or battery-operated device we own.
And it does it better. For example, we’ve never been able to mix powdered beverages without some residue of coagulated powder remaining undissolved at the bottom of the cup or glass. The Blender Bottle™ mixed hot and cold beverages perfectly...as well as scrambled eggs, smoothies, pancakes, and instant soup. It rinses clean in an instant. Our cooking and eating efficiencies have been wonderfully enhanced. You can purchase the Blender Bottle™ online at www.blenderbottle.com. It will be the best $8.95 you’ve spent in a while.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is our other favorite product from the show—the Attrezzi™ line from Jenn-Air, a stunning mixer, blender and toaster that are a new kind of fusion product combining appliance and tabletop. The result: appliances so beautiful, they do double duty as serving pieces. The bowl of whipped cream and pitcher of smoothies or cocktails go straight to the table. The companion toaster has a matching base. With innovative features that make food preparation and presentation a joy, Attrezzi line truly deserves our “best in show” award.
 A variety of metal and glass colors mean something for every decor; and you can purchase extra bowls and pitchers for design variety, to complement different dinnerware patterns, to celebrate the seasons (think red for the holidays, aqua for summer), to differentiate smoothies from margaritas, et al.
Not that we have anything against pastels, but the industry should take a cue from Jenn-Air and add more beautiful art like this to our daily lives. www.jennairattrezzi.com
You’re the designer: These pieces in antique copper with amber tortoise glass bases show one of 30 different color combinations in the Jenn-Air Attrezzi™ line. The metal portion also is available in stainless steel, oiled bronze, pearlescent white and pearlescent black. Glass components also are available in aqua beach glass, merlot red glass, cobalt blue glass, clear-etched glass pattern, and a modern turquoise, white and red abstract swirl pattern called dolce.
3.21.05
Annual Housewares Show Generates Excitement. The annual International Housewares Show began yesterday in Chicago, which means that THE NIBBLE™ staff is spending the first part of this week racing through the enormous McCormick Place to find exciting things for our readers. Expect a long report next week on the new colors and new products to expect this fall.
3.14.05
Green Tea Replaces Apple. There’s no proof that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but Spanish and British scientists have discovered how green tea helps to prevent certain types of cancer. Long touted for its “antioxidants,” a specific compound called EGCG has now been identified. It prevents cancer cells from growing, and green tea has five times more EGCG than black tea.
There are numerous varieties of green tea, but the specialists at Mighty Leaf, pioneers of the beautiful silken Tea Pouch™, make it easy for you to make decisions and stock up. Green tea bags are available in four flavor profiles: Green Tea Tropical, flavored and scented with tropical fruits; nutty-flavored Organic Hojicha; Marrakesh Mint; and Mountain Spring Jasmine, scented with actual jasmine buds. All make great iced tea as well. Mighty Leaf offers 13 varieties of loose green tea, so you can study the category as you enjoy keeping the doctor away.
3.7.05
Not a Peep! We were going to hold this item until we got a bit closer to Easter, but they’re going fast so we’ve speeded up our coverage. Williams-Sonoma’s kit has everything you need to make home-made marshmallows, including cutters for easter shapes. Like Jean Georges Vongerichten and other chefs who have followed suit, You can make marshmallows for your dessert plates all year-round (Jean Georges creates pastel marshmallows in a square shape). Or, make your own marshmallows for gourmet S'Mores: combine with Tiny Trapeze's extraordinary graham crackers and some squares of your favorite flavor Chocolove bar (grown-up palates will find the ginger-infused chocolate thrilling). Tiny Trapeze also makes a turnkey S'Mores kit—just assemble and heat—for the impatient.
Store-bought Peeps® are adorable but the taste isn't
quite up to gourmet standards. A better idea: make your
own. If the kids make colored easter eggs every year,
they can expand their repertoire with this kit. Willliams-Sonoma’s online catalog has already sold out of these kits, so call your local store —fast. There's a store locator at www.williams-sonoma.com.
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