Some of Our Favorite Things

By now you know we love to cook. We love to entertain. I like entertaining even more when as the cook I still get to be in the thick of things.

When we combined our kitchens, we jointly had 8 place settings of black ceramic dinnerware (some were chipped), 7 incomplete place settings of Dansk Christshavn Blue dinnerware, and 12 place settings of ceramic dinnerware (some of finishes on the plates had crackled and some were chipped). We also had a somewhat precariously balanced 3-D Tetris game throughout our cabinets and closets. (Our first gift has helped eliminate the mixing bowl, casserole, and wok Tetris game.)

This unintentional mismatch of dishes came out in force for our housewarming this past October. We decided that it might be nice to have one set that matched or was intentionally mismatched (coordinated). We quickly learned that the set we were going to use as the base - Dansk Christianshavn Blue - was slightly different now (rim with white edge rather than blue edge. Also Macy*s no longer offered the pattern as open stock (Bed Bath & Beyond does). So we fell in love with a pattern from Noritake that was more "us."

Noritake Dinnerware, Colorwave Graphite Square

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When I got my first apartment, I used to host brunches. I had this amazing Oster Waffle Maker with Non-Stick Surface (it's now 1980s "vintage") that was small and worked great with waffle batter made with almond milk or rice milk. None of the Waffle Makers I've had since work with non-dairy waffle batters. *sigh* But I digress.

I loved my waffle maker because it fit neatly on the dining room table and cranked out yummy waffles while everyone sat around the table. When I learned that the Cuisinart GR-4N Griddler Grill had smooth plates for making pancakes, bells went off! Imagine that on our coffee table while we're gathered around for a picnic-style brunch with hot off the griddle pancakes?

Cuisinart GR-4N Griddler Grill
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This is what it looks like open with the griddle plates.

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Our friends also like to entertain. At least once a month we have the opportunity to attend a potluck. With casseroles (such as our Macaroni and Goat Cheese Gratin with Wild Mushrooms) or cheesy potatoes for a brunch we're always trying to figure out how to transport them. From how do we cover the baker so that the contents don't spill all over the CRV? To how do we wrap the baking dish so that the person holding it doesn't burn their fingers?

Portable Bakeware with its own plastic lid and Hot/Cold Sleeve

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For desserts, we're juggling how to pack cupcakes so that the neatly frosted tops don't get smashed.

24-Cup Cupcake Carrier

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What things are you most looking forward to on your registry? Are you already dreaming of how you'll use them?