Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Unnecessary Wishlist, part 1

My friend Lena brought me back a Williams-Sonoma catalog from her trip to the US. Very nice to leaf through, but as I don't have a) a store anywhere remotely close, nor do they ship internationally b) unlimited kitchen space or c) tons of money, I won't be buying anything.

However, it was fun to make up a wishlist of stuff I'd perhaps get IF I had the space, money and chance. An unnecessary wishlist of fun gadgets, none of which I really need. Let's begin!

bagetteplat or baguette pan

This is a baguette baking pan, for making nice, French bread. And wow, I really want one of these! (In fact, I'm trying to find one around here - this I can find place for!)

bannetonbasket

Williams-Sonoma calls this a Banneton Basket. I want one for letting my bread loaves prove, getting that lovely round basket shape. In fact, I want two.

batterdispenser

My pancakes are never perfectly round. But with this handy batter dispenser, they would be!

bugscakeletpan

This is just adorable, the Backyard Bugs Cakelet Pan. I want to make cute cakes too!

caprilinen

This Capri Linen tablecloth is really nice - I'd love to have this for my outdoor table. And matching chair pads too!

cornzipper

Here's a real gadget - the Corn Zipper. Can't be good for much, except for.. zipping corn. Which I bet it's great at.

herbsnips

Herb Snips! Yes, you *could* use your regular kitchen shears, but... this looks handier. And it has a stripper for removing the leaves from tough stems, like thyme and rosemary.

icecreamsandwichmold

Aren't these the cutest? They're ice cream sandwich molds, and I could go ooh and aah over them all day. Not that I've ever made ice cream sandwiches, mind you...

icingspatula

This I really want, an Icing Spatula. I use a silicon paddle thing for icing, but as this is so long, I bet it's much easier to get a smooth surface.

juliennemandolin

A Kyocera Julienne Mandolin would sure come in handy sometimes! I have a straight mandolin just like this one, and I really like that it's so small and convenient to store. (As opposed to my old, huge mandolin!) It's also really sharp, and it has a ceramic blade.

kitchenaidfruitveggie

Kitchen-Aid accessories are great - I wish I had more! This handy Fruit & Vegetable Strainer would make puréeing a breeze!

kitchenaidpasta

Although I think I'd get the Pasta Rollers first - if only they weren't so darn expensive. And come to think of it, my old hand-cranked pasta machine does work just fine... sigh.

Part two to come in a few days! (Yes, there's more!)

All photos from Williams-Sonoma.

29 comments:

M'nMs said...

Anne,
I was just online looking at the catalog yesterday (going to the US in August)! Loved those ice cream sandwich molds too (never made ice cream sandwiches but soo cute)..and the backyard bug cakelet pan-cute again! But alas, like you said - where is the kitchen space for these.... but maybe you'll get a surprise gift one of these days :)

winedeb said...

Don't you just love those catalogs! I have tons of wish lists. There is a W Sonoma store that I can visit while I am in Ohio but let me tell you. You better hang onto your wallet. The store is beautiful and very expensive!!! One of those places that you just have to buy something if you go in. There is another one called Sur La Table, hope I spelled that correctly, that is wonderful also. You should check out on line Chefs Catalog. Sometimes they have some great deals. Not sure about the shipping though. I enjoy your wish lists!

Janice said...

Hi Anne

Great Blog. I see the Baguette pans are available at www.headcook.co.uk I couldn't see where they ship to, but it might be worth an email to see if you could get one from there. They have some other cool stuff too.

Kevin said...

Anne,
The KA pasta roller is expensive, but it sure does make making pasta a breeze.

Jessica said...

Anne,
for the baguette holders you just have to make a little excursion to cordon bleu. Verner & Verner have them too, or can order them in anyway if not in stock.
I want a le creuset pan. I only want to grow a Money Tree ;)

Jessica said...

The same goes for the proving basket. Cordon Bleu or internet ordering via bakers.se. Let me know if you want to do bakers.se and we'll do a joint order.

Marijke Vroomen-Durning said...

I adore looking at those hard copy catalogues. I can spend such a long time doing that. But I'm worse in a kitchen store. You have to drag me out.

Fr.Vandraedi said...

Oh my! Those bug forms are adorable! And so well done too. I would most definately make little cakes in them.

So do the icecream sandwich molds. I would definately buy them, only to never use them, but they could be ornamental, looking like that. :D

Keith said...

Wow, there are some cool things there! I wouldn't mind the french bread things either...I wonder how much they are?!! What a nice blog!

Ana said...

The corn zipper doesn't really work. But the other stuff looks cool!

Jason said...

Anne,
I love your blog, it's amazing! I think you should get the pasta attachment, I can't imagine hand rolling pasta now that I have one!

