Friday, July 2, 2010

Kitchen dreaming...

Winter for me is all about food. I start looking at recipe books, flicking through the pages searching for pictures of beautiful summer picnics, salads and grilled seafood on skewers laid out beside sparkling aqua water... what a nice way to escape a dull grey winter.

If I'm cold and feeling slightly rundown (like now actually) then it's the slow food I look for and perhaps even cook... coq au vin, slow cooked lamb shoulder or shanks. Comfort indeed.

Then of course there's the good old Food channel.  Number one for winter escapes at the moment is the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. It's summer in the Hamptons and she also ticks my top three for food watching.
  • Simple recipes that can be scribbled on a scrap of paper and once cooked done again without a recipe
  • Kitchen utensils to lust after (I am unashamedly shallow)
  • A fabulous kitchen and home as a backdrop.
See? Fabulous. She has a large home in the Hamptons and has built a new barn in the garden (oh yes the garden is to die for and looks even better in snow...) Read all about and see more lovely pictures here.
Ina's kitchen also has good eye candy for the shallow shopper. And I am not just shallow but also stupid enough to think that if I buy the beautiful utensils in a television chef's kitchen then I too will cook like that...  
Nigella Lawson Bliss Whisk, Blue

In my Nigella phase I bought the whisk she swears by  -  I LOVE it and use it every day.

Jamie's favourite Thai-style stone mortar and pestle  is now mine... I waited until I left London to buy it as I could never bear to lug it home on the tube. It weighs a ton. 

Everyone who cooks on the telly seem to have a  KitchenAid in white  - I'd like an original please but I'd settle for a brand new one in red.
 I'm still saving but that's ok. We should all have to wait for some things in life...

8 comments:

  1. I too love to cook, all year around, for different reasons! Love kitchen gadgets, good cookbooks, and all things red! I love Ina, she is in my kitchen at least once a week! I have the red kitchen aid, it was a wedding gift...love it! Hoping you love it when you get it! One tip, make sure you get the professional size...the small bowl is worthless! : )

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  2. Well at least you'll have the right "look" when you are slow cooking! I have a black Kitchen Aid mixer (a 30th birthday present). It is a gift that keeps giving...

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  3. Check out this link below. A colleague passed it onto me. She saved a ton on her KitchenAid mixer. A white one is on my "to buy in the next six month" list.

    http://www.choice.co.nz/Search.aspx?Keyword=kitchen%20aid

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  4. Thanks Anthea for the tip - sounds great... should have bought one when I was earning pounds back in the day when they were worth something!

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  5. I sooo wish I found comfort in cooking like you do but for me it's just a totally stressful experience:o( I'm more than happy to eat though and my hubby is excellent in the kitchen so I guess if it works why change it.
    Happy cooking!
    Angex

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  6. Hi Ann, that second shot is already warming me up, even if it is a picture. I love the open fireplaces in winter. The kitchen aid is an expensive necessity I guess... I will keep saving... In the meantime my handy little sunbeam hand mixer has been serving me well for over 15 years now (wow, how scary is that!) It helped me whip up 3 cakes today! Enjoy your weekend.

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  7. So glad I stumbled across your blog. I am originally from N.Z. and lived in Auckland before moving to Australia. Had a little giggle because I too definitely buy way too many house magazines and am eating chocolate as I blog!! Loved your post ... yes can I have an original KitchenAid in Red (on my wish list)?! Look forward to your next post - I'm your newest follower! Michelle

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  8. I am also pleased that I foundf your blog. I am a kiwi living in SW France and share your addiction for magazines and chocolate.

    A tres bientot,

    Leeann x

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Thanks for taking the time to write, Ann x

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