If you’re in the market for a sink strainer, this is the best there is. We say that, having tried about 12 of them over the past three years, as the original steel drain that came with our 40-year-old sink went kaput. Since then, we’ve tried every sink drain cup, strainer and device sold by every hardware store, kitchen store and website that crossed our path. Evidently, OXO listened to people with problems like ours—unfortunates who live without sink trash disposals, who have to clear away every last scrap of onion or tea leaf by hand. The OXO sink strainer—which is much more attractive than it appears in their photo—is a stainless steel rim with a pliant silicone perforated cup. You empty the strainer simply by pulling on the handle and reversing the basket.
But if you don’t even want to lift the strainer out of the sink, you can actually scoop them out with a spoon. Of all the $150 appliances we’ve tested this year, here is one simple, $6.99 gadget that is truly useful, and actually works exactly as it should. We’re not surprised, because everything we’ve tried from OXO Good Grips has been superior to what we previously had. But we have to take a minute to say: Thanks, OXO: You solved our problem. Available at Oxo.com.
Terra Chips are one of our favorite snacks. The elegant root chips—crispy slices of batata, parsnip, sweet potato and taro instead of regular potato chips (the red ones are colored taro, not beet, which is too difficult to work with)—are so elegant with cocktails. The folks at Terra Chips are offering a free Lucite jumbo martini glass (a.k.a. Terra Tini) with two proofs of purchase, plus $2.99 for shipping and handing. We question the stated retail value—you can buy a jumbo glass martini glass for that. But for $2.99, the price is right; and some people actually prefer the non-breakable plastic (we don’t because it scratches, and we’re not so gentle). You can find details plus a $1.00 coupon for the two packages of Terra Chips needed for proofs of purchase in the FSI* of today’s newspapers. Or, go to TerraChips.com for details on the Terra Tini (no $1.00 coupon, though. Read more about our favorite snacks in the Snacks Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine.
Snack elegantly with Terra Chips.
*FSI stands for Free-Standing Insert, which food manufacturers call the coupon section inserted into the Sunday paper.
December 2, 2007 at 11:10 am
· Filed under Books, Giftable
Chef or emperor? Mario Batali is one of 50 memorable portraits by Melanie Dunea in her book, My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs And Their Final Meals.
So many books…so little time. When we looked at all of the food books published this year to put together our holiday gift lists, we found wonderful ideas for everyone—and while the books stand on their own, we paired most of them with actual food products for an even bigger gift. A few were published in prior years, but they’re not so well-known; we find them so valuable that we’d be grateful to get them as a gift. To develop expertise in specific areas of food, we have books on chocolate, crab, oysters and truffles (the fungus). For food history, Alice Waters & Chez Panisse, Moveable Feasts, a book on the history of food from farm to table that is a real page-turner, and the snarky TheFood Snob’s Dictionary, a good stocking stuffer. There are many more, including cookbooks. But one that every foodie must own is My Last Supper by Melanie Dunea, intimate portraits of 50 top chefs who describe their last meals. Dunea’s photography is stunning—each portrait is as special as Mario Batali’s, at left. Read the full review. See many more gift ideas in the Gift Finder of THE NIBBLE online magazine.
Pairing chocolates with wine and spirits doubles the pleasure of eating chocolates by themselves. If you haven’t already seen our wine, spirits and chocolate pairing guide, wine, spirits and chocolate-pairing guide, take a look. Then, read about a particular evening we spent with Laphroaig single-malt Scotch and some fine chocolates. We paired Laphroaig, known for its smoky peat and creamy, sweet oak flavors, with some smoky, creamy single-origin chocolates. It’s a special way to entertain a small group during the holiday season. And for a special gift idea for your single-malt loving friends, give a bottle of Laphroaig along with the chocolates we tried, so they can have their own tastings. It’s a great way to spend New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day, too. Read more about alcohol for entertaining in the Cocktails Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine.
December 1, 2007 at 10:53 am
· Filed under Giftable
Paromi knows how to rock a fruit tea; Ito En’s connoisseur teas are sublime.
We divide our holiday gourmet food into 11 categories, and there’s one called “general” which contains all the yummy stuff that isn’t more specific—i.e., not chocolate, kosher, liquor, diet and organic foods. This year, our “general” fab foods range from chocolate-covered fruitcake squares (this is fruitcake you will like) to a gorgeous cube of pink Himalayan sea salt with a stainless steel grater (impressive at the table, and delicious salt) to pink rose nectar made from European rose petals (it’s wonderful to drink roses) to an anchovy sauce that’s descended from the famous garum enjoyed by wealthy Romans. And yes, there are divine cookies and teas. Take a gander at the full review and see if there’s something that belongs under a friend’s tree—or in your pantry.
