GASTRONORMOUS

I love this unusual beautiful wooden wine rack. It is wall-mounted, so it is out of the way, allows for storage of six side-stored bottles of wine, and two shelves that display upright bottles. It reminds me in concept of the stainless steel IKEA rack we have to hold our wine, except this looks much more luxurious. It has a much more luxurious price, too. Maybe someday when we are buying expensive wine, we’ll buy a storage solution worthy of it. But putting bottles of three-buck Chuck on such a nice wine rack seems sort of ridiculous! [$160 at Greener Grass Design; $9.99 at IKEA]

Sure, you probably have in your drawer some of those little tricked-out rings you are supposed to put around your guests’ wine glass stems. But, personally—I don’t know about you—whenever I am called upon to use the ring-y drink identifiers, I am always like, “Wait, was I the tiny green grapes on the purple ring or purple grapes on green ring? Wait, maybe I was red grapes on yellow ring….”

I fear I am hopelessly condemned to losing track of my glass no matter what the charm attached to my glass stem. But! If I had a bright red sticker that read “goddess,” “oops,” or, perhaps more appropriately, “mess” on my glass, that I could remember. Plus, these drink identifiers can be attached to any type of glass, not just stemmed ones. These conversation starters can also can be used on plastic cups, which might not be as personalized as the ol’ standby sharpie-on-Solo tumbler, but so much cooler in a slightly obtuse, post-modern kind of way. [$8 for 90 stickers at Greener Grass Design]

I know one shouldn’t judge so important and potentially dangerous a piece of kitchen equipement as a mandoline on superficialities, but, look how cute! I just love the cheery colors this mandoline comes in, plus the hand protector isn’t as anemic as it is on a lot of other models, and this “restaurant quality” one seems to do everything a mandoline should. I guess you could buy one for less money, but will it be lime green? I think not. [$99.99 at Chef's]

There is nothing extraordinary about this egg slicer. But, do you see anything wrong with this picture? I am not sure slicing an egg shell-on would work so well. Unless you really can’t stand everyone at the picnic to which you were asked to bring your famous egg salad. [$18.99 at Amazon]

Not only is this an exquisite objet that will complement your modern kitchen, but it is also a way to keep steak knives out of sight and yet always at hand. What is this kooky double talk, you ask? See, every single spire sticking up from this small sculpture is actually the handle of a steak knife (see thumbnail below). It is available

in chrome, gold, green, black, and red. I don’t remember the last time I used a steak knife, but seeing this cool thing makes think I ought to look into aquiring a set. [$118 at Amazon]

Every time I go over to the apartment of some friends of mine, I drool over this super cool knife holder they have. Designed by Martin Robitsch, it is basically a beautiful wooden box filled with what look suspiciously like skewers, which act to hold your knives in place. It is just so much cooler looking than those weird, huge angled ones with the slots. Plus, this one is universal, meaning you can put your Henkels paring knife, your Wusthof chef’s, and your unagisaki hocho (you have one of those, right?) all in one block! (Bonus: Craving satay? You are set for implements!)  The drawback is that is is a bit on the expensive side. [$125 at Greener Grass Design]

Here is a similar one, but with tightly packed black plastic straw type things, and also at a slight angle rather than upright. One reviewer on Amazon complained that his extra sharp knives shredded the plastic, so if you are a knife-sharpening maniac (and if you are, I’m scared), this might not be the one for you. It sure does look cool, though. [$37.96 at Amazon]

For me, the block debate is a moot one for now; in order to maximize counter space, we have opted for one of those magnetic jobbies that you drill into the wall. But one day, perhaps when we live in an actual house with a generously sized kitchen, the Robitsch block will be mine. Not to mention an unagisaki hocho.

This vanilla extract stand-in is chock full of vanilla bean specks, so you can totally fake out your guests into believing you put expensive whole vanilla beans into that panna cotta you are serving for dessert. Not that I would engage in that type of culinary subterfuge. I draw the line at not correcting the book club’s assumption that the cupcake batter was not from a box. What? What? So I am not a baker, sue me. The frosting is honest, at least. Speaking of which those little flecks would look phenomenal in a vanilla frosting….

[Vanilla Bean Paste, $10.99 for 4oz at Spice House]

I know what you are thinking. Finally! Thank the Lord! Right?

Watching your waistline? Your favorite lite canned “pork with ham [and] mechanically separated chicken” * product now comes in single serving packets, lest you be tempted to eat an entire can of Spam Lite in one sitting! And now you can take a single serving of Spam Lite with you to work so you can, um, you know, assemble your Spam Lite sandwich on the fly? Or if you have been wishing you could rustle up some Spam Confetti Pasta for one, your day is here!

Can be found in the Pork Hocks aisle of your grocery store.

* Actual information from label.

Now here’s an idea.

I have been a dedicated Brita filter user for years. Until recently I used the plastic pitcher, and now I use the faucet attached-type. While I am concerned about all the landfill waste that the components of Brita filter systems produce, I am even more concerned about the lead and other possible contaminants in drinking water. New York City apparently has very clean water, which is fantastic. Unfortunately, the water department and EPA can’t monitor the decaying pipes in all the old residential buildings in NYC. (The pipes are pretty decayed in my building in particular. When I unscrew the faucet-mounted filter, the mesh screen that unfiltered tap water runs through is thick with rusty particles. Scary!)

So, though I do not know this natural pitcher’s efficacy in lead removal, it is certainly a much more attractive water filter option than the plastic Brita pitcher (let’s face it—even in the sleek “chrome” finish, it ain’t too cute). I am going to do a bit of research to see if I can find out what exactly this Iouseki stones and Binchotan charcoal “filter” actually removes. One batch of burnt sticks and stones filters for about 6 months, making it at least comparable in price to Brita (though the pitcher itself costs more).

Charcoal Water Pitcher [$85; replacement Iouseki stones and Binchotan charcoal: $25; at DWR]

This is a chai snickerdoodle. Yes, that is what I said. A chai snickerdoodle. Now if that doesn’t sound like a crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside, perfectly round piece of sugar-and-spice-coated heaven, I really don’t know what does. And, might I add, a stroke of seasoning genius!

Sinfully Sweet Treats is a cookie company based in Colorado (and, in full disclosure, owned by The Hubs’ very lovely cousin and her dashing husband) that offers ten signature cookie flavors, from Double Dark Chocolate Espresso to Key Lime Cheesecake Sublime. While I have not yet had the pleasure of partaking of the treats, I have heard very reliable first-hand accounts of their outrageous deliciousness.

Order by 3pm today (Mountain Time) and you could be cookie nirvana by the weekend! They ship anywhere in the U.S. Enjoy! [$20/dozen]