Unknown said...

A kitchen is not a kitchen without an ice cream spatular!

I really love the cake mold too!
It would make a great Spring or Summer wedding cake. Just think of a white cake with colorful flowers and butterflies around it.

Dori said...

I was thinking, couldn't you purchase some of these items from ebay or some other online store that ships there?

jessicajlee said...

I have the vegetable puree thing for the kitchenaid, which is useful, although it tends to catch chunks in the machinery, which leads to wasted (unshredded!) bits.

Anyhow, it's a useful tool for sure.

Christine said...

A fun post! And I've enjoyed your Crispy Eggs now twice this week. Thank you!

Anne said...

Thanks everyone for your input!! :)

Jessika's absolutely right, they do have baguette pans and proving baskets here as well, and those are two of the things I really think I will get soon. I'm considering the proving baskets at Husmodern in Linkoping Jessika, I'll try to visit there soon. But I'll have a look at Bakers as well :)

Ana - oh, good to know! One less thing to covet! :)

Gaah - fun and also devastating to know that the pasta rollers really do work. I just might have to give in.. (Actually, I know a store who carries them who's closing down, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed I'll manage to catch them on sale...)

And yes - I could of course just order off Ebay or somewhere else, but it's also fun just to wish and not to buy. I don't really have the funds nor the space for all that stuff anyway - but a girl can dream... :)

Anne said...

Update - I've actually found an online source for baguette pans in Sweden! They don't look exactly the same though, and I've e-mailed the company for more info. I'll report back when I know more! :)

Anonymous said...

About the baguette pans: A couple of years ago I saw similar ones at Riddarbageriet i Stockholm. But I didn't buy them, so I have no idea if they're any good or not. Good luck, and let us know how you get on!
/Helena

Jessica said...

Anne:
Husmodern has nice stuff!! Making your own flour anyone?
Anyway, I figured since you live a hop (ok, a bus ride) away from the cordon bleu and verner & verner I thought you might want to look there first.
But like when we were there: damn, you can ruin yourself.
And I still want a money tree.
Email me if you want to use the bakers.se.
They have good prices on gastroflex pans.

Anonymous said...

Otroligt vad mycket grejer jag inte visste att jag behövde:-) Finns det någon affär, eller är det bara internet? Vet du möjligen i vilken stad det finns i i såfall?

Anne said...

Maria, det finns en hel drös affärer. På hemsidan hittar du en "store locator" längst ner till höger :)

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Anne,

I think all of these gizmos are absolutely necessary!!! I am a firm believer in whatever makes you happy!!!I live in Canada,but, I guess I am out of the loop. I will have to look at their web site for some ideas. Thanks for the tip!!

Anonymous said...

Aww, now I want some of those things too!

Martha said...

Hi Anne, I just found your blog, and it's lovely! I'm an American living in Stockholm, and my husband is actually going into a Williams Sonoma for me tomorrow in NYC. If there's something you really want, email me, and I'll have him pick it up for you.

I'm happy to have found your blog--I've been living here almost 4 years, but there are some things I can't figure out the translations for, so when you post in Svenska and English, it'll really help me!

Anne said...

Margarita - that is a good philosophy! :)

Jup - sorry, sorry! That's the danger.. :)

Martha - oh no, that's way too tempting :) I'll try to resist! What are you getting? I'm really glad the translations help you! I started them mostly for my family and close friends who didn't read English very well, but I'm always really happy to know that others can benefit as well.

Laura said...

You may be jealous of Williams Sonoma, but I lived without Ikea for the first 31 years of my life! I have the corn zipper and the icing spatula and both are great. Plus, I just got my 9 1/2 quart Le Crueset dutch oven from WS yesterday :-)

Martha said...

Let's see, thanks to you, I added that herb zipper. My kitchen schears always seem to be dirty, so this will double duty as a second set. Also on my list is pastry cutter, some lavander hand soap, that green slicer that juliennes, a garlic press and the biggie: All Clad Copper Core 12" fry pan. The weak dollar really helps right now!

I don't get the whole IKEA thing...I can't stand that place.

Jeanne said...

I have only once been inside a Williams Sonoma (In Westport last year) and Nick had to carry my out in a swoon (jokes!). They just have the most delectable collection of stuff that you suddenly realise you MUST have, even though up this point your life has seemed pretty fulfilled. After a visit to WIlliams Sonoma, it seems to be a desolate wasteland...!

And as for those adorable ics cream molds, I saw somewhere on a blow that you can also use them to shape boiled eggs - you peel the egg when hot and then put it into the mold and refrigerate - and a few hours later you have little piggy boiled eggs!

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