Every cook has to start somewhere, and the cheapest place to start is with your small tools. These are the hand tools that should be constantly by the side of your stove top, ready to stir, whisk, flip, or pick up any food item at moment's notice. As the list is long, we're dividing it into three parts. These first 7 are the most essential. First things first: if your tools are in the drawer, you probably won't use them. And if you don't use them, you probably won't cook as often. And if you don't cook, what's the point of living, really? A utensil holder with a capacity of at least 2 quarts helps keeps your tools handy right when you need them. If style is what you're after, Le Creuset makes handsome ceramic models in a variety of colors ($25.95). On the other hand, if you're just after pure functionality, a 2-quart Stainless Steel Bain Marie ($8.98) is all you need. I have two of them that only leave my stoveside when they're being washed. Whether stirring sauces, tasting soups, or making the creamiest possible risotto, with rare exception, the wooden spoon is the the most essential hand tool for any cook. I have a half dozen of various shapes and sizes that I use almost every time I cook. But if I had to pick a single spoon to perform every task, I'd choose one which has both a cupped section for tasting, and a flat head—ideal for scraping up fond or getting into the corners f pots. The Mario Batali Flat End Beech Wood Spoon ($5.95) is cheap, functional, and pretty. I've already espoused my love of flexible metal spatula (a.k.a. fish spatulas) in our guide to grilling gear. Well they work equally well—better even!—indoors. Flexible enough to flip tender pieces of delicate fish without breaking them, yet sturdy enough to get every last bit of a smashed burger off the bottom of your pan (It's what I used to make the Fake Shack). It's also ideal for blotting excess grease off of cooked steaks and chops. Just pick up the meat from the skillet, and pat it on a paper towel without even removing it from the spatula before transferring it directly to the serving plate. The wide open slots in the spatula allow grease to drain off easily. I find some of the more expensive brands (Global in particulate) to be too stiff. The MIU Slotted Turner ($7.95) is inexpensive, small, and agile. Restaurant cooks are macho, and restaurant chefs are often diabolically arbitrary. In many high-end joints, tongs are outlawed. Apparently, they can bruise, maim, or disfigure meat. I don't believe a word of it. For the rest of us home cooks, a good, sturdy set of tongs are like a heat-proof extension of your own fingers. Sturdy construction, slip-proof grips (ever try to grab onto a pari of stainless steel tongs with greasy fingers?), and scalloped edges perfect for grabbing everything from the most tender stalks of spring asparagus to the biggest bone-in pork roast, the OXO Good Grips 9-inch Stainless Steel Locking Tongs ($11.95) sets the bar for quality. Spatula, scraper, whatever you call it, it's the tool to reach for when you want to get that stubborn bit of flour to fall into the bottom of your stand mixer's bowl, or when transferring your home-made mayo out of the food processor. That reduced chicken-stock represents a lot of time and money, right? Make sure you get every last drop of it out of the pan! The heat proof silicone construction of theRubbermaid High-Heat Spatula/Scraper ($11.48) make it ideal for both hot and cold tasks. It's also nearly stain-proof, though I wouldn't let it sit in a pot of tomato sauce for too long... When you're talking fine-toothed graters, pretty much only one brand name comes to mind: the Microplane Zester Grater ($14.95). I talked about it once in the Food Lab's Guide to Kitchen Gear, but this thing is more than just a useful gadget—it's an absolute essential. Though it's primary function is to remove just the fragrant outermost layers of citrus zest leaving the bitter pitch behind, it's true power lies in it's ability to multitask. It flies through parmesan cheese, creating fluttering wisps that enhance pastas or melt into sauces. Tough nutmeg doesn't stand a chance against its sharp teeth. And it handily replaces your single-tasking garlic press. Throw your slotted spoons away. I mean it. A spider-skimmer accomplishes everything a slotted spoon does, does it better, and at a fraction of the cost. It excels at fishing dumplings, vegetables, or pasta out of pots of boiling water. Its wire construction and relatively open mesh creates less turbulence in the liquid, making it much easier to fish particles out than with a standard slotted spoon. As for the task it was designed for—stirring and dunking foods for deep frying—the only thing that even comes close in terms of agility and control is a long pair of chopsticks, and even I have trouble picking up peas from a pot full of boiling water with a pair of chopsticks.Guide to Essential Kitchen Hand Tools, Part 1
1. A Utensil Holder
Recommendations: the Le Creuset Utensil Holder ($35.95), or a 2-quart Stainless Steel Bain Marie ($8.98).2. Wooden Spoons
3. Flexible Metal Spatula
4. Short Tongs
5. A Silicone Spatula
6. A Fine Grater/Zester
7. A Spider
With the state of couture in major flux and at least one storied house (Lacroix) on the brink of extinction, the masters of haute made-to-measure took a measured approach. There were pinstripes and sailor Ts at Gaultier, classics suits done with a flap motif chez Chanel, and beautiful Bar jackets at Dior, all of it reality-based. As for M. Lacroix, his collection, quite possibly his last, was full of signatures — extravagant decoration, poufs — distilled to subtle perfection.
