wow

Okay I know it has been a while since I posted, but I just haven't been THAT inspired by anything lately, and did not want to post unless it was something that I had a strong emotional reaction to. Fratelli Guzzini rescued my neglected blog with this gorgeous cheese knife.

Fratelli Guzzini cheese knife available at Made in Desgin.

stack happy

The design geniuses over at the. have created these super-cool stacked bone china cups. Things are not as they appear, of course, as what looks like three cups stacked is actually just one! Also available in single and double sizes.

Stacked cups available at the..

style jr.

The iconic Mono-A flatware has been a staple in chic homes since its introduction in 1959. Now, the smallest design enthusiasts can get a head start with the Mono Kids Smile set featuring a fork, spoon, and dull-edged knife. So cute!

Mono-A and Kids Smile flatware available at Fitzsu.

twist

It may be surprising to hear that I, the writer of a blog dedicated to food and design, am not at all into crazy kitchen gadgets. (I recall Ina Garten saying something along the lines of, "the more things you have, the more difficult it is to find what you need" and I could not agree more.) It is much more interesting for me to find, for example, the colander with the best design. I do not need six colanders for six unique possible scenarios. This is why I was completely unprepared to become totally intrigued by a little kitchen gadget called the Garlic Twist. Looking like something straight out of an infomercial, its manufacturers claim it peels and minces garlic to perfection with little more than a twist of the wrist. Further research revealed nothing but glowing reviews, and I am going to give it a shot. Rarely does a day go by that I don't mince garlic, a shallot or even some ginger and while I can do it pretty quickly it is definitely not my favorite thing to do. 

Garlic Twist available at Amazon.

salad set

I love this salad bowl set from Morph. The built-in handle which holds the utensils in place is genius!

Morph salad set available at Joseph Joseph.

new perspectives

Water, lemonade, iced tea or wine would all happily decant from this carafe designed by new Scandinavian design house Muuto. 

Muuto I'm Boo carafe available at A + R Store.

scotch ball

When Richard returned from his recent trip to Manhattan he could not stop raving about the glass of scotch he had at Bar Masa in the Time Warner Center. It wasn't the scotch itself that had him impressed, but the presentation. Instead of typical ice cubes his glass contained a perfectly spherical ball of ice. The relationship between surface area and volume of a sphere, combined with the water used to make it (apparently most of the air is removed?) means that the ice ball keeps the scotch cool without melting quickly and diluting it. 

The MoMA store sells this Spherical Ice Tray set so we can try to recreate the "scotch ball" at home!

Spherical Ice Tray set available at MoMA.