Photo By WWD Archive2009 FALL COUTURE
Designer sample sales are a great way to get your fashion fix without paying a huge price tag. Online designer sample sales are by invitation only and these sales last for 24 to 72 hours. This of course means that these fashion goodies fly off the rack, so to speak. These sales are a great way to stock up on your wardrobe essentials, or a perfect excuse to own those to die for pieces that you have been craving. Each day we feature the day’s best sample sale picks. Check back often to see best day’s picks and sign up for the designer sample sales using exclusive invites below.Designer Sample Sales: Kate Spade Handbags, Marc Jacobs Collection Handbags, KORS Michael Kors
Shop Designer Sample Sale if you are craving designer goodies, such as: Louis Vuitton Bag, Chanel Clutch, Jimmy Choo Shoes, Marc Jacobs Dress and many other brands.
Manolo says, today begins the American release of our friend Linda Grant’s magnificent new book, The Thoughtful Dresser. Make no mistake, if, like the Manolo, you are the reasonably intelligent person who likes the clothes, and the shoes, and thinking about why people wear what they wear, you will adore this book. Here is the brief selection… In the summer of 1971, I had perfect shoes. They were pink suede wedges with suede ties that did up round my ankles like Grecian sandals. They were the most beautiful shoes I have ever owned, and I was twenty and had no idea that in all the years to come I would forever be trying to find their replacement, as if they were a love tragically lost, or the Platonic ideal of shoes, or the shoes God had made especially for me. Whatever I was wearing, I only had to look down at my feet to know that they were encased in pink suede. I wore the shoes every single day, until they fell apart and I dropped them in the kitchen bin in an act of affirmative confidence in the future: that I was only twenty and that for the rest of my long life there would be other shoes — but there was no next pair of shoes, none as good as these. Never again would I have a pair as beautiful and wearable. It must have been in part their pinkness, but also the wedge and the thongs they were tied with which all combined to make them stand outside time, outside the era they came from. The point about those shoes is that I coudl wear them right now, today. So the past goes on tormenting you, the memory of brief intense friendship with shoes — yes, exactly like a lost love. Ayyyy! A la recherche du chaussures perdu! Of course, it is only natural that this passage would appeal to the Manolo, for as the Manolo has long noted in his own writings, the quest for the perfect item of clothing, the perfect pair of shoes, is exactly congruent with the search for the divine. They are one and the same, expressing as they both do the innate human desire for the transcendent. But more than that, such quests are also the reaffirmation of life. This is something Linda Grant expresses wonderfully in her book, that far from being the frivolous frivolity, the shopping for and wearing of clothing brings pleasure, brings joy, brings wholly human satisfaction, which moreover has the power to repair and restore one’s soul. Out of suffering comes the demand for pleasure. When we have suffered we do not care less about clothes, but more. To love clothes is to embrace life in all its joyous variety, even if all you ever do is turn the pages of a magazine and long for a fairyland, crave couture ballgowns you will never own. We all need daydreams. So you must read this book — part autobiography, part biography, part history, part manifesto, the curious combination to be sure, but completely brilliant and utterly insightful. It will convince, as few other works can, that thinking about clothes is the ancient and worthwhile, indeed noble, human activity.The Thoughtful Dresser
By Manolo the Shoeblogger
Designer sample sales are a great way to get your fashion fix without paying a huge price tag. Online designer sample sales are by invitation only and these sales last for 24 to 72 hours. This of course means that these fashion goodies fly off the rack, so to speak. These sales are a great way to stock up on your wardrobe essentials, or a perfect excuse to own those to die for pieces that you have been craving. Each day we feature the day’s best sample sale picks. Check back often to see best day’s picks and sign up for the designer sample sales using exclusive invites below.Designer Sample Sales: Kate Spade Handbags, Marc Jacobs Collection Handbags, KORS Michael Kors
Shop Designer Sample Sale if you are craving designer goodies, such as: Louis Vuitton Bag, Chanel Clutch, Jimmy Choo Shoes, Marc Jacobs Dress and many other brands.
Manolo says, today begins the American release of our friend Linda Grant’s magnificent new book, The Thoughtful Dresser. Make no mistake, if, like the Manolo, you are the reasonably intelligent person who likes the clothes, and the shoes, and thinking about why people wear what they wear, you will adore this book. Here is the brief selection… In the summer of 1971, I had perfect shoes. They were pink suede wedges with suede ties that did up round my ankles like Grecian sandals. They were the most beautiful shoes I have ever owned, and I was twenty and had no idea that in all the years to come I would forever be trying to find their replacement, as if they were a love tragically lost, or the Platonic ideal of shoes, or the shoes God had made especially for me. Whatever I was wearing, I only had to look down at my feet to know that they were encased in pink suede. I wore the shoes every single day, until they fell apart and I dropped them in the kitchen bin in an act of affirmative confidence in the future: that I was only twenty and that for the rest of my long life there would be other shoes — but there was no next pair of shoes, none as good as these. Never again would I have a pair as beautiful and wearable. It must have been in part their pinkness, but also the wedge and the thongs they were tied with which all combined to make them stand outside time, outside the era they came from. The point about those shoes is that I coudl wear them right now, today. So the past goes on tormenting you, the memory of brief intense friendship with shoes — yes, exactly like a lost love. Ayyyy! A la recherche du chaussures perdu! Of course, it is only natural that this passage would appeal to the Manolo, for as the Manolo has long noted in his own writings, the quest for the perfect item of clothing, the perfect pair of shoes, is exactly congruent with the search for the divine. They are one and the same, expressing as they both do the innate human desire for the transcendent. But more than that, such quests are also the reaffirmation of life. This is something Linda Grant expresses wonderfully in her book, that far from being the frivolous frivolity, the shopping for and wearing of clothing brings pleasure, brings joy, brings wholly human satisfaction, which moreover has the power to repair and restore one’s soul. Out of suffering comes the demand for pleasure. When we have suffered we do not care less about clothes, but more. To love clothes is to embrace life in all its joyous variety, even if all you ever do is turn the pages of a magazine and long for a fairyland, crave couture ballgowns you will never own. We all need daydreams. So you must read this book — part autobiography, part biography, part history, part manifesto, the curious combination to be sure, but completely brilliant and utterly insightful. It will convince, as few other works can, that thinking about clothes is the ancient and worthwhile, indeed noble, human activity.The Thoughtful Dresser
By Manolo the Shoeblogger
Nina Ricci limited edition Ambre bag. Photo By Courtesy PhotoFashion Scoops: Sac Race... Just Desserts...
JUST DESSERTS: In keeping with the fashion angle for its Thursday night gala and preview of the “High Style” exhibition, the Brooklyn Museum tapped retail’s reigning king and queen of cool, Opening Ceremony’s Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, to get the new guard of American designers involved. Rather than stick to the predictable designers-dressing-guests routine, Leon and Lim have enlisted six labels — Band of Outsiders, Philip Crangi, Patrick Ervell, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Rodarte and Slow and Steady Wins the Race — to create a carnival-like experience during the dessert-dancing portion of the evening. Lim said the idea sprung from food artist Jennifer Rubell, who is making a giant piñata “the size of a room” filled with desserts for the occasion. “We thought it would be fun to have booths where designers could have an activity or a souvenir that they could give to each guest,” said Lim, who will also host an Opening Ceremony booth with Leon. The fashion-infused festivities will range from ring tosses to palm readings to a wheel of fortune.
TOMMY MEXICANA: Tommy Hilfiger’s Mexico business just turned 15 and, to mark the occasion, the designer ventured to Mexico City last week for multiple celebrations. He kicked off his trip with a tour of the city’s Teleton CRIT public health facility and its program for disabled children rehabilitation. Following the visit, Hilfiger accepted Fashion Group International Mexico City’s Sebastian Star award. But the crowning moment of his trip was probably a reprise of his fall 2010 runway show, which was part of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Mexico, and which culminated in Hilfiger receiving the Mercedes Award.
FRESH FACES: Lara Stone is the new face of Giorgio Armani Cosmetics. The Dutch model appears this month in an advertisement shot by David Sims for the brand’s bronze color story. Next up, in September, Stone will feature in another ad image, for Armani foundation. Meanwhile, at the Cosmoprof trade fair in Bologna, Italy, Ferragamo unveiled its new women’s fragrance, called Attimo. Dree Hemingway is in its ad lensed by Craig McDean.
THE ART OF PUBLISHING: Art Ortenberg gave a special shout-out to Diane von Furstenberg, when he thanked her and the CFDA for the support of his new book about his late wife, Liz Claiborne. “She [Diane] is a great woman from Brussels, who’s very much like Liz in many ways,” said Ortenberg. He told the packed room, which gathered at The Salon at Le Bernardin on Wednesday evening to toast “Liz Claiborne: The Legend, The Woman, “Thank you for helping me define the values of Liz’s life.” Among the fashion guests were Vera Wang, Paul Charron, Elie Tahari and Charles Nolan.
IN ON THE ACT: “Eclipse,” the third of the “Twilight” saga films, gets released June 30, so why not put some fresh blood into the fashion inspired by the movies’ main characters? Beginning May 15, Nordstrom will again sell exclusive lace trim tops, miniskirts, striped and floral dresses, skinny jeans, cardigans and plaid jackets, in the style of protagonists Bella and Alice, and priced from $30 to $58, on nordstrom.com/eclipse. Beginning June 4, the collection will be sold at Nordstrom stores as well as online. This is Nordstrom’s second collaboration with Summit Entertainment and vendor Awake Inc. on a “Twilight” collection, following last fall’s tie-in to “New Moon,” the second film in the series. For those bit by the “Twilight” bug, Nordstrom will also sell life-size cardboard cutouts of the main characters, priced $33, and Luna Twilight cosmetics including Twilight Lip Venom. Nordstrom is also planning advance screenings, cast member appearances and Twilight Takeover parties. In “Eclipse,” Seattle, which happens to be Nordstrom’s hometown, is ravaged by mysterious killings, but the retailer isn’t part of the plot.
Nina Ricci limited edition Ambre bag. Photo By Courtesy PhotoFashion Scoops: Sac Race... Just Desserts...
JUST DESSERTS: In keeping with the fashion angle for its Thursday night gala and preview of the “High Style” exhibition, the Brooklyn Museum tapped retail’s reigning king and queen of cool, Opening Ceremony’s Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, to get the new guard of American designers involved. Rather than stick to the predictable designers-dressing-guests routine, Leon and Lim have enlisted six labels — Band of Outsiders, Philip Crangi, Patrick Ervell, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Rodarte and Slow and Steady Wins the Race — to create a carnival-like experience during the dessert-dancing portion of the evening. Lim said the idea sprung from food artist Jennifer Rubell, who is making a giant piñata “the size of a room” filled with desserts for the occasion. “We thought it would be fun to have booths where designers could have an activity or a souvenir that they could give to each guest,” said Lim, who will also host an Opening Ceremony booth with Leon. The fashion-infused festivities will range from ring tosses to palm readings to a wheel of fortune.
TOMMY MEXICANA: Tommy Hilfiger’s Mexico business just turned 15 and, to mark the occasion, the designer ventured to Mexico City last week for multiple celebrations. He kicked off his trip with a tour of the city’s Teleton CRIT public health facility and its program for disabled children rehabilitation. Following the visit, Hilfiger accepted Fashion Group International Mexico City’s Sebastian Star award. But the crowning moment of his trip was probably a reprise of his fall 2010 runway show, which was part of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Mexico, and which culminated in Hilfiger receiving the Mercedes Award.
FRESH FACES: Lara Stone is the new face of Giorgio Armani Cosmetics. The Dutch model appears this month in an advertisement shot by David Sims for the brand’s bronze color story. Next up, in September, Stone will feature in another ad image, for Armani foundation. Meanwhile, at the Cosmoprof trade fair in Bologna, Italy, Ferragamo unveiled its new women’s fragrance, called Attimo. Dree Hemingway is in its ad lensed by Craig McDean.
THE ART OF PUBLISHING: Art Ortenberg gave a special shout-out to Diane von Furstenberg, when he thanked her and the CFDA for the support of his new book about his late wife, Liz Claiborne. “She [Diane] is a great woman from Brussels, who’s very much like Liz in many ways,” said Ortenberg. He told the packed room, which gathered at The Salon at Le Bernardin on Wednesday evening to toast “Liz Claiborne: The Legend, The Woman, “Thank you for helping me define the values of Liz’s life.” Among the fashion guests were Vera Wang, Paul Charron, Elie Tahari and Charles Nolan.
IN ON THE ACT: “Eclipse,” the third of the “Twilight” saga films, gets released June 30, so why not put some fresh blood into the fashion inspired by the movies’ main characters? Beginning May 15, Nordstrom will again sell exclusive lace trim tops, miniskirts, striped and floral dresses, skinny jeans, cardigans and plaid jackets, in the style of protagonists Bella and Alice, and priced from $30 to $58, on nordstrom.com/eclipse. Beginning June 4, the collection will be sold at Nordstrom stores as well as online. This is Nordstrom’s second collaboration with Summit Entertainment and vendor Awake Inc. on a “Twilight” collection, following last fall’s tie-in to “New Moon,” the second film in the series. For those bit by the “Twilight” bug, Nordstrom will also sell life-size cardboard cutouts of the main characters, priced $33, and Luna Twilight cosmetics including Twilight Lip Venom. Nordstrom is also planning advance screenings, cast member appearances and Twilight Takeover parties. In “Eclipse,” Seattle, which happens to be Nordstrom’s hometown, is ravaged by mysterious killings, but the retailer isn’t part of the plot